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May 30, 2002 THIS WEEK:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Visit the Brownfields.com Conferences page for the latest Brownfields industry events. If you'd like to publicize an upcoming conference, write to the Editors. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Great Lakes Legacy Act Would Authorize
$50 Million for Remediation WASHINGTON, D.C. - Senators Carl Levin (D-MI) and Mike DeWine (R-OH), co-chairs of the Senate Great Lakes Task Force, last week introduced the Great Lakes Legacy Act of 2002, Senate Bill 2544. The bill is a companion to legislation introduced by Rep. Vernon Ehlers (R-MI) and authorizes $50 million per year in grants to states for remediation at Areas of Concern. The legislation also:
In other recent legislative news, the Real Estate Roundtable May 1st urged Congress to make permanent a temporary tax code provision that allows property owners to deduct environmental cleanup costs in the year they are incurred. Testifying before a House Ways and Means subcommittee, Roundtable member Timothy Brazell expressed real estate's strong support for legislation that would permanently extend Section 198 of the tax code, scheduled to expire in 2004. Bills H.R. 2264 and S. 1082 also would broaden the Section 198 definition of "hazardous substances" to include petroleum products and pesticides; and repeal the requirement that any deductions taken under Section 198 be "recaptured" as taxable income upon sale. Expensing helps real estate owners and developers manage the high cost and risk of redeveloping contaminated properties, leading to new economic investment, jobs and tax revenue in blighted communities. Also testifying May 1st in support of permanent brownfields cleanup cost deductibility was the sponsor of H.R. 2264, Rep. Jerry Weller (R-IL), and Acting Assistant Treasury Secretary Pamela F. Olson. (Source: Northeast-Midwest Institute and Staff Reports) Brownfields 2002 Presentation Deadline
Extended to June 5 CHARLOTTE, North Carolina - If you didn't think you would have time, now you do. Due to the overwhelming response from those wishing to participate in Brownfields 2002, the deadline has been extended for the Call for Research Presentations. You now have until June 5th to submit your summary abstract to be a presenter or panelist at the Brownfields 2002 Conference. Abstracts can be brief, and will serve as placeholders for conference presentations. The goal is to have approximately 90 panels for this year's conference. There should be room for everyone who wants to be a presenter, either by doing a formal presentation, being on a panel, or by a graphic display of your presentation at the informal "Poster Exhibit Session." Although the Conference is six months away -- due to printing schedules for the formal brochures and room scheduling -- it is necessary to know how many presentations will be involved. So hurry and get those papers in! Submit your summary online at Brownfields2002.org, or fax it to David Teorsky at ESWP: fax (412) 261-1606. Attend the EPA Region II Biannual
Conference The biannual conference on new developments at EPA Region II will be held Friday, June 7 at the Association of the Bar of the City of New York, 42 West 44th Street, in Manhattan. The luncheon keynote speaker will be Jane Kenny, EPA Region II Administrator. Panel discussions at the conference will include hazardous waste, air regulation and permitting, water/wetlands/watersheds, and enforcement and compliance. Seven hours of CLE credit will be provided. For further information and online registration, visit the Conference website; call (312) 988-5724 or write to environ@abanet.org. 2002 Land Renewal Network Conference The 2002 Land Renewal Network Conference is a forum for industry and others to convene, discuss and obtain information on RCRA, CERCLA, and Brownfields policies and program developments, with a special emphasis on reuse of contaminated properties. It will also provide an opportunity for industry and government agencies to collaborate and explore the development of new, or the enhancement of existing, policies affecting waste management and the cleanup and reuse of contaminated properties. Many distinguished speakers are participating in the June conference, including Marianne Horinko, Assistant Administrator for EPA's Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response; Michael Cook, Director of the Office of Emergency and Remedial Response (Superfund); Elizabeth Cotsworth, Director of the Office of Solid Waste (RCRA); Steve Luftig, EPA's Senior Advisor on Land Reuse, as well as many others representing federal, state, and local governments and private industry. An updated conference agenda and registration information are below in PDF file format (to open PDFs, you'll need Acrobat Reader). For more information or to register, contact Laura Sneeringer at (703) 284-9484. We look forward to seeing you at the conference! Click
here for the 2002 Land Renewal Conference agenda. "From an Asphalt Jungle to a Jungle
Gym" Oakland City Councilmember Moses Mayne and Oakland Unified School District Superintendent Dennis Chaconas last Thursday joined the Trust for Public Land (TPL), MetLife Foundation, Principal Angela Archie and the children of Lockwood Elementary School in celebrating the revitalization of the school's playground. Serving predominately African-American and Latino families, Lockwood Elementary suffers from severe overcrowding and is in one of the most park-deficient districts in Oakland. The completion of the playground renovation is a step toward addressing this deficiency, providing more than 900 students ages 5 through 11 with a safe, stimulating place to play. "The transformation is impressive," said Oakland Mayor Jerry Brown. "From an asphalt jungle to a jungle gym." Lockwood Elementary School's six-acre, shadeless, asphalt playground has been transformed into a tree-lined haven with play structures, lawn areas, picnic tables, benches, and a log amphitheater. The school's children, dismissed from school early to attend the dedication event, enjoyed a carnival atmosphere complete with clowns and popcorn. "I am delighted to be a part of this celebration today," said Oakland City Councilmember Moses Mayne. "Seeing these children's excitement for their new schoolyard is a great reminder of why it is so important to provide places to play for Oakland's children, our most important resource for the future." Lockwood Elementary is the first of six TPL projects in Oakland, Los Angeles, and New York to be completed using a generous grant from MetLife Foundation. With grants totaling $1 million to TPL, MetLife Foundation is the lead corporate supporter of TPL's urban open space work nationwide. The East Oakland playground renovation is the first schoolyard greening project of TPL-California's San Francisco Bay Area Community Parks and Playgrounds Program. Since 1972, the Trust for Public Land has protected more than 1.4 million acres nationwide, including the creation or revitalization of hundreds of urban parks. In the Bay Area, TPL-California has revitalized Lincoln Square Playground in Oakland's Chinatown, Nicol Park in Oakland's Fruitvale, and helped create the Visitation Valley Greenway in San Francisco. |