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The City of Indianapolis, in conjunction with the Local Initiative Support Corporation (LISC), recently created a grant and loan program that provides funding opportunities for both not-for-profit and for-profit entities. Offering $300,000 in grants and loans to aid organizations in site assessment and clean-up activities, this is the city’s first-ever brownfields grant and loan program. In announcing the new program, Mayor Bart Peterson commented, “Redeveloping brownfields not only removes blight and helps protect the health and safety of our community, but also creates jobs and economic investment. We are committed to working with neighborhoods to redevelop these eyesores into locations that benefit our city.” Under the auspices of the new program, grants are available to not-for-profit entities and require a 50% match with a maximum grant amount of $20,000. The grants are targeted towards community and neighborhood organizations. In addition, loan funds are available to both not-for-profit and for-profit entities with a maximum loan amount of $50,000 available per project. Rates range from 2.5% to 3.0% depending on the length of the loan. The loan program is targeted at private developers. Since the program’s inception, the city has awarded seven grants totaling $82,282. For more information about the City of Indianapolis’ brownfields redevelopment initiatives, log on to www.indygov.org/dmdrealestate/brownfields/brownfields.htm or contact Kyle Hendricks at (317) 327-5845.
A new publication and Web site released by American Farmland Trust (AFT) and The U.S. Conference of Mayors (USCM) highlights unprecedented cooperation between rural and urban leaders on policies that will promote smarter land use decisions affecting farms and cities. Town Meets Country: Farm-City Forums on Land and Community report on the results of five meetings held around the country to explore land use issues facing urban and rural communities. The forums revealed that farmers and urbanites have a common enemy: land-wasting sprawl development. The model farm-city forums were held in Cedar Rapids, Iowa; Charlotte, North Carolina; Rochester, New York; and in both Everett and Tacoma, Washington. One of the most surprising results of the forums was that many participants reported that they had never before sat down to discuss land use issues with their counterparts from the city or countryside. Don Stuart, American Farmland Trust’s Pacific Northwest regional director, who coordinated the forums in Tacoma and Everett, Washington, said, “Farms cannot exist without cities and cities cannot exist without farms. It’s a relationship that goes back to the dawn of history. Working together, farmers and urbanites can be a powerful force to control sprawl.” To extend resources and information to all communities around the country, AFT and USCM have set up a Web site with details on how to organize a farm-city forum, including sample agendas and invitations. This, as well as the publication, can be found at http://www.farmland.org/farm_city_forum and http://www.usmayors.org. The new publication and Web site emerged from a national level partnership between AFT and USCM formed in June of 1999 to focus on issues concerning the preservation of America’s farmland and the revitalization of cities. Although the partnership is unique, AFT also works closely with a number of organizations dedicated to smart growth. AFT president Ralph Grossi serves as chairman of Smart Growth America, a nationwide coalition promoting a better way to grow: one that protects farmland and open space, revitalizes neighborhoods, keeps housing affordable, and provides more transportation choices. American Farmland Trust is a private, nonprofit farmland conservation organization founded in 1980 to stop the loss of productive farmland and to promote farming practices that lead to a healthy environment. For more information, visit http://www.farmland.org. The U.S. Conference of Mayors if the official bipartisan organization of cities with populations of 30,000 or more represented by its chief elected official, the mayor. For more information, visit www.usmayors.org/uscm Brownfields Bond Funds at Work in Phoenix, Arizona Brownfields bond funds are hard at work in Phoenix, Arizona supporting both the arts and neighborhood revitalization projects. The brownfields program is helping the Arts Commission by providing more than $120,000 for asbestos removal at the Phoenix Family Museum. The museum will be located at the former Monroe School at Seventh and Van Buren Streets. The building is on the National Register of Historic Places. Construction is estimated to begin in 2003/2004 with opening scheduled early in 2005. The Phoenix Family Museum will provide hands-on exhibits and educational programs to stimulate the “minds, muscles, and imaginations of children and their families while promoting cooperative interaction, fostering cultural understanding, and enhancing parenting skills.” At the southeast corner of Central Avenue and Broadway Road, brownfields bond funds helped the Neighborhood Services Department clean up property located at this intersection. The area is being cleared to accommodate commercial redevelopment. Asbestos and lead paint were removed from the buildings and petroleum contamination from former underground storage tanks was remediated. Approximately $65,000 was provided to the project. Funds for these projects are from the brownfields allocation of the voter-approved Capital Improvement Bond Program. To learn more about these projects, visit http://www.phoenix.gov/ENVPGM/brownfld.html or contact the City of Phoenix Brownfields Land Recycling Program office at 602-256-3452. Four Contaminated Urban Rivers to be Restored as Pilot Projects The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) announced four pilot projects to promote cleanup and restoration for the following urban rivers: the Passaic River in New Jersey, the Gowanus Canal in New York, Fourche Creek in