“The Portfields Initiative represents a multi-agency 

Federal effort to partner with local communities to 

help revitalize their ports and improve our nation’s 

marine transportation system while restoring and 

protecting our coastal resources.” 

—NOAAAdministrator Vice Admiral Conrad Lautenbacher, Jr., 

U.S. Navy (Ret.) 

Portfields 

Revitalizing Port Communities 
What is Portfields? 

• Portfields is a federal interagency partnership addressing brownfields in and around port 

communities, with an emphasis on the development of environmentally sound port 

facilities. 

• The Ports of Bellingham, Washington, New Bedford,Massachusetts, and Tampa,Florida 

are designated as Portfields Demonstration Pilot Ports. 

• Portfields, through increased federal, state, and local coordination, assists the Pilot Ports 

in leveraging resources to revitalize waterfront areas, improve marine transportation, and 

protect and restore critical habitat. 

Why Portfields? 

• Ninety-five percent of U.S. foreign trade travels through our nation’s ports, contributing 

$780 billion to the economy and employing 16 million people. 

• Maritime trade is expected to double in the next 20 years. 

• Many underutilized brownfields are located in and around our nation’s port communities. 

• Brownfields redevelopment is a critical solution to the many challenges facing ports, and 

can be a catalyst for enhancing port capacity and infrastructure, and waterfront and 

community revitalization. 

• There is a need for better coordination among federal,state, and local agencies to leverage 

resources and support port revitalization. 

What are the goals of Portfields? 

• Expedite the redevelopment of port communities in a manner that enhances port 

infrastructure, protects human health, protects and restores critical habitat, ensures 

homeland security, and provides economic opportunity and a better quality of life for 

community residents. 

• Focus and leverage the combined resources of federal, state, local, and private partners to 

support redevelopment and revitalization efforts. 

• Actively transfer best practices and lessons learned to other port communities. 

Who are the Portfields Federal Partners? 

National Oceanic and AtmosphericAdministration 

Environmental Protection Agency 

Economic Development Administration 

Army Corps of Engineers 

Maritime Administration 

Department of Housing and Urban Development 

Department of the Interior 

Department of Labor 

Portfields: Working Together to Revitalize Port Communities 1 
Why Revitalize Port Communities? 

To sustain and enhance our nation’s economy... 

America’s coasts and waterways play a vital role in our nation’s economy and 

high quality of life. The benefits that ports bring to the communities they serve 

extend far beyond the boundaries of the waterfront. Our ports serve as gateways 

to domestic and international trade, connecting the U.S. to the global 

marketplace. According to the American Association of Port Authorities, 95 

percent of U.S. foreign trade travels through the nation’s ports, contributing $780 

billion annually to the national economy and employing 16 million people. 

To protect human health and the environment... 

Our coastal areas and associated waterways represent some of the nation’s most 

valuable environmental resources, providing habitat for almost one-half of the 

nation’s protected, threatened, and endangered species. The location of ports 

within these rich and sensitive environments generates a variety of environmental 

and human health challenges, such as contaminated sediments, habitat 

degradation, storm water runoff, air quality, oil spills, and potential introductions 

of non-native species. Environmental quality is essential for sustaining coastal 

and marine ecosystems, commercial and recreational fisheries, and the economic 

vitality of port communities. 

To promote smart growth and clean up urban shorelines... 

As undeveloped land in ports becomes increasingly scarce, ports must look 

toward revitalizing abandoned or underutilized properties. Approximately 10 to 

15 percent of the estimated 500,000 brownfields nationwide are located along 

waterways and within coastal communities. Cleaning up and redeveloping these 

brownfields can put land back into productive use, enhance the economy, and 

create jobs. The benefits of smart growth planning and brownfields revitalization 

include air quality improvements, as well as protection of coastal habitat, 

watersheds, and greenspace. 

To ensure public access... 

With nearly one-half of the country’s population living near a coast, communities 

benefit from having access to waterfront areas for recreation and leisure activities. 

Redeveloping urban waterfronts improves the quality of life for citizens, and is an 

important strategy for community revitalization. 

2
To provide for increased maritime trade... 

The capacity of many ports is strained by increased maritime trade and the 

increasing size of cargo and cruise vessels. Maritime trade is expected to double 

over the next 20 years. Ports must increase their capacity, deepen and maintain 

channels, and enhance infrastructure to allow for the efficient movement of goods 

from the water to highway, air, and rail. 

To enhance homeland security... 

