ATSDR Sessions at Brownfields 2013

The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) is going to Brownfields 2013 Conference in Atlanta, GA.  Are you?  Do you want to know how you can protect and improve your community’s health through land reuse?   ATSDR is offering community health training at the Brownfields 2013 Conference in Atlanta, GA.  (Register on the Brownfields 2013 Conference Website:  www.brownfieldsconference.org)

Plan to participate in the ATSDR-hosted affiliate training sessions, “Is it Healthy?” education sessions, films, environmental justice caucus, and pick up free resources at the ATSDR booth.

Learn how to protect and improve community health through land reuse, meet our team, and learn how to use our simple tools to assess brownfield/land reuse sites in your community.   


ATSDR-Hosted Affiliate Training and Workshops  (May 14, 2013)

Creating a Brownfields Site Inventory while Protecting Public Health
Tuesday May 14 9-10:30 am
Participants will learn to use the ATSDR Brownfields/Land Reuse Site tool to create a rapid site assessment and inventory at brownfield/land reuse sites through hands-on activities and recognize the impacts blighted, contaminated, and vacant properties can have on public health. All participants will be given a free copy of the tool.

Every Site Has a Story to Tell:  Using Videos to Improve Community Health
Tuesday 14 11 am – 1 pm
Participants will learn to use video documentaries to educate communities about incorporating public health at brownfield and land reuse sites, view videos that have been used to educate communities about incorporating health monitoring in brownfield and land reuse projects, and talk to filmmaker Robert Safay and others, who have developed videos to promote public health in their communities.

Why Public Health?  Leveraging Health Resources
Tuesday May 14 11:30 am – 1 pm
Participants will talk to ATSDR, Southeast Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Unit (PEHSU), Fulton County  Department of Health and Wellness, and Georgia Department of Public Health about how they can help improve community health through redevelopment projects; gain an understanding of why protecting public health in redevelopment communities is important; and gain an understanding of how federal, state and local health agencies can help integrate public health in brownfield/land reuse projects.


Taking Action to Improve Community Health:
ATSDR Action Model and Heath Impact Assessment
Tuesday May 14 1 -4 pm
Participants will learn how indicators of community health status can be established and tracked during redevelopment projects to assess health impacts, learn to use indicators as a means of tracking brownfield program success, and talk to people who have used community health indicators to leverage additional resources for communities.

“Is it Healthy?  Public Health and Brownfields Redevelopment” Education Sessions (May 15 – 17, 2013).

Protecting Future Generations through Public Health Approaches
Thursday, May 16, 2:30 – 3:45 pm
The idea of brownfields redevelopment for community reuse is not a new concept; however, delineating the connection between environmental justice and community access to jobs is. The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) Minority Worker Training Program addresses one of the most important and significant problems with urban unemployment--workers lacking crucial technical and marketable job skills with experience on the job. Explore how this program demonstrates the safety-first holistic approach to training that emphasizes not only environmental and hazmat technical training, but also includes training in environmental public health impacts, life skills, and remedial education. And discover how this program brings together community members and researchers to investigate the potential health risks of environmental and occupational exposures of concern to the community.

The Brownfields Highway to Healthcare
Thursday, May 16, 1:00 – 2:15 pm
Often lacking comprehensive plans, planning staff, and in some cases full-time elected officials, rural communities face significant hurdles in meeting revitalization goals. In this Town Hall meeting panelists will discuss insights from successful brownfields redevelopment project and foster discussion among attendees about the unique redevelopment and revitalization challenges faced by rural communities. *Local session

Don’t Be “Lead” Astray:  Addressing Lead Concerns in Brownfields Communities
Friday May 17 9:45 – 11 am
Our widespread use of leaded gasoline and lead-based paint means lead exposure concerns are a unifying thread among communities with brownfields/land reuse sites. In these communities, lead is often associated with older housing stock, but former smelting operations, battery manufacture, or past agricultural lead-arsenate pesticide use can cause significant lead exposures as can other lead uses. The recent lowering of the blood lead level by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) from 10 ug/dL to 5 ug/dL may help expand efforts to address lead concerns in brownfields communities. Presenters will describe activities in Blue Island (IL), Detroit (MI), and Upper Exploreland (IA) to reduce exposures to lead in paint or soil in brownfields communities. Audience members from municipalities, local health agencies, and environmental consulting will find this session to be informative for their own brownfields program needs. Participants will learn how the lowering of the blood lead level may impact brownfields assessment and clean up activities and how lead outreach activities can be implemented in individual communities.

Brownfields 2013 Film Series (May 15 – 17, 2013).

Brownfields Short Films
Thursday, May 16, 2:30 – 3:45 pm
A series of four short films demonstrate how communities can work together on brownfields clean-up, remediation and redevelopment. Featured in the short films are Asheville, North Carolina; the Glatfelter Mill Redevelopment in Neenah, Wisconsin, and two projects overseen by Native American Indian Tribes, Cherokee in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, and the Jamestown S’Klallam tribe in Sequim, Washington. After the films, discussion leaders will highlight important take-away ideas on what communities can do to ensure successful brownfields redevelopment projects.

Environmental Justice Caucus (May 15 7:30 – 10:00 pm).
The format of the Caucus will be a combination of both panel and roundtable discussions.  Panelists will each speak briefly about EJ issues and how they are being addressed within their organization. In the audience there will be distinct topic tables and at the conclusion of their presentations each panelist will join an appropriate table to talk with audience about their own community issues.