Arkansas, and City Creek in Utah. “These rivers are invaluable resources,” said EPA’s Acting Administrator Marianne Lamont Horinko, “and these grants will help revitalize them, improving environmental and public health protection, and bringing new life to the cities they nourish.” “These projects also will enhance the economic life along these rivers,” said Major General Robert Griffin, Acting Director of Civil Works, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. “They are excellent examples of successful integration of Corps and EPA activities and they represent a win-win solution to moving forward on advancing the cleanup of these valuable water resources.” The four pilot projects were announced at the Brownfields Showcase Community Research Summit in Washington, D.C. This annual event provides a forum for leaders from the 28 Showcase Communities and 20 participating federal agencies to develop strategies that will ensure successful local brownfields revitalization. EPA provides $50,000 to each pilot project. The Passaic River is located in northeastern New Jersey, including Bergen, Essex, Hudson, and Passaic counties; the Gowanus Canal is a highly developed urban area located in the borough of Brooklyn, City of New York; Fourche Creek is located within the City of Little Rock, Pulaski County, Arkansas; and City Creek/Gateway District is located within the City of Salt Lake City, Utah, and is a tributary of the Jordan River. EPA and the Corps signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) in July 2002 committing them to a partnership for restoration of degraded urban rivers. As part of this agreement, EPA and the Corps pledged to select eight demonstration pilot projects in FY 2003 demonstrating how coordinated government and private sector efforts can not only restore contaminated rivers, but also revitalize urban environments. For information on the MOU and the Urban Rivers Restoration Initiative,
visit http://www.usace.army.mil/inet/functions/cs/hot_topics/urban_rivers.htm
or http://www.epa.gov/oswer/landrevitalization/urbanrivers Greenfield, New Hampshire Redevelops Former East Coast Steel Site The New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services (NHDES) received $817,695 (between fiscal years 2000 to 2003) from EPA New England to conduct state-lead Targeted Brownfield Assessments (TBAs). NHDES spent $88,964 to assess the contamination at the East Coast Steel site in Greenfield, New Hampshire. In fall 2000, NHDES conducted site investigation and clean-up planning services on behalf of the town of Greenfield. Cleanup of the site will be completed by the end of summer 2003. The town will redevelop the site into a community septic system and open space park for the community, planned to open in spring 2004. The village district of Greenfield, New Hampshire, has had problems with individual septic systems and private water wells. Many residents voiced concerns that their water quality will degrade due to the close proximity of private wells and individual septic systems. Local business owners complained that business expansions could not take place without larger septic system capabilities. In response to these concerns, the town of Greenfield will redevelop the former East Coast Steel site as a community septic system. The remaining portion of the property will be redeveloped into open space for community use. Greenfield has taken a proactive role in addressing contamination concerns at this site. In March 2000, residents passed a $2.1 million bond to pay for several projects, including property purchase, cleanup, and redevelopment of the East Coast Steel site. Much of the $2.1 million came from grants through various state and federal programs, including New Hampshire Department of Transportation, USDA Rural Development, and NHDES. Of the $2.1 million bond, approximately $300,000 has been allocated to use for the purchase of the property, demolition and removal of waste, and cleanup of the site, with approximately $450,000 budgeted for the installation of leachfields. The 2.54-acre former East Coast Steel site has a history of industrial and commercial use dating back to the 1920s when the former Greenfield Town Garage facility was located in the northwest portion of the site. Since then, a woodworking operation, a printed circuit board manufacturer, and a plastics molding operation have occupied the property. East Coast Steel operated a steel fabricating and contracting business at this location from 1979 to 1998. Following the closing of East Coast Steel, the town of Greenfield purchased the property. After the state Targeted Brownfields Assessments were completed, the town utilized approximately $10,000 from the state’s petroleum funds to assess soil and groundwater contamination. The assessment is currently underway and completion is expected by mid-summer 2003. Fifteen barrels of waste paints and oils, more PCB-containing light ballasts (fluorescent lights), and more thermostats were found on the site than initially identified. An additional 300 cubic yards of previously inaccessible petroleum-contaminated soil were encountered in the above ground storage tank area and removed for off-site treatment and disposal. The town of Greenfield anticipates receiving about $20,000 in state funds for the clean-up project in the form of reimbursement for oil cleanup to address excavation and disposal of petroleum-contaminated soils associated with the previously existing above ground and underground storage tanks. Between 20 and 30 drums containing paint materials, residues, solvents, and oils have been removed from the site. About 750 cubic yards of contaminated soil will be removed from the site for off-site treatment and disposal. All clean-up activities will be completed by fall 2003 with; the town of Greenfield anticipates redevelopment to be completed by spring 2004. For photos and contact information, visit http://www.epa.gov/newengland/brownfields/success/greenfield.htm |
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