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April 4, 2002 THIS WEEK:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Brownfields Weekly welcomes your organization's news, announcements, press releases, and updates on ongoing or completed brownfields projects. Send to: editors@brownfields.com. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- National Park Service Introduces Two
New Groundwork Pilots WASHINGTON, D.C. - The National Park Service (NPS) announced the addition of two new pilots -- Denver, Colorado and Minneapolis, Minnesota -- to Groundwork USA, a network of independent, not-for-profit, environmental businesses called Groundwork Trusts. In 1996, the NPS' Rivers & Trails program joined with EPA's Brownfields Program to launch the Groundwork USA Initiative, which helps to transform blighted urban neighborhoods. "Groundwork Trusts focus on six program areas to develop community rejuvenation: land, brownfields, education, business, youth, and communities," said Doug Evans of the NPS' Rivers & Trails Program. "Depending upon the needs of the community, Groundwork Trusts may be involved in activities ranging from brownfield remediation and converting vacant lots into neighborhood parks to initiating community garden clean-ups and work days, sponsoring tree planting events, and organizing citizens to maintain and support their local parks and open space." This network of locally organized and controlled Groundwork Trusts aims to bring about the sustained regeneration, improvement, and management of the physical environment through community-based partnerships. "The addition of Minneapolis and Denver to the Groundwork USA network is an excellent example of how the National Park Service partners with local communities and government agencies to promote the revitalization of parks and open space in urban communities," said NPS Director Fran Mainella. Each Groundwork Trust provides cost-effective project development services focused on improving their communities' environment, economy and quality of life through local action.Groundwork USA is modeled after the successful British Groundwork movement, which is rebuilding Britain's bypassed urban communities through community-led strategies. The addition of Denver and Minneapolis brings the total number of Groundwork Trusts to eight organizations. HUD Announces $2.2 Billion to Fund
Housing, Community Development WASHINGTON, D.C. - Housing and Urban Development Secretary Mel Martinez announced March 28th that HUD would make $2.2 billion in grants available to increase homeownership, ensure more affordable rental opportunities, provide assistance to homeless people, and fund numerous other critical housing programs across the country. The Super Notice of Funding Availability (SuperNOFA) issued today notifies communities and groups throughout the nation that grants are available for 29 HUD programs and 41 funding opportunities. "These grants reflect the continued commitment of this Administration to help American families find decent and affordable housing," said Secretary Martinez. "We are also encouraging community and faith-based organizations and to extended their reach by partnering with HUD." The Secretary informed grant applicants that he expects them to exercise responsibility in exchange for funding. "We are going to insist on accountability. Grant recipients will have to meet program goals and create tangible results that are going to help make families and communities stronger," said Martinez. Martinez said today's announcement also reflects a new commitment to opening up contracting opportunities to small, disadvantaged and women-owned businesses. "They deserve to participate in the contracting opportunities made available through HUD programs - and we will ensure that they can," he said. A basic goal of the SuperNOFA is to make it easier for applicants to coordinate the use of two or more competitive grant programs. By having information about all HUD competitive grant programs, applicants may gain a better understanding of the multiple resources available to address their needs and opportunities. The application process also encourages coordination among applicants - either encouraging two or more organizations to join forces to submit one application to jointly implement funded activities or to submit separate applications for different grants to coordinate the use of grants. HUD's SuperNOFA Information Center provides all materials and information necessary to prepare funding requests. Application forms and other 2002 SuperNOFA information, including a list of available grants, are available on the HUD web site: http://www.hud.gov/offices/adm/grants/fundsavail.cfm. Call for Papers and Exhibitors at
5th Annual Florida Brownfields Conference The 5th Annual Florida Brownfields Conference will be held September 22 through 25, 2002 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Pensacola, Florida. The theme for the conference is "Hop Aboard the Brownfield Express" to receive fast and current information about new legislation, liability issues, financing property transactions, and the status of state programs in the Southeast. Call for Papers, Sponsorship Packages, and Exhibitor Forms are available. For more information, contact Dr. Peter Shuba, Escambia County Brownfields Coordinator at peter_shuba@co.escambia.fl.us, or call (850) 595-3538. Abandoned Montana Mine Getting $87 Million Corporate Cleanup BUTTE, Montana (ENS) - A settlement between mining companies, the state of Montana and the EPA will clean up acidic mine drainage at the Berkeley Pit, the nation's largest body of contaminated water. Atlantic Richfield Company (ARCO) and five