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Camden, New Jersey

OVERVIEW

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) selected the City of Camden, NJ as a Regional Assessment Demonstration Pilot in September 1996.

The City of Camden (population 87,500) is the fifth largest city in New Jersey. The City is considered an economically depressed area, having a predominantly minority population, a high unemployment rate (36 percent), and a one in three poverty rate. Manufacturing and related land uses account for one third of Camden's nine square miles, and brownfields constitute more than half of all industrial sites in the City. Abandoned industrial sites contain chemicals, transformers, and other contaminants that pose significant threats to human health. Contamination of soil and groundwater is suspected at many of these sites. A lack of information about site conditions and potential liabilities at abandoned facilities has stifled reinvestment, resulting in a decreased tax base, increased blight, depressed community morale, and diminished employment opportunities.

OBJECTIVES

The goal of Camden's Brownfields Program is to develop an effective strategy for assessments, cleanup, and reuse of Camden's brownfields. The City proposes a comprehensive approach that will integrate technical, community, government, and financial resources to:

1) Establish effective government, private, and community partnerships for environmental assessment and planning;
2) Provide "one-stop shopping" for community groups and developers on site conditions, reuse
potentials, and impacts for sites throughout the city;
3) Coordinate and make readily available preliminary assessments and site investigation reports for Camden's brownfields;
4) Monitor the completion of all site assessments; and
5) Prioritize Camden's brownfields for redevelopment.

ACTIVITIES

The EPA grant will be used in conjunction with other funding sources to advance the goals and objectives of the project. Activities planned as part of this pilot project include:

ACCOMPLISHMENTS

The city has established a Brownfields Site Reuse Committee in charge of prioritizing sites for redevelopment. In addition, a citywide citizen group committee has been established to perform a natural resources inventory at the water's edge. The group is currently concentrating its efforts to develop a greenway along the riverfront. This greenway would be developed in conjunction with the State of New Jersey Green Acres program. Green Acres has already contributed $2 million towards a recreational facility which is being jointly developed by the City of Camden and Rutgers University.

In August, 1998, EPA awarded a $200,000 grant under the brownfields Job Training and Development Pilot Program to the New Jersey Youth Corps. The grant will be used to teach 30 young people (15 from Camden) basic environmental cleanup skills related to brownfields sites.

Camden Sites Index

 

Brownfields Redevelopment through partnerships: Industry, Business, Government, Community

 

Regional Brownfields Hotline (800) 346-5009

Pilots in Region 2 | Pilot Assessments | National Web Site |Grant Application  |Contacts | Resource Directory | Quarterly Reports

For information, contact: brownfields.r2@epa.gov

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