| EPA's Brownfields Economic Redevelopment Initiative is designed to empower
States, communities, and other stakeholders in economic redevelopment to work
together in a timely manner to prevent, assess, safely clean up, and sustainably
reuse brownfields. A brownfield is a site, or portion thereof, that has actual
or perceived contamination and an active potential for redevelopment or reuse.
Between 1995 and 1996, EPA funded 76 National and Regional Brownfields
Assessment Pilots, at up to $200,000 each, to support creative two-year
explorations and demonstrations of brownfields solutions. EPA is funding more
than 27 Pilots in 1997. The Pilots are intended to provide EPA, States, Tribes,
municipalities, and communities with useful information and strategies as they
continue to seek new methods to promote a unified approach to site assessment,
environmental cleanup, and redevelopment. |
PILOT SNAPSHOT
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Date of Award:
February 1997
Amount: $200,000 |
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Profile: The pilot targets twelve Brownfields
sites, covering approximately 210 acres throughout the State.
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BACKGROUND
EPA Region 5 selected the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR)
for a Regional Brownfields Pilot. EPA Superfund Assessment funds ($200,000)
will be directed to brownfields activities. In addition, WDNR is contributing
$150,000 to this effort.
Many Wisconsin communities are burdened with tax delinquent or bankrupt
properties that have either real or perceived contamination. Developers are
hesitant to invest in these properties without knowing the extent of
environmental contamination, liability, and potential cleanup costs. Moreover,
local governments often lack the resources to determine if, and to what extent,
such properties are contaminated.
OBJECTIVES
WDNR's objective in this brownfields effort is to encourage redevelopment by
providing no-cost environmental Site Assessments to interested municipalities.
WDNR requested applications from municipalities and has chosen to assess 12
sites in 11 cities representing 210 acres as part of the project. WDNR will
provide a common approach and analysis for each site that will eventually form
the basis for decisions regarding community health issues, property
marketability, and long-term environmental liability implications. It is
anticipated that upon completion of the assessments conducted at each of the 12
sites. Communities will be able to focus their efforts toward cleanup and
redevelopment.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND ACTIVITIES
The Pilot is:
- Conducting Phase I and II Site Assessments, including installing monitoring
wells and sampling groundwater, surface water, soil, and sediment, as well as
examining past records and historic use of targeted properties; and
- Based on the Site Assessment results, determining the need for additional
environmental investigation or cleanup.
CONTACTS
Darsi Foss
Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR)
(608) 267-6713
Joe Dufficy
U.S. EPA - Region 5
(312) 886-1960
dufficy.joe@epamail.epa.gov
Visit the EPA Brownfields Website at:
http://www.epa.gov/brownfields
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