Brownfields Supplemental Assistance Fact Sheet

PILOT SNAPSHOT
	Date of Announcement: March 2000 Amount: $100,000
Target Area: Cape Charles/Northampton County, VA Profile: The Pilot will target key brownfields sites in Cape Charles and throughout Northampton County for assessment, cleanup, and redevelopment as part of the Sustainable Technology Park network.

BACKGROUND

EPA awarded Cape Charles/Northampton County supplemental assistance for its Brownfields Assessment Demonstration Pilot. Cape Charles is located at the southern tip of Virginia's Eastern Shore on a narrow strip of land between the Chesapeake Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. The area boasts rich farmlands, productive waters, vast wetlands, and miles of unspoiled coastline. However, 27 percent of the 13,000 people in the area live below the poverty line. Forty-seven percent of the population is of African-American heritage.

The President's Council on Sustainable Development selected Cape Charles as one of four sites for a national eco-industrial park demonstration project, the Cape Charles Sustainable Technology Park. The Sustainable Technology Park, recognized as the nation's first eco-industrial park and located in a federal Enterprise Community, is designed to demonstrate advanced facilities in resource efficiency and pollution prevention. A 155-acre portion of this eco-industrial park is a redevelopment area surrounding Cape Charles Harbor on the Chesapeake Bay. The site includes a former municipal dump, dockside, railyard, and the remains of abandoned industrial operations. Through assessments conducted under the original Assessment Pilot and through leveraged cleanup and redevelopment efforts from the public and private sectors, the first phase of the park is operating.

OBJECTIVES AND PLANNED ACTIVITIES

Cape Charles and Northampton County plan to continue efforts to return brownfields sites to productive use in Cape Charles and throughout the county. They will use the supplemental assistance Pilot for continued assessment and follow-up activities to support the cleanup and redevelopment of key brownfields sites at the center of the eco-industrial park, as well as to identify and assess additional sites in the Town of Exmore and throughout Northampton County for inclusion in the Sustainable Technology Park network.

To accomplish these objectives, the Pilot plans to:

• Investigate prospective brownfields sites for assessment, cleanup, and redevelopment in Exmore and other communities within Northampton County;

• Perform Phase I and, as needed, Phase II environmental assessments on targeted sites;

• Prepare feasibility studies that will address appropriate cleanup technologies and cost estimates for assessed sites;

• Prepare redevelopment plans for the targeted properties; and

• Involve the affected communities through community meetings and workshops in conjunction with assessment and cleanup and redevelopment planning.

The cooperative agreement for this Pilot has not yet been negotiated; therefore, activities described in this fact sheet are subject to change.

CONTACTS

Joint Industrial Development Authority
(757) 331-1998

Regional Brownfields Team
U.S. EPA - Region 3
(215) 814-312

Visit the EPA Region 3 Brownfields web site at: http://www.epa.gov/reg3hwmd/bfs/index.htm

For further information, including specific Pilot contacts, additional Pilot information, brownfields news and events, and publications and links, visit the EPA Brownfields web site at: http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/