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Finding a balance between growth and development reaps rewards. Five communities were recognized recently by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for their innovative approaches to projects ranging from the revitalization of brownfields to the renewal of urban centers, while still maintaining a sense of community identity and respect for the environment. The five recipients of EPA’s National Smart Growth Achievement Awards announced in a ceremony at the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C., incorporated the principles of smart growth in ways that could be replicated elsewhere. “Our winners are models for other communities and their efforts prove that people everywhere care about how and where we grow,” said EPA Administrator Michael Leavitt. “How we grow today influences not only how we live, but how future generations live. We must plan for growth in a way that protects our streams and rivers, keeps our air clean, and preserves areas of natural beauty and ecological importance.” Smart growth development practices support national environmental goals by preserving open space and parkland and protecting critical habitat; improving transportation choices to reduce emissions from automobiles; promoting brownfield redevelopment; and reducing polluted runoff. The award categories and winners are as follows:
This year EPA received 112 applications from 31 states and the
District of Columbia. Winning entries were selected based on the
effectiveness in advancing smart growth, the ability to be replicated,
and the level of citizen and stakeholder participation or partnership.
The competition, now in its second year, was open to state, regional,
or local governments and other public sector entities. For information
about the National Awards for Smart Growth Achievement program and
this year’s winners, visit http://www.epa.gov/smartgrowth/awards.htm.
Recently, EPA Acting Administrator Marianne Horinko participated in the opening ceremony for the Condor Street Urban Wild Park on the Chelsea Creek waterfront in East Boston, Massachusetts. A Boston native, Horinko praised the cooperative efforts of federal government officials and local interest groups in accomplishing the redevelopment of this park. Chelsea Creek Restoration Project, led by Chelsea Creek Action Group, received a Healthy Communities Grant check for $28,457 for developing education programs and for maintenance support. Urban wilds are remnants of the vast salt marshes that once covered most of East Boston. They harbor native plants and animals and perform a wealth of ecological services, such as storing floodwater, producing oxygen, and filtering stormwater runoff. Urban wilds also offer refuge from the hectic city streets and serve as outdoor classrooms for children and adults learning about nature. The new park, which features an urban salt marsh, walking paths, a boardwalk and viewing platform overlooking the Chelsea River, and meadow grasses, is a complete transformation of once-contaminated land that was fenced off from the public. For almost 50 years, a sand and gravel company used the 4.5-acre site along the Chelsea Creek for cleaning and storage. In 1980, the city of Boston purchased the site with the desire to use it as a park only to discover that it was contaminated and would need to be fenced to prevent public access. In 1998, the Chelsea Creek Action Group, a community group, began advocating for cleanup and restoration of the area with EPA, Boston City Parks, the Urban Ecology Institute, and Neighborhood of Affordable Housing. In that same year, Waste Management was cited for Clean Air Act violations for unsafe appliance disposal that resulted in the release of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs). In the settlement, Waste Management agreed to pay a $775,000 fine and to finance two Supplemental Environmental Projects (SEPs). Fortuitously, the Chelsea Creek Action Group was seeking approximately $1 million in funding to help restore the park. Waste Management agreed to contribute $1.2 million to the Condor Street Urban Wild project as one of its SEPs. Waste Management’s SEP funding is being used for construction and to support park operations and maintenance for the next 15 years. In addition to the SEP funding, the City of Boston contributed $400,000 for cleanup and construction costs. With the Condor Street Urban Wild Park now completed, the Chelsea Creek Action Group is working on a “master vision” for the entire area on the Chelsea Creek. For additional information, contact Kristi Rea, EPA Region I, at (617) 918-1595, or at rea.kristi@epa.gov Parceling Northwestern Steel Provides Economic Benefit Bankruptcy caused the Northwestern Steel and Wire Company to close its Sterling, Illinois plant in May 2001. As a key employer for Sterling residents and a main industrial property holder, the loss of Northwestern Steel and Wire significantly impacted the local economy. In addition to the economic loss, groundwater and soil contamination at the site needed to be addressed. Given the size of the Northwestern site - 700 acres - and the manageable site contamination, EPA determined that the site was a candidate for parceling. “Parceling” involves dividing large contaminated sites into smaller parcels, if the contamination does not significantly impact the entire site, and placing the parcels on the market. Any potential purchaser enters into an agreement with EPA to clean up the parcel in exchange for permission to buy the land and establish a business. Parceling has a number of advantages: portions of idle properties are redeveloped spurring cleanup and redevelopment of other parcels; funds from the purchase can be used to fund cleanup of other parcels; and stimulation of the local economy. The city of Sterling worked with State of Illinois officials and prospective purchaser Leggett and Platt to redevelop the site. The city’s aggressive efforts led to an Illinois EPA Municipal Brownfields Redevelopment Grant of $200,000 in March 2002. In May 2002, Leggett and Platt, Inc., a mattress manufacturer and former customer of Northwestern Steel and Wire, entered