Brownfields Assessment Pilot Fact Sheet

Camden, NJ

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

Date of Award: September 1996

Amount: $200,000

Site Profile: The Pilot targets development of two industrial parks and creation of a public non-profit corporation to clean up the sites.

BACKGROUND

EPA Region 2 selected the City of Camden, New Jersey for a Regional Brownfields Pilot. Camden (population 87,500) is the fifth largest city in New Jersey and is an economically distressed area. It has a predominantly minority population, a high unemployment rate (36 percent), and a one in three poverty rate. Manufacturing and related land use 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. There is potential contamination of soil and groundwater. A lack of information about site conditions and potential liabilities at abandoned facilities have inhibited reinvestment, resulting in a decreased tax base, increased blight, and decreased community morale and diminished employment opportunities.

OBJECTIVES

The objective of Camden’s brownfields program is to develop an effective strategy for assessment, 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 and reuse potential; 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.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND ACTIVITIES

The Pilot is:

Completing an inventory of its brownfields using a GIS system;

Establishing partnerships with local, State, and Federal agencies;

Developing a Brownfields Advisory Committee;

Considering site reuse options; and

Developing community participation strategies and fostering coordination among the community, developers, the State, and other interested parties.

CONTACTS:

Edward Williams
Office of the Mayor
Camden, N.J.
(609) 757-7214

Larry D’Andrea
U.S. EPA - Region 2
(212) 637-4314
dandrea.larry@epamail.epa.gov

Visit the EPA Brownfields web site at: http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/

United States
Environmental
Protection Agency
Washington, D.C. 20460

Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response (5101)

EPA 500-F-97-047
May 1997

Outreach and Special Projects Staff (5101)

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