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April 25, 2002 THIS WEEK:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Visit the Brownfields.com Conferences page for the latest industry events. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Brownfields 2002: Call for Presentations
Due May 15 CHARLOTTE, North Carolina - Brownfields 2002 co-sponsors EPA, The Engineer's Society of Western Pennsylvania (ESWP) and the International City/County Management Association (ICMA) announced a Call for Presentations for the 7th annual Brownfields Conference in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Conference is expected to draw thousands of government officials, bankers, developers, planners, attorneys, government representatives, realtors, non-profit organizations and community groups. The conference will introduce the new and enlarged Brownfields program inspired by recently enacted federal legislation and the theme is "Investing in the Future." Research presentations are being solicited from all interested organizations and individuals concerned about brownfields redevelopment, along with new directions for federal, state and local programs. Presentations and papers need not be limited to scientific and engineering fields, but can include community oriented research projects as well. A broad range of presentation topics is encouraged on the impacts of the law and policy, as well as best practices developed to enhance brownfields redevelopment. The presentations will serve the purpose of sharing research regarding brownfields reuse success stories from around the country. The presentations can be formal (as if telling the results of a research project) or informal (as if telling the results of research relating to a site-specific experience.) The postmark deadline for presentation submittals is May 15, 2002. For a full list of presentation topics and requirements, refer to the Brownfields 2002 Conference web site or call the Engineer's Society at (412) 261-0710, ext. 32. New Legislation Will Improve Mine
Site Cleanup in British Columbia VICTORIA, British Columbia, Canada (EcoLog Week) - Amendments to British Columbia's Waste Management Act, introduced this month by Water, Land and Air Protection (WLAP) Minister Joyce Murray, are intended to eliminate duplication and improve the process for rehabilitating contaminated mine sites in the province. "These amendments will streamline and clarify the regulation of mine sites," said Murray. "Previously we had two duplicate sets of regulations for the reclamation and remediation of mine sites. This added to the cost of doing business, with no environmental benefit whatsoever. This legislation sets out one clear process for cleaning up mine sites while maintaining the same standard of environmental protection." The legislation formalizes an agreement between WLAP and the Ministry of Energy and Mines to address mining industry concerns about having to comply with two sets of rules for agreement was reached after contaminated mine sites. The respective Ministers concluded the agreement following an extensive consultation process that began in 1999. Under the proposed amendments, WLAP will retain responsibility under the Waste Management Act for regulating spills and discharges of pollutants at mine sites. The act also applies to historic mine sites, as these are not regulated under a Mines Act permit. For new and existing mines, reclamation and remediation work to restore the environment will continue to be regulated by the Ministry of Energy and Mines. The amendments will also improve the contaminated sites process in two other ways. The first deals with liability issues: current legislation allows previous owners of mines to be held legally responsible for the cleanup of any contamination caused by a new mining operator of that site. This potential liability has made owners reluctant to sell mines to companies that want to undertake further mining or mineral exploration, and thus has created a barrier to new mineral development. The proposed amendments will eliminate this future liability and encourage new mineral exploration. Secondly, the bill harmonizes the wording in various acts to clarify generally whether contamination issues need to be addressed before new development projects can proceed. For International Brownfields news and resources, visit Brownfields.com International Partners aboutREMEDIATION.com in Canada and BrownfieldSites.com in the UK and Europe. Plan to Attend "Funding Green Buildings:
Sources and Strategies" This exciting workshop provides a 10-step roadmap for optimizing your agency's or client's green building-related financing, capital campaigns and grantwriting strategies. The presenter, Jan McAdams, uses case histories to describe creative approaches to the financing and fundraising process. In addition to funding readiness strategies, Jan describes the "Energywi$e 100: The 100 Major Public and Private Sources for Grants and Donations for Sustainable & PV Commercial Design Applications." For more information and to register, contact Jan McAdams, Workshop Sponsor & Instructor, at Tel. (702) 456-5827; email: janmcadams@aol.com; or visit http://www.fundinggreenbuildings.com. PA Dedicates First "Gold Standard" Green Building in U.S. EBENSBURG, Pennsylvania - Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Secretary David Hess joined local residents, legislators and business leaders in Ebensburg to dedicate DEP's Cambria Office -- the first building in the nation to meet the U.S. Green Building Council's "gold" standard. The building was honored as the first building in the nation to meet the gold standard. The rating system scores buildings based on the following criteria: sustainable sites, water efficiency, energy and atmosphere, materials and resources, indoor environmental quality, and innovation and design. Because of the design, more than 700 gallons of water is saved each day compared to conventional buildings. "The 'green' technology at work at our award-winning Cambria Office is further proof that the environment and economy go hand in hand," said Secretary Hess. "[It] serves as yet another reminder to private industry that it doesn't have to cost more to help the environment." DEP's Cambria Office Building was designed using an integrated process to minimize redundancies between systems and to maximize efficiency. The building was blended into the site to preserve existing wetlands and trees. The building also features improved energy efficiency techniques, such as a ground source heating and cooling supply that will also provide hot water. In addition, the building has a 15-kilowatt solar panel system, which generates renewable energy that is being sold to Green Mountain Energy to offset the cost of building energy use. Materials used in the building were selected based on their recycled content and the energy used to produce them, including recycled structural steel and roofing shingles, fly-ash-content concrete, and paint and adhesives made of low or no volatile organic compounds. The 34,500-square-foot building was designed by L. Robert Kimball & Associates/Kulp Boecker Architects and built at a cost of $93 per square foot, similar to the cost of other conventional buildings in the area. The DEP Cambria office was also selected as one of the nation's top 10 "design solutions that protect and enhance the environment" by the American Institute of Architects. Native Planting Restores Superfund
Wetland EPA New England and the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) have restored a six-acre wetland that had been damaged by contamination from the Ottati and Goss / Kingston Steel Drum Superfund Site in Kingston, New Hampshire. The 35-acre site was placed on the EPA's National Priorities List in 1983, making it eligible for federal funding to address contamination at the site. The site is the former location of the Great Lakes Container Corporation which conducted a drum reconditioning operation from the late 1950's through July 1980. Previous actions taken at the site include the removal of approximately 4,000 drums of waste in the early 1980's. Now the wetland has been restored with new organic material and young trees to recreate the marsh area that had been contaminated. More that 20,000 cubic yards of wetland material was imported to recreate the marsh area, and 261 hummocks were constructed, approximately 10 hummocks for every 10,000 square feet in the restored area. EPA and the US Army Corps excavated and properly disposed of more than 9,600 tons of contaminated soils and sediments from a six-acre portion of the wetland. More than 1000 trees and shrubs have been planted in the six-acre area as part of the restoration effort, including native growers like Red Maple, Yellow Birch, and Swamp White Oak. "This is a great Johnny Appleseed kind of project," said Richard Leighton, EPA liaison to the U.S. Corps of Engineers, who is overseeing the wetlands restoration activities and tree planting. Working under the direction of the Army Corps of Engineers and EPA, Environmental Chemical Corporation, Inc. constructed a thermal desorption unit to treat soils contaminated with volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). This phase of the project is expected to be complete this spring. |