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Region 5

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From 1995- 2011 Region 5 has awarded 437 assessment grants which have led to completed assessments for 3,805 properties. This is more completed assessments than any other region in the US. During this same time period, 3,520 acres have been made ready for reuse.

before after

City of Moorhead, MN, before and after remdiation.

We have established

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Green Historic Preservation in Region 5

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 5 held the Agency’s first Green Historic Preservation Symposium on January 21, 2010, at the historic Columbia Club in Indianapolis, Indiana. Approximately 300 people registered for the 1-day event. Attendees included representatives from government agencies, nonprofit organizations, academic institutions, and experts in the fields of historic preservation and green building.

The Symposium stemmed from suggestions and comments EPA staff had received from preservationists, green building experts, and government representatives who expressed frustration about perceived and actual barriers to green historic preservation. In an effort to take action on these comments, EPA conducted interviews with roughly 30 people to confirm the need for a Symposium. The interviews confirmed the need for a Symposium to bring experts and decision makers together in one room to collectively discuss what’s working, what’s not, what should change, and what role federal agencies including EPA should play. EPA formed a diverse Planning Committee to develop the Symposium agenda and format.

Next Steps:

As a result of the suggestions we received at the symposium, Green Historic Preservation has grown from a regional to a national agenda. A 30-member Green Preservation Implementation Team has been formed with members of EPA, the General Services Administration, the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, the National Park Service, the United States Green Building Council, the National Trust for Historic Preservation and other related private and public organizations. This team is being tasked to work towards the implementation of several suggestions that were generated in the Indianapolis symposium. The issues that are being investigated include: the expansion of Energy Star; research studies such as Life Cycle Analysis and Material Management; the expansion of rating standards such as LEED, additional symposiums in other parts of the county; and the expansion of green job training to include needed preservation skills. The great diversity of this team demonstrates the unprecedented cooperative proportions of this initiative.

Contact

Region 5's Historic Preservation Expert Yolanda Bouchee (bouchee.yolanda@epa.gov) 312-353-3209

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Regional Auto Sector Recovery Workgroup

The 2009 bankruptcies of both General Motors Corporation and Chrysler Corporation have left their mark on the Region's economy and landscape. In addition to a staggering job loss in the hundred of thousands, these recent bankruptcies have also added over 8,700 acres (over 14 square miles) and 60,000,000 square feet of newly vacant commercial/industrial property to the nation's brownfield and vacant property inventories—with nearly 80% of that here in the states of Indiana, Michigan and Ohio. The job losses and diminished tax revenues are crippling many communities. In response to this, the White House established an Auto Sector Community Recovery Initiative aimed at bringing targeted government resources to the industries, communities, and states impacted. The Departments of Labor, Energy, Transportation, HUD, EDA, SBA, and EPA are all involved and have brought significant resources to the situation.

Staff from the Region 5 Land and Chemicals Division, Brownfields Program and Office of Regional Counsel have been working with the other involved Federal Agencies (DoJ, Treasury and Labor) states, affected local units of government and the bankrupt entities themselves to assess and quantify the overall environmental damages, delineate liabilities and establish likely cleanup options for all sites. Regional staff have travelled to numerous individual affected communities and plants as well as planning and participating in several multi-day sessions held for state wide groupings of communities in order to hear near-term needs and concerns. Currently, Region 5 staff are providing directed technical assistance to a number of communities through environmental assessments, redevelopment planning and liability clarifications as well as continuing to participate in stakeholder sessions throughout the Region.

Contacts:

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Region 5 Greener Cleanup Activities

Region 5 is involved in numerous efforts regarding greener cleanups. The Region 5 Superfund Greener Cleanup (GC) Coordinator is Brad Bradley (bradley.brad@epa.gov). Following are several GC activities that are currently underway:

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Region 5 Brownfields Recognition Program

a brownfield siteThe US EPA Region 5 Brownfields team is seeking candidates interested in participating in the annual Region 5 Recognition Program. As in years past, EPA Region 5 is looking for cooperative agreement participants who have made exceptional contributions to the Brownfields Program.

Those recognized will receive a Certificate of Appreciation and recognized throughout the year. In addition, the recipients may be featured on the Region 5 EPA Web page and in outreach materials and be asked to help lead peer-to-peer learning sessions.

If you would like to nominate a grantee or self-nominate for the Recognition Program, please fill out the nomination form:
Recognition Program Nomination Form (PDF) (1 pg., 64K, About PDF)

Please submit all forms by January 1, 2011 to Deborah Orr (orr.deborah@epa.gov)

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Brownfields Grants

  1. Grants & Funding
  2. Grantee Reporting
  3. Find Grant Fact Sheets

Region 5 Brownfields Program provides funds and technical assistance to states, communities, and other stakeholders to work together to prevent, assess, safely clean up, and sustain the reuse of brownfields.

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TAB EZ

Kansas State University (KSU) has developed a software tool that can assist communities who are applying for assessment and cleanup grants under EPA's Fiscal Year 2009 Brownfields Assessment, Revolving Loan Fund and Cleanup (ARC) grant competition.

TAB EZ was developed by KSU and CABEM Technologies, Inc. as a public service. TAB EZ is available free of cost to everyone nationwide. TAB EZ is not a substitute for reading the guidelines.

TAB EZ is available at http://www.tabez.org/ Exit EPA Disclaimer

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Sustainable Practices Brownfields Prevention Challenge (Archived Presentations of CLU-IN Sessions)

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Targeted Brownfields Assessment (TBA)

Contact: Brad Stimple (stimple.brad@epa.gov) 440-250-1717

Targeted Brownfields Assessments

What is a TBA?

Subtitle A of the Small Business Liability Relief and Brownfields Revitalization Act authorizes EPA to establish a program to perform Targeted Brownfields Assessments (TBAs) such as Phase 1 and Phase 2 assessments at properties within Region 5 at no cost to local governments and tribes.

Information gathered from a TBA gives local governments and prospective purchasers a better understanding of potential contamination issues at Brownfields sites in their communities.

How to request TBA services from EPA

EPA Region 5 has limited resources to help communities complete TBAs.

EPA will select sites in accordance with the criteria in the e Targeted Brownfields Assessments Fact Sheet (PDF) (2pp, 140K, About PDF) September 2007.
In making final decisions on distribution of this resource to applicants, EPA may consider a balanced distribution among the Region 5 States and Tribes.

  1. Send EPA a request letter.
    Sample request letter (PDF) (1 pg, 772 K, About PDF) August 2007
  2. Complete the eligibility questionnaire.
    Eligibility questionnaire (MS-Word) (4pp, 23K) or Eligibility questionnaire (PDF) (4pp, 22K) March 2004
  3. Complete and enclose the access consent form.
    Access Consent Form (PDF) (1pg, 60K) February 2012

EPA will review the request and determine whether the property itself and the site assessment work are eligible; EPA will document that decision.

Upon approval of TBA funding, EPA and/or the State can help refine community assessment needs, work expectations, and timelines.

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Construction and Demolition Debris Reuse and Recycling

Reuse and recycling of construction and demolition debris are an integral part of Brownfields cleanup and redevelopment. This debris consists of concrete, asphalt, wood, gypsum wallboard, asphalt roofing materials, metal, bricks, glass plastics, building components, trees, soil, and rocks and is generally nonhazardous.

Construction & Demolition (C&D) Debris Management in Region 5

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New Assessment, Cleanup and Revolving Loan Fund (RLF) Grantee Information

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How to Submit Photos to the EPA Photo Archive

U.S. EPA frequently gets requests for before and after photos of Brownfields sites. Use the following links to submit your photos:

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