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| Brownfields Weekly |
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July 19, 2001 IN THIS ISSUE:
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Jeffords Officially Named Chair of Senate Environment Committee WASHINGTON, DC - Senator Jim Jeffords, whose departure from the Republican Party handed power to Senate Democrats last month, has been officially named as the new chair of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. Senator Jeffords is a primary sponsor of two recently introduced brownfields bills in the Senate - S.1078 and S.1079. The first measure, S.1078 and known as the Brownfields Economic Development Act, would amend Section 108 of the Housing and Community Development Act to allow the Department of Housing and Urban Development to make existing Brownfields Economic Development Initiative grants independent of economic development loan guarantees and more easily available to local governments. The second bill, the Brownfield Site Redevelopment Assistance Act (S. 1079), would amend the Department of Public Works and Economic Development Act to authorize the Department of Commerce's Economic Development Administration to provide assistance to communities for brownfields redevelopment. Both bills are now under consideration in Jefford's subcommittee. Among the 11 Senators that have signed on as co-sponsors to the bills are Senators Edward Kennedy, Joe Lieberman, Paul Sarbanes, and Patrick Leahy. Follow the progress of S.1078, S.1079, and S.350 at:
No 'Ramp-Down' Ahead in the Cost of Running Superfund WASHINGTON, DC - After 20 years spent cleaning up old mines, chemical plants, landfills, rivers, and other areas across the country contaminated by toxic waste, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) still has a lot more work to do - enough to ensure the agency's Superfund costs will not decline before 2006 at the very earliest, and then only by a small amount. The findings of a new Congress-commissioned report by Resources for the Future (RFF) scholars Katherine Probst and David Konisky will disappoint those who were expecting an imminent "ramp down" in the cost to EPA of administering the Superfund program. "It's just not realistic to think the costs of Superfund are going to decline much in the next 10 years," says Probst, a senior fellow at RFF. "Though our study does not address whether or not the now-expired taxes that stocked the Trust Fund should be re-imposed, it's clear there's not enough money left to pay for 10 more years of EPA work." Congress asked independent research institute RFF to estimate future Superfund costs, amid continuing debate on whether and how to reauthorize the program. The law was last reauthorized in 1986; only $1.3 billion was left in the Superfund Trust Fund at the end of fiscal year 2000. The comprehensive RFF study, "Superfund's Future: What Will It Cost?", estimates that the total 10-year bill from fiscal years 2000 through 2009 will range between $14 billion and $16.4 billion. In 1999, the cost of cleaning up nonfederal sites on the National Priorities List (NPL) and administering the program was $1.54 billion; it is unlikely to fall below $1.4 billion until FY 2008 and $1.33 billion in FY 2009. "Congress needs to clarify the role and priorities of the NPL," says Probst, who has been studying Superfund and hazardous waste management issues for the past 20 years. "The EPA and individual states need to do a better job of identifying sites destined for the NPL in the future, especially new 'mega-sites' - which, at an average cost of $140 million, are 10 times more expensive than most other sites," she adds. Probst, Konisky, and their colleagues also estimate EPA-funded cleanup costs at current NPL sites will be far greater through 2009 than at sites added between now and then. And despite the EPA having designated 57% of all sites on the current NPL "construction complete," there is more work to be done at some of these, and the amount of work at the remaining sites is significant. They also found that EPA five-year reviews of NPL sites classified many sites as "protective," despite information in these reviews suggesting that the remedies, in fact, are not fully implemented, not functioning as designed, or are unlikely to meet cleanup objectives. This was the case for 48 of 99 sites where the EPA concluded remedies were protective. "Clearly, EPA needs to improve the quality of the five-year review process and clarify just what it means to have a protective remedy," the RFF researchers report. To help Congress better predict and prioritize funding requirements, Probst and Konisky also recommend a reassessment of the level of management, policy, and administrative support resources needed to implement Superfund, as well as improvements to EPA management and financial systems for tracking Superfund progress and costs. And they suggest that two of EPA's major internal management information systems-the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Information System (CERCLIS) and the Integrated Financial Management System (IFMS)-need to be improved so that Congress can more clearly see how Superfund dollars are being spent. For instance, they found that 75% of EPA regional Superfund payroll account funds (valued at $155 million in 1999) are not charged to specific sites - most likely due to insufficient tracking, accounting, or reporting procedures. The RFF scholars also call for a review of the governor's concurrence policy, which allows a state to effectively veto the inclusion of a contaminated site on the NPL, either for political, economic, or other reasons - making it difficult to predict which sites will be included on the list. As of June 14, 2001, there are 1,076 nonfederal "final" sites on the NPL, and 222 "deleted" from the list. Of this total (1,298), some 736 are deemed "construction-complete" by the EPA, leaving 562 sites that are not. A further 61 nonfederal sites are currently proposed for inclusion on the NPL. Among the 36 nonfederal sites listed in FY 2000, two are expected to be "mega-sites" - Leviathan Mine in California and Midnite Mine in Washington. So far this fiscal year, 17 new nonfederal sites have been added, including four expected "mega-sites" - Indian Refinery-Texaco Lawrenceville in Illinois, Malone Service Company, Inc. in Texas, Gilt Edge Mine in South Dakota, and Portland Harbor in Oregon. At the end of FY 1999, there were 112 "mega-sites." For more information on "Superfund's Future: What Will It Cost?" visit:
