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MYTH - Brownfields are all large, former industrial or manufacturing sites.
FACT - While some brownfields are large former industrial sites, the majority of the estimated 500,000 to 1 million brownfields in the United States are small properties like dry cleaners,vacant lots, or gas stations.
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MYTH - A site must actually be contaminated to be considered a brownfield.
FACT - The perception that a property may be contaminated can be just as great a barrier to redevelopment as actual contamination. Therefore, sites where contamination is merely perceived, and site conditions are unknown, are still considered brownfields. One third of the brownfield sites that have been assessed with EPA brownfields funding have turned out to be free from significant contamination.
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MYTH - Superfund sites are brownfields, or brownfields are Superfund sites.
FACT - Under the statutory definition, brownfields do not include Superfund sites on the National Priorities List (NPL). A small number of Superfund sites, approximately 1,200, have been designated NPL sites and are managed under a more elaborate process than most brownfield sites.
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MYTH - Brownfields are only an urban problem.
FACT - Contaminated properties affect nearly every town, large and small. Small and rural communities are impacted not only by former industrial sites, but by closed gas stations, dry cleaners, old dumps, contaminated rail yards, mine-scarred lands, agricultural wastes such as pesticides, and many other challenges. Many EPA brownfield grants have been awarded to communities with less than 25,000 people.
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MYTH - Brownfields are an environment-only issue, or an EPA only problem.
FACT - While brownfields by definition involve real or perceived environmental contamination, the solutions to brownfields problems almost always involve much broader issues including economic reuse, neighborhood improvement, infrastructure and transportation capacity, job creation, tax incentives, crime prevention, and many other approaches. Successful brownfield reuse generally occurs when economic and community development issues are addressed along with contamination concerns. The multidisciplinary nature of brownfields is one reason that more than 20 federal agencies, and a broad range of state, local, private and nonprofit entities, are now involved in brownfields revitalization.
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Source: National Association of Local Government Environmental Professionals. Available at http://www.resourcesaver.com/file/toolmanager/Custom-O93C337F65023.pdf.
Focusing on challenges, stories, and issues important to the redevelopment of Brownfields in the South . http://www.southernbrownfield.com
Thursday, April 5, 2012
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
ATSDR - RFPs for Community Health Projects - May/June 2012
ATSDR’s Brownfield/Land Reuse Community Health Initiative has
exciting news! They will be funding brownfield/land reuse community health
projects this year.
The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) will be announcing the request for proposals for a cooperative agreement in
Brownfield and/or land reuse community health projects and/or other health
assessment projects in late May/early June 2012. These projects will have a
particular emphasis on identifying health issues prior to redevelopment and/or
assessing changes in community health associated with reuse plans and
redevelopment. Projects should include, but are not limited to:
·
Evaluation of
health risk from environmental contaminant exposures at land reuse/ Brownfield
sites
·
Identification
of community health status indicators (pre- and
post-development)
·
Development of
risk communication and/or health education programs related to environmental
hazards associated with land reuse/ Brownfield sites or health status of the
community
·
Development of
inventories of current land reuse sites, including associated potential health
risks of exposure to contaminants at these sites, former site uses, citizen
complaints, accidental releases
·
Design of
programs to assist communities to reduce chronic disease status through
implementation of new programs focused on land revitalization
activities
·
Assessment of
residual contamination at land reuse/ Brownfield sites before, during, or after
redevelopment
·
Creation of
measurable, short-term intervention strategies focused on land reuse/ Brownfield
sites
·
Utilization of
geospatial analysis to characterize land reuse sites and associated health risks
It is expected that this program will stimulate collaboration
among stakeholders, including local governing officials, community-based
organizations, the private sector, and State governments to work together in a
timely manner to ensure that public health is considered in the earliest phases
of remediation and redevelopment of Brownfield/land reuse
properties.
Average amount of award:
$150K
Estimated due date: July 30, 2012
Eligible applicants:
ATSDR’s request for limited completion is based on regulatory
authority cited by the Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and
Liability Act (CERCLA) of 1980, as amended by the Superfund Amendments and
Reauthorization Act (SARA) of 1986. Section 104 (i)(15), 42 U.S.C. 9604
(i)(15). The CERCLA limits the eligible applicants that can apply to the
following:
a.
State
Governments
b.
Indian/Native American Tribal
Governments (Federally Recognized)
c.
County
Governments
d.
City or
Township Governments
e.
Special
District Governments
f.
Governments of U.S. Territories or
Possessions
g.
Indian/Native American Tribal
Governments (Other than Federally Recognized)
At the time
of submission the organizations must provide documentation proving they are Bona
Fide Agent of federally recognized or state-recognized American
Indian/Alaska Native tribal governments;
state, county, and local governments, and their political
subdivisions; or political subdivisions of States (in
consultation with States).
For more information, contact:
Leann Bing
Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease
Registry
770-403-5068 (cell)
Monday, April 2, 2012
The Role of Community-based Organizations in Brownfield Redevelopment
Over the past 30 years, federal and state level policies and regulations began responding to the needs of communities by providing volunteer developers with liability protections, funding for cleanup, and technical assistance. In response to these policies, communities across American started transforming these long abandoned or underutilized sites into community resources. CBOs play a key role in these efforts.
CBOs have diverse missions that address a variety of issues typically relating to health, equity, poverty, and education. Though the mission, size, and structure of CBOs differ depending on the community and purpose, a CBO is generally more effective at tackling local needs because its staff and volunteers, as residents or business owners, have a direct stake in the community.
The CBO’s Role in the Brownfield Redevelopment Process
Due to the volunteer nature of many CBOs, these groups are often limited in their capacity to garner funding, take on wide-scale projects, or implement comprehensive programs. While CBOs are not necessarily incorporated nonprofits, community development corporations (CDC) usually fall into a tax-exempt IRS designation. CDCs typically evolve out of a CBO’s desire to implement a program or economic development
project that requires procurement of funding from public and private entities. There are three roles that CBOs and/or CDCs may assume in brownfield revitalization projects:
1. Community Advocate: residents and CBOs
2. Collaborator: CBOs/ CDCs seeking development partners
3. Primary Developer: CDCs developing a specific site
A CBO, and even an individual, can determine what type of stakeholder it is by considering what it is able to bring to the brownfields table—whether it be community support, skills such as organizing, outreach, and education, financial support, or, perhaps most importantly, whether or not the group owns or is seeking to obtain ownership of a brownfields property.
CBOs have diverse missions that address a variety of issues typically relating to health, equity, poverty, and education. Though the mission, size, and structure of CBOs differ depending on the community and purpose, a CBO is generally more effective at tackling local needs because its staff and volunteers, as residents or business owners, have a direct stake in the community.
The CBO’s Role in the Brownfield Redevelopment Process
Due to the volunteer nature of many CBOs, these groups are often limited in their capacity to garner funding, take on wide-scale projects, or implement comprehensive programs. While CBOs are not necessarily incorporated nonprofits, community development corporations (CDC) usually fall into a tax-exempt IRS designation. CDCs typically evolve out of a CBO’s desire to implement a program or economic development
project that requires procurement of funding from public and private entities. There are three roles that CBOs and/or CDCs may assume in brownfield revitalization projects:
1. Community Advocate: residents and CBOs
2. Collaborator: CBOs/ CDCs seeking development partners
3. Primary Developer: CDCs developing a specific site
A CBO, and even an individual, can determine what type of stakeholder it is by considering what it is able to bring to the brownfields table—whether it be community support, skills such as organizing, outreach, and education, financial support, or, perhaps most importantly, whether or not the group owns or is seeking to obtain ownership of a brownfields property.
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