other mining companies will pay some $87 million to control billions of gallons of acidic drainage that is contaminating the pit and threatening nearby waterways, as well as the drinking water supply for the city of Butte. The Berkeley Pit is part of the Silver Bow Creek/Butte area Superfund site located in the Clark Fork Basin in southwestern Montana. The EPA estimates that the total costs of cleanup and control at the pit alone could reach $110 million. The mine drainage in the Berkeley Pit is acidic and laden with arsenic and heavy metals such as aluminum, cadmium, copper, iron, lead, zinc and sulfate. These toxins led to the 1995 deaths of 342 snow geese, who mistook the contaminated water for a safe migratory drinking stop. The Berkeley Pit site covers about 23 square miles near downtown Butte. Surrounding the Berkeley Pit are more than 3,500 miles of underground mine workings that were operated by several separate mines since 1865. Until 1982, the mine workings were drained by ARCO and its predecessors through a massive underground pumping system to allow mining to continue in the pit and the other underground mines. In 1982, ARCO decided to cease mine operations and shut off the drainage pumps. Groundwater in the area then started rising back to levels that existed before the mining began. As the groundwater level rose, the Berkeley Pit filled with acid mine drainage from the pit walls, the network of underground mines, waste rock dumps and leach pads in the area. "What was once a regulated mining and de-watering operation has now become a Superfund Site with the largest body of contaminated water in the United States," said John Cruden, deputy assistant attorney general for the Justice Department's environment and natural resources division. ARCO has been implementing the EPA's cleanup plan for the Berkeley Pit for the past five years under a prior order from the agency. The other defendants, including ASARCO, AR Montana Corporation, Dennis Washington, Montana Resources and Montana Resources, Inc., are reportedly contributing to the cost of this work under terms not disclosed to the government. Under the new agreement, the defendants will pump and treat the pit's acidic mine water, which now amounts to more than 30 billion gallons, to maintain the water below a critical level. Without these actions, contaminated water would flow into Silver Bow Creek and area groundwater. The defendants will also reimburse about $3.25 million of the costs the EPA has incurred so far at the site, and make an advance payment of $5.723 million to cover future costs of monitoring the cleanup. Since the cleanup plan is expected to take decades, the settlement contains financial assurances and guarantees from the defendants that they will be able to continue to finance the cleanup in the future. Former Lake Erie Brownfield Plans
Trout Fishing, Marina & Winery Formerly the location of the sprawling Diamond Shamrock Painesville Works, this long-neglected former brownfield along Lake Erie will be transformed into Lakeview Bluffs -- a planned community that developers believe will become one of the most attractive lakefront sites in the state of Ohio. Historically, the land has been the site of a 500-acre settling pond, areas of heavy manufacturing and a landfill. In 1980, the U.S. EPA initiated action to remedy chromium contamination at the site, which resulted in the construction of a 120-acre clay cap over the impacted area. The Ohio EPA began enforcement activities for the rest of the site in 1989. In a public-private partnership with the Ohio EPA, Lake Metroparks, Lake County, all local municipalities and numerous other public stakeholders, development company Hemisphere Corporation has been working to develop a plan for redeveloping the site in phases. Commenting on the long-term plan unveiled March 26 by Hemisphere, company President Todd Davis said, "We envision a mixed-use community that will feature a variety of housing options, commercial development and public parks -- not to mention breathtaking views of Lake Erie and some of the best steelhead trout fishing in the world." Long-term plans include a commercial vineyard being planned in conjunction with the Ohio State University School of Agriculture; a trout club and winery; a residential development overlooking the scenic Grand River corridor and the vineyard; a championship-quality golf course spanning both the lakefront and the river, with particular emphasis on environmentally sensitive design features; housing perched along a bluff above Lake Erie; and an equestrian facility. More than half of the site will be dedicated to green space. A breakwall will protect the shoreline for the development of a commercial marina. Hemisphere's master plan would also create several recreational destinations linked by aesthetically pleasing trails, permanent public access to the river and a several-hundred-acre public nature preserve. As part of the nature preserve, Hemisphere has teamed with Lake Metroparks to pursue funding for a nature trail along the Grand River. The project is subject to oversight and approval by the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency. Davis said Hemisphere is working closely with the agency, and large areas of the site already meet applicable standards for the property's intended use. "We expect to take advantage of the property's unparalleled natural attributes and turn it into one of the most exciting projects of its kind in the country," said Davis. "We believe it can serve as a national model for how to redevelop industrial property while preserving valuable green space for public benefit."
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