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| Brownfields Weekly |
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December 13, 2001 THIS WEEK:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Get more industry information at the Brownfields.com Information Library -- case studies, articles, books, white papers and more. Click here to visit the Library... If you have an article, paper, or case study you'd like to contribute to the Brownfields Library, the Editors welcome your inquiry: Editors@Brownfields.com. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
U.N. Calls for Thorough Environmental Assessment of Afghanistan NAIROBI, Kenya (ENS) - Environmental issues should form part of the package being considered by governments for the rehabilitation of Afghanistan, said Klaus Toepfer, executive director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). In a statement issued following the conclusion of United Nations sponsored talks on Afghanistan which ended last week in Bonn, Germany, Toepfer called for those involved to consider the need for a thorough environmental assessment of the country. Speaking at the UNEP Headquarters in Nairobi, Toepfer said, "Armed conflict, which has been waged in Afghanistan for at least 20 years, can lead to environmental degradation in areas such as freshwater, sanitation, forests and soil quality." Toepfer said it is vital that the humanitarian needs of the Afghan people are first secured and that an interim government is in place. Then, he said, UNEP stands ready to assist in the rehabilitation and reconstruction phase to come. "A healthy environment is a prerequisite for sound and sustainable development. People cannot secure real and sustainable economic development, against a background of contaminated water, polluted land and marginalized natural resources," he said. UNEP's recently established Post-Conflict Assessment Unit, based in Geneva, can extend its work to Afghanistan, Toepfer suggested. This work was pioneered in the Balkans following the Kosovo conflict where the Balkans Task Force assessed environmental damage caused by armed conflict and made recommendations for cleanup. A proposed field mission to Afghanistan will give the international community a clear picture of where cleanup and other actions aimed at restoring the Afghan environment are needed.
Wheeling, W.V. Settles Complaint for Alleged UST Violations PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania - The EPA has settled its complaint against the City of Wheeling, West Virginia for alleged violations of federal regulations designed to prevent fuel leaks from underground storage tanks. The settlement resolves a June 28, 2001 complaint. EPA had cited the city for underground storage tank (UST) violations at the Wheeling municipal garage. The garage has two 10,000-gallon underground gasoline tanks, two 8,000-gallon and one 2,000-gallon diesel fuel USTs, and above-ground storage containers capable of holding at least 7,500 gallons of used oil. A December 2000 inspection revealed that garage officials failed to conduct proper leak detection for the underground tanks, failed to conduct bimonthly tests of the tanks' corrosion protection systems, and failed to clearly mark or label used oil containers at the facility. EPA waived a proposed $12,373 penalty because the city will spend $16,740 to remove and close all underground storage tanks at the garage. With millions of gallons of gasoline, oil, and other petroleum products stored in USTs throughout the U.S., leaking tanks are a major source of soil and groundwater contamination. EPA and state UST regulations are designed to reduce the risk of underground leaks, and thus avoid the costs of major cleanups. Wheeling neither admitted nor denied liability for the alleged violations in the settlement.
Attend "Funding Green Buildings: Sources and Strategies" The Environmental Technology Center, itself a model of sustainable building techniques and technologies, will host a workshop titled "Funding Green Buildings: Sources and Strategies" at Sonoma State University. The workshop will provide a 10-step "roadmap" for optimizing agency or client green building-related financing, capital campaigns and grantwriting strategies. Jan McAdams, a fundraising and grantwriting expert and leader of "Funding Green Buildings" workshops since 1979, will present case histories to describe creative approaches to the financing and fundraising process. In addition to funding strategies, attendees will learn the "Energywi$e 100:" the 100 major public and private sources for grants and donations for sustainable and PV commercial design applications. Registration includes a copy of the 150-page course manual, "The Energywi$e Construction Funding Directory for Green Buildings--2002 Edition." For more information and to
register for this workshop, please contact: Click here to visit the Brownfields.com Conference page for more upcoming industry-related events...
SBIR Awards Contract for New Assessment Technology WASHINGTON, D.C. - American Research Corporation was awarded a contract for new technology that could aid in future brownfields site assessments. EPA's Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) awarded American Research Corp. and three additional small businesses contracts for the final development and initial commercialization of new technologies for environmental protection. American Research Corp. of Radford, Virginia, is developing a sensor to detect environmental contaminants, such as pesticides, in the field. A major advantage of this system is that it promises to be capable of extremely low detection limits with potential for use in environmental, food, chemical and biomedical fields. SBIR's program spawns commercial ventures that improve the environment and quality of life, create jobs, increase productivity and economic growth and improve international competitiveness of the country's technology industry. For more information on the
Small Business Innovation Research program, please visit:
New Major League Ballpark Adds to Landmark Urban Revitalization The largest project of its kind ever conducted in San Diego, "A Clean Footprint," the environmental remediation of the seven-block footprint of the new San Diego Padres Ballpark, was one of nine projects honored for contributing to the revitalization of downtown San Diego. The project involved performing historical and regulatory research of a 35-block portion of the East Village Redevelopment area, which includes the 7-block ballpark footprint, as well as all the properties within the 26-block Ballpark Neighborhood. Phase I and Phase II site investigations revealed contamination stemming from a history of commercial and industrial uses dating back to the 1800s. More than 100 underground storage tanks were documented by the research. Based on the findings, the Centre City Development Corporation (CCDC) assembled a team of municipal, legal and environmental consultants to ensure contaminated soils and environmental blight in the area were excavated and treated onsite with no adverse impacts on the community. The CCDC, a non-profit established
in 1975 by the City of San Diego, then teamed with Environmental Business
Solutions and Richard Opper to prepare a master workplan. The workplan
included:
"A Clean Footprint," begun in the Spring of 1998 and completed in May 2000, is part of a $1 billion redevelopment effort to revitalize San Diego's East Village Neighborhood. A number of private developments in the neighborhood are planned or already under construction, including: Parkloft, a 300-unit, upscale residential complex; Park at the Park, the outfield of the new ballpark; Campus @ the Park, a Class A urban technology/office campus; East Village Square, and the Westin Hotel and Tower. |