| Articles and Books |
| Case Studies |
| EPA Dialogs & Discussions |
| News |
| Press Releases |
| Standard Forms |
| White Papers |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||
 |
| Brownfields Weekly |
|
August 31, 2001 IN THIS ISSUE:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Brownfields Weekly is looking for your unique industry perspectives. If you'd like to write for us, contact the editors: If you enjoy Brownfields Weekly, please forward this issue to a freind or colleague. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
EPA Announces $2 Million for Brownfields Job Training WASHINGTON, DC - (ENS) The U.S. EPA will provide $2 million in financial assistance to provide training for residents in communities impacted by brownfields, Adminstrator Christie Whitman announced. The EPA pilot project, called the Brownfields Job Training and Development Demonstration Pilots, will facilitate cleanup of brownfields sites contaminated with hazardous substances and will also prepare trainees for future employment in the environmental field. The pilot projects must prepare trainees in activities that can be applied to a cleanup employing an alternative or innovative treatment technology. The agency expects to select up to 10 pilot projects by December. "We are not only cleaning up and redeveloping hazardous sites, but training new workers in the fight to make communities cleaner and safer," Whitman said. Each selected pilot will receive up to $200,000 over two years. The funds will be use to build partnerships between community groups, job training organizations, employers, investors, lenders, developers and other affected parties to provide training for residents and communities impacted by brownfields. The deadline for submitting proposals for the pilots is October 19. Visit the link below for more information:
$4 Million USTfields Project will Clean Up to 40 Sites WASHINGTON, DC - (ENS) The U.S. EPA will provide $4 million in financial assistance to clean up contamination from leaking underground storage tanks around the nation. The agency expects to select up to 40 pilot projects to help states and cities clean up these properties and encourage their redevelopment. While the Brownfields program has been very successful, it has been unable to address abandoned petroleum tanks, Administrator Whitman explained. These new pilot projects, called USTfields, will help bridge that gap. The EPA is inviting states, territories and tribes as well as eligible intertribal consortia to compete for these pilots. Each selected pilot will receive up to $100,000 in Leaking Underground Storage Tank Trust Fund monies. The deadline for submitting proposals for the USTfields pilots is October 22. Visit the link below for more information: Deadline for Round III Empowerment Zone Applications: Sept. 28, 2001 The Renewal Community and Round III EZ initiatives represent a new approach to advancing economic prosperity in the Nation's poorest communities. Communities that receive RC or EZ designation will be able to use a revitalizing business tax incentive package valued at $22 billion nationwide. HUD has used two previous rounds of designation, in 1994 and 1999, to give EZ status to communities in 23 cities throughout the country. These EZs have used federal, state, local and private funding as well as business tax credits to provide housing, health care, education, and new infrastructure throughout their distressed communities. HUD is offering communities another opportunity to apply for EZ designation. The Department will designate seven urban Round III EZs by December 2001. Applications are due by September 28, 2001. The designation period will be from January 1, 2002 to December 31, 2009. For more information on the Empowerment Zone Application process, please visit:
"Unlocking Capitalism Through Brownfields Redevelopment" Judy Sheahan, Senior Staff Associate for The U.S. Conference of Mayors, reports to Brownfields Weekly that the American Institute of Architects contributed a chapter to the American Bar Association's book entitled "Brownfields: A Comprehensive Guide to Redeveloping Contaminated Property". AIA's chapter, "The New Market Frontier: Unlocking Capitalism Through Brownfields Redevelopment" describes the role that architects can -- and should -- play in brownfields redevelopment: "As illustrated in the case studies presented in this chapter, architects relish the design challenges and rewards of revitalizing brownfields sites ... In a time when our nation is searching for solutions to suburban sprawl, these urban sites are the new market frontier bursting with community capitalism." Read "Unlocking Capitalism Through Brownfields Redevelopment" at the link below (be patient while it loads): You must have Acrobat Reader to read this report. Download it free here.
Two Brownfields Programs Resurrect a North Dakota Reservation When the state of North Dakota closed and abandonded the San Haven state hospital on the Turtle Mountain Chippewa Indian Reservation (pop. 18,000) in 1987, the tribe and surrounding community lost more than 200 jobs -- and the area already suffered from a 57 percent unemployment rate. But five years later, the Tribe bought the property with the intent of redeveloping it into a tourism office, cultural center and natural history park. First, They got help from the EPA in 1998, receiving $150,000 in Supplemental Assistance to support their Assessment Pilot work on the San Haven Redevelopment Project. The Tribe coordinated with the Haskell Environmental Research Studies Center to provide guidance and technical assistance to start the Brownfields Pilot Project, including help for the presentation of environmental outreach seminars and development of the Request for Proposals. During the now-completed Phase I Assessment, lost tribal artifacts were discovered in the excavation, which were investigated and cataloged by the Tribal Historian. As progress on the San Haven site continues, the reservation's employment outlook got a big boost from last year's $200,000 Brownfields Job Training and Development Demonstration Pilot grant, targeted for the Turtle Mountain Community College. The Job Training Pilot will focus on the 15,000 enrolled Tribal members, training low-income or very-low-income Tribal members as environmental technicians, as well as provide continuing career support for three years to graduates. |