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Brownfields Showcase Communities
Note: EPA no longer updates this information, but it may be useful as a reference or resource.
[Federal Register: March 16, 2000 (Volume 65, Number 52)]
[Notices]
[Page 14273-14275]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr16mr00-55]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[FRL-6560-7]
Brownfields Showcase Communities
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice; solicitation of statements of interest from communities
interested in being designated as Brownfields Showcase Communities.
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SUMMARY: Programs within the following Federal agencies are
participating in the selection of Brownfields Showcase Communities:
Department of Agriculture, Department of Commerce, Department of
Defense, Department of Education, Department of Energy, Department of
Health and Human Services, Department of Housing and Urban Development,
Department of the Interior, Department of Justice, Department of Labor,
Department of Transportation, Department of the Treasury, Department of
Veterans Affairs, Appalachian Regional Commission, Federal Housing
Finance Board, General Services Administration, and Small Business
Administration.
DATES: Submit Statements of Interest on or before April 17, 2000. All
proposals must be postmarked or sent to EPA via registered or tracked
mail by the deadline cited above.
ADDRESSES: Address Statements of Interest to Gayle Rice or Sven-Erik
Kaiser, U.S. EPA (5105), 401 M Street, SW, Washington, DC 20460.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Gayle Rice, 202-260-8431 or Sven-Erik
Kaiser, 202-260-5138. Additional information, if any, will be updated
on the Internet Worldwide Web at the
[[Page 14274]]
Universal Resource Location address of ``http://www.epa.gov/
brownfields.'' Persons lacking Internet access can communicate with the
contact persons listed above.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
Brownfields are abandoned, idled or underused industrial and
commercial properties where expansion or redevelopment is complicated
by real or perceived contamination. The Brownfields Initiative was
launched to empower States, communities, Tribes, and other stakeholders
in economic redevelopment to work together to prevent, assess, clean
up, and sustainably reuse brownfields. Communities have asked for more
interaction among all levels of government, the private sector, and
non-governmental organizations. In response, Federal agencies have
joined together to strengthen and improve their collaborative efforts
to clean up and reuse contaminated property.
A partnership of Federal agencies with interests in brownfields
redevelopment has been formed to offer special technical, financial and
other assistance to selected communities. These communities are called
Brownfields Showcases Communities and are models demonstrating the
benefits of focused attention on brownfields. To date, the Federal
partners have designated 16 Brownfields Showcase Communities. The
Federal partners plan to designate ten additional Brownfields Showcase
Communities, distributed across the country, varying by size, resources
and community background.
Goals
The goals of the Brownfields Showcase Communities project are to:
Promote environmental protection, restoration to the land,
air and water, economic redevelopment, job creation, community
revitalization, greenspace development, energy efficiency and public
health protection, through the assessment, cleanup, and sustainable
reuse of brownfields;
Link Federal, State, tribal, and local public, private and
non-governmental action supporting community efforts to restore and
reuse brownfields; and
Develop national models demonstrating the positive results
of public, private and non-governmental collaboration in addressing
brownfields challenges.
The Federal partners intend to select a broad array of Showcase
Communities that will serve as models for other communities across the
nation. The Federal partners seek proposals that link brownfields
activities with other community empowerment, sustainable development
and community livability efforts. Special consideration will be given
to Federal Empowerment Zones and Enterprise Communities (EZ/ECs),
communities with populations of under 100,000, Federally recognized
Indian tribes and Base Realignment and Closure communities seeking
early transfer of property. The Federal partners will also look for
opportunities to link brownfields cleanup with related air and water
quality efforts.
Benefits
A community will receive the following benefits from being
designated as a Brownfields Showcase Community:
National visibility for a community's brownfields efforts;
Coordinated delivery of technical and financial support
from participating Federal agencies. Participating agencies and
programs will vary for each Showcase Community depending upon the
particular Showcase's needs and plans. For example, an urban Showcase
Community might be served by different programs and resources than a
rural community;
Financial assistance, grants and cooperative agreements
from participating agency programs subject to the requirements of those
programs and the availability of funds; and
Staff support in the form of a Federal employee assigned
to each Showcase Community to assist with coordination and
implementation activities.
