[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 223 (Monday, November 21, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-28706]
[[Page Unknown]]
[Federal Register: November 21, 1994]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[FRL-5110-5]
Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability
Act (CERCLA) or Superfund, Section 104; Announcement of Competition for
Final Five Brownfield Economic Redevelopment Initiative Pilots
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency will begin accepting
proposals for Brownfield Economic Redevelopment Pilots beginning
December 1, 1994. The application period will close March 1, 1995, and
the Agency intends to competitively select five Pilots by June 1, 1995.
DATES: This action is effective as of December 1, 1994, and expires on
March 1, 1995. All proposals must be received and/or post marked by the
expiration date cited above.
ADDRESSES: Application booklets can be obtained by calling the
Superfund Hotline at 800-424-9346, or writing to: U.S. EPA--Brownfield
Application, Superfund Document Center 5201G, 401 M Street, SW.,
Washington, DC 20460.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: The Superfund Hotline, 800-424-9346.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Brownfield Economic Redevelopment
Initiative is founded on the belief that ``economic development and
environmental protection must go hand in hand,'' (Carol Browner,
Administrator, Environmental Protection Agency, Announcing the
Cleveland Brownfields Pilot on November 8, 1993). EPA's Brownfields
Initiative is an organized commitment to help communities revitalize
abandoned contaminated properties, and to thereby eliminate potential
health risks and restore economic vitality to areas where these
properties exist. Three national pilot projects already have been
awarded.
With as many as 100,000 sites potentially requiring evaluation
under federal or state Superfund programs, hundreds of local, state,
and tribal governments and their citizens inevitably will have to deal
with contaminated properties.
The ``polluter pays'' principle, fundamental to Superfund's success
in deterring the creation of new contaminated sites, has caused public
and private investors to shy away from buying and cleaning up land
which may be contaminated.
Fear of that liability drives investors toward undeveloped
``greenfields.'' The result can be a diminished supply of pristine land
and economic decline in industrial and urban centers. Both are
detrimental to communities.
EPA's Brownfields Pilots (to be funded at $200,000 each over two
years) will test redevelopment models, direct special efforts toward
removing regulatory barriers without sacrificing protectiveness, and
facilitate coordinated efforts at the federal, state, and local levels.
EPA will develop a coordinated federal strategy to help initiate a
significant national effort to clean up and redevelop brownfields.
The objectives of the initiative are: to build the capacity of
affected and interested parties to shape how contaminated sites are
cleaned up and productively reused; to stimulate a national search for
innovative ways to overcome the current obstacles to the reuse of
contaminated properties; and to coalesce federal, state, and municipal
efforts to examine new approaches to achieving cleanup and reuse; and
to explore the potential for combining an economic stimulus and a
speeded-up environmental cleanup to contribute to achieving
environmental justice.
Cities, counties, towns, states, and Native American tribes are all
eligible to apply.
Proposals will be evaluated on the following Criteria (a more
detailed and complete set of criteria will be included in the
application booklet):
Demonstrated commitment of public and private leadership
to brownfields redevelopment.
Plans for effective community involvement.
Clear delineation of how federal support will make a
difference.
Potential for national replication.
Government support and technical, legal, and political
capacity to complete goals.
Clearly outlined potential sources of cleanup funding.
Contributions to environmental justice goals.
Well-defined approach to environmental assessment.
Dated: November 15, 1994.
Timothy Fields, Jr.,
Deputy Assistant Administrator, Office of Solid Waste and Emergency
Response.
[FR Doc. 94-28706 Filed 11-18-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-M
