Outreach and Special Projects Staff (5101) Quick Reference Fact Sheet

United States

Environmental

Protection Agency

Washington, D.C. 20460

Solid Waste

and Emergency

Response (5101)

Wisconsin Department of

Natural Resources

Regional Brownfields

Assessment Pilot

EPA 500-F-97-149

May 1997

State of Wisconsin

Date of Award:

February 1997

Amount: $200,000

Site Profile: The pilot

targets twelve Brownfields

sites, covering

approximately 210 acres

throughout the State.

PILOT SNAPSHOT

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.

Visit the EPA Brownfields Website at:

http://www.epa.gov/brownfields

Contacts:

Darsi Foss

Wisconsin Department of

Natural Resources (WDNR)

(608) 267-6713

Joe Dufficy

U.S. EPA - Region 5

(312) 886-1960

dufficy.joe@

epamail.epa.gov

BACKGROUND

EPA Region 5 selected the Wisconsin Department of

Natural Resources (WDNR) for a Regional

Brownfields Pilot. EPA Superfund Assessment funds

($200,000) will be directed to brownfields activities.

In addition, WDNR is contributing $150,000 to this

effort.

Many Wisconsin communities are burdened with tax

delinquent or bankrupt properties that have either

real or perceived contamination. Developers are

hesitant to invest in these properties without knowing

the extent of environmental contamination, liability,

and potential cleanup costs. Moreover, local governments often lack the resources to determine if, and to

what extent, such properties are contaminated.

OBJECTIVES

WDNR’s objective in this brownfields effort is to

encourage redevelopment by providing no-cost

environmental Site Assessments to interested

municipalities. WDNR requested applications from

municipalities and has chosen to assess 12 sites in 11

cities representing 210 acres as part of the project.

WDNR will provide a common approach and analysis

for each site that will eventually form the basis for
decisions regarding community health issues, property

marketability, and long-term environmental liability

implications. It is anticipated that upon completion

of the assessments conducted at each of the 12 sites.

Communities will be able to focus their efforts toward

cleanup and redevelopment.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND ACTIVITIES

The Pilot is:

• Conducting Phase I and II Site Assessments,

including installing monitoring wells and sampling

groundwater, surface water, soil, and sediment, as

well as examining past records and historic use of

targeted properties; and

• Based on the Site Assessment results, determining

the need for additional environmental investigation

or cleanup.

Regional Brownfields Assessment Pilot Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources

May 1997 EPA 500-F-97-149