EPA Approves ASTM E1527-13 to satisfy AAI Rule

Effective December 30, 2013, parties may use the 2013 Phase I Environmental Site Assessment standard ASTM E1527-13 to satisfy the All Appropriate Inquiries Rule, according to the EPA. And while the agency has not yet removed references to the 2005 standard in the final rule, 78 Fed. Reg. 79319 (Dec. 30, 2013), EPA clarified that it intends to issue a proposed rule to remove the references to the 2005 standard.

As stated at 78 Fed. Reg. 79320-79321, “Although today's action will not remove the current reference in the All Appropriate Inquiries Rule to the ASTM E1527-05 standard, EPA agrees with commenters that the revised ASTM E1527-13 standard includes improvements to the previous standard and its use will result in greater clarity for prospective purchases with regard to potential contamination at a property. Therefore, EPA recommends that environmental professionals and prospective purchasers use the ASTM E1527-13 standard. In the near future, EPA intends to publish a proposed rulemaking to remove the reference to the ASTM E1527-05 standard in the All Appropriate Inquiries Rule. By taking such action the Agency's intent will be to promote the use of the current industry standard and reduce confusion associated with the regulatory reference to a standard no longer recognized as current by ASTM International and no longer marketed by the standards development organization as reflecting its current consensus-based standard.”

Additional differences between the 2005 and 2013 Phase I ESA standard are discussed in the final rule preamble and EPA’s “Summary of Updates and Revisions to ASTM E1527 Standard Practice for Environmental Site Assessments: Phase I Environmental Site Assessment Process: How E1527-13 Differs from E1527-05” posted in EPA Docket ID No.  EPA-HQ-SFUND-2013-0513.

Livable Communities Assistance in KY, AL, TN, and MS

The Appalachian communities of Corbin, Kentucky; Anniston, Alabama; Pikeville, Tennessee; and Aberdeen, Mississippi have been selected by EPA, the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC), and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to receive technical assistance and implementation support through the $250,000 Livable Communities program.

• Corbin, Kentucky will expand its seasonal outdoor market in downtown into a year-round local food network hub.
  
• Anniston, Alabama will develop a system of community and neighborhood gardens tied to neighborhood and downtown revitalization efforts.
  
• Pikeville, Tennessee will build a farmers’ market on vacant land in the heart of downtown and establish a community kitchen to help feed the needy.
  
• Aberdeen, Mississippi will establish a farmers’ market and neighborhood nutrition education center in a revitalized and refurbished former railroad building.

Support from the three agencies will help these communities promote economic development, preserve rural lands, and increase access to locally grown food. The 2013 Livable Communities program focuses on developing local food systems as a means of revitalizing traditional downtowns and promoting economic diversification.

These types of programs may be good "leveraged" resources for a Brownfield Grant for these communities.

EPA Adds Nine Hazardous Waste Sites to Superfund’s National Priorities List

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is adding nine hazardous waste sites that pose risks to people’s health and the environment to the National Priorities List (NPL) of Superfund sites. EPA is also proposing to add another eight sites to the list. Superfund is the federal program that investigates and cleans up the most complex, uncontrolled or abandoned hazardous waste sites in the country to protect people’s health and the environment.

“Superfund cleanups protect the health of nearby communities and ecosystems from harmful contaminants,” said Mathy Stanislaus, assistant administrator for EPA’s Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response. “They can also provide positive economic outcomes for communities including job creation, increased property values, enhanced local tax bases and improved quality of life.”

The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA), the law establishing the Superfund program, requires EPA to update the NPL at least annually and clean up hazardous waste sites to protect human health with the goal of returning them to communities for productive use. A site’s listing neither imposes a financial obligation on EPA nor assigns liability to any party. Updates to the NPL do, however, provide policymakers with a list of high priority sites, serving to identify the size and nature of the nation’s cleanup challenges.

The Superfund program has provided important benefits for people and the environment since Congress established the program in 1980.Those benefits are both direct and indirect, and include reduction of threats to human health and ecological systems in the vicinity of Superfund sites, improvement of the economic conditions and quality of life in communities affected by hazardous waste sites, prevention of future releases of hazardous substances, and advances in science and technology.  

By eliminating or reducing real and perceived health risks and environmental contamination associated with hazardous waste sites, Superfund actions frequently convert contaminated land into productive local resources and increase local property values. A study conducted by researchers at Duke and Pittsburgh Universities concluded that, while a site’s proposal to the NPL reduces property values slightly, making a site final on the NPL begins to increase property values surrounding Superfund sites. Furthermore, the study found that, once a site has all cleanup remedies in place, surrounding properties have a significant increase in property values as compared to pre-NPL proposal values.

Since 1983, EPA has listed 1,694 sites on the NPL. At 1,147 or 68 percent of NPL sites, all cleanup remedies are in place. Approximately 645 or 38 percent of NPL sites have all necessary long-term protections in place, which means EPA considers the sites protective for redevelopment or reuse.

With all NPL sites, EPA first works to identify companies or people responsible for the contamination at a site, and requires them to conduct or pay for the cleanup. For the newly listed sites without viable potentially responsible parties, EPA will investigate the full extent of the contamination before starting significant cleanup at the site. Therefore, it may be several years before significant EPA clean up funding is required for these sites.
The following nine sites have been added to the NPL:
• Beck’s Lake (former automotive and hazardous waste dump) in South Bend, Ind.;
• Garden City Ground Water Plume (ground water plume) in Garden City, Ind.;
• Keystone Corridor Ground Water Contamination (ground water plume) in Indianapolis, Ind;
• Cristex Drum (former fabric mill) in Oxford, N.C.;
• Hemphill Road TCE (former chemical drum recycling) in Gastonia, N.C.;
• Collins & Aikman Plant (Former) (former automotive rubber manufacturer) in Farmington, N.H.;
• Jackpile-Paguate Uranium Mine (former uranium mine) in Laguna Pueblo, N.M.;
• Wilcox Oil Company (former oil refinery) in Bristow, Okla.; and
• Makah Reservation Warmhouse Beach Dump (municipal and hazardous waste dump) in Neah             Bay, Wash.
The following eight sites have been proposed for addition to the NPL:
• Macmillan Ring Free Oil (former oil refinery) in Norphlet, Ark.;
• Keddy Mill (former sawmill, grist and wool carding mill) in Windham, Maine;
• PCE Southeast Contamination (ground water plume) in York, Neb.;
• PCE/TCE Northeast Contamination (ground water plume) in York, Neb.;
• Troy Chem Corp Inc (chemical manufacturer) in Newark, N.J.;
• Unimatic Manufacturing Corporation (former chemical manufacturer) in Fairfield, N.J.;
• Wolff-Alport Chemical Company (former metal extraction facility) in Ridgewood, N.Y.; and
• Walker Machine Products, Inc. (former machine screw products manufacturer) in Collierville, Tenn.     
In the proposed rule, EPA is also soliciting additional comments on the Smurfit-Stone Mill site based on additional references to the Hazard Ranking System documentation record being made available to the public for review.
EPA is also changing the name of the B.F. Goodrich site in Rialto, Calif., which EPA added to the NPL on September 23, 2009 (74 FR 48412). The site’s new name, Rockets, Fireworks, and Flares (RFF), informs the public of activities that are believed to have contributed to contamination at the site.

