SC - Green Energy Company to Invest $30 million in Anderson County

The Anderson Independent-Mail (10/21, Mayo) reported, "A green-energy company will make a $30 million investment to build plants in two areas of Anderson County. Interim county administrator Rusty Burns said the business is "a green company with an energy component." Anderson County Council Chairman Tommy Dunn said the company recycles materials to generate electricity. The operation will be the first of its kind in South Carolina, Burns said." The paper reports the county council has called for a "special economic-development meeting today to discuss what might be offered to the company. The name of the company has not been disclosed." "We are looking to transfer some bonds that we thought were going to be offered to some other company but that they ended up not using," Dunn said. "This is not costing one penny from Anderson County." The company will also bring 75 jobs to the county.

Mitigation Efforts Paving Way For Redeveloping Blighted Pensacola Neighborhood

A blighted and contaminated Pensacola, Florida neighborhood is being cleaned up with plans to eventually redevelop as a commercial business park that will not only help the environment and improve the area, but generate tax revenue for Escambia County...MORE.

Anniston Brownfield Redevelopment

ALABAMA – Located one block west of downtown Anniston, the 22-acre Chalkline, Inc. mill began operation as the Anniston Manufacturing Company in 1888 and closed in 1994. After the facility closed, the property was sold and the buildings were deconstructed, creating a significant scar of debris and rubble on the landscape.  The city bought the property and the Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM) used Section 128(a) Response Program funds to conduct assessment activities at the property. The city was then awarded an EPA Brownfields Cleanup grant and an Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) grant. With remedial activities slated to be complete in September 2010, construction is planned for a new Department of Human Resources building. In addition, a section of Snow Creek near the south end of property that has been channeled for over 100 years will be restored to a free flowing stream. The 33-mile Chief Ladiga Trail, built on abandoned railway rights-of-way, will be extended six miles from the Town of Weaver to the former mill property. And, a new federal courthouse is slated for construction at the former auto parts repair property adjacent to the Chalkline property. Local officials believe that these brownfields projects will spur other public and private revitalization efforts in the downtown Anniston area.

Brownfield Grant Writing Tip #37 - Leveraging-Clean Water SRF

The USEPA finances brownfield remediation through many programs and funding sources. One of these sources is the
Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF) loan program.   Brownfield sites are often polluted by a variety of contaminants such as fuels, metals, solvents, and volatile organic compounds. These contaminants, typically found in storage tanks or in a property’s soils, can impair a community’s water quality if they seep into groundwater or run off into surface water. Remediation of brownfield sites can address these water quality concerns and also prepare the sites for other uses. States are creatively addressing the challenges of brownfield remediation, including the challenge of financing these efforts. As one piece of a funding solution, many states are considering the use of the USEPA’s CWSRF–a funding tool that addresses threats to and impairments of water quality.

States are given great flexibility in the management of CWSRF programs, so CWSRF project eligibility may vary
according to the priorities of each state. Examples of brownfield projects that may be eligible for CWSRF funding
include:

1. Phase I, II and III site assessments (for brownfields with water quality impacts)


2. Excavation and disposal of underground storage tanks


3. Excavation, removal, and disposal of contaminated soil or sediments


4. Capping of wells or soil


5. Remediation of stormwater runoff (including the use of constructed wetlands)


6. Monitoring of groundwater or surface water for brownfield contaminants

Good Luck!

Brownfield Grant Writing Tip #36 - Leveraging Through Energy Star Tax Credits

Southern Communities, particularly rural communities in rural States, may not have all the bells and whistles of tax credits, incentives, etc. that they can tout as their own when it comes to leveraging resources.  Why not just cite an existing federal Tax Deduction for Commercial Buildings as one of YOUR leveraging resources.  Here it is:

Tax Deductions for Commercial Buildings

A tax deduction of up to $1.80 per square foot is available to owners or designers of new or existing commercial buildings that save at least 50% of the heating and cooling energy of a building that meets ASHRAE Standard 90.1-2001. Partial deductions of up to $.60 per square foot can be taken for measures affecting any one of three building systems: the building envelope, lighting, or heating and cooling systems. These tax deductions are available for systems “placed in service” from January 1, 2006 through December 31, 2013.

Take the ENERGY STAR Challenge to find the best opportunities for energy savings, set goals for improvement, and achieve superior energy efficiency.

• IRS Notice 2006-52 (6/2/2006) provides guidance on deduction for energy efficient commercial buildings.


• IRS Notice 2008-40 (4/7/2008) - Amplification of Notice 2006-52


• Qualified Software for Calculating Energy Savings


• Commercial Building Tax Deduction Coalition


• Brochure: Commercial Energy Efficiency Incentives (TIAP — May 2009, 2 pages

Good Luck!

Brownfield Grant Writing Tip #35 - Budget Line Item for Sanborn Maps

Sanborn maps are superb sources of information when building an inventory of brownfields.  EDR has a new Sanborn Direct product.  It essentially allows you to purchase all of the Sanborn maps for an entire city and then view them instantly.  It was initially set up to service municipal clients (the City of Houston, TX was the first client), who wanted to use grant money to create inventories of potential brownfield sites.

I think in the future it will become more useful for the Phase I side of things, but for right now the pricing ($10 per map, plus an approximately $1,000 construction fee – Houston spent $100,000), will likely limit its usefulness to completing brownfield inventories once grants or other funds have been obtained by municipalities.  You may want to budget this into some grant applications, if there is a lot of Sanborn coverage.  For instance, Meridian, MS has 343 total Sanborn maps, so it would cost about $4,430 to purchase Sanborn direct for them.  This may be worth it to the city once a grant is awarded to make their inventory process much easier and thorough.

Here's a demo and 2-min tutorial.

EDR SanbornDirect is a unique online interface which provides direct access to the largest and most comprehensive collection of Sanborn fire insurance maps. Maps showing building configurations in different years in your community can be viewed quickly on a single screen, along with base maps showing a street map, satellite photo, or a hybrid map combining the street map and satellite views.

Brownfield Grant Writing Tip #34 - More on "Community Need"

It's getting down to crunch time so my postings may be less wording and more links in the coming weeks.  Here are a couple of good links:

One database that has some of this info is the Ann Casey Foundation, Kids Count.
http://datacenter.kidscount.org/data/bystate/

Health care access is a new report:
http://datacenter.kidscount.org/data/acrossstates/Rankings.aspx?ind=31

Good Luck!