Orange County Launches $500K EPA Study to Map Contaminated Brownfield Sites

The Orange County Industrial Development Agency has launched a formal brownfields assessment initiative backed by a $500,000 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency grant, beginning the work of inventorying contaminated and abandoned properties across the county with an eye toward reshaping them into economic assets.

OCIDA Executive Director Bill Fioravanti laid out the agency's ambitions in direct terms. "Our goal on sectors food and beverage, life sciences, advanced manufacturing, tourism destinations; we want to continue to have a diverse economy here in Orange County, and we are trying to prepare future sites to continue to bolster that," he said.

The initiative, formally branded the OCIDA Brownfields Revitalization Initiative, follows a four-step framework: identify contaminated sites, assess their condition, remediate environmental hazards, and redevelop the properties. OCIDA is coordinating the effort alongside the Orange County Partnership and the county Economic Development Department, and the program is managed out of the agency's offices at 4 Crotty Lane in New Windsor.

A brownfield, as defined by the EPA, is real property whose expansion, redevelopment, or reuse may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant. The category encompasses former gas stations, auto repair shops, commercial and industrial sites, older structures containing asbestos or lead-based paint, and illicit dump sites, many of which sit idle across Orange County, generating neither tax revenue nor jobs while carrying environmental risk.

The agency is now asking the public to help identify which properties deserve priority attention. The first community meeting, titled "All About Brownfields," is scheduled for Thursday, March 19 from 4 to 5 p.m. at the Orange County Emergency Services Center at 22 Wells Farm Road in Goshen. Municipal officials, community organizations, developers, and residents are all encouraged to attend. Notably, participants do not need to own the properties they nominate for assessment.

An interactive map of potential brownfield sites across Orange County is available at orangecountybrownfields.com, where residents can also nominate sites, RSVP for the March 19 meeting, and sign up for program updates. OCIDA can be reached directly at (845) 234-4192. Additional meetings, both online and in-person, are planned to follow the Goshen session as the assessment process moves forward.