Federal Register notices and supporting documents for the final and proposed sites: http://www.epa.gov/superfund/sites/npl/current.htm
Information about how a site is listed on the NPL:
http://www.epa.gov/superfund/sites/npl/npl_hrs.htm
Superfund sites in local communities:
http://www.epa.gov/superfund/sites/index.htm
More information about the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA), the law establishing the Superfund program, can be found at: 
http://epa.gov/superfund/policy/cercla.htm

RESCHEDULED Brownfield Grant Webinars

The US EPA will host two webinars to assist applicants with applying for the FY14 Assessment, Revolving Loan Fund, and Cleanup grants. Webinar 1 will review the TABEZ tool which can be used to build an assessment or cleanup proposal. Webinar 2 was rescheduled due to inclement weather and will assist applicants in understanding what information is necessary to apply for the Assessment, Revolving Loan Fund and/or Cleanup grants.

Slides will be available via the brownfields website once these webinars have been completed, they will be posted on the newsroom page.  Should you have any questions please contact Jeanette Mendes at (202) 566-1887 or mendes.jeanette@epa.gov.

Webinar 1:

Name:                  Using the TABEZ Tool

Date:                    Friday, December 13, 2013

Time:                    12:30 pm to 2:00 pm EST

Adobe Link:         https://epa.connectsolutions.com/fy14arctabez/

Webinar 2:

* Rescheduled from December 10th

Name:                  FY14 National Outreach Webinar

Date:                    Tuesday, December 17, 2013

Time:                    12:30 pm to 2:00 pm EST

Adobe Link:         https://epa.connectsolutions.com/fy14_arc/

EPA Announces Job Training Grant Guidelines

FY14 Environmental Workforce Development and Job Training Grant Guidelines
RFP# EPA-OSWER-OBLR-14-01 - Closing Date: February 13, 2014.

EPA has announced the availability of funds and is soliciting proposals from eligible entities, including nonprofit organizations, to deliver environmental workforce development and  job training programs that recruit, train, and place local, unemployed and under-employed residents with the skills needed to secure full-time employment in the environmental field, with a focus on solid and hazardous waste remediation, environmental health and safety, and wastewater-related training.

For more information, go to: http://www.epa.gov/oswer/docs/grants/epa-oswer-oblr-14-01.pdf

EPA Brownfield Grant Webinars

If you are applying for an EPA Brownfields Assessment, Revolving Loan Fund, or Cleanup grant, you may be interested in the webinars below.

The US EPA will host two webinars to assist applicants with applying for the FY14 Assessment, Revolving Loan Fund, and Cleanup grants. Webinar 1 will assist applicants in understanding what information is necessary to apply for the Assessment, Revolving Loan Fund and/or Cleanup grants. Webinar 2 will review the TABEZ tool which can be used to build an assessment or cleanup proposal.

Webinar 1:

Name: FY14 National Outreach Webinar

Date: Tuesday, December 10, 2014

Time: 12:30 pm to 2:00 pm EST

Adobe Link: https://epa.connectsolutions.com/fy14_arc/

Webinar 2:

Name: Using the TABEZ Tool

Date: Friday, December 13, 2014

Time: 12:30 pm to 2:00 pm EST

Adobe Link: https://epa.connectsolutions.com/fy14arctabez/

Should you have any questions please contact Jeanette Mendes at (202) 566-1887 or mendes.jeanette@epa.gov.

Funding Available: Our Town Initiative From the National Endowment for the Arts

Application Due: January 13, 2014

Eligible Entities: All applications must involve two primary partners: a local government entity and a nonprofit organization. Local governments include counties, parishes, cities, towns, villages, or federally recognized tribal governments. Local arts agencies or other departments, agencies, or entities within an eligible local government may submit the application on behalf of that local government.

The National Endowment for the Arts will provide a limited number of grants, ranging from $25,000 to $200,000, for creative placemaking projects that contribute toward the livability of communities and help transform them into lively, beautiful, and sustainable places with the arts at their core. The Our Town initiative will invest in creative and innovative projects in which communities, together with their arts and design organizations and artists, seek to improve their quality of life, foster stronger community identity and a sense of place, and revitalize economic development.

For more information, visit the grant opportunity webpage.

EPA Publishes Brownfield Grant FAQs and Assessment Checklist

A summary of differences between FY14 and FY13 Grant Guidelines is found in the FAQ document listed below. EPA has also included an Assessment Guideline Checklist.

• Frequently Asked Questions (PDF) (53 pp, 847K)
• FY2014 Assessment Guideline Checklist (PDF) (11 pp, 552K)

EPA Brownfields Grant guidelines have been released

The EPA Brownfields Assessment, Revolving Loan and Cleanup (ARC) grant guidelines have been released. They have a due date of January 22nd, 2014.
 

