Recent Additions
April 2012
- Brownfields-at-a-glance: Former Warehouse Creates Downtown Art Space (1 pg, 127 KB, About PDF)
This factsheet describes how the City of Council Bluffs, Iowa was able to use a brownfields assessment grant to spark redevelopment of a former industrial center. As the area fell into decline, many buildings, including the International Harvester warehouse, became vacant and abandoned. In 2005, the city received two EPA brownfield assessment grants to conduct Phase I and Phase II environmental assessments of targeted properties. The assessment results helped spur the involvement of Pottawattamie County Development Corporation (PCDC), which supported the city's revitalization effort by purchasing the property and marketing it to developers. - Brownfields-at-a-glance: Pioneering Vision Sees Portland's Newest, Greenest Neighborhood Risiing from an Industrial Wasteland (1 pg, 226KB, About PDF)
This fact sheet documents how the City of Portland used a brownfields cleanup grant to revitalize the city's south waterfront area, which was previously an industrial wasteland from shipbuilding and salvage activities. EPA helped to fund a Phase I and Phase II assessment, and a subsequent cleanup was completed in 2006. Now the 2-acre Elizabeth Caruthers Park is a civic focal point for one of the newest, densest, and greenest urban neighborhoods in the country. - Brownfields-at-a-glance: Weaving the Future from the Fabric of the Past (1 pg, 212 KB, About PDF)
This factsheet explores how the City of Union, South Carolina used a brownfields revolving loan fund (RLF) grant to redevelop a former textile mill. The Union Mill sat idle for nearly a decade after a fire destroyed the primary structure and many of the outlying buildings. In 2003, a Phase I and Phase II assessment were completed confirming the presences of polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). After leveraging EPA and state funding, the city was able to clean up the site and begin a redevelopment consisting of affordable housing and green space. - Brownfields-at-a-glance: An Idle, Former Freight Depot Now Serves as a Community Food Center (1 pg, 172 KB, About PDF)
This factsheet looks at the redevelopment of a site with a long history of industrial use in Missoula, Montana. In 2005, the North Missoula Community Development Corporation (NMCDC) purchased the former freight depot as part of an effort to revitalize Missoula's Northside neighborhood. In August 2009, the City of Missoula drew from a $900,000 brownfields RLF grant to sub-grant $23,052 to NMCDC for asbestos abatement, ultimately providing the funding needed to complete the cleanup in 2010. In March 2011, NMCDC celebrated the grand opening of the new Missoula Community Food Co-op, which provides low-income residents access to healthy and affordable local food. - Final Implementation Strategy to Manage Post Construction Completion Activities at Superfund Sites (9 pp, 484 KB, About PDF)
This document summarizes the results of the Post-Construction Completion (PCC) Strategy, which was implemented from 2005 to 2011. The purpose of the PCC Strategy was to provide greater assurance that remedies put in place under CERCLA remain protective over the long term. Incorporation of the PCC Strategy into site decision-making has resulted in improved post-construction procedures for National Priorities List (NPL) sites and Superfund Alternative (SA) sites.
March 2012
- Brownfields-at-a-glance: Assessment Grant Opens the Door for Redevelopment (1 pg, 243KB, About PDF)
This factsheet reviews the use of an assessment grant to spark redevelopment at the former Dick's Automotive in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. After the Johnstown Redevelopment Authority was awarded a Brownfields Assessment grant by EPA, the city was able to quickly determine through a site assessment that no contamination was present. This opened the door for the city to begin redevelopment of the site with the help of the State of Pennsylvania and ITSI Bioscience Research, the new owner and occupant of the old Dick's Automotive property. The large investment by all parties allowed for the development of a high-tech commercial business that will effectively help provide jobs in the area. - Brownfields-at-a-glance: Property Assessment Leads to Industrial Development (1 pg, 187KB, About PDF)
This factsheet looks at the redevelopment of a site with a long history of industrial and commercial use in Alma, Michigan. Since the 1990s, manufacturing operations have ceased, and the facilities lay dormant. In 2006, brownfield assessment grants were used by the Brownfield Redevelopment Authority Gratiot County to conduct site assessments that revealed a long list of different contaminants. Cleanup was provided in large part by Merrill Fabricators, which purchased the 400,000 square foot facility and property from a non-liable private owner after the site assessments were completed. Since the cleanup was completed in 2007, the site has served as a catalyst for the redevelopment of other properties in the area. - Brownfields-at-a-glance: A Former Gas Station Site to be Reused for Higher Purposes (1 pg, 212KB, About PDF)