1st Petroleum Contamination Congress: London, UK, August 15-17 The aim of the First International Congress are to focus world attention and multidisciplinary discussion and debate on the environmental consequences resulting from petroleum contamination of soils, sediments and water; to keep up-to-date with technical developments employed in the treatment of contamination by the international user communities; and to identify effective policy/regulatory approaches for environmental protection and pollution prevention. The Congress brings together experts from industry, academia, governmental and environmental groups who seek solutions to contamination problems of a technical, regulatory, and social nature. Features of the Congress include Presentations, Workshops, Poster Sessions, Exhibits and Social Events. The target audience: Environmental regulators/policy makers; Environmental Business Consultants and Engineers; Petroleum Industry Representatives; Environmental Non-Government Organizations; and Scientists/Researchers. For more information on the Congress, visit: http://www.aehs.com/conferences/petroleum/index.htm Or contact: Kerry Harling, Association for Environmental Health and Sciences Phone: (413) 549-5170, E-mail: kharling@aehs.com Connecticut Targets Environmental Liability The Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD) launched a new initiative to address the critical issue of environmental liability to support its already successful Brownfield Program, which reclaims contaminated industrial sites around the state for economic revitalization. The agency will begin accepting applications for Brownfield liability assistance on July 16, 2001. This new initiative addresses one of the most significant barriers to brownfield redevelopment, the risk of uncertainty in site assessment and remediation or clean up. The Department of Economic and Community Development, the state’s economic and community development agency, in partnership with the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection, is the state’s lead agency in Brownfields remediation and redevelopment. The DECD, a national leader in brownfield redevelopment, will expand project eligibility under its existing economic development programs to include assistance for environmental liability insurance policies. Highly trained DECD staff will work with clients and underwriters to craft the appropriate policy for the project. "Turning dormant, contaminated sites into productive assets is a key component of economic development, especially in our urban areas where developable land is at a premium," said DECD Commissioner James Abromaitis. "By mitigating environmental liability concerns, we hope to see increased interest in the utilization of brownfields for business expansion purposes that will also positively affect communities by creating jobs and improving the quality of life for their residents." "Pfizer's new Global Research and Development Headquarters in New London has attracted nearly $300 million in private investment and created more than 2,000 jobs," according to Abromaitis. "This redevelopment project is an exciting example of the synergy created by Pfizer, the DECD, Department of Environmental Protection and others in achieving the goal of turning a brownfield into a showcase facility and creating widespread benefits." As in the case of Pfizer and the surrounding Fort Trumbull development, DECD staff works collaboratively with the State’s DEP, developers, municipalities and corporations to facilitate brownfields project development. DECD has the engineering and environmental expertise that is instrumental in understanding and assessing the technical aspects of these complex projects and the experience and business acumen to facilitate their development. To fully assess the needs of the market, DECD will first pilot this new Brownfield initiative to: 1) determine whether environmental insurance is appropriate; 2) determine the scope of the coverage required; 3) identify the most appropriate provider and coverage; 4) negotiate costs and coverage; and 5) assist with the policy premium. Eligibility will be limited to those projects where, in the opinion of the department, concern about unknown environmental liability is likely to prevent the project from going forward. For more information on the DECD's brownfields programs and initiatives, visit:
Wildlife Returns to Hollywood Superfund Site The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has completed cleanup construction at the Southern Maryland Wood Treating Superfund site in St. Mary's County, marking an important milestone in returning this once highly toxic waste site to beneficial reuse. Construction completion means all physical construction has been completed, and no human health or environmental threats remain. The site has been cleaned to residential standards, meaning no restrictions will be placed on future use of the property. "Not only does this Superfund site no longer pose a threat to residents of St. Mary's County, but the options are wide open for community members and local government to determine the best future use of this valuable land," said Thomas C.Voltaggio, Acting Regional Administrator for the agency's mid-Atlantic region. "With the completion of this project today we say 'hooray for Hollywood,'" said Senator Paul S. Sarbanes. With EPA's due diligence in completing this cleanup, St.Mary's County has an opportunity to turn what was once a hazardous site into something which will benefit the entire community." "Revitalization of this Superfund Site has been critical to the health of St. Mary's County and to the diversity of its wildlife," said Senator Barbara A. Mikulski. "Where once soil was contaminated by creosote and pentachlorophenol(PCP), now wildflowers flourish. We must continue to ensure that these properties are cleaned up and returned to productive use so we can benefit from them." From 1965 to 1978, 25 acres of the 96-acre, mainly wetland property were used for wood treatment operations. The treatment process used creosote and PCP, which contaminated soils, groundwater, and a stream adjacent to the site. The site was abandoned in the early 1980's, with processing equipment, contaminated soils, and deteriorating tanks of creosote and PCP left behind. EPA placed the site on its National Priorities List of most toxic waste sites in 1986, making it eligible for federal cleanup funds. With intensive involvement from community stakeholders, EPA selected a cleanup technology called thermal desorption. A previous remedy calling for onsite incineration of the contaminated soils and sediments was changed due to local opposition because of perceived health concerns and high estimated costs. Starting in 1998, EPA excavated approximately 270,000 tons of creosote and PCP-soaked soils and sediments from the site and adjacent stream. These materials were cleaned using thermal desorption, which laboratory testing confirmed was cleaning the soil to residential standards. In fall of 2000, the last load of contaminated soil was treated and backfilled into the excavated areas. During fall of 2000, EPA regraded the site and planted a diverse mix of wildflowers and grains to re-establish the area as a wildlife habitat. Today, visitors have reported evidence that wildlife is returning to the site. Now that all the immediate and long-term environmental and human health threats have been removed from the site, EPA will continue to monitor its progress. A five-year review will take place to ensure that the cleanup remedy continues to be protective. |