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| Brownfields Weekly |
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November 15, 2001 THIS WEEK:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- If you're not yet listed on Brownfields.com Industry Links page, get listed by sending your link to the editors: Editors@Brownfields.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- $905 Million in Land Protection Funding Approved By U.S. Voters WASHINGTON, D.C. - Voters in 14 states on Nov. 6 approved state and local ballot measures that generated $905 million in funding for parks and open space, according to the Trust for Public Land (TPL) and the Land Trust Alliance (LTA). Of 113 known town, city, county, or state ballot measures nationwide Tuesday, results have been confirmed for 111. Of those, 82 were approved by voters, a passage rate of 73 percent. Among the largest successful measures were:
All told, more nearly 1.3 million individuals cast votes in favor of increased open space funding in Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Massachusetts, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Washington. The Nov. 6 results came on top of the 77 successful open space ballot measures that passed earlier this year, which created $258 million in funding for parks and open space. Thus, all of the 128 successful open space ballot measures in 2001 generated $1.16 billion in funding and a passage rate of 67 percent. "Americans continue to support public land conservation to a dramatic extent," said Will Rogers, President of TPL. "As in recent years, voters across the country are eager to protect the unique landscapes of their communities, and they are willing to pay for it." Complete open space election results are available through LandVote 2001, an online service of the LTA and TPL. Thirty-One RCRA Showcase Pilots Chosen WASHINGTON, D.C. - EPA has announced the selection of 31 Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) Showcase pilots, as part of the implementation of the second round of RCRA Cleanup Reforms announced January 11, 2001. The RCRA Showcase Pilots illustrate innovative efforts in RCRA Corrective Action cleanups at facilities nationwide, and stimulate others to explore similar efforts to speed up progress toward EPA's cleanup goals -- to control human exposures at 95 percent of the 1,714 high priority baseline facilities and to control migration of contaminated groundwater at 70 percent of these facilities by 2005. The RCRA Showcase Pilots provide an opportunity for program implementors, regulated industry and other stakeholders to field test innovative approaches to expediting cleanup, to focus resources and expertise at one or multiple sites and to showcase sites that can transfer lessons learned to other similar situations across the country. The pilots also provide an opportunity for establishment of unique and beneficial partnerships and maximum public awareness of the innovations. For more information on the
selected Pilots, please visit: Attend
"Mediating Land Use Disputes" Communities of all sizes are relying on a new approach to resolving land use disputes -- a consensus building approach that brings all the relevant stakeholders together in a face-to-face dialogue, assisted by a professional mediator. Developed by Lawrence Susskind, one of America's most experience land use mediators, the course will introduce land use planning stakeholders to the best way to use mediation to resolve their conflicts. Participants will discuss and work with cases involving land development and community growth, explore the link between mediation theory and practice in the land use context, and determine whether and when it is an appropriate conflict resolution tool. Course materials will draw on the results of the first comprehensive study of land use mediation in the United States conducted by the Consensus Building Institute and the University of Colorado, and include practical experience from citizens, developers, planners and land use mediators. For more information on Mediating
Land Use Disputes and to register, contact: CDC Report: Suburban Sprawl Contributes to Poor Health WASHINGTON, D.C. (ENS) - Research compiled by an environmental group has, for the first time, linked land use changes with negative effects on public health. The comprehensive report by the group Sprawl Watch spotlights the connections between suburban sprawl and rising rates of asthma, obesity, and other health problems. "Every person has a stake in environmental public health, and as environments deteriorate, so does the physical and mental health of the people who live in them," said Dr. Richard Jackson, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) National Center for Environmental Health. "There is a connection, for example, between the fact that the urban sprawl we live with daily makes no room for sidewalks or bike paths and the fact that we are an overweight, heart disease ridden society." The report, "Creating A Healthy Environment: The Impact of the Built Environment on Public Health," compiled data from across disciplines and multiple sources into a single comprehensive report that examines the public health effects of the broad physical and social environment, which includes housing, urban development, land use and transportation, industry and agriculture. Doctors and researchers with the CDC found several primary connections between suburban sprawl and public health. For example, increases in vehicle miles traveled have boosted air pollution and led to a rise in the incidence of respiratory diseases like asthma. Traffic jams caused by poor road planning and thousands of suburban commuters emit tons of air pollution. Results of a study by the CDC during the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, at which time vehicular traffic was kept at artificially low levels by city authorities, showed that the peak daily ozone concentrations decreased 27.9 percent and peak weekday morning traffic counts dropped 22.5 percent. At the same time the number of asthma emergency medical events dropped 41.6 percent. Residential development can pose unique health and quality of life hazards, noted Dr. Jackson. Suburban sprawl promotes sedentary living habits, the researchers found, by requiring residents to use their cars to run most errands, rather than walking or riding a bicycle. These habits lead to a rise in overweight and obesity. Researchers have estimated that as many as 300,000 premature chronic disease deaths each year are due to obesity. Lack of pedestrian friendly features in a community becomes a factor leading to illness and even death, the researchers found. In 1997 and 1998, 13 percent of all traffic fatalities - 10,696 people - were pedestrians. "It is dishonest to tell our citizens to walk, jog, or bicycle when there is no safe or welcoming place to pursue these 'life saving' activities," said Dr. Jackson. Dr. Jackson and the other researchers recommend that lawmakers form coalitions between health professionals, architects, builders, planners and transportation officials, "so that we are all 'at the table' when environmental decisions are made." An Acrobat Reader PDF version
of the CDC's report is available at Sprawl Watch: If you don't have Acrobat Reader, click here to download it free. Toxic
Superfund Dump Becomes Home to Golf and Wildlife Last week, cleanup construction was completed at the Millcreek Dump Superfund site in Erie County, Pennsylvania, marking an important milestone in returning this once highly toxic waste site to beneficial reuse. The site is being turned into a public nine-hole golf course and an eight-acre wetland which has already started to attract wildlife. The golf course will open next spring. Construction completion means all physical construction has been completed and no human health or environmental threats remain. "Not only does this Superfund site no longer pose a threat to residents of Erie County, but it is being turned into lush green space with scenic views and wildlife," said Donald S. Welsh, regional administrator for the EPA's mid-Atlantic region. "Where there was once contaminated soil, now stands a nine-hole golf course. This property is being returned to productive use that the community can benefit from." From 1941 to 1981, the site was operated as an unpermitted active landfill for industrial and municipal waste. Contaminants found at the site included, phenols, volatile organic compounds, traces of PCBs, and heavy metals such as lead and copper. In 1981 the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Resources closed the landfill. Starting in 1983, EPA performed an emergency response action which included fencing the site, demolishing sheds, removing 75 drums containing hazardous liquids, and removing and recycling clean empty drums. EPA placed the site on its National Priorities List of most toxic waste sites in 1984, making it eligible for federal cleanup funds. The cleanup included excavation of highly contaminated soil and sediments; installation of a soil cover over soils containing lower levels of contamination to prevent runoff; installation of additional monitoring wells; construction of a flood retention basin; and the creation of a groundwater treatment system, which included the construction of the Millcreek Treatment Plant. 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. |