As gateways to the global marketplace, port communities play a key role in 

homeland security. Ensuring the security of cargo, including more than seven 

million containers moving through U.S. ports each year, is a considerable 

challenge borne by ports. Ports also support the mobilization, deployment, and 

supply of the U.S. military forces. 

Portfields: Working Together to Revitalize Port Communities 3 
Working Together 

to Revitalize 

Port Communities 

Portfields is a federal interagency partnership addressing 

brownfields in and around port communities, with an 

emphasis on the development of environmentally sound 

port facilities. Through the Brownfields Federal Partnership, 

the Department of Commerce’s National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is leading Portfields. 

Seven other federal agencies—the Environmental 

Protection Agency (EPA), the Department of Commerce’s 

Economic Development Administration (EDA), the U.S. 

Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), the Department of 

Transportation’s Maritime Administration (MARAD), the 

Department of Labor, the Department of the Interior (DOI), 

and the Department of Housing and Urban Development 

(HUD)—are committed to working together on Portfields. 

Other vital stakeholders participating in Portfields include 

port authorities, local governments, state governments, 

private businesses, local communities, and non-profit 

organizations. 

4
The goals of Portfields are to: 

• Expedite the redevelopment of port communities in a 

manner that enhances port infrastructure, protects 

human health, protects and restores critical habitat, 

ensures homeland security, and provides economy 

opportunity and a better quality of life for community 

residents. 

• Focus and leverage the combined resources of federal, 

state, local, and private partners to support 

redevelopment and revitalization efforts. 

• Actively transfer best practices and lessons learned to 

other port communities. 

Portfields builds upon the successes of brownfields 

cleanup and redevelopment efforts over the past 

decade. Port communities face a number of unique 

challenges that require strong partnerships at all levels 

of government and the private sector. Portfields brings 

together federal, state, and local agencies committed to 

working together to redevelop ports, both 

environmentally and economically. By applying a 

collaborative, integrated approach, Portfields aims to 

coordinate and leverage resources, provide more 

efficient delivery of services, and develop creative 

solutions to support port revitalization. 

The Ports of Bellingham, Washington, Tampa, Florida, 

and New Bedford, Massachusetts are designated as 

Portfields Demonstration Pilot Ports. The Pilot Ports 

were selected due to their commitment to 

implementing innovative approaches to waterfront 

planning and revitalization, the unique set of needs 

they represent, and the overall value that federal 

assistance will add to the ports’ successful 

redevelopment. Each of the Pilot Ports identified high 

priority projects to focus on through the Portfields 

initiative. The Portfields partners are providing 

targeted resources to enhance local efforts, and support 

the planning and implementation of projects to 

revitalize waterfront areas, improve marine 

transportation, and protect and restore critical habitat. 

Portfields is demonstrating this cooperative and 

integrated approach at the three Pilot Ports, and will 

then transfer these tools, best practices, and lessons 

learned to other port communities. 

EPA’s Brownfields Program and Portfields 

EPA’s Brownfields Program empowers states, 

communities, and other stakeholders in economic 

redevelopment to w ork together to assess, safely clean 

up, and sustainably reuse brownfields. Brownfields 

grants to local gover nments are the foundation of the 

program and support community-based re vitalization 

efforts. Of the more than 1,000 brownfields assessment, 

cleanup, revolving loan fund, and job training grants 

awarded by EPA, more than 140 communities include 

waterfront revitalization as a redevelopment goal. These 

EPA-assisted port communities have leveraged more 

than 13,000 cleanup- and redevelopment-related jobs 

and nearly $3 billion in clean up and redevelopment 

funding. EPA and the other Por tfields partners will work 

closely with the three Pilot Ports to le verage resources 

to revitalize idle and under used properties, fur ther 

leverage jobs and funding, and redevelop precious 

waterfront areas. 

http://www.epa.gov/brownfields 

NOAA Coastal Brownfields and Portfields 

NOAA f acilitates the conservation and management of 

the nation’s coastal and marine resources. NOAA’s 

brownfields-related activities focus on the 

redevelopment of coastal brownfields proper ties and 

the protection and restoration of coastal resources. 

