| Articles and Books |
| Case Studies |
| EPA Dialogs & Discussions |
| News |
| Press Releases |
| Standard Forms |
| White Papers |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||
 |
| Brownfields Weekly |
|
August 9, 2001 IN THIS ISSUE:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- If you'd like to write for Brownfields Weekly, contact the editors: Get listed on our Industry Links page! Send your link to the editors. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
U.S. EPA Could be Elevated to Cabinet Rank WASHINGTON, D.C. (ENS) - Saying that environmental issues are "growing in importance and prominence in the United States," Senate Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Joe Lieberman Tuesday expressed strong support for enhancing the status of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) by elevating it to a cabinet level department. "Conferring cabinet status on the EPA is consistent with the values of the American people," said the Democratic Senator from Connecticut who was Al Gore's running mate in the 2000 election. "Appreciation for preserving the environment cuts across demographic and political lines. The time is ripe for our nation to accord as much priority to the health of our environment as we do to the state of the our armed forces and the quality of our educational system." Lieberman's remarks were made during a Governmental Affairs Committee hearing on S. 159, a bill to establish a Department of Environmental Protection Affairs sponsored by Senators Barbara Boxer, a California Democrat, and Susan Collins, a Republican from Maine. Collins said it is important to raise the EPA to cabinet rank. "It comes down to ensuring that environmental decisions are front and center when decisions are made by any administration. Elevating EPA to cabinet level status will give the agency the resources and the voice to do a better job for the economy and the environment," she told the committee. Lieberman pointed out that by conferring increased stature on the EPA, the Boxer-Collins bill would put the agency on more equal footing with other agencies in its efforts to protect the environment, such as in dealing with the Energy Department in responding to energy issues or negotiating with the Defense Department over toxic waste sites on military bases. "Cabinet status can help level the playing fields between EPA and these powerful agencies," he said. "To address problems such as these," Collins said, "EPA will need a strong relationship with the Secretary of State and other members of the President's Cabinet, EPA will need ready access to the President, and EPA will need the best possible people to devise innovative and flexible solutions." Lieberman also indicated that the legislation could potentially improve the nation's ability to work with the international community on global climate change and other transnational environmental issues. "Of 198 nations, only ten, including the United States, do not maintain a cabinet department or ministry devoted to the environment - that puts us into the company of states like Libya and Myanmar and diminishes our ability to exercise international environmental leadership." Cabinet status for the EPA would make its leader more effective in dealing with the environment on the world stage, Senator Lieberman said. "Problems associated with the quality of our air, land, and water do not stop at the border - there is a global dimension to our most serious environmental concerns." Former EPA Administrator Carol Browner supported this observation in the hearing, noting that "status does matter" in dealing with foreign countries. Lieberman said that the challenge to achieve EPA cabinet status in this Congress is to "stay between the legislative lines" and keep the Boxer-Collins bill as "clean" as possible from extraneous provisions in order to avoid the kind of pitfalls that doomed previous attempts to make EPA a department. In the 1990s the committee held hearings twice, in 1990 and again in 1993, on raising the EPA to the cabinet level. Witnesses appearing before the committee included Senator Boxer; Congressman Sherwood Boehlert, a New York Republican who is the author of a similar measure in the House of Representatives; EPA Administrator Christine Todd Whitman; former administrators Browner and William Reilly; and former EPA General Counsel Donald Elliot.
