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PECFA News: Fees and Reimbursement – cPAHs and Demolition

Posted on by elisabethkuisis

A modified RCL soil spreadsheet has been developed to assess seven carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (cPAHs) on a cumulative basis. Using this modified spreadsheet is considered a risk assessment and may be used to determine alternate environmental standards when attaining compliance with the non-industrial RCLs is not practicable. Pre-approval by the DNR of a risk assessment proposal is required before conducting and developing the risk-based standard (e.g. by using the modified RCL spreadsheet). A second DNR approval is required to use the risk-based standards as the soil RCLs. Under the PECFA program, costs for cPAH analysis will be approved as a variance at the Staff Professional hourly rate (a reasonable amount of hours depending on the amount of data), with up to two hours of Consultant Project Manager time to review and make conclusions.

Requests to use the risk-assessment approach and alternative risk-based standards for cPAH can be:

  • Included with any other fee-based request (with no additional fee required for the cPAH calculation) submitted during the investigation or remediation phase of the project; or
  • As a separate technical assistance request with fee ($700).

It is also possible for the requests for DNR approval to be included with the closure request. In that instance, standard closure fees will apply.

For more information on the risk assessment approach or using the modified RCL spreadsheet, see:

Risk Assessment Approach for Calculating cPAH Non-Industrial Direct Contact RCLs – Wis. Admin. § NR 722.11 (1) (RR-079)

Calculating Soil RCLs for PAHs Wis. Admin. Code § NR 722.11 (1) (RR-087)

Building Demolition

Building demolition will only be reimbursed if the DNR determines that it is necessary in order to complete response actions for PECFA-eligible contamination. Costs for building demolition must be approved in advance by the DNR through a variance.

Eligible activities related to building demolition include:
• costs for consultant and subcontractors to meet pre-demolition to agree upon plan of action;
• demolition contractor costs;
• asbestos and other hazardous material inspection costs;
• abatement of asbestos/hazardous materials;
• mobilization and hourly rate for waste haulers;
• actual landfill rates; and
• actual cost of landfill environmental fee.

(Please note: DNR Project Managers have the discretion to ask for bids to obtain reasonable costs.)

Ineligible activities related to building demolition include:
• DNR fees;
• costs for consultant oversight of the demo;
• costs for consultant oversight of the asbestos or other hazardous waste abatement by certified subcontractors;
• cost to remove or haul personal property or to oversee the removal of personal property; and
• site restoration.

(Please note: Other activities may be deemed ineligible at the discretion of the DNR Project Manager.)

As the PECFA program nears the June 2020 deadline, new issues regularly come up as consultants work to close sites. The Remediation and Redevelopment Program will address these issues, providing direction and consistency in managing them. Questions about PECFA or related issues may be addressed to mailto:Jenna.Soyer@wisconsin.gov or at 608-267-2465.

EPA Grant Available for Environmental Workforce Development, Job Training; Webinar-based Application Assistance Available

Posted on by elisabethkuisis

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is now accepting Request for Proposals (RFPs) for FY18 grants related to environmental workforce development and job training. These grants are provided to eligible entities, including nonprofit organizations, to develop environmental programs that recruit, train and place unemployed and under-employed residents of communities affected by brownfields and other environmental contamination with the skills needed to secure full-time, sustainable employment in the environmental field and in assessment and cleanup work taking place in their communities.

The grants, called Environmental Workforce Development and Job Training (EWDJT) grants, may be funded up to $200,000 over a three-year period.

To assist applicants with their proposals, EPA will hold an informational webinar for prospective grant applicants. The webinar will be held on November 7, 2017 at 1:30 p.m. EST. It will be recorded and posted to EPA’s brownfields website.

The deadline to submit an RFP is December 15, 2017. All proposals must be submitted through the grants.gov website.

Snapshot: October PECFA Financials

Posted on by elisabethkuisis

The Remediation and Redevelopment Program provides a monthly update on the status of claims and the overall budget of the Petroleum Environmental Cleanup Fund Award (PECFA) award program.

