Removing the Stigma of

Contamination and Repairing

Blighted Areas 

No Cleanup Required

Throughout the country, brownfields properties are plagued with the 

A new home built on a former brownfield 

in the Twin Cities area, Minnesota. 

stigma of environmental contamination. Many of these properties are located in low-income urban areas with existing infrastructure, a desperate 

need for economic stimulation, and community support for their redevelopment. However, they remain abandoned or idle because of perceived contamination left over from centuries of manufacturing and industry that became obsolete or moved elsewhere. Often, the communities surrounding 

these brownfields suffer from high unemployment and poorly performing 

local economies. Returning these properties to productive use is a key goal 

of EPA's Brownfields Assessment Pilot program. Approximately one-third 

of brownfields assessed to date under the Pilot program are found to have 

no significant contamination or low enough levels that no cleanup is required. Once the stigma of contamination is removed, these sites typically 

become irresistible to purchasers and developers, who quickly return them 

to use. Examples of these transformations follow below. 

Complementing the city's goal of increasing middle-income housing, the 

Galveston, Texas Assessment Pilot is facilitating redevelopment of the 73rd 

and N 1⁄2 property into single-family middle-income homes, a scarce 

commodity on this Gulf of Mexico island with little available land for 

redevelopment. While the Galveston Housing Finance Corporation (GHFC) 

was interested in purchasing and redeveloping the 6.58-acre site, it had 

been concerned about environmental contamination due to past light 

agricultural use and an unknown fill material used to raise the site to the 

level of the flood plain (an expensive investment that enhanced the site's 

attractiveness). To facilitate purchase and redevelopment of the site, the 

Galveston Pilot conducted an assessment that revealed no cleanup was 

necessary. GHFC subsequently purchased the property and began 

construction of Barton Square, a residential community of 40 homes with a 

maximum selling price of $125,000, which will be completed by July 2003. 

Currently, construction of the roads and infrastructure is complete, several 

homes have been sold and are occupied, several houses are nearing 

continued 

JUST THE FACTS: • Following assessments by the Tulsa, 

Oklahoma Brownfields Assessment 

Pilot and the property owner's 

participation in the state Voluntary 

Cleanup Program, the former Flint Steel 

Building was determined to require no 

cleanup prior to redevelopment. 

• The Englewood, Colorado Brownfields 

Assessment Pilot oversaw assessments 

on a 9-acre former steel manufacturing 

site, paid for by a $17,500 line of credit 

through the city's Revolving Loan Fund; 

the assessments determined that no 

cleanup was necessary. 

• A former dry cleaning property in New 

Britain, Connecticut is being redeveloped 

into a portion of an 8.5-acre urban park. 

Once it was determined that no cleanup 

was necessary, the state transferred 

ownership of the property to the city. 

Approximately one-third of 

brownfields assessed to date 

under the Pilot program are found 

to have no significant contamination or low enough levels that no 

cleanup is required. 

stigma of contamination is removed, these sites typically 

become irresistible to purchasers 

and developers, who quickly 

return them to use. 

Once the 
A site in Galveston, Texas that was 

determined to require no cleanup. 

A brownfield in 

Tulsa, Oklahoma 

completion, and most of the lots have been sold. Jan Coggeshall, chairwoman of GHFC, stated that firsttime homebuyers, such as police officers and teachers that work on the island, are the target residents 

of this community. 

time," says Coggeshall. 

In partnership with the Minnesota Environmental Initiative (MEI) and Twin 

Cities Habitat for Humanity, the Twin Cities Metropolitan Council 

Brownfields Assessment Pilot conducted assessments of several targeted 

sites. Twin Cities Habitat for 

Humanity purchased and began redevelopment on two sites requiring no cleanup. 

Using approximately $415,000 in funding and in-kind services from Habitat of 

Humanity and its partners, three homes were built during the Spring and Summer 

of 2001 and another in Fall 2001. The Twin Cities Metropolitan Council Pilot and 

its partners hope to create a model that will allow other affordable housing builders to expand their 

capabilities and options. tephen Seidel, executive director of Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity, stated 

that "As we at Twin Cities Habitat strive to meet the ever-increasing need for affordable housing in our 

community, it is essential that we have the capacity to consider every location that has the possibility of 

providing housing that is affordable to low- to moderate-income people. 