FY14 Guidelines for Brownfields Assessment Grants

FY14 Guidelines for Brownfields Revolving Loan Fund (RLF) Grants

FY14 Guidelines for Brownfields Cleanup Grants

For more information, go to the EPA web page listed below:

http://www.epa.gov/oswer/grants-funding.htm

Briefing Paper: Defying the Odds: Sustainability in Small and Rural Places

This briefing paper offers short case studies and lessons derived from a minority of small communities who made strides protecting the environment despite the odds against them. First, using the data from the 2010 ICMA sustainability survey,[i] they describe the problem – that smaller and poorer municipalities are less likely to enact sustainability policies. Next, they present seven brief case studies of municipalities that defied the odds and implemented various sustainability policies. They conclude with lessons about the actions local leaders in these places took and their motivations.
Acknowledgements: Research on the case studies presented in this paper was made possible in part with funding from the USDA National Institute for Food and Agriculture grant # 2011-68006-30793.

Webinar: Tips for Successful Brownfield Grant Proposals - Dec 4, 2013 2:00 PM - 3:15 PM EST

Join NALGEP, the Center for Creative Land Recycling (CCLR), and the KSU Technical Assistance to Brownfields Program for a webinar get the latest advice on preparing a successful application. With increasing competition for EPA brownfield grants, applicants need to know how to set their applications above the rest, and previously successful applicants have to know how to adapt and improve their methods for developing grant applications. This webinar will walk listeners through basic (but surprisingly often overlooked) advice for applicants, as well as new changes in grant guidelines, and funding trends.

Webinar speakers will include some of the nation’s leading brownfield experts who have been successful applicants, technical assistant providers, and recent reviewers of ARC applications. Speakers will provide special tips for small and rural communities and lend their insight into common mistakes and special advantages for these applicants.

Click HERE to register.

EPA Technical Assistance - Building Blocks for Sustainable Communities

Smart Growth America and Global Green USA are soliciting applications for technical assistance, which is available under grants EPA awarded to these two organizations through the Office of Sustainable Communities' Building Blocks for Sustainable Communities grant program. (Listen to the November 6 webinar about both offerings.)

Global Green USA's technical assistance is based on the LEED for Neighborhood Development standard, which provides a nationally recognized method for creating neighborhoods that are walkable, bikeable, resource-efficient, and equitable. At the conclusion of the assistance, the team will provide recommendations for both physical and policy changes that can enhance neighborhood sustainability.
View the application.  

Applications are due to Global Green by Friday December 20, 2013, 6 PM PST (3 PM EST).

Smart Growth America is offering 12 different technical assistance workshops:

• Implementing smart growth 101
• Planning for economic and fiscal health
• Regional planning for small communities
• Sustainable land use code audit
• Smart growth zoning codes for small cities
• Complete streets
• Walkability workshop/audit
• Transportation performance measurement
• Parking audit
• Implementing transit-oriented development 101
• Cool planning: local strategies to slow climate change
• Using LEED-ND to accelerate the development of sustainable communities

View the application. Applications are due to Smart Growth America by Friday, December 6, 2013, 5:00 PM EST.

Additional assistance may be available from EPA and other grantees in 2014.

Rural Health Network Development Planning Funding Opportunity (HealthFields)

The Health Resources and Services Administration’s Rural Health Network Development Planning Funding Opportunity was recently released. Deadline is January 16, 2014.

The purpose of this grant program is to assist in the planning and development of an integrated healthcare network.  This grant program brings together key parts of a rural health care delivery system, particularly those entities that may not have collaborated in the past under a formal relationship, to work together to establish and improve local capacity and coordination of care.  By working together, rural health providers and organizations can achieve efficiencies, increase capacity and improve the quality of essential health care services over a give geographic area.  

To be eligible, the lead applicant organization must be a rural non-profit or rural public entity that represents a consortium/network of three or more health care providers. Federally-recognized tribal entities are eligible to apply as long as they are located in a rural area.  The applicant organization must be located in a non-metropolitan county or in a rural census tract of a metropolitan county and all services must be provided in a non-metropolitan county or rural census tract.

Applicant organizations with headquarters located in a metropolitan county that serve non-metropolitan or metropolitan counties are not eligible solely because of the areas they serve. In addition, applicant organizations located in a metropolitan county with branches in a non-metropolitan county are not eligible to apply if they are eligible only because of the areas or populations they serve.

http://www.hrsa.gov/grants/apply/assistance/ruralnetworks/index.html

WEBINAR (Nov. 21st): Empowering Low-Income Communities to take advantage of MAP-21 Funds

On Thursday, November 21st, from 2-3 p.m. Eastern, the Safe Routes to School National Partnership is hosting a free webinar:

Empowering Low-Income Communities to take advantage of MAP-21 Funds

REGISTER HERE:
https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/8367894069511939842

More street scale projects can be built in lower-income communities and communities of color by training advocates nationwide on how to access existing funding for pedestrian and bicycle projects, including the new MAP-21 funds. Speakers will provide perspective on the importance of MAP-21 funding in underserved communities, overcoming disparity and violence and increasing health benefits through street scale improvements, and identifying tools and best practices for implementation on the regional, state and local levels.

SPEAKERS:

• Introduction by Congressman Steve Cohen, 9th District, Tennessee
• Keith Benjamin, Street Scale Campaign Manager, Safe Routes to School National Partnership
• Mandela Barnes, State Representative, 11th Assembly District, Wisconsin
• Jamecca Marshall, Policy Manager, Advancement Project
• Chigozie Udemgba, Safe Routes Program Manager at Mississippi State Department of Health

To register for this free webinar, click on this link:
https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/8367894069511939842

This free webinar is part of the Voices for Healthy Kids: Active Places initiative to advance policies that support healthy community design, shared use and street-scale policies in underserved communities and schools. The Active Places initiative is focused on increasing access to parks, playgrounds, walking paths, bike lanes and other opportunities to create active places and increase physical activity.

Voices for Healthy Kids is a national advocacy initiative focused on uniting the movement to prevent childhood obesity. A collaboration between the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and American Heart Association, the initiative seeks to help reverse the nation’s childhood obesity epidemic by 2015 by ensuring children have access to healthy foods and beverages, as well as safe opportunities for physical activity. Learn more about the childhood obesity epidemic and how you can help turn it around at www.voicesforhealthykids.org.