This factsheet discusses the reuse of a brownfield site that had previously been used for a gas station and a used car lot in Portland, Oregon. In 1996, after the removal of several underground storage tanks (USTs), the North Portland Bible College purchased the property. After a Phase I assessment was completed with the help of an EPA Brownfields Petroleum Assessment Grant awarded to Oregon Department of Environmental Quality in 2005, it was determined that the site was safe for residential reuse. North Portland Bible College now plans to conduct further development to the site, promoting community participation, remedial education, and new jobs. - Brownfields-at-a-glance: Reusing Idle Land in Ways that Best Serve a Community (1 pg, 171KB, About PDF)
This factsheet provides background on EPA assistance in funding an environmental study and subsequent cleanup to best serve a community that sits on an Indian Reservation south of Phoenix, Arizona. The owners of a Catholic school that occupied the site for decades donated the property to the Gila River Indian Community due to fears of contamination from USTs previously used by school buses at the site. Two USTs were removed in 1998. In 2004, the Gila River Indian Community received an EPA brownfields cleanup grant allowing petroleum and VOC contamination to be removed. The site is now a diabetes resource center and community Boys and Girls Club, which has acted as a much needed resource, addressing the community’s health issues. - Brownfields-at-a-glance: Assessment Improves City's Emergency Services (1 pg, 177KB, About PDF)
This factsheet discusses the redevelopment of a former electronics and research development facility in Garland, Texas. While formerly owned by a private organization, the site was enrolled in the Texas Commission of Environmental Quality (TCEQ) Voluntary Cleanup Program. Using a majority of an EPA brownfields grant in addition to municipal funds, the city was able to conduct multiple assessments that showed significant groundwater contamination on site. The City of Garland used a substantial amount of its own funds to clean up the property, which now houses the city’s new Fire Administration building. - Brownfields-at-a-glance: Now Playing in Chanute, Kansas: The Roxie Movie Theater (1 pg, 165KB, About PDF)
This factsheet reviews EPA’s contributions through assessment and cleanup grants to the City of Chanute, Kansas to redevelop a former commercial and industrial property. Both Phase I and Phase II assessments revealed petroleum contamination above state-approved levels of residential reuse; however, the levels were not in excess of the limitations for non-residential uses. After some consideration, the City of Chanute established institutional controls at the site, allowing the redevelopment to begin. In March 2007, the Roxie Movie Theater was completed, replacing the blighted parking lot with a unique addition to the historic downtown area. - Brownfields-at-a-glance: Environmental Assessments Serve as Tools of Progression in Creating Sustainable Redevelopment (1 pg, 219KB, About PDF)
This factsheet discusses how environmental assessments help in the process of creating sustainable redevelopment. The Indian Head Cotton Mill closed in 1962, at which point, Cordova experienced a sharp decline in population and environmental success. As a result, retail stores and gasoline stations in downtown Cordova were abandoned leading to the six brownfield sites that exist today. The city of Cordova believes that EPA-funded assessments have helped to begin a process to economically and aesthetically revitalize an impoverished rural community. - Brownfields Success Story: Creating a Niche Neighborhood Environment (2 pp, 142KB, About PDF)
This factsheet explores the redevelopment of a neighborhood surrounding an elementary school in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. An area once plagued by dilapidated housing is now a resurgent neighborhood with revitalized housing developments, parks, and recreational areas. An EPA brownfields assessment grant in addition to funding help from Housing and Urban Development (HUD), provided the city of Philadelphia enough money to fund an environmental study in an effort to delineate the contamination present on the site. With help from the Pennsylvania Department of Environment and local community and civic organizations, the site was cleaned up, paving the way for the residential redevelopment. - Brownfields Success Story: A Long-Idle School Building Will Once Again Benefit Local Residents (2 pp, 377KB, About PDF)
This factsheet explores the use of environmental assessments conducted at the site of a school in Shelby, Montana. Through the use of numerous financing and funding outlets, the City of Shelby was able to determine the amount of contamination at the site through an environmental assessment, while also looking for the ultimate reuse options of the site that had been used only sparingly since 2003. Through collaborations among the city, the local school district, and community representatives, it was decided that a new community center that retained the historic building's construction would be the most effective way to reuse the property. This effectively allows the City of Shelby to preserve the history of the original structure while also providing a multi-faceted community center for the town's residents.