The ATSDR Team is your partner when working with your community to improve health.

Register on the Brownfields 2013 Conference Website:  www.brownfieldsconference.org/
Scholarships:  http://www.brownfieldsconference.org/en/attend/scholarships


For more information:  atsdr.landreuse@cdc.gov
ATSDR Brownfields Website:  http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/sites/brownfields/overview.

Senate panel votes to tighten brownfield incentives

By Sandra Pedicini
Orlando Sentinel (FL)
March 13, 2013

Legislation that would tighten Florida's "brownfield" tax-incentive 
program unanimously passed a Senate committee in Tallahassee on Wednesday.

Sen. Andy Gardiner, R-Orlando, proposed the amendment addressing brownfields to a bill requiring more extensive review of state tax-break programs (SB 406). The overall bill was approved by Senate's Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Tourism and Economic Development.

Though it was created to redevelop contaminated areas, Florida's brownfield program doesn't require documented proof of pollution for
businesses to get incentives. A "perception" of contamination is all
that's needed. State law provides no definition of what perception
means.

...

For the entire article, see
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/os-brownfields-florida-changes-20130313,0,3633357.story

SILOAM SPRINGS SITE COMPLETES BROWNFIELDS PROJECT

A former industrial site that underwent an extensive cleanup will
be awarded an Arkansas Brownfields Program Certificate of Completion on March 20, 2013 at 1 p.m.

The ceremony will take place at the Simmons Foods home office at 601 N. Hico St., Siloam Springs. The Simmons Food Inc. property, where the cleanup took place, is at 1700 E. Quarter Road.  The 59-acre site was home to a number of industries since the 1960s. Most recently Syroco Inc. manufactured plastic chairs at the site in the 1990s. Simmons Food Inc. took title of the property in 2009. It is currently being used for storage.

The cleanup involved removing 14.7 tons of contaminated soil. The use of groundwater was restricted on the site and groundwater monitoring is ongoing. ADEQ provided technical assistance and oversight during the project.

The Arkansas Brownfields Program was established in 1995. Since then, a total of 72 locations around the state have been enrolled in the program, with 31 sites having been completed and certified for reuse. Other completed projects include the Heifer International Headquarters in Little Rock, the Martindale Clinic site in Hope and the Plainview Conoco Site in Plainview.

A brownfield is a parcel of property where commercial, industrial, or agricultural use may have contaminated the site with a hazardous substance, thereby complicating prospects for expansion, redevelopment, or reuse.

For more information on the Arkansas Brownfields Program visit http://www.adeq.state.ar.us/hazwaste/bf/default.htm

Brownfields Utilization, Investment, and Local Development (BUILD) Act of 2013 - Introduced!

The “Brownfields Utilization, Investment, and Local Development (BUILD) Act of 2013” would improve the existing grant process by increasing the limit for cleanup grants and expanding grant eligibility for certain publicly owned sites and non-profit organizations.  The bill would authorize EPA to make multi-purpose grants, which provide greater certainty for long-term project financing.  In addition, the legislation identifies opportunities for waterfront properties and brownfield sites appropriate for clean energy development, allows grant recipients to collect administrative costs, and provides technical assistance to small, rural, and disadvantaged communities.  States would also be eligible for additional targeted funding.  Finally, the bill would reauthorize the program at current levels through FY 2016.  

New Version of EPA ACRES Released last month

A new version of ACRES (v. 4.01.120) was released Tuesday, February 5th. Below is a summary of the changes that have been made to the system.
All Users

• ACRES Quarterly Bulletin
  The January 2013 ACRES Bulletin was distributed on Tuesday, January 15th. Prior issues are available using the “View Previous Bulletins” link. If you are not on the distribution list and would like to be added, please contact the ACRES Help Desk (see contact information below).


• Property Home
  A correction was made to the Property Home page. Under uncommon circumstances, the Total Funding field for Assessment Activities or Cleanup Activities was shown as doubled. This was a data display error for this page only and did not affect the actual funding totals.

Thank you for the feedback you have provided. We appreciate and encourage your continued involvement in reporting defects and recommending ways to improve ACRES. Please contact the ACRES Help Desk at acres_help@epa.gov or at 703-284-8212 to provide feedback.

#Brownfield QAPP Road Map Released by EPA

Last fall, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) prepared the "#Brownfields Grant Recipient's Road Map to Understanding Quality Assurance Project Plans" to help EPA Brownfield Assessment Grant recipients design and complete site assessment projects more efficiently and effectively by increasing their awareness and understanding of the importance of quality assurance (QA) in Brownfield site projects. This document also provides an overview of EPA requirements for developing generic and site-specific quality assurance project plans (QAPP) and site-specific QAPP addendums (collectively ‘QAPPs’) in support of site assessment efforts at Brownfield sites. Readers are advised that specific QAPP requirements will vary by EPA region and state. Finally, the document outlines a general process to help recipients oversee their environmental contractor’s efforts to develop QAPPs to ensure collection of adequate and appropriate data to support the decision-making processes needed to determine and support protective future uses of Brownfield sites. 

A copy of the report is found here:  http://www.brownfieldstsc.org/pdfs/BrownfieldsQAPPRoadMap_Nov2012.pdf