into a Prospective Purchaser Agreement (PPA) with EPA to purchase parcels of the property. Forming the subsidiary of Sterling Steel to resume mill operations at the site, Leggett and Platt assumed cleanup responsibilities and received a total $1.2 million in brownfields assessment grants and revolving loan fund grants. Presently, Sterling Steel is one of seven companies sitting on a combined 70% of the 700-acre district. The estimated $45 million in capital investment by Sterling Steel Company and Sterling Rail Company has created 150 jobs with 350-600 projected future jobs. Wal-Mart recently purchased adjacent land, which will be used for a distribution center employing 600 workers by 2006. The taxes paid by Wal-Mart as part of the purchase enabled the city to upgrade 4.5 miles of water and sewer pipelines. These infrastructure improvements will increase the value of the western portion of the site, which was previously unusable. The city of Sterling hopes to redevelop the remaining 30% of the site through the use of Illinois EPA grant funds and is incorporating a number of sources, including the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services, and the U.S. Economic Development Administration, into its long-term redevelopment strategy. Without parceling, this 700-acre tract of land could still be sitting idle. Instead, it is generating funds for further remediation and jobs for area residents. For additional information, contact James Van der Kloot, EPA Region 5 at (312) 353-3161 or at vanderkloot.james@epa.gov. Mike Leavitt Sworn in as EPA Administrator Former Utah governor, Mike Leavitt, was sworn in as the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on November 6, 2003 by Acting EPA Administrator, Marianne Horinko. “I am honored to serve as the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency,” said Leavitt. “My immediate priority will be to visit EPA’s administrative and program offices and meet as many members of our dedicated staff as quickly as I can. I want to hear from them what’s important to the agency and for the public health and environment of our country as I prepare to outline a more detailed vision for the Agency.” In his first message to the Agency, Leavitt explained that this approach to environmental management could be captured in one word: balance. “We need to balance the needs of the environment and the needs of humanity…balance the needs of this generation and the next. I also believe that environmental protection needs to be more than just an agency,” he said. “It needs to be an ethic.” On October 28th, Leavitt was confirmed by an overwhelming majority of the U.S. Senate (88-8) to serve at the helm of the EPA. During the confirmation process, Leavitt emphasized his strengths of collaborative environmental management, his commitment to air and water quality, land conservation, and his dedication to ensuring effective stewardship of our natural resources. For additional information, contact Lisa Harrison at (202) 564-9829
or at Former Murray Smelter Replaced by Hospital With the demolition of Murray Smelter’s two prominent smokestacks in August 2000, the city of Murray, Utah moved closer to being Utah’s home for a new $362.5 million health care facility. Ironically, the potentially world-class hospital complex is being built on land that once posed a significant health risk. The former American Smelting and Refining Company property once contained elevated levels of arsenic and lead in the soil, groundwater, and surface water. In November 1995, a time-critical removal action was completed by the site owner, Asarco, through an Administrative Order on Consent with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). In an extraordinary move for a local government, the city of Murray indicated to EPA that it wanted to contribute significantly in the remediation process in the hopes of accelerating cleanup and redevelopment of the site. The city of Murray and EPA entered into a Memorandum of Understanding in 1996 that designated the city as lead agency while EPA maintained oversight authority. In 1998, contaminated soils were removed and disposed offsite as required by EPA’s Record of Decision. EPA made recommendations on how to address the two structurally unsound smokestacks in an August 1998 Consent Decree, and the owner subsequently demolished them. EPA oversaw Asarco’s demolition of the smokestacks and ensured human health and the environment were protected. EPA and the Utah Department of Environmental Quality entered into a Prospective Purchaser Agreement with Intermountain Health Care (IHC), a nonprofit health care organization, and in December 2000, IHC gained ownership of the majority of the site. In September 2003, a groundbreaking ceremony opened construction of the new complex, which will cover over 100 acres of the original smelting and refinery site, and contain 1.2 million square feet of space. The complex will include an ambulatory and outpatient diagnostics hospital; a birthing center; a tertiary inpatient, critical care level one trauma hospital; a cancer treatment hospital; and a heart and lung hospital. Besides the direct health benefit of having high quality care, the hospital will also provide additional tax revenues and stimulate the local economy through new jobs. The remaining 42-acres of the site is being used by Utah Transit Authority, which built a TRAX light rail station to provide community residents with transportation to and from Salt Lake City, and by two local developers interested in commercial opportunities. In addition, IHC rented a segment of their original share of land to Costco, a major membership warehouse club, to pursue retail development. The smelter, which operated between 1872 and 1949, was one of many industrial facilities in Murray. Since the two smokestacks symbolized such a significant period in city history, upon their demolition, the residents of Murray commemorated them in a wall mural and integrated them into the new city logo. For additional information, contact Bonnie Lavelle, EPA Region 8 at (303) 312-6579. Visit Brownfields Spotlight Archives |
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