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Through an innovative reuse strategy, 72 miles of former Idaho railroad right-of-way is being reused as bike trails. The nearly completed Trail of the Coeur d’Alenes meanders alongside Coeur d’Alene Lake and Coeur d’Alene River offering views of isolated Idaho countryside, historic mining towns, and the Bitterroot Divide. A variety of conveniences along the trail include picnic tables, benches, and commodes. The trail is managed by Idaho State Parks and the Coeur d’Alene Tribe. The Trail of the Coeur d’Alenes was created using an existing railway right-of-way owned by Union Pacific Railroad. The original railway was built in the late 1800s when silver was discovered, and was used to transport ores and concentrates from the mining sites. To construct the railway, the company used readily available materials, such as mine tailings and waste rock that contained low levels of heavy metals. An Engineering Evaluation/Cost Analysis determined that the most effective way to address the heavy metal contamination was to install asphalt and/or vegetative barriers, remove or dispose of some contamination, and control access to the trail through signs, outreach materials, and education. Reuse of the railway was a cost effective, safe solution that eliminated the need to remove low-level contamination. The asphalt barrier poured on top of the tailings and waste rock protects riders from interacting with the contamination and limits contamination migration. For the area of the trail near Chatcolet Lake on the Coeur d’Alene Tribe Reservation, waste materials were removed and replaced with non-contaminated materials. To ensure public safety, a trail guide offers common sense suggestions for limiting exposure, including remaining on the trail, washing hands and face before eating, and removing dirt from clothing, shoes, equipment, children’s toys, and pets. Once complete, the trail will cover almost the entire width of the northern panhandle of Idaho, from Plummer to Mullan. Fifteen miles of trail are still under construction. As part of the remaining construction, the historic Chatcolet Bridge is being retrofitted to allow a 30-foot clearance for marine traffic. The original bridge was only 18 feet above the lake, and needed to rotate to allow boats to pass. The Rails to Trails project involved the coordination of the Environmental Protection Agency, the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality, and the Coeur d’Alene Tribe. The Wallace-Mullan Branch right-of-way is just one of a number of Superfund sites being addressed in this former mining area, including the Coeur d’Alene Basin and Bunker Hill Superfund sites. For additional information, contact Ed Moreen, EPA Coeur d’Alene
Basin Representative at (208) 664-4588.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced recently the completion of a two-year, $4 million cleanup at the Chase Brass and Copper site in Waterbury, Connecticut. From 1868 to 1976, the area had been used as a waste disposal area for process waste, including metal turning waste and construction debris generated by the Chase Brass and Copper Company. The site was contaminated with heavy metals, including lead, chromium, copper, zinc and nickel, polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and asbestos. Throughout the project EPA worked closely with local health officials, the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection, Trout Unlimited, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. "I want to thank state and city officials for their input and commitment throughout this project,” said Robert W. Varney, regional administrator for EPA New England. “Working as a team, we were able to flatten out the bumps in the road, common to any large project like this one. It was a great effort by all. We can now look forward to when the area will be open to the public to enjoy the banks of the Naugatuck River again.” “The city of Waterbury appreciates EPA’s tireless efforts in funding and remediation of a site that once posed both a public health threat to our community and an environmental hazard to the Naugatuck River. Furthermore, DEP’s support and the team’s working approach in abating these hazards resulted in a win-win situation for all involved,” said Dr. Dada N. Jabbour, Waterbury’s director of Hazardous Materials. EPA excavated and consolidated contaminated soil, debris, and river sediment, and placed the materials under a protective, engineered cap on a portion of the site that is above the groundwater table. The cap system, designed by Weston Solutions, Inc., and constructed by EPA contractors, Shaw Environmental and Infrastructure, Inc., includes a drainage and erosion control system, and soil cover. The riverbank was reinforced with rock riprap and a steep bank was planted with grass seed to prevent erosion. Altogether, EPA planted about 1,000 plants, trees, and shrubs as part of habitat and wildlife restoration efforts, including bird nesting boxes, fish shelters along the riverbank, and other vegetation to serve as food for migrating birds. “It will be important now for the state to monitor the site to make sure the cap remains in good condition and that the plants continue to grow,” said Janis Tsang, EPA on-scene coordinator. “The riverfront and habitat restoration part of the project turned out really well, and will be left for citizens to enjoy for years to come.” For further information, contact Alice Kaufman, EPA Community Involvement Office, at 617-918-1064 FY04 Guidelines for Brownfields Assessment, Revolving Loan Fund, and Cleanup Grants Posted The Fiscal Year 04 (FY04) Guidelines for Brownfields Assessment, Revolving Loan Fund, and Cleanup Grants have been posted to EPA’s brownfields website at http://www.epa.gov/brownfields. The proposal deadline is December 4, 2004. These grants may be used to address sites contaminated by petroleum and hazardous substances, pollutants, or contaminants (including hazardous substances co-mingled with petroleum). The brownfields assessment grants (each funded up to $200,000 over two years) provide funding for a grant recipient to