Portfields: Working to Benefit the Environment, Economy and Communities

By Patricia Overmeyer

Our port communities play essential roles in our economy. They also present a variety of environmental and human health challenges. Economic growth must go hand-in-hand with sustaining marine ecosystems, improving air and water quality, and restoring natural habitats.

Recognizing this, EPA’s Brownfields Program, in partnership with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), formed the Portfields Federal Partnership with several other federal agencies to enhance our understanding of the role that brownfield redevelopment can play in revitalizing our nation’s port communities. This partnership integrates the goals of protecting human health, preserving healthy ecosystems and encouraging economic development to achieve community revitalization.

In 2003, the Portfields federal partners selected three port communities — Bellingham, Washington; Tampa, Florida; and New Bedford, Massachusetts — to serve as pilots and demonstrate how intergovernmental collaboration can foster innovative solutions that help meet the program’s goals. These communities were selected for their commitment to implementing unique approaches to community revitalization, their unique sets of needs, and the potential for federal assistance to enhance their successful revitalization.

The Portfields partnership, which includes additional partners within the community, state and federal government, is a model in interagency collaboration for streamlining current processes and implementing new approaches to community redevelopment. Portfields mobilizes federal expertise and resources to support local community efforts to implement their visions for revitalization.

Through integrated planning and comprehensive approaches, the Portfields pilot communities are taking steps to expand their facilities and shipping capacity while minimizing the effects of economic expansion upon the environment and human health. Through the assessment and cleanup of brownfields, once idle properties are returning to productive use as port facilities, recreational areas and restored wildlife habitats.