[with the Brownfields Pilot and MEI], generously supported by the Environmental Protection Agency, 

we are able to do just that." A signed a Memorandum of Understanding with 

Habitat for Humanity International to work in partnership to build energy-efficient homes on former 

brownfields throughout the country. 

Following assessments by the Tulsa, Oklahoma Brownfields Assessment Pilot and the property owner's 

participation in the state Voluntary Cleanup Program, the former Flint Steel Building site received a 

Certificate of No Further Action (NFA) from the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality 

Brownfields Program once it was determined that no cleanup of the site was required. The NFA 

releases the owner and any investors in the site from state and EPA liability. The former steel manufacturing 

site, owned by Flintco Companies, will be redeveloped into a $1.4 million warehouse, 

and an industrial build-to-suit building for manufacturing or warehouse companies 

looking for space. As stated by Tom Maxwell, president of Flintco Companies, 

"This is a win-win for Tulsa. We have a strong commitment to Tulsa, and we 

feel the redevelopment of this site will help to create jobs and attract capital 

investments." Another Pilot-targeted site determined to require no cleanup 

is being redeveloped into a new 80,000-square-foot City of Tulsa Housing 

Authority warehouse and job training center. 

The Englewood, Colorado Brownfields Assessment Pilot oversaw assessments on 

a 9-acre former steel manufacturing site, paid for by a $17,500 line of credit through the 

city's Revolving Loan Fund; the assessments determined that no cleanup was necessary. 

This site was purchased for $1.25 million by Keogh & Company, a national printing company that 

continued 

"[Barton Square] will be the first new subdivision built on the island in a long 

"It also will put a significant amount on the tax rolls." 

Once these assessments were completed, 

S

Thanks to this collaboration 

On February 13, 2002, EP

Brownfields Success Story Solid Waste EPA 500-F-03-010 

No Cleanup Required and Emergency May 2003 

Response (5105) www.epa.gov/brownfields/ 
CONTACTS: 

For more information contact 

U.S. EPA-Region 1 (617) 918-1424 

U.S. EPA-Region 5 (312) 353-2513 

U.S. EPA-Region 6 (214) 665-6736 

U.S. EPA-Region 8 (303) 312-6803 

Or visit EPA’s Brownfields Web site at: 

http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/ 

expanded onto the site from an adjacent facility. After conducting minimal rehabilitation of the existing 

60,000-square-foot building, the printing company now produces large-scale posters and banners 

at the property. This redevelopment allowed for the creation of 25 new jobs and the 

retention of 90 existing jobs, as the company may have had to move its operation 

elsewhere had expansion been unavailable. Although this site was not selected 

based solely on its no cleanup determination, it certainly made this project 

more lucrative and timely. 

As part of a community-wide revitalization project, a former dry cleaning 

property in New Britain, Connecticut, is being redeveloped into a portion 

of an 8.5-acre urban park that will include a community center and 

residential units. The New Britain Brownfields Assessment Pilot conducted 

assessments that determined that no cleanup was necessary, which led to 

the City of New Britain accepting the transfer of ownership of the property 

from the State of Connecticut. 

stricken and crime-ridden neighborhoods, the community center will include a Head 

Start Program for kids and a computer lab, while the residential area will include up to 

eight moderate-income homes. At the opposite end of the planned urban park, another Pilot-targeted 

site is being redeveloped into an urban organic farm in which greenhouses are being constructed on 

uncontaminated portions of the site, as well as on adjacent property. The Pilot has helped to leverage 

more than $1.3 million in redevelopment funding for this project from various sources that include the 

city, state, and private companies. 

These are just a few examples of successful redevelopment at brownfields sites across the country 

that had formerly lain idle for too long. After the fear of environmental contamination is laid to rest 

with environmental assessments, developers, cities, and citizens alike can reap the financial rewards of 

reusing lands once thought to be untouchable. 

Located in one of the city's most povertyConstruction of the urban park will be completed in 2003. 

Brownfields Success Story Solid Waste EPA 500-F-03-010 

No Cleanup Required and Emergency May 2003 

Response (5105) www.epa.gov/brownfields/