Debora SielskiCommunity Development Director

Community Development Department

Phone:262-335-4445Email: Community Development Department

Days Available:Monday - FridayHours Available:8:00am - 4:30pm

What is a brownfield? A brownfield is an underutilized, idled or abandoned property for which the expansion, redevelopment or reuse may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant or contaminant.

Site Redevelopment Program Background

Vision

Washington County and its communities are nationally recognized leaders in transforming underutilized, blighted and brownfield sites into productive assets contributing to a strong tax base and desirable places to live, work and thrive.

Mission

Working collaboratively, the Site Redevelopment Program advances targeted and impactful redevelopment of blighted, underutilized, and brownfield sites by leveraging valuable and sustainable funding and other resources to provide economic growth and vitality and enhance the quality of life in Washington County.

Core Values

Transformative Collaboration - Through a shared vision and an actively engaged citizenry, proactively assisting local governments and developers throughout the redevelopment process to mitigate risk and maximize opportunity.

Shared Resources - Providing local governments and developers with valued expertise and an innovative and competitive toolbox for brownfield redevelopment.

Fiscal Operations - Contribute to solving the fiscal challenges facing municipalities in providing essential, expected public services in a data-driven way.

Goals

1. Assess and Redevelop Properties Throughout Washington County
2. Obtain Maximum Leverage
3. Implement the Marking Plan of the Site Redevelopment Program
4. Integrate the Inventory with GIS
5. Integrate Partnerships into Planning and Project Development
6. Sustainability of the Site Redevelopment Program

Funding Sources

Environmental Site Assessment - The Washington County Board of Supervisors approved $600,000 to establish the Washington County Brownfields Assessment Fund. Eligible uses of this fund include phase I and phase II environmental site assessments, re-using planning, and environmental reporting. Click here to download the Washington County Assessment Fund Information Sheet.

Brownfields Revolving Loan Fund - The Washington County Board of Supervisors approved $1,000,000 to establish a Washington County Revolving Loan Fund. The Washington County Revolving Loan Fund is a part of Economic Development Washington County's Impact Revolving Loan Fund. This loan program provides funding for hazardous material testing, remedial action plans, environmental planning, remediation of contamination, asbestos abatement, demolition and reconstruction of brownfield sites. Click here to download the County RLF Information Sheet. 

US EPA Revolving Loan Fund - The United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) awarded the Site Redevelopment Program (SRP) works cooperatively with Economic Development Washington County to implement loans, support the remediation of contaminated sites, analyze brownfield cleanup alternatives, and create community involvement plans. Click here to download the US EPA RLF Information Sheet. View the Reports submitted to the U.S. EPA below.

Success Stories

Use the link below to view the Current Success Stories ArcGIS StoryMap below and visualize the projects that are revitalizing these contaminated sites.

The Washington County SRP continues to show success in spurring successful redevelopment projects, resulting in millions of dollars in leveraged funds. This program continues to provide Washington County and its communities with a wide range benefits including increased tax base, increased employment opportunities, assessment of hazardous and petroleum contaminated brownfield sites and reuse/redevelopment opportunity analysis.

View PDF of SRP Success Infographic

This success is due in part to the collaborative nature of the program. Coalition Partners, which include the Cities of Hartford and West Bend, the Villages of Germantown, Jackson, Kewaskum, Richfield, and Slinger and Washington County work together to share resources and direct US EPA and dedicated Washington County brownfield funds where they are most needed. The SRP's Project Management Team (PMT), which includes experts in environmental remediation, economic development, and redevelopment/reuse planning, helps the Site Redevelopment Committee (SRC) prioritize projects and make good use of the funds. 

Site Redevelopment Program Background

History

• In 2013, Washington County formed a coalition with the City of Hartford, City of West Bend, Village of Jackson, Village of Richfield and Village of Slinger to apply for a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) Brownfield Coalition Assessment Grant for Hazardous Substance and Petroleum Brownfields. On May 28, 2014 Washington County was awarded a $600,000 grant. The grant funds were used to complete a county-wide inventory and prioritization of sites that have redevelopment potential, and perform Phase I and Phase II environmental site assessments on priority sites.
• In 2017, the US EPA announced that Washington County was successful in securing a second Countywide Coalition Brownfield Assessment Grant totaling $600,000 to fund an update of the inventory and site prioritization, perform phase I and phase II environmental site assessments on priority sites, complete remedial action plans and redevelopment plans for select sites, and perform community outreach and education.
• In 2019, the Village of Germantown and the Village of Kewaskum joined the coalition in applying for FY2020 Assessment and RLF grants.
• In 2020, the Washington County Board of Supervisors approved $600,000 to establish a County Brownfield Environmental Assessment and $1,000,000 for the Washington County Revolving Loan Fund (RLF). The Washington County Brownfield Assessment Fund provides funding for environmental assessments, environmental reporting, and reuse planning. The Washington County RLF provides funding to support cleanup activities that support the creation of jobs, the cleanup of distressed areas, the elimination of blight, and increase the tax base.
• Additionally in 2020, the US EPA awarded Washington County an $800,000 Revolving Loan Fund Coalition Grant/ This revolving loan fund can be used for cleanup activities on brownfield sites.

Economic Development Washington County will play a key role in managing both the County and U.S. EPA funding sources and RLF programs. The two RLF funding sources are an outstanding addition to the SRP, since they greatly expand the funding available for brownfield cleanup and site revitalization. 

The successes of the SRP are directly related to the work that is contributed by the partners who are involved. S collaboration partners consist of local governments and organizations such as Economic Development Washington County, Wisconsin DNR, and Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation.

In an effort to effectively redevelop and revitalize selected sites throughout the County, a Site Redevelopment Steering Committee (SRC) was formed to provide input into the grant application and implementation of the grant. SRC members include:

Site Redevelopment Steering Committee