Webinar: Using GIS Tools to Analyze, Compute, and Predict Pollution, Session I - Exposure Assessment in the Field and Links to Human Health - November 12, 2013, 1:00PM-3:00PM EST

Using GIS Tools to Analyze, Compute, and Predict Pollution, Session I - Exposure Assessment in the Field and Links to Human Health - November 12, 2013, 1:00PM-3:00PM EST

 Preterm birth, the leading cause of neonatal mortality in the U.S., may be associated with exposure to legacy and emergent contaminants in the environment. Puerto Rico has one of the highest rates of preterm birth, as well as density of Superfund Sites in the United States. As part of NIEHS's Superfund Research Program, the Puerto Rico Testsite for Exploring Contamination Threats (PROTECT) is exploring the relationships between exposure to hazardous chemicals and preterm birth in northern Puerto Rico. Particular attention is given to chlorinated volatile organic compounds and phthalates, although biomarkers of phenols, metals, and parabens exposure are also being explored as precursors of preterm birth. Identification of associations between contaminants and preterm birth requires collection and integration of complex multi-disciplinary datasets. The first presentation will describe the data management system being developed by PROTECT to integrate, manage, analyze, and relate environmental, demographic, exposure biomarkers, and birth outcome data. The discussion will center on the applicability of the system, built on a foundation of Earthsoft's EQUIS?, to assess the extent of groundwater and tap water contamination, identify other modes of exposure, define patterns in biomarkers of exposure and birth outcomes from an ongoing birth cohort, perform relational queries, and map spatial patterns that can be directly visualized with ArcGIS. Toxic metals are widespread environmental contaminants that are known human carcinogens and/or developmental toxicants. The levels of metals in private well water are federally unregulated. The second presenter will describe two studies that used GIS mapping in North Carolina to examine 1) the spatial patterns of arsenic levels private wells, and 2) the association between private well levels of arsenic, cadmium, manganese, and lead and birth defects prevalence. The studies used a statewide database of private well contaminants collected by the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services Division of Public Health as well as data from the North Carolina Birth Defects Monitoring Program. For more information and to register, see http://clu-in.org/live .

Building Blocks for Sustainable Communities: Webinar Nov. 6

Join a webinar by EPA grantee Smart Growth America on free technical assistance available to communities through EPA’s Building Blocks for Sustainable Communities program. Learn about the assistance and how to apply on Wednesday, November 6, 2 p.m. Eastern.

• View the webinar registration page.
• Learn about Building Blocks for Sustainable Communities.

How E1527-13 Differs from E1527-05

On November 1, 2005, EPA issued a Final Rule (40 CFR 312) establishing standards and practices for conducting all appropriate inquiries (AAI) as required under sections 101(35)(B)(ii) and (iii) of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA), as amended. Section 312.11 of the Final Rule stated that ASTM International Standard E1527-05, “Standard Practice for Environmental Site Assessments: Phase I Environmental Site Assessment Process” may be used to comply with the AAI requirements.

ASTM International recently revised its 2005 version of the Phase I environmental assessment standard and will be issuing a new, or revised standard, specifically ASTM E1527-13, “Standard Practice for Environmental Site Assessments: Phase I Environmental Site Assessment Process.” The ASTM E1527-13 standard is similar to the ASTM E1527-05 standard in format, process, and areas of coverage. In fact, many of the sections in ASTM E1527-13 are taken verbatim from the ASTM E1527-05 text. The newly revised standard, although essentially congruent to the ASTM E1527-05 Phase I Environmental Assessment Standard, provides some clarifications and additional guidance for the environmental assessment of commercial properties and determining whether or not there are recognized environmental conditions at a property or conditions indicative of releases or threatened releases of hazardous substances at a property.

This document presents a summary of the changes ASTM International made to the previous E1527-05 standard. It is EPA’s finding that the new standard E1527-13 remains compliant with the AAI regulatory requirements. 

ASTM International’s revisions to E1527-05 “Environmental Site Assessments: Phase I Environmental Site Assessment Process” include the following changes, resulting in the revised standard, E1527-13:

1. ASTM updated the definition of “Recognized Environmental Condition (REC).” The new definition of REC is: “the presence or likely presence of any hazardous substances or petroleum products in, on, or at a property due to release to the environment; under conditions indicative of a release to the environment or under conditions that pose a material threat of future release. De minimis conditions are not recognized environmental conditions.”The revised definition aligns with the All Appropriate Inquiries Rule provision that site assessments be conducted with a goal of identifying “conditions indicative of releases and threatened releases of hazardous substances on, at, in , or to the subject property.” The revised ASTM definition of REC retains some of the additional guidance from prior versions of the E1527 standard.
2. ASTM updated its definition of “Historical Recognized Environmental Condition (HREC).” The definition was revised to clarify that the scope and application of an HREC is limited to include only past releases that have been addressed to unrestricted residential use. In addition, the new term “Controlled Recognized Environmental Condition” is defined to include past releases that have been addressed but allow contamination to remain in place.
3. ASTM added a definition of “Controlled Recognized Environmental Condition (CREC) to the standard.” This term was added to further clarify that “historical recognized environmental conditions (HRECs) describe conditions where past releases were addressed at a property to the level of allowing for unrestricted residential use. A “controlled environmental condition” describes the condition where previous releases at properties that underwent risk-based closures were addressed, but contaminants are allowed to remain in place under certain restrictions or conditions.
4. ASTM added a clarification to the definition of “de minimis condition.” The revision makes it clear that environmental professionals should not use this term to describe a CREC. This revision provides the prospective property owner with added assurances that the Phase I will provide necessary and available information on past corrective actions conducted on the property and available information on contamination left in place. The previous definition of de minimis allowed environmental professionals to dismiss, or not report this information because the definition of “de minimis” merely stated that such conditions are not the “subject of an enforcement action.”
5. ASTM revised the definition of “migrate/migration” to specifically include vapor migrations. This revision clarifies that releases of contaminants that migrate via vapor in the subsurface or in soils are recognized environmental concerns. Prospective property owners will have the added assurance that releases that migrate onto a subject property via a vapor pathway will be identified as recognized environmental conditions.
6. ASTM revised the standard’s definition of “release” to clarify that the definition has the same meaning as the definition of release in CERCLA. This clarification removes confusion that may have been caused by different definitions of “release” in the standard and in the CERCLA statute.
7. ASTM revised the standard’s definition of “environment” to clarify that the definition has the same meaning as the definition of environment in CERCLA.This clarification removes confusion that may have been caused by different definitions of “environment” in the standard and in the CERCLA statute.
8. ASTM revised the scope of the “User Responsibilities” section (section 6) to clarify which aspects of the site assessment investigation may be the responsibility of the user, or prospective property owner, or the user’s chosen representative, and not necessarily the responsibility of the environmental professional. This revision aligns with the language at 40 CFR 312.22 (Additional inquiries).
9. ASTM added additional guidance at section 8.2.2, Regulatory Agency File and Records Review, of the standard to provide a standardized framework for verifying agency information related to information obtained from key databases. This additional guidance, and added framework for file and record reviews, clarifies that an environmental professional should make efforts to review and document the validity of information found from searches of agency databases. The result is expected to be an increase in validity of reports and an increase in the level of confidence that users, or prospective property owners, can place on site assessment results.
10. ASTM revised the language in section 12.8 (Conclusions) to allow some flexibility with regard to the wording of the conclusion statement provided by an environmental professional as part of the assessment reports conclusion statement. The revised language allows either for the use of the suggested statements provided in Section 12.8.1 – 12.8.3, or language similar to those statements. This revision will reduce confusion and increase the level of confidence that a user, or prospective property owner, can place in the report and that it is compliant with both the ASTM standard and the AAI rule.
11. ASTM updated the information provided in the standard’s non-binding appendices. Appendices are non-binding and are provided for only for background information. These revisions have no effect upon the requirements of the standard and no effect upon compliance with the AAI rule. Information provided in the appendices is provided only for background information for the environmental professional and users (prospective property owners). A disclosure statement in the front of the appendices clarifies that EPA was not a party to the development of the appendices and that users of the standard should exercise caution when referring to the information in the appendices, in particular the legal appendix (Appendix X1) due to the fact that ongoing litigation and future court decisions could reduce the reliability of the information provided.  ASTM’s revisions to Appendix X4 simply provides a suggested outline for a final report of findings, opinions, and conclusions. EPA does not require that AAI reports follow any specific outline. Users of the standard may find the suggested report format useful, but the format provided is not required for compliance with AAI or compliance with the ASTM standard.

EPA Guide Addresses Runoff at Brownfield Sites

Sept. 25 — The Environmental Protection Agency released guidance Sept. 25 to inform urban planners, engineers and developers how they can use bioswales, rain gardens and porous pavements to capture stormwater runoff at brownfield sites without mobilizing pollutants in the soil and contaminating groundwater. The guidance, “Implementing Stormwater Infiltration Practices at Vacant Parcels and Brownfield Sites,” addresses six key questions to determine whether infiltration—which allows accumulated stormwater runoff to percolate into the subsoil—or other management approaches are appropriate for a specific brownfield property. The guidance, prepared by the EPA Office of Water and the Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response, said stormwater management planning should be done alongside site investigation, state approvals, selection of cleanup approaches and design and engineering of site improvements. The guidance is available athttp://water.epa.gov/infrastructure/greeninfrastructure/upload/brownfield_infiltration_decision_tool.pdf.

WEBINAR: Sept. 27, 2:30 EDT - Making a Plan: Partnerships for Transforming Community Health through City Planning

Successful partnerships are at the core of both public health and planning practice. With the right partners at the table, more change can happen faster and with greater satisfaction for communities. But how do you get planners to work with public health professionals? One answer: It takes leadership at the highest level.

In this webinar, planning directors and health commissioners from Austin, Texas and Baltimore, Maryland will pair up to discuss how they are building bridges between their departments and working to transform their approaches to complex problems such as chronic disease. You will learn about how the Community Transformation Grant program has supported and encouraged these efforts in Austin, while in Baltimore, the city’s mayor has pushed inter-departmental partnerships.

This webinar is offered jointly by the American Planning Association and the American Public Health Association. Join us in learning how two very different cities are Making a Plan for change!

Learning objectives:

1. Understand how planning and public health leaders set priorities.
2.  Understand how planning and public health professionals are building relationships through regular meetings and agreed upon objectives.
3. Identify strategies for engaging staff in planning and public health agencies to participate in and champion the work.
4. Explain how planning is integral to improving health throughout the county and what kind of capacity needs to be developed so that planners and health professionals can better work together.

Sign up by clicking here.

NALGEP's Webinar on October 3rd: Brownfields Update From Capitol Hill

Join NALGEP and its Brownfield Communities Network on Thursday, October 3rd at 2:00 pm eastern time for a webinar where the nation's leading brownfield policy experts will bring you up to speed on the latest Congressional activities related to brownfields. Speakers will include Evans Paull of the National Brownfields Coalition, Judy Sheahan from the U.S. Conference of Mayors, and NALGEP Executive Director Ken Brown. The webinar will cover the key matters before Congress affecting brownfield revitalization, including brownfield reauthorization legislation, the outlook for FY 2014 appropriations for brownfields at EPA and other agencies, and efforts to reinstate the brownfield tax incentive. There will be ample time for questions and discussion. To register, click here.

Getting Started Preparing Your ARC Proposal Early - Step 6 - Contact TAB

Every year, the Office of Brownfields and Land Revitalization (OBLR) receives numerous inquiries regarding preparation of proposals for the Assessment, Revolving Loan Fund, and Cleanup (ARC) grant competitions. Many potential applicants find that it is difficult to prepare their proposals in only 60 days, the typical amount of time the Request for Proposals (RFP) allows from publication until the proposals are due. While the RFP is on schedule to be available in early fall, there are still many activities that applicants can perform in advance of the RFP (commonly referred to as the ARC Guidelines) being made publicly available. We have listed many of these activities below. We hope that using this list to get started preparing your ARC proposal early will facilitate your efforts in the preparation of a thorough, thoughtful, timely, and most importantly, successful proposal.