Structure of the Statement of Interest
To be considered for selection as a Brownfields Showcase Community,
interested communities should submit a Statement of Interest that
includes the following information:
Project title;
Location: city, county, and state or reservation,
tribally-owned lands, etc., of the Showcase area;
Project contact, organization, phone, fax and e-mail
address;
Name and contact information of the representative of the
appropriate governmental subdivision (Mayor, County Executive, Tribal
President) if different from the project director;
Date submitted: the date when the proposal is postmarked
or sent to EPA via registered or tracked mail;
Project Summary: explain how designation as a Brownfields
Showcase Community will help the community meet its objectives and the
goals of the Brownfields Showcase Community project; and
Related Designations: identify whether the applicant or
the area for the proposed Showcase Community project is designated as a
Federal or State Brownfields pilot, Federal or State Empowerment Zone,
Enterprise Community, Economic Development Administration designated
Economic Development District or other special economic area.
Statements of Interest are limited to two pages. Supplemental
materials such as appendices, maps, records, etc., will not be
considered during the initial screening phase of the selection process.
All communities, or regional groupings of communities, are eligible for
consideration as a Brownfields Showcase Community. Previous designation
as an EPA brownfields pilot is not a requirement for consideration, nor
are such communities precluded from applying. Statements of Interest
will be accepted from any party, but must be submitted in partnership
with a governmental entity to be eligible for consideration.
Selection Process
Selection of the Brownfields Showcase Communities will be done in
two phases. During Phase I, interested communities are invited to
submit two-page Statements of Interest which describe how the
community's designation as a Showcase Community will advance the goals
of the Showcase Communities project as described above. For example:
A community with well-defined brownfields problems that
can be addressed effectively through environmental cleanup and
sustainable reuse is more likely to be considered as a candidate
community than a community that suspects that there are brownfields
problems in their jurisdiction that may require attention.
A community with an established network of working
relationships among Federal, State, and local governments, and other
public and private stakeholders is more likely to be considered as a
candidate community than a community which is just beginning to create
these types of relationships;
A community that has begun preliminary work such as
cleanup and redevelopment planning, securing private investors, and
exploring public financial opportunities is more likely to be
considered as a candidate community than a community that has just
started to address its brownfields issues. Within two years after
designation, a Brownfields Showcase
[[Page 14275]]
Community should be able to demonstrate success in dealing with cleanup
and reuse issues.
The Showcase Communities Selection Board, which represents the
participating Federal agencies, will evaluate the Statements of
Interest. It will screen the applications to create a list of about 25
candidate communities which will then be invited to move into Phase II
of the selection process.
During Phase II, the candidate communities will be invited to
submit more detailed proposals which more fully describe their
brownfields efforts. At that stage, communities will be encouraged to
submit supporting materials which demonstrate the breadth of support
for their application within the community. The Showcase Communities
Selection Board will then evaluate and select the ten Brownfields
Showcase Communities, using the detailed criteria listed below.
1. BROWNFIELDS POTENTIAL: Describe the brownfields that exist, or
are perceived to exist, in the community. Discuss the potential for
environmental restoration and the type of reuse anticipated in the
near-term.
2. COMMUNITY NEED: Describe how this is an area with social and
economic conditions that would benefit from Federal assistance for
brownfields cleanup and redevelopment.
3. LOCAL COMMITMENT: Describe the degree of local commitment to
brownfields cleanup and redevelopment including existing community
efforts and investment of community resources.
4. FEDERAL, STATE, AND LOCAL PARTNERSHIPS: Describe the Federal,
State, and local agencies and organizations participating in the
community's brownfields activities, including other programs and funds
available for brownfields activities.
5. STRATEGIC PLANNING: Describe the community's brownfields plan
and how the brownfields plan is linked to broader strategies of
economic redevelopment, job creation, increased environmental
protection including improved air and water quality, green development,
livability and sustainability.
6. MANAGEMENT CAPABILITY: Describe prior experience or knowledge in
managing similar redevelopment, cleanup, and community participation
activities. Also describe what specific planning and programmatic
requirements have been met for Federal financing programs anticipated
for use.
7. ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE: Describe the extent to which low-income,
minority, and other disadvantaged communities will participate in the
development of community brownfields redevelopment activities,
including this application and the proposed Showcase Community project.
8. NATIONAL REPLICABILITY: Describe how the community will serve as
a model for other similarly situated communities in addressing
brownfields redevelopment.
Communities that are invited to submit Phase II proposals should
respond directly to these criteria in their proposals. Further
application requirements and guidelines will be provided to the
candidate communities to assist them in preparing their application.
Note that in Phase I (the initial Statement of Interest) of the
selection process, interested communities should consider the detailed
criteria, but do not have to respond to each criterion.
Dated: March 3, 2000.
Timothy Fields, Jr.,
Assistant Administrator, Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response.
[FR Doc. 00-6391 Filed 3-15-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P