These activities are primarily carr ied out by the Coastal 

Zone Management Program, the Office of Response 

and Restoration, and the Office of Education and 

Sustainable Development. NOAA provides technical 

assistance on cost effective cleanup, r isk assessment 

and restoration solutions, training, and support to states 

and communities to strengthen local and regional 

capabilities to restore or redevelop contaminated 

proper ties. NOAA also provides funding to coastal 

states for brownfields redevelopment. 

http://www.brownfields.noaa.gov 

Portfields: Working Together to Revitalize Port Communities 5 
T

Portfields

Revitalizing Port Communities

Port of Bellingham

6

Washington

http://www.waterfrontfutures.org http://www.portofbellingham.com

he Port of Bellingham is located on the northern edge of

Puget Sound between Seattle, Washington, and Vancouver,

British Columbia. More than 1,500 acres comprise the Port,

including waterfront, commercial, and industrial areas, as

well as commercial airports. More than 200 companies

operate on port properties—major industries include

marinas, industrial manufacturing, ship building and repair,

break bulk cargo, seafood processing, cold storage, and

passenger ferries.

The Port of Bellingham and the community are engaged in a

coordinated economic revitalization and environmental

restoration effort within Bellingham Bay. Through Portfields,

the Port will build on its existing planning efforts to address

significant environmental contamination and revitalize idle

and abandoned waterfront properties. The Port will use

innovative ideas and resources from the participating

federal agencies to bolster its efforts in implementing a

comprehensive redevelopment strategy.
Portfields Projects

• Central Waterfront: The Port of Bellingham is

working towards an agreement to acquire 137 acres

of waterfront property that previously operated as a

pulp and paper mill. Through the Waterfront Futures

Group, the Port and the community are creating a new

vision for their central waterfront, with a goal of

improving public access to the waterfront, enhancing

the natural environment, and revitalizing the economy.

The acquisition of this property will give the

community the opportunity to shape the future of the

waterfront. Revitalization activities will include

assessing and cleaning up contaminated properties,

addressing sediment contamination in Bellingham

Bay, and preparing the site for reuse in an

environmentally sustainable way. The cleanup and

monitoring of contaminated properties is also an

opportunity to investigate streamlined approaches to

permit review and approval.

• Squalicum Creek: Squalicum Creek is an important

salmon-bearing creek that empties into a federal

navigation channel. The Port is interested in improving

the navigation channel, redeveloping the surrounding

property, restoring the mouth of Squalicum Creek, and

possibly creating a new waterfront park. This will

expand local industry through improved cargo

facilities, restore estuarine functions, support recovery

of the endangered salmon, and provide waterfront

access to local residents.

• Coast Guard Base Expansion: The Port is working

with the U.S. Coast Guard to support the Guard’s need

to expand local security operations, located near the

U.S.-Canadian border. The Port’s efforts will facilitate

enhanced border patrols and homeland security.

• Fusion Institute: The Port is working with federal,

state, and local partners, and Western Washington

University to form the Fusion Institute, that will

demonstrate Portfields concepts of brownfields

cleanup and reuse and economic revitalization. The

Institute will function as a regional center for

sustainable development, consultation, education,

research, and stewardship. The Institute would be built

on the Bellingham waterfront.

The Port of Bellingham is “hoping new

attention from federal agencies will help

bring new ideas and resources into our

effort to implement a comprehensive

redevelopment strategy.”

—Mike Stoner, Director of Environmental Programs

Port of Bellingham, Washington

Portfields: Working Together to Revitalize Port Communities 7

Successes:

Planning the Squalicum Creek Restoration

Project

Local industry, the State of Washington, and the

Portfields partners provided $25,000 for the conceptual

design of the Squalicum Creek restoration and

redevelopment project.

Envisioning the New Fusion Institute

NOAA provided $30,000 for a feasibility analysis for the

Fusion Institute. NOAA and the Port of Bellingham are

creating a team comprised of Portfields partners, tribes,

state agencies, non-government organizations, the

Washington State Governor’s Panel on Sustainability,

and local universities, to develop the conceptual vision

of the new Fusion Institute.

Central Waterfront Revitalization

The Waterfront Futures Group, sponsored by the Port of

Bellingham, completed a $500,000 project to create a

new vision and multi-year action plan for revitalizing the

city’s waterfront. The plan will help the community

respond to significant losses in heavy industry and

increasing demand for commercial and recreational

opportunities.
T

Portfields

Revitalizing Port Communities

Port of New Bedford

8

Massachusetts

he Port of New Bedford is located on Buzzards Bay in

southeastern Massachusetts. The city has a rich maritime

heritage, and served as the location for Herman Melville’s

famous novel, Moby Dick. The city’s strong seafaring legacy

continues today. Home to one of the largest active fishing

fleets on the east coast, the Port of New Bedford also

provides passenger ferry service and cruise ship docks, and

is a center for recreational boating on Buzzards Bay. The Port

of New Bedford is a state Designated Port Area, which

protects the industrial uses in the lower harbor. New Bedford

was also designated a Brownfields Showcase Community,

serving as a national model that demonstrates the benefits of

focused, coordinated attention on brownfields.