EPA, Ohio EPA Sign Brownfields Agreement CHICAGO, IL - U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 5 and Ohio EPA signed a Memorandum of Agreement outlining a new alternative approach for parties entering into the Ohio Voluntary Action Program (VAP) to receive assurance that EPA will not ask for additional cleanup at brownfields in Ohio. The signing ceremony will be held at 10:30 a.m. with EPA Deputy Regional Administrator David Ullrich and Ohio EPA Director Chris Jones, at the Smith Brothers Hardware site, 580 N. 4th St., Columbus. Smith Brothers has recently completed a $2 million redevelopment effort under the program. The Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) establishes a new second tier for Ohio EPA-reviewed brownfield cleanups called the MOA Track. The primary differences between the existing VAP and the MOA Track are that investigation and cleanup activities of MOA Track projects will be overseen directly by Ohio EPA personnel and include opportunities for public review and comment on site documents as they are produced by the cleanup volunteer. There is no difference in the cleanup standards between the two tracks. The MOA describes the process volunteers must use and the details of the agreement between U.S. EPA and Ohio EPA. The Smith Brothers Hardware site was a warehouse facility from 1926 until it was abandoned in 1981, and then used again from 1985 to 1986 when it was abandoned once more. Later, the site was a target for vandals and was partially burned down. The property was purchased in 1997 by SBHI Inc. and was cleaned up and renovated. In August 2000, Ohio EPA certified the property to meet Ohio EPA cleanup standards and issued a covenant-not-to-sue under the original Voluntary Action Program. Brownfields 2001 Registration Deadline Approaches CHICAGO, IL - U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 5, Illinois EPA, the International City/County Management Association and the Engineers' Society of Western Pennsylvania are among 22 organizations co-sponsoring "Brownfields 2001," a national conference to showcase research relating to brownfields policy, cleanup and redevelopment issues, Sept. 24-26, 2001, at Chicago's McCormick Place Convention Center. The sixth annual conference is expected to draw more than 4,000 government officials, bankers, developers, planners, attorneys and community groups with a shared interest in the cleanup and redevelopment of abandoned or underutilized properties, commonly known as brownfields. About 300 exhibitors are expected. The conference schedule features about 50 technical sessions on four separate tracks. Sample topics include "State and Local Governments and Institutional Controls: Working Together to Ensure Protectiveness in Perpetuity," "Wind Power and Solar: Renewing Sites with Renewable Energy," "How to Make Your Banker Comfortable . . . Lending on Environmentally Challenged Properties" and "Brownfields, Market Efficiencies and Metropolitan Sprawl." Other Brownfields 2001 highlights: Plenary sessions featuring prominent elected officials, EPA Administrator Christine Todd Whitman (invited) and National Public Radio "Talk of the Nation" host Ray Suarez, and presentation of the Phoenix Awards, which recognize excellence and innovation in brownfields redevelopment. The conference web site, below, provides more information about the program, free advance registration, and special rates at certain airlines and downtown Chicago hotels. Pre-conference hotel rates expire Aug. 24, 2001, and rooms after that time are not guaranteed. Brownfields 2001:
Northeast-Midwest Institute: Brownfields in the 107th Congress A Northeast-Midwest table examines the leading proposals in the 107th Congress to spur brownfield redevelopment. The table compares measures within the Senate-passed bill (S. 350) and provisions advanced by Republicans and Democrats on the House Energy and Commerce Committee. The table is available at: Brownfields in the 107th Congress: NOTE: You must have Acrobat Reader to download this report. If you don't have Acrobat Reader, get the free download below:
Wyoming Gets Aid to Revitalize Historic Roundhouse Like many small towns, the city of Evanston, Wyoming has limited resources to address its brownfields challenges. Evanston, population 12,458, originally was a railroad hub. In 1913, the Union Pacific Railroad built a large yard with a 63,000 squarefoot roundhouse and 11 adjacent buildings. Since 1972, Union Pacific has donated more than 290 acres to the city, including the 265-acre Union Center parcel and the adjacent Roundhouse/Rail Facility, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The perception of contamination at these sites has hindered redevelopment. With supplemental assistance by the EPA for Evanston's Brownfields Assessment Demonstration Pilot, the city has been working to redevelop the Union Center property into a museum and industrial business park. Cleanup and redevelopment of this property will restore a higherpaying job base to the area and reconnect sections of the city that have been fragmented by rail operations. The city's original Brownfields Assessment Demonstration Pilot targeted the Union Center and the Roundhouse/Rail Facility for assessment, cleanup planning, and redevelopment planning. The original pilot was used to conduct a Phase I environmental site assessment on Union Center and partial Phase II site assessment work of the Roundhouse/Rail Facility. The city's primary goal for the area is to redevelop the sites and establish sufficient economic activity to justify long-term maintenance costs. Supplemental assistance will be used to conduct additional testing on specific portions of the Roundhouse/Rail Facility, continue conducting Phase II assessments on the portions of Union Center owned by the city, and modify cleanup and redevelopment plans based on the results of the assessments. The supplemental assistance also will be used to involve the community in redevelopment planning. The pilot will use the greenspace funding to assess a 17-acre parcel that is integral to the Better Environment and River (BEAR) Project parkway. The BEAR project takes a comprehensive approach to development of the Bear River, which flows through Evanston, into a pathway, ice ponds, and recreation area. The targeted parcel is particularly important to residents separated from the rest of Evanston by the railroad and the river. The site was used as a residential, commercial, and industrial dump for 20 years. Greenspace funding also will be used to conduct community involvement and related planning to determine appropriate cleanup activities. |