environmental business council - amazon...
TRANSCRIPT
1
Environmental Business
Council
September 13, 2011
Carol Tucker
Brownfields Section Chief
US EPA New England
(617) 918-1221
2
What is a Brownfield?
Brownfields sites are “real property, the
expansion, redevelopment, or reuse of which
may be complicated by the presence or
potential presence of a hazardous substance,
pollutant, or contaminant.”
This includes “low risk” petroleum sites and
mine scarred land as well as meth labs.
3
Federal Liability Protection
Even though the Brownfields Law was passed
in 2002, there are still many potential property
owners who are not clear about what to do
prior to purchasing property.
4
Federal Liability Protection
The Brownfields Law provides that under certain
circumstances, simply owning contaminated property
does not result in CERCLA liability.
The law provides federal liability protection to a group
we call “Bona Fide Prospective Purchasers” (BFPPs).
A BFPP must do certain things prior to purchasing a
property in order to be protected.
Rule #1: Have an ASTM Phase I done prior to
purchase.
5
Federal Liability Issues
There are other things you must do as well
after acquiring the property:
Exercise appropriate care by taking reasonable
steps which includes:
Stopping any continuing releases
Preventing any threatened future releases
Preventing or limiting human or environmental exposure to
the site.
Comply with land use restrictions.
Comply with information requests.
6
Federal Liability Issues
Paying attention and doing these things
ensures a higher probability of success when
you apply for an EPA cleanup grant or try to
borrow funding through an EPA revolving loan
fund grant.
7
Eligible Entities for EPA Grants
Eligible Entities
States
General Purpose Unit of Local Government
Tribes
Redevelopment Agencies
Land Clearance Authority
Councils of Government
Non-profits (cleanup only)
8
EPA Brownfields Grants
Assessment Grants
Revolving Loan Fund Grants
Cleanup Grants
Job Training Grants
9
Brownfields Assessment Grants
$200K Hazardous Substances
$200K Petroleum*
* Petroleum sites are eligible IF
• “Relatively low risk site” when
compared with other petroleum
contaminated sites
• No viable RP
• The site will be assessed or cleaned
up by a person who is not potentially
liable for cleaning up site
• Not subject to RCRA 9003 (h) order
** EPA approved waiver to $350K
Inventory Brownfields
Phase I / II Environmental Assessments
Cleanup / Reuse Plans
Community and Stakeholder Outreach
Single Site ** Community-Wide
Assessment
12
Robertson on the River in Taunton, MA
13
Brownfields Remediation Grants
Revolving Loan Fund Grants
Revolving Loan Fund Grants Cleanup Grants Cleanup Grants
Up to $1 Million grant*
Requires 20% match
Provide no-interest or low
interest loans for Brownfields
Cleanups
$200,000 grant
Requires 20% match
Applicant must own the site for
which funding is requested at
the time of application.
Non-profit organizations are
eligible to apply.
Applicants can not be
potentially liable under
CERCLA.
15
RLF Success Story
North Dam Mill, Biddeford
Southern Maine RPC loaned funds for the cleanup.
17
Cleanup Success Story Manchester Street Park in
Lawrence
18
Environmental Workforce Development and
Job Training Grants
Applicants may apply for $300,000 to prepare
trainees for future employment in the
environmental field.
Selected through a national competition which
is on its own annual cycle.
19
Coordination with MADEP
EPA coordinates with MADEP in a number of
ways:
MADEP approves sites for petroleum eligibility.
Properties are assessed and cleaned up according
to Massachusetts state regulations.
EPA provides the state with funding to establish and
enhance its voluntary cleanup program.
20
Rural Areas
EPA has successfully provided this funding to rural areas through outreach to regional councils of government.
The COGs can do inventories, Phase I and Phase II work as well as remediation planning.
A steering committee identifies and prioritizes the sites to receive the funding.
COGs can do municipally-owned and privately-owned properties.
They can assist small communities in preparing cleanup grant proposals.
This has been a very successful targeted approach to reaching rural areas.
New Programs and Focus
PREPARED Workbook
Sustainable Communities Partnership
New Grants
Area Wide Planning Grant
Multi – Purpose Grant
Contractor Workshop
Guideline Changes
Making Connections with Developers
21
PREPARED Workbook
What is the PREPARED Workbook?
PREPARED is a risk management framework
for evaluating various actions that a local
government might take to bring about a
desired reuse at contaminated properties that
it does not currently own. These actions are
referred to in the Workbook as property
recovery actions. Worksheets are also
provided to help document and guide the
evaluation process.
http://www.epa.gov/region1/brownfields/prepared/
22
Coordinate federal transportation, environmental protection, and housing investments in order to support sustainable development
More transportation choices
Promote equitable, affordable housing
Increase economic competitiveness
Support existing communities
Leverage Federal Investment
Value communities and
neighborhoods
Sustainable Communities Partnership HUD-DOT-EPA
Partnership for Sustainable Communities R1 HUD/DOT/EPA Pilots:
Fairmount/Indigo Corridor, Boston
Holyoke, MA
26
In Fall 2010, 28 additional grants of assistance
from the three agencies were awarded to New
England communities under the Partnership for
Sustainable Communities.
The focus for the regional partnership effort for the
coming year is providing guidance and assistance
to these project efforts.
Efforts to support the regions three pilot
communities are ongoing as well.
http://www.sustainablecommunities.gov/community.html#FC5
Sustainable Communities Partnership HUD-DOT-EPA
New Grants for FY2012
Are Wide Planning Will create a $300K grant
Purpose is to develop an area-wide plan for the brownfields-
impacted area, which will inform the assessment and
cleanup of the brownfield site, and identify next steps and
resources needed for plan implementation.
Multi- Purpose Will create one grant to fund both the assessment and
cleanup activities of a specific site.
Applicant must be an eligible entity and own the site.
27
Coming this Winter …. Contractor Workshop
Preview of topics include
AAI
ABCA
Section 106
QAPP
PCB Regulations
Site Eligibility
Grantees Assistance and Grant Compliance
28
Guideline Changes
Due to be published in soon
Includes changes in overall points
Additional threshold criteria
Will change emphasis of different aspects of
the application
29
30
This Year’s Competition
Annual Guidelines will issued soon with due dates in November and
announcements will be made in April/May
Information Sessions are tentatively scheduled. See web site for updated
information
Date Location
11-Oct Boston, MA
12-Oct Montpelier, VT
East Hartford, CT
13-Oct Providence, RI
14-Oct Manchester, NH
Connecting Grantees and Developers
Many grantees have identified the need to connect with
the development community
EPA, together with our environmental, housing, and
economic development state partners are looking into
ways to facilitate this effort
How to market the property
Information on creating a “MLS” like listing for Brownfields
properties
Presentations on what a developer is “looking for”
Ideas welcome and more to come…
31
32
For More Information
Web Address: www.epa.gov/newengland/brownfields
Send us an email from the website and be put
on our “What’s New” notification list:
http://www.epa.gov/region1/brownfields/whatsnew.html
34
Brownfields Team Call Us