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| Brownfields Weekly |
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August 23, 2001 IN THIS ISSUE:
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City of Charlotte and DENR Sign Historic Brownfields Agreement RALEIGH, NC - City of Charlotte officials and state Environment and Natural Resources Secretary William Ross will sign an agreement August 21 that allows a state brownfields specialist to work exclusively on sites in the Charlotte area. The agreement, which sets a national precedent, will be signed at Camden Square Village, site of North Carolina’s first brownfields redevelopment. Another brownfields agreement, to expand the Camden redevelopment, will also be signed at the event, which is scheduled for 3 p.m. The agreement allows the City of Charlotte to fund a state employee who will work with the city’s Neighborhood Development Department. In addition to advancing Charlotte brownfields projects at no additional cost to the state, this employee will serve as site manager for EPA funded cleanup projects. Local applications for brownfield agreements will also be processed more quickly. North Carolina has completed ten brownfields agreements, four of which are located in the Charlotte area. Over 30 projects are pending review, ten of which are in Charlotte. For more information on North Carolina's brownfields program, please visit:
EPA Completes Cleanup of G&B Lagoon Site in Redding, CT BOSTON, MA - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced that it has completed a $2.3 million emergency cleanup at the former Gilbert and Bennet disposal site in Redding, CT. EPA contractors have treated and contained soil and completed a protective cap at the site to prevent exposure to lead and zinc found at the site. The cap will also be seeded with grass in mid September. "We've made huge progress on the site, transforming it from an industrial wasteland to one that's safe and more pleasant to look at and with great re-use potential," said Robert W. Varney, regional administrator for EPA's New England office. The site is a six-acre parcel located off North Main Street in the Georgetown area of Redding, adjacent to the former Gilbert and Bennet wire fence manufacturing facility. The company used three lagoons and several waste piles on the parcel to dispose of lead- and zinc-bearing waste from the facility's galvanizing operations. Tests showed soil contaminated with lead above allowable standards for residential or commercial properties and with zinc above standards for residential properties. EPA undertook a cleanup at the site using its emergency cleanup authority. Beginning in April 2001, EPA contractors excavated and chemically treated almost 4,000 cubic yards of soil to prevent lead and zinc from leaching out into groundwater. The treated soil was contained on site and a protective earth cap was built to cover the site. Airborne sampling during construction indicated that dust control measures were effective at preventing airborne lead exposure. EPA contractors will return and cover the cap with topsoil and seed with grass in mid-September, when cooler weather will be more favorable for the grass to grow. The cap is an interim measure to control migration of contaminants and prevent public exposure to lead from the site. The Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection will oversee future activities at the site. The DEP is also studying groundwater in the area for potential contamination from the G&B site or other sources. NGA Report: "New Community Design to the Rescue" The National Governors Association (NGA) Center for Best Practices has released the four-part "New Community Design to the Rescue" report explaining how states and communities can encourage New Community Design -- mixed-use, mixed-income, walkable development that is distinctly different from sprawl -- by eliminating institutional barriers in the marketplace. Visit the link below for more on this story:
Suffering LA Wetlands to be Saved by Restoration Deal LOS ANGELES, CA - The Trust for Public Land (TPL), a national land conservation organization, announced its option agreement with Playa Vista to purchase nearly 190 acres of land located west of Lincoln Boulevard between Marina del Rey and Playa del Rey. The agreement -- covering the 139-acre Parcel A north of Ballona Creek and 54 acres of residential Parcel B south of Ballona Creek -- is the first step toward possible public ownership of the 190 acres for a variety of purposes including wetland creation and restoration, nature preserves, and active urban park space. Governor Gray Davis included $25 million in the Coastal Conservancy budget from Proposition 12 to help fund the purchase of this portion of the Playa Vista property. "TPL has a tremendous record of success in crafting these sorts of agreements," said Assembly Member George Nakano (D-Torrance). "While there is still much work to be done to bring the deal to fruition, this is certainly a significant first step." Earlier this year, Los Angeles City Councilwoman Ruth Galanter invited Playa Vista to explore the possibility of entering into discussions with TPL. These discussions were successful and led to the current option agreement under which TPL has until July 2002 to purchase the portion of Parcel B, which, if accomplished, would then trigger an extension of the agreement until July 2003 to find funding for the purchase of Parcel A. The first phase of Playa Vista currently under construction east of Lincoln Blvd and south of the Ballona Channel will, when complete, include more than 3000 homes and 3 million square feet of office and commercial space, habitat restoration, and parks. The property includes the part of Playa Vista where the historic Howard Hughes Aircraft Company was located. Hughes built the famous "flying boat," the Spruce Goose, in huge hangars on this site. On the western end of the property - which includes the area under the option agreement - the last remnants of the historic Ballona Wetlands can be found. Once stretching along the coast (mostly west of Lincoln Blvd.) from the Playa del Rey bluffs through what is now the community of Venice, a majority of the wetlands have been lost because of the construction of Venice, the Ballona Creek flood control channel, and finally Marina del Rey. The remaining wetlands have been cut off from saltwater tides and are significantly degraded. Playa Vista’s plans already include restoration and expansion of the wetlands and uplands habitat in the vast majority of Area B. This is in part as a result of a settlement agreement between the Friends of Ballona Wetlands and a former landowner - Maguire Thomas Partners-Playa Vista. As a result of the settlement agreement, Playa Vista committed to a minimum of $13 million for restoration and maintenance of the current saltwater marsh in Area B. Playa Vista is also currently restoring 26 acres at the eastern end of Area B as a freshwater marsh. The 54 acres TPL wants to purchase in this parcel is adjacent to the habitat restoration. Although the property value has not been determined, TPL hopes to contract with a third party, state-approved appraiser in the next 30 days, and expects to have an agreed upon sale price by the end of the year. In the meantime, TPL has begun the search to secure acquisition funding. Visit the Trust for Public Land online:
Study: New Fears over Health Impacts of UK Landfills LONDON, United Kingdom (ENS Europe) - British politicians and environmental groups called for urgent action to reduce waste landfilling and increase recycling following release of an epidemiological study showing an excess of birth defects in populations living close to landfills. Commissioned by the government, the study compares the rate of several congenital abnormalities and the prevelance of stillbirths and low and very low birthweights for individuals living within two kilometres of landfill sites with those beyond two kilometers. The former group accounts for 80 percent of the UK population. The study reports a one percent higher risk for individuals living close to landfills, though the figure varies from +19 to -4 percent for specific abnormalities. The excess risk for low and very low birthweight is put at five percent. No excess risks are suggested for stillbirths or cancers. The project is the largest study of its kind ever carried out and was designed to build on European research published in 1998 which suggested a one-third increase in risk of abnormalities in babies living within three kilometers (two miles) of landfills. Responding to the new findings today, the UK government and its scientific advisors stressed that the results were inconclusive and denied any evidence of significant health risks from living close to landfills. Further research is underway, said deputy chief medical officer Pat Troop. The study's authors themselves accept that their findings do not prove health risks. In the absence of any data on landfill emissions, the research shows only associations and cannot demonstrate causal links. Confounding factors such as lifestyle and occupation cannot be ruled out, though the researchers attempted to allow for generally higher levels of social deprivation in populations living close to landfills. Read the complete study at the British Medical Journal (click the link below to go to BMJ's home page, then click the "Landfill sites and harm to the fetus" headline at the top of the page): |