Through Portfields, New Bedford seeks to improve the overall

health of the harbor environment and the public’s ability to

use the resource, while facilitating economic revitalization.

New Bedford and the Town of Fairhaven will focus on highpriority projects identified in the New Bedford/Fairhaven

Harbor Plan.
Portfields Projects

• Navigational Dredging: New Bedford/Fairhaven

Harbor includes one of the most complex Superfund

sites in the country. Due to high levels of

polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) contamination in the

harbor, navigational dredging has not occurred in 30

years. Channels are shoaled to levels above authorized

depths, limiting the size of ships and volume of cargo

that enters the harbor, negatively impacting the local

economy. New Bedford will apply a simplified

procedure mechanism known as the state enhanced

remedy under the Superfund cleanup program, to

streamline the dredging process by linking cleanup of

a Superfund site to navigational dredging.

• Waterfront Brownfields Cleanup and Reuse: Hicks

Logan is a 130-acre waterfront neighborhood that

includes many brownfields. New Bedford seeks to

revitalize Hicks Logan into a mixed-use area that will

create needed housing and job opportunities as well

as open space, waterfront access, and recreational

boating. Through a collaborative planning process and

the application of smart growth principles, New

Bedford plans to develop a 10-year revitalization plan

for Hicks Logan.

• Public Access to the Water: The Reliable Truss

property, a former lumberyard and truss manufacturing

center, contains lead-contaminated soil. The city’s plan

includes cleaning up contamination, restoring habitat,

and turning the property into a waterfront park. The

new park will provide waterfront access to a nearby

neighborhood that has been without it for 30 years.

New Bedford also plans to improve the Gifford Street

and Pease Street boat ramps and restore habitat at

Palmers Cove.

Successes:

Cleanup of Reliable Truss/River End Park

The City of New Bedford received a $200,000

Brownfields Cleanup Grant from EPA in June 2004 to

remove lead contaminated soil at the Reliable Truss

property. The city is also seeking state funds earmarked

for recreational projects in New Bedford to develop

design plans for the park, and intends to seek New

Bedford Harbor National Resource Damage

Assessment settlement funds to restore filled tidelands.

Planning Hicks Logan Revitalization

NOAA provided $20,000 to the New Bedford Economic

Development Council (NBEDC) to assist in the creation

of a 10-year revitalization plan for the waterfront Hicks

Logan neighborhood. The City of New Bedford, NOAA,

and NBEDC are working closely with the Economic

Development Administration to secure technical

assistance and Economic Adjustment Act funds. The

partners are also working to secure EPA Brownfields

and Smart Growth funding.

Navigational Dredging

The City of New Bedford received $5 million from the

Commonwealth of Massachusetts for the construction

of a confined aquatic disposal (CAD) site—when

dredged material is deposited in a trench and then

capped—and navigational dredging. A team that will

implement dredging under the state enhanced remedy

(SER) includes New Bedford and the Town of

Fairhaven, Massachusetts Department of

Environmental Protection, Massachusetts Division of

Marine Fisheries, Massachusetts Coastal Zone

Management, EPA, USACE, and NOAA.

“National designations such as

Portfields...prove that we are developing

innovative practices that not only allow us

to complete our projects here at home but

become models nationwide.”

—Mayor Frederick M. Kalisz, Jr.,

New Bedford, Massachusetts

March 29, 2004 State of the City Address

Portfields: Working Together to Revitalize Port Communities 9

http://www.ci.new-bedford.ma.us/ECONOMIC/HDC/index.htm
Located on Florida’s Gulf Coast, Tampa is the gateway for

nearly half of all seaborne commerce in the state. Lying at

the northeast corner of Tampa Bay, an estuary of national

significance, the Port of Tampa strives to ensure that its

large-scale diversified enterprises operate safely and

responsibly within this fragile ecosystem. As one of the

largest tonnage ports in the U.S. and the largest in Florida,

the Port of Tampa annually handles 3,700 vessels and up to

50 million tons of cargo with phosphate, petroleum, and coal

as the top three commodities. The Port accounts for

108,000 jobs and $13 billion in spending with more than

11,000 trucks entering and exiting the Port daily. The Port is

also a major cruise ship homeport, with more than 830,000

passengers expected to arrive and depart in 2004.