Technical Assistance to Brownfields (TAB). The TAB Program funds technical assistance to communities and other stakeholders on brownfield issues with the goal of increasing the community's understanding and involvement in brownfield cleanup and revitalization, and helping to move brownfield sites forward toward cleanup and reuse. Applicants can begin by contacting brownfield TAB grantees, Center for Creative Land Recycling (CCLR), Kansas State University (KSU), and New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) to request assistance in preparing proposal applications. Information on the TAB Program can be found at http://epa.gov/brownfields/grant_info/tab.htm.

EPA and Appalachian Regional Commission Invite Applications for Technical Support/Implementation Assistance

Appalachian communities interested in revitalizing their downtowns, promoting local food systems, and using other smart growth approaches to improve human health and the environment are invited to apply for technical support and implementation assistance through the Sustainable Communities in Appalachia partnership. The partnership is a program of EPA and the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC). EPA and ARC have committed up to $200,000 for technical assistance and implementation in four Appalachian communities. Funds will be used to develop action plans and provide small cash grants for first-step implementation efforts. Learn more on the ARC website.

How to Apply
Interested communities in the ARC-defined Appalachia region should submit a letter of interest, no more than two pages, describing the needs and goals of the community as they pertain to the description above.

The selection process will take into account:

· Community interest in food systems, including the production and distribution of healthful local food as a means of boosting economic competitiveness and economic diversification;· The potential to address the community’s development challenges through the strategies described in the Partnership for Sustainable Communities 2011 publication Supporting Sustainable Rural Communities;
· Support from community leaders and community members;
· Interest by the Local Development District or a local university or community college in playing an active role in the technical assistance and potentially replicating such efforts in other communities;
· Potential for the community to receive public or private investments to implement strategies identified through the technical assistance program; and
· The extent of social and economic needs of the Appalachian community as measured by per-capita market income, poverty rate, and unemployment rate.

Submit letters of interest to Wilson Paine at wpaine@arc.gov by October 4, 2013. Letters of interest should indicate a primary point of contact and, if possible, other members of the community who will participate in the technical assistance process. Questions about this solicitation may be addressed to Wilson Paine at wpaine@arc.gov or Ed Fendley at Fendley.Ed@epa.gov.

Getting Started Preparing Your ARC Proposal Early: Step 5: READ/Understand the RANKING Criteria (Part 2)

Every year, the Office of Brownfields and Land Revitalization (OBLR) receives numerous inquiries regarding preparation of proposals for the Assessment, Revolving Loan Fund, and Cleanup (ARC) grant competitions. Many potential applicants find that it is difficult to prepare their proposals in only 60 days, the typical amount of time the Request for Proposals (RFP) allows from publication until the proposals are due. While the RFP is on schedule to be available in early fall, there are still many activities that applicants can perform in advance of the RFP (commonly referred to as the ARC Guidelines) being made publicly available. We have listed many of these activities below. We hope that using this list to get started preparing your ARC proposal early will facilitate your efforts in the preparation of a thorough, thoughtful, timely, and most importantly, successful proposal.

RANKING CRITERIA

Review the Ranking Criteria. Applicants are encouraged to use the FY13 Guidelines found at
http://epa.gov/brownfields/applicat.htm as a guide to begin gathering information and drafting
their proposal. When the FY14 Guidelines are posted, the applicant can then use the time prior to
the submission deadline to organize the information into the required format, fill in any missing
details, and further strengthen their proposal.

• Grant Proposal Framework/Outline. SEE YESTERDAY'S BLOG ENTRY.
• Community Need. SEE YESTERDAY'S BLOG ENTRY.
• Project Description. SEE YESTERDAY'S BLOG ENTRY.
• Community Engagement and Partnerships. Each applicant is required to incorporate community involvement into their grant, and to notify the community that they are planning to apply for a brownfield grant. The applicant should start working with their community early to establish a process and procedures for engaging their community. These efforts can begin well in advance of the grant application. The same goes for establishing partnerships that are critical to the success of your program. Begin identifying and forming these partnerships early in the process.
• Project Benefits. Applicants should begin identifying the health, environmental, infrastructure reuse, economic, and other long term benefits of addressing brownfield sites in their community, or if applying for cleanup grants, benefits of cleaning up the site. Thinking about the benefits in advance will facilitate your ability to identify and articulate these benefits in your proposal.
• Programmatic Capability/Past Performance. Begin gathering information on any past grants you have received and your accomplishments and performance under these grants. If you had performance problems on past grants, identify the issues and put in place corrective actions, so that any performance issues are resolved by the time you apply for the brownfield grant.

Getting Started Preparing Your ARC Proposal Early - Step 5: READ/Understand RANKING Criteria (Part 1)

Every year, the Office of Brownfields and Land Revitalization (OBLR) receives numerous inquiries regarding preparation of proposals for the Assessment, Revolving Loan Fund, and Cleanup (ARC) grant competitions. Many potential applicants find that it is difficult to prepare their proposals in only 60 days, the typical amount of time the Request for Proposals (RFP) allows from publication until the proposals are due. While the RFP is on schedule to be available in early fall, there are still many activities that applicants can perform in advance of the RFP (commonly referred to as the ARC Guidelines) being made publicly available. We have listed many of these activities below. We hope that using this list to get started preparing your ARC proposal early will facilitate your efforts in the preparation of a thorough, thoughtful, timely, and most importantly, successful proposal.

RANKING CRITERIA

Review the Ranking Criteria. Applicants are encouraged to use the FY13 Guidelines found at
http://epa.gov/brownfields/applicat.htm as a guide to begin gathering information and drafting
their proposal. When the FY14 Guidelines are posted, the applicant can then use the time prior to
the submission deadline to organize the information into the required format, fill in any missing
details, and further strengthen their proposal.