February 2012
- Celebrating Success: Martin Marietta, Sodyeco, Inc. Charlotte, North Carolina (2 pp, 534 KB, About PDF)
This factsheet discusses a formerly contaminated site that served as the home of multiple industrial facilities in Charlotte, North Carolina, has been cleaned up, and recently deleted from the NPL. To make the site's reuse possible, EPA's Superfund and Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) programs worked closely with the site's owner and the community to make sure site reuse plans were compatible with the site's cleanup. The site's planned redevelopment will take advantage of the already extensive existing infrastructure, including rail access, utility substations, a waste treatment facility, and a large containment pond. This will provide a platform for large-scale renewable energy and alternative fuel projects. - Celebrating Success: Liberty Industrial Finishing, Oyster Bay, New York (1 pg, 208 KB, About PDF)
This fact sheet discusses the Liberty Industrial Fishing Superfund Site in the Town of Oyster Bay, New York, which was an NPL site with a history of aircraft manufacturing and metal plating that led to significant site contamination. Now the Site is a community asset, housing a community park and a large supermarket. EPA continues to work with site and store owners, the local government, and the community to maintain site protectiveness and to return the site to beneficial reuse. - An Approach for Evaluating the Progress of Natural Attenuation in Groundwater (84 pp, 954KB, About PDF)
The purpose of this document is to present a simple, statistically based approach for evaluating the progress of natural attenuation from the data collected during site characterization and long term monitoring. In addition, contaminant concentrations are tracked over time as a method of determining trends which could be used to forecast future concentrations or predict when concentrations will attain a selected concentration level. The intended audience of this document is technical professionals that perform the data analyses as well as project managers who review those analyses and/or make decisions based on those analyses.
December 2011
- Revitalizing the Town of Fletcher to Construct a New Downtown (2 pp, 377KB, About PDF)
This factsheet describes how an EPA brownfields agreement led the town of Fletcher, North Carolina to redevelop its downtown area. The site was formerly occupied by a manufacturing facility, which contaminated the area with PCP and dioxin. When redevelopment initiatives were discussed, the small town of 4,200 people indicated their desire for a walkable downtown area with a city hall, municipal buildings, small business, residences, and walking trails to enhance the greenspace. The community believes the redevelopment and creation of a downtown will generate new jobs, create a meeting place for the community, and become the "Heart of Fletcher." - EPA Cleanup Grant Helps to Leverage Funding for Property Cleanup and Redevelopment (1 pg, 370KB, About PDF)
This factsheet provides an overview of key redevelopment accomplishments at a site in Denver, Colorado. With over $12 million in private investments and a brownfields cleanup grant from EPA, Parkhill Community, Inc. was able to reinvigorate the Dahlia Square Shopping Center. Along the way, EPA was able to conduct a Phase II Site Assessment and address contamination present at the site. The outcome has led to the Dahlia Square Shopping Center once again being a focal point of local businesses, commerce, and a community hub. - Engaging Early in the Superfund Process, Enabling Cleanup and Reuse: The Former Spellman Engineering Site in Orlando, Florida (14 pp, 1.9MB, About PDF)
This case study explores the working relationships and innovative settlement agreements that have led to the cleanup of the Former Spellman Engineering Site and the reuse of the adjacent Lake Highland property. There is a focus on the evolution of cleanup and reuse efforts, highlighting local planning efforts and coordination with EPA and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection in the 1990s and 2000s, as well as ongoing cleanup and reuse activities in 2011. Additionally, the case study provides information and lessons learned to parties interested in Superfund site reuse and how to address remedy and reuse considerations early in the Superfund process. - Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) Biennial Report Requirements for Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) Response Actions (8 pp, 2.1MB, About PDF)
This memo reaffirms the need for EPA regions to be aware of biennial reporting requirements under RCRA and their applicability to the cleanup process under CERCLA. The intent of the information is to serve as a reminder that compliance with biennial reporting requirements is a continuing obligation that must be addressed throughout the CERCLA cleanup process, and to provide guidance in determining under what circumstances a biennial report must be submitted by a hazardous waste large quantity generator.
November 2011
- Methodology for Understanding and Reducing a Project's Environmental Footprint (121 pp, 1.8MB, About PDF)
This document was developed to address the need for a uniform EPA methodology that helps regional staff and other members of the cleanup community analyze and take steps toward reducing negative environmental effects that might occur during hazardous waste site assessment, site remediation, or non-time critical removal actions. Technical information is provided regarding green remediation metrics, footprint methodology, footprint interpretation, and approaches to reducing footprints. Figures, tables, examples, suggested formats, and case studies are also provided. The document is a living document and may be revised periodically; public comments are accepted at any time.
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