The Tampa Port Authority controls 2,500 acres of portowned lands and has the responsibility for managing the

sovereign submerged lands of Tampa Bay within

Hillsborough County, including some of the most important

migratory bird nesting islands in the state. In addition, the

American Association of Port Authorities has recognized the

Port for excellence in environmental mitigation

improvements. Tampa seeks the opportunity to work with

federal agencies and other partners to facilitate

environmentally responsible redevelopment and to improve

economic conditions in and around the Port.

Portfields

Revitalizing Port Communities

Port of Tampa

10

Florida

http://www.tampaport.com
Portfields Projects

• Priority Brownfields Redevelopment: Tampa will

facilitate environmentally responsible redevelopment

and revitalization of the Port’s three State of Floridadesignated brownfields properties and continue to

assess additional port properties within the city’s

designated brownfields area.

• Habitat Protection and Enhancement: The Port

seeks to implement habitat protection and

enhancement, including shorebird habitat protection

and fish habitat creation, on several dredge spoil islands

adjacent to the main channel.

• Bulkhead and Wharf Improvement: Tampa seeks to

(1) improve existing properties to accommodate

expanded container and other cargo trade; (2) repair

and improve existing petroleum transfer operations and

expand the Port’s petroleum business; (3) improve and

expand container facilities infrastructure; and (4)

enhance existing deepwater berth access.

• Innovative Stormwater Treatment: The Port will

serve as a national model for innovative stormwater

management by designing and building a network of

drainage ditches, retention ponds, and filtration

wetlands that will greatly improve water quality at the

Port.

• Community and Workforce Development: Tampa

will work with local community colleges and maritime

industries to develop a technical training program to

prepare workers for positions in traditional industries,

such as ship repair, environmentally sound land

maintenance, and seaport construction.

Successes:

Innovative Stormwater Management

NOAA provided $45,000 to the Port of Tampa for

planning and design of stormwater improvements at the

Port. This project will involve development of a

Geographic Information System, which will collect and

convert property boundary and topography data layers.

This will help the Port identify properties best suited for

installation of stormwater management improvements.

Portfields: Working Together to Revitalize Port Communities 11

“Portfields gives us a greater opportunity

to further revitalize our Port in an

environmentally and economically

responsible manner working with federal

partners and other stakeholders.”

—Dave Parsché, Environmental Director, Tampa Port Authority
A

Looking Ahead

12

pplying a collaborative, results-oriented approach through

increased federal, state, and local coordination, Portfields will focus

on issues specific to brownfields restoration and community

revitalization in and around our nation’s ports. Portfields, specifically

through on-the-ground work in the three Pilot Ports, will serve as a

platform for creative solutions, productive partnerships, and

innovation. The scope of Portfields activities will involve restoring all

environmentally sound uses of port and harbor areas that benefit

the economic, ecological, social, and security conditions of the port

community.

The Portfields partners will work in conjunction with the three Pilot

Ports to leverage both public and private investment in the port

communities’ priority needs. Learning from both the successes and

hurdles encountered over the next year, the Portfields partners will

actively transfer best practices and lessons learned to other port

communities. As progress is continually made, new tools and

techniques will be made available through the Portfields Web site at

http://www.brownfields.noaa.gov.
Federal Agency Contacts

Environmental Protection Agency

Patricia Overmeyer

Office of Brownfields Cleanup and Redevelopment

(202) 566-2774

overmeyer.patricia@epa.gov

http://www.epa.gov/brownfields

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

David Holst

Office of Response and Restoration

(301) 713-2989, x161

David.Holst@noaa.gov

http://brownfields.noaa.gov/htmls/portfields/portfields.html

Port Contacts

Port of Bellingham

NOAA Contact

Mary Baker

NOAA/National Ocean Service

(206) 526-6315

Mary.Baker@noaa.gov

Port Contact

Mike Stoner

Port of Bellingham

(360) 676-2500

mikes@portofbellingham.com

Port of New Bedford

NOAA Contact

Robert Neely

NOAA/National Ocean Service

(508) 979-1707

Robert.Neely@noaa.gov

Port Contact

John Simpson

New Bedford Harbor Development

Commission

(508) 961-3000

jsimpson@www.new-bedford.ma.us

Port of Tampa

NOAA Contact

Kenneth Walker

NOAA/National Ocean Service

(301) 713-3155 x157

Kenneth.Walker@noaa.gov

Port Contact

Robert Musser

Tampa Port Authority

(813) 905-5032

RMusser@tampaport.com

Portfields

Revitalizing Port Communities
United States Solid Waste EPA 560-R-04-001

Environmental Protection and Emergency August 2004

Agency Response (5105-T) www.epa.gov/brownfields/