• Grant Proposal Framework/Outline. Applicants should begin by developing a framework or outline of their grant proposal. Think about the story your community wants to tell, and begin gathering the data you need in order to tell that story.
• Community Need. While the actual language in the FY14 Guidelines may vary slightly, EPA will be interested in seeing how brownfields have impacted your community, particularly sensitive or at risk populations. EPA will also want to hear about the community’s financial needs and their ability/inability to draw upon other resources to handle the brownfields in their community. Applicants should be thinking about these issues and begin gathering specific data and information on brownfield sites in their community so that they can speak to this topic with some specificity.
• Project Description. Start working with your brownfield partners to identify and develop the program/project that will be the subject of the grant. For assessment grants, you should begin discussions early with key partners about your project area and how you envision your program operating. Decide the focus of your grant and what sites you want to prioritize or the process you will use to prioritize sites if that will be done after the project starts. Start thinking about how many and what type of sites you plan to address with the grant funding and other key aspects of your program. As more details of your program are developed, you should be able to start drafting a budget of how much it will cost to perform the work described. In addition, applicants should start looking for ways they can leverage additional project funding. Begin capturing this data so that it can be added to the grant proposal.  If you have already leveraged funding for the project, begin gathering documentation (letters, emails, etc…) that document the leveraged funding. Ask partner organizations that plan to provide in-kind support for letters that document the specific in kind support they plan to provide. Gathering these documents now will save time later, and ensure you have the necessary attachments to document your firm leveraged commitments.
• Community Engagement and Partnerships. SEE TOMORROW'S BLOG ENTRY.
• Project Benefits. SEE TOMORROW'S BLOG ENTRY..
• Programmatic Capability/Past Performance. SEE TOMORROW'S BLOG ENTRY.

Getting Started Preparing Your ARC Proposal Early: Step 4: READ/Understand Threshold Criteria

Every year, the Office of Brownfields and Land Revitalization (OBLR) receives numerous inquiries regarding preparation of proposals for the Assessment, Revolving Loan Fund, and Cleanup (ARC) grant competitions. Many potential applicants find that it is difficult to prepare their proposals in only 60 days, the typical amount of time the Request for Proposals (RFP) allows from publication until the proposals are due. While the RFP is on schedule to be available in early fall, there are still many activities that applicants can perform in advance of the RFP (commonly referred to as the ARC Guidelines) being made publicly available. We have listed many of these activities below. We hope that using this list to get started preparing your ARC proposal early will facilitate your efforts in the preparation of a thorough, thoughtful, timely, and most importantly, successful proposal.

THRESHOLD CRITERIA

Applicant Eligibility. Begin gathering the necessary information to document your eligibility status. Contact U.S. EPA Brownfield regional staff if an eligibility question arises. A list of the Brownfield regional staff for your region can be found at http://www.epa.gov/swerosps/bf/corcntct.htm

Site Eligibility. Prepare your defenses to CERCLA liability and request state determination for petroleum site eligibility. Non-tribal applicants must provide the information required for a petroleum site eligibility determination to their state, so the state can make the necessary determination on petroleum site eligibility.

State Letter. Request your state letter indicating that the state knows about your plan to submit a proposal. Note: This can be done early, but should not be done so early that the letter is not from the current year.

Site Ownership. For cleanup grant proposals, acquire ownership of the site. Remember, applicants must be the sole owner of the site that is the subject of its cleanup grant proposal in order to be eligible to receive a cleanup grant.

Draft Analysis of Brownfield Cleanup Alternatives (ABCA). For cleanup grant proposals, begin working on your draft ABCA which briefly summarizes information about the site and contamination issues, cleanup standards, applicable laws, cleanup alternatives considered, and the proposed cleanup remedy. This will allow you to see if there are critical data gaps so you can begin filling in those gaps and have the draft ABCA ready to go by the proposal due date.

Getting Started Preparing Your ARC Proposal Early - Step 3: Establish Needed Partnerships

Every year, the Office of Brownfields and Land Revitalization (OBLR) receives numerous inquiries regarding preparation of proposals for the Assessment, Revolving Loan Fund, and Cleanup (ARC) grant competitions. Many potential applicants find that it is difficult to prepare their proposals in only 60 days, the typical amount of time the Request for Proposals (RFP) allows from publication until the proposals are due. While the RFP is on schedule to be available in early fall, there are still many activities that applicants can perform in advance of the RFP (commonly referred to as the ARC Guidelines) being made publicly available. We have listed many of these activities below. We hope that using this list to get started preparing your ARC proposal early will facilitate your efforts in the preparation of a thorough, thoughtful, timely, and most importantly, successful proposal.

Establish the needed partnerships. Determine whether your community should apply as an individual or a coalition. If you are applying as a coalition, identify who will be part of the coalition, who will be the lead coalition member and manage the cooperative agreement, and who will be members. Also, be sure to discuss what each coalition member’s role will be in the program. Once all that is determined, document your agreement through a memorandum of understanding/agreement.

Getting Started Preparing Your ARC Proposal Early - Step 2: "Establish Framework"

Every year, the Office of Brownfields and Land Revitalization (OBLR) receives numerous inquiries regarding preparation of proposals for the Assessment, Revolving Loan Fund, and Cleanup (ARC) grant competitions. Many potential applicants find that it is difficult to prepare their proposals in only 60 days, the typical amount of time the Request for Proposals (RFP) allows from publication until the proposals are due. While the RFP is on schedule to be available in early fall, there are still many activities that applicants can perform in advance of the RFP (commonly referred to as the ARC Guidelines) being made publically available. We have listed many of these activities below. We hope that using this list to get started preparing your ARC proposal early will facilitate your efforts in the preparation of a thorough, thoughtful, timely, and most importantly, successful proposal.

Establish the framework (core elements) of your brownfield program. Think about the needs and goals of your community. How best could your community accomplish these goals? Would an assessment grant help your community to achieve these goals? Do you have the manpower to manage a grant? If not, maybe a Targeted Brownfield Assessment may be a better option for your community or being part of an assessment coalition. Once you establish the framework, it will be easier to determine the next steps you need to take and begin implementing those steps.

Getting Started Preparing Your ARC Proposal Early - "Step 1: Review"

Every year, the Office of Brownfields and Land Revitalization (OBLR) receives numerous inquiries regarding preparation of proposals for the Assessment, Revolving Loan Fund, and Cleanup (ARC) grant competitions. Many potential applicants find that it is difficult to prepare their proposals in only 60 days, the typical amount of time the Request for Proposals (RFP) allows from publication until the proposals are due. While the RFP is on schedule to be available in early fall, there are still many activities that applicants can perform in advance of the RFP (commonly referred to as the ARC Guidelines) being made publically available. We have listed many of these activities below. We hope that using this list to get started preparing your ARC proposal early will facilitate your efforts in the preparation of a thorough, thoughtful, timely, and most importantly, successful proposal.