Below are the updated PECFA claim numbers for October 2017, including the number of claims received, claims paid, and the total dollar amount of claims paid in the current fiscal year.

Number Value
Claims Received 93 $366,899
Claims Paid 140 $544,365
Claims in audit line (as of September 30) 32 $124,894
Total Paid FY18 $2,190,216

DNR Brownfields Report of Annual Accomplishments Now Available

Posted on by elisabethkuisis

The Remediation and Redevelopment Program’s annual report to the US EPA of brownfields accomplishments, which details a year-long effort of outputs and outcomes funded by a federal grant, is now available online. The Section 128(a) Grant Final Accomplishments Report, for the reporting period of September 1, 2016 to August 31, 2017, highlights work completed in the previous funding year.

The “128(a) Final Report” includes a summary of the various metrics tracked during the year (Green Team meetings, outreach activities, etc.), highlights a number of successful cleanups and redevelopments from across the state, and features a number of important program improvements undertaken during the year.

Previous 128(a) reports can be found on the Brownfields Program web page.

 

Please Use Updated PECFA Forms to Avoid Reimbursement Delays

Posted on by elisabethkuisis

To avoid any delays in processing claims for reimbursement from the Petroleum Environmental Cleanup Fund Award (PECFA) program, the Department of Natural Resources asks agents and consultants who do PECFA work to make sure that they are using the latest, up-to-date forms from the Remediation and Redevelopment program.

You can find all the current PECFA forms on the program’s PECFA web page, under the “documents” tab.

Updated forms include the following:

Milwaukee to Use DNR Brownfield Assessment Funds at Inner Harbor Property

Posted on by elisabethkuisis
Milwaukee's Inner Harbor

A WAM grant will help repurpose a century-old coal storage site at Milwaukee’s inner harbor as part of a continuing effort to improve this gateway to the city.
Photo Credit: US Army Corps of Engineers

Efforts to repurpose a century-old coal storage site at Milwaukee’s inner harbor will get a boost from a recently issued Department of Natural Resources brownfields award.

The award comes from the DNR’s Wisconsin Assessment Monies (WAM) program, and will provide for contractor services worth approximately $25,000. The work will help Milwaukee – specifically the Redevelopment Authority of the City of the Milwaukee (RACM) – assess potential contamination, leading to eventual remediation and redevelopment of the prime waterfront site.

The nearly 14-acre site on Greenfield Avenue is located across the street from the UW-Milwaukee School of Freshwater Sciences and is currently a vacant lot that had historically housed fuel oil tanks. Over the years, fill material has been used to shore up a nearby dock wall and fill in a former boat slip.

“The DNR is honored to be a part of the future of this site,” said Christine Haag, chief of the DNR’s brownfields program. “Assessing this property for historic contamination is an important first step to the development of this waterfront property, which has so much potential given its location on Milwaukee’s Inner Harbor near the Freshwater Sciences building.”

Administered by the DNR’s Remediation and Redevelopment Program, WAM awards provide communities with professional environmental site assessments of properties with known or perceived contamination.

Participation in the WAM program requires minimal effort by local governments. Because there is no financial match or project administration involved, the award is an attractive opportunity for communities. In many instances, WAM awards are leveraged with other sources of funding to kick-start repurposing efforts on properties that may have been underutilized for many years.

Applications can be submitted for WAM awards at any time. Properties eligible for funding include closed or closing manufacturing plants, or vacant land with a history of manufacturing. Gas stations, dry cleaners and salvage yards are not eligible.

Requests for DNR “Acknowledgment Letter” Due November 2

Posted on by elisabethkuisis

If you plan to submit an application for an FY2018 EPA brownfield grant, you only have a couple weeks left to request your letter of acknowledgment from the Remediation and Redevelopment Program for your federal grant application.

The EPA requires grant applicants other than tribal environmental authorities to obtain a letter from the DNR acknowledging that the state is aware the applicant is applying for a federal grant to conduct brownfield assessment, revolving loan fund or cleanup activities.

While the federal deadline to submit an application for Brownfields Assessment, Revolving Loan Fund, or Cleanup grants isn’