inventory, characterize, assess, and conduct planning and community involvement activities related to brownfield sites. Brownfields revolving loan fund grants (each funded up to $1 million over five years) provide funding for a grant recipient to capitalize a revolving loan fund and to provide subgrants to carry out cleanup activities at brownfield sites that are owned by the subgrant recipient. Brownfields cleanup grants (each funded up to $200,000 over two years) provide funding for a grant recipient to carry out cleanup activities at brownfield sites that are owned by the grant recipient. For brownfields assessment grants, an applicant may request a waiver of the $200,000 limit and obtain funding up to $350,000 based on the anticipated level of contamination, size, or ownership status of the site. Revolving loan fund and cleanup grants require a 20 percent cost share, which may be in the form of a contribution of money, labor, material, or services from a nonfederal source. If the cost share is in the form of a contribution of labor, material, or other services, it must be incurred for an eligible and allowable cost under the grant and not for ineligible costs. An applicant may request a waiver of the 20 percent cost share requirement based on hardship. For more information on the US EPA Brownfields program, visit http://www.epa.gov/brownfields. Innovative Remediation Strategy Planned for Emeryville, California Across the bay from the city of San Francisco, a once thriving, now abandoned industrial area is being restored to productive use. Emeryville, which is just one square mile in size with a population of just over 7,000, is prime real estate given its proximity to San Francisco and Oakland. Despite the small size of the area, the damage done by industry was extensive. There are numerous cleanup sites within Emeryville, including a rubber plant, a 22-acre mixed industrial site with a lime and sulfur plant and an insecticide producing plant, and a chromium-plating factory. As part of the ongoing, citywide remediation efforts, an innovative strategy is being used at two chromium contamination sites. At 1401 Park, the site of a former chromium-plating factory, Electro Coating, Inc., an innovative remediation strategy is being used to degrade chromium in the groundwater. The former owner injected molasses into an on-site chromium plume to stabilize it. This remedy was effective, but its broader use would have been expensive since the procedure has been licensed. Three pilot tests injecting a different substance - cheese whey - into chromium produced even more impressive results and presented a far cheaper solution. Cheese whey, a free by-product of cheese production that is readily available, reduced chromium levels by 99% through degrading chromium-6 to chromium-3. Given the success of the pilots, cheese whey will be used to stabilize an on-site chromium plume at this site. Following cleanup, a 72-unit residential, mixed-use development will be built. A second smaller band of chromium contamination was recently identified at 5801 Hollis. The new owner of the recently purchased property will conduct the site remediation and is considering the cheese whey remedial process. Once remediation is complete at 5801 Hollis, the site will be redeveloped as office/retail space. Both sites, located in low-income target areas, are working towards receiving Capital Incentives for Emeryville’s Redevelopment and Restoration (CIERRA) loans to fund the work. The CIERRA loans are funded using federal monies from the Brownfield Cleanup Revolving Loan funds. The redevelopment of the city has generated over $700 million in new investments over the past 10 years, spurred job growth, and enticed technology corporations to consider moving to the area. Pixar Animation Studios, the animation company that created Toy Story and Finding Nemo, chose to build its $88 million headquarters in Emeryville. For additional information, contact Ignacio Dayrit, Emeryville
Project Manager at (510) 596-4350. Report on Portfields Interagency Initiative Now Available Led by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and jointly administered by the Portfields Interagency Working Group, the Portfields Interagency Initiative focuses on the redevelopment of brownfields in and around ports, harbors, and marine transportation hubs (“portfields”), with an emphasis on development of environmentally sound port facilities. The Interagency Working Group includes the Environmental Protection Agency, the Economic Development Administration, the U.S. Maritime Administration, the Army Corps of Engineers, the U.S. Navy, and the departments of Labor, Interior, Housing and Urban Development, and Justice. Each partner brings its own specialized expertise to contribute to the revitalization of port communities. The benefits of portfields redevelopment are many. Redevelopment can remove or stabilize dangerous structures and contamination in or near waterways; restore the health and natural functions of watersheds by improving surface water and groundwater quality; remediate and restore wetlands, woodlands, and habitat; improve stormwater management systems; reduce health risks for nearby communities and waterway users; remove eyesores; and help improve air quality. By redeveloping portfields sites, communities can expand their port facilities, increase commercial port activity, and provide economic development opportunities. Regardless of location, ports share concerns related to management, the environment, development, transport, commerce, homeland security, and stakeholder coordination. Linking and balancing competing interests within a single port can be a tricky proposition. The major goals that drive port revitalization include increasing port commerce while protecting the environment and human health, economic development, job creation, environmental cleanup and restoration of land and water, and improved transportation systems. To learn more about the Portfields Initiative and to download the
Portfields Interagency Initiative report, Phase I, visit http://www2.brownfieldsource.org/ |
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