Review last year’s ARC Guidelines - While there will be some changes between the FY13 and FY14 Guidelines, the Guidelines remain the same from year to year as many of the criteria and requirements come directly from the Brownfields statute. Reading the Guidelines, thinking through and gathering the information required, and even putting together the plan for your brownfields program and brownfields project will give you a step up when it comes to preparing your proposal.

NOTE: We currently anticipate only one major eligibility change for assessment grants in FY14. The change in eligibility relates to whether or not you received an assessment grant, of any kind, in the FY13 grant competition. If you did, then you will not be eligible to apply for an assessment grant in the FY14 competition. While there may be other minor changes in the wording of the RFP, for the most part they will remain unchanged. For example, we clarified the ranking criteria to make them more understandable and regrouped and divided the information requested into 5 criteria rather than 4.

EPA Proposes To Add E1527-13 to AAI Rule

By: L. Schnapff

Source: http://commonground.edrnet.com/posts/f69583ad60

The good news is that EPA has proposed to amend its AAI rule so that the new ASTM E1527-13 will satisfy the requirements of AAI. The bad news is that EPA has declined to delete E1527-05 from the AAI rule. As a result, property owners and lenders will be able to continue to use E1527-05, thereby undermining the changes to the ASTM standard that were achieved after a protracted process.
EPA published a proposed rule and final direct rule in the August 15th federal register. If no adverse comments are received, the final direct rule will become effective in November. If EPA receives adverse comments, it will withdraw the final rule and respond to the comments.

The direction that EPA has taken seems ill-advised to this observer.  Among the changes in E1527-13  is a presumption that agency files be reviewed as part of the phase 1 process. EPA seems to believe that users will migrate to using E1527-13. However, it is anticipated that E1527-13 will be more costly than E1527-05 because of the time involved to review agency files. Moreover, many of the high volume phase 1 shops were not happy with presumption of doing agency file reviews because it complicated their business model which consists of relying on a high percentage of independent contractors or "1099" employees.  Currently, many of these phase 1 operations charge extra for the file review...even though their customers may have anticipated that the agency file reviews were part of the original agreed upon scope of work....

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Greening America's Capitals: Request for Letters of Interest from Capital Cities

EPA’s Office of Sustainable Communities is seeking letters of interest from state capital cities interested in receiving design assistance to create a clear and implementable vision of distinctive, environmentally friendly neighborhoods that incorporate smart growth strategies and green infrastructure systems. Letters of interest are due no later than 11:59 p.m. Eastern time on September 23, 2013.

Design assistance is provided through the Greening America’s Capitals program, administered by EPA. EPA conducts the program in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) through the Partnership for Sustainable Communities. Fourteen state capitals plus the District of Columbia have received assistance from the Greening America’s Capitals program to date; up to 5 capital cities will be selected in 2013.

EPA is providing this design assistance to help state capitals create stronger neighborhoods that protect the environment. EPA will fund a team of designers to visit the successful applicants’ capital cities for up to three days to produce schematic designs and illustrations intended to catalyze or complement a larger planning process for a neighborhood. In the past, the EPA team has provided sustainable design techniques for streets, parks, waterfronts, and town squares. This assistance will help the selected state capitals envision ways to clean up and reuse vacant lands, provide more housing and transportation choices, reduce infrastructure and energy costs, and build civic pride in neighborhoods and the city as a whole. The design team and EPA, HUD, and DOT staff will also assist the city staff in developing specific implementation strategies.

• Read the Request for Letters of Interest: http://www.epa.gov/smartgrowth/pdf/greencapitals/greening-americas-capitals-letters-of-interest2013.pdf

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The EPA Brownfield Programs Produces Widespread Environmental and Economic Benefits

EPA’s Brownfields Program empowers states, communities, and other stakeholders to work together to prevent, assess, safely cleanup, and sustainably reuse brownfields. Revitalizing brownfield sites creates benefits at the site and throughout the community. 

For example, through fiscal year 2012, on average, $17.79 are leveraged for each EPA Brownfields dollar expended; on average, 7.30 jobs are leveraged per $100,000 of  EPA Brownfields funding expended on Assessment, Cleanup and  Revolving Loan Fund cooperative agreements.

Brownfields Program Accomplishments as of June 2013 Including State and Tribal Program:

•             Properties Assessed: 20,449

•             Cleanups Completed: 872

•             Acres Made Ready for Reuse: 39,906

•             Dollars leveraged: $20.1B

•             Jobs Leveraged: 90,017

Since FY 2006, Accomplishment Report by State and Tribal Response Program Using CERCLA Section 128(a) Funding:

•             Enrolled over 42,000 properties

•             Completed more than 68,800 cleanups

•             Made over 644,000 acres ready for reuse

Flat Branch Park, Columbia, Missouri

Five pilot studies conducted by the Brownfield Program on Environmental (Air and Water) Benefits from Brownfield Redevelopments, indicate brownfield sites tend to have greater location efficiency than alternative development scenarios resulting in a 32 to 57 percent reduction in vehicle miles traveled, thus reducing  pollution emissions including greenhouse gases. These same site comparisons show an estimated 47 to 62 percent reduction of stormwater runoff.

Additional study funded by the Brownfield program to assess the impact of Brownfield grants on residential property values, concluded residential property values increased between 2 and 3 percent once a nearby brownfield was assessed or cleaned up. The study further concluded that cleaning up a brownfield can increase over‐ all property values within a one mile radius by $0.5 to $1.5 million.  Also, Initial anecdotal surveys indicate a reduction in crime in recently revitalized brownfield areas.

Opportunity to expand assessment program and achieve leverage funds and jobs has increased. Policy clarification provides the use of site assessments dollars for environmental site assessments in  conjunction with efforts to promote area‐wide planning among areas and corridors of brownfield sites. The use of funds for these purposes is particularly important to help those economically distress areas. Moreover, in certain instances when environmental site assessments reveal immediate threats to the environment or human health, a more programmatic use of EPA Removal funds to address these threats could be implemented.