Press Release

FOR RELEASE: THURSDAY, JULY 26, 1995

CLINTON ADMINISTRATION ANNOUNCES SELECTION OF 15 CITIES AS BROWNFIELDS REDEVELOPMENT PROJECTS

Lauren Milone Mical 202-260-4358

Fifteen cities across the country have been selected as pilot projects that will revitalize communities by redeveloping abandoned, contaminated industrial/commercial land — known as "brownfields" — and returning these properties to productive local use. The projects are part of the Clinton Administration's Brownfields Economic Redevelopment Initiative, which was launched in November 1993.

The projects are targeted to receive $200,000 in funding from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency over two years and are located in: Birmingham, Ala.; Sacramento, Calif.; the West Central Municipal Conference (Chicago suburbs), Ill.; Indianapolis,Ind.; Louisville, Ky.; New Orleans, La.; Baltimore, Md.; Detroit, Mich.; St. Louis, Mo.; Trenton, N.J.; Rochester, N.Y.; Oregon Mill Sites, Ore.; Laredo, Texas; Cape Charles, Va.; and Knoxville, Tenn. Nine of the cities will use the EPA funds in conjunction with Empowerment Zone/Enterprise Community grants, another Clinton Administration initiative.

Brownfields pilot cities are national models for revitalizing urban contaminated properties. Developers will be sought to restore abandoned sites to new uses — creating jobs, accelerating economic growth, increasing property values, stimulating tax revenues, and revitalizing inner-city neighborhoods. The projects yield economic benefits and protect the environment by encouraging development on existing sites, rather than in undeveloped areas.

EPA Administrator Carol M. Browner said, "This program is a cornerstone of the Clinton Administration's efforts to help our nation's cities in ways that make economic and environmental sense. By returning abandoned industrial properties into thriving,productive centers of activity, we are protecting our health — the health of our families, the health of our communities, and the health of our economy."

City officials, community residents and organizations, financial institutions, developers and others in the participating cities will work together in each project to:

• assess contamination at abandoned inner-city sites,
• involve community residents in all aspects of assessment, cleanup and redevelopment including review of how the land will be used in the future,
• leverage other public and private funds to attract economic activity,
• resolve liability concerns, and
• serve as models for other communities seeking effective redevelopment approaches.

The pilots were selected from over 100 applicants after evaluation by a panel that included representatives from EPA headquarters and regional offices, as well as from the Department of Commerce's Economic Development Administration. The 15 new projects join pilots already in progress in Bridgeport, Conn.; Cleveland, Ohio; and Richmond, Va. Browner has committed to funding a total of 50 Brownfields pilot projects, with 25 to be funded this year. Applicant cities not selected in this round will be considered again in the next three rounds of applications. The application period for the second round of pilots has closed and applications are being evaluated by the selection panels. The third and fourth rounds of applications will be announced starting in fall 1995. The pilots are a major part of a four-part approach to addressing Brownfields Economic Redevelopment including issues relating to liability barriers, strengthening partnerships and job development and training.

For more information about the pilot projects, reporters should call Lauren Milone Mical, EPA Press Office, at 202-260-4358. Public inquiries should be directed to the RCRA/Superfund Hotline at 1-800-424-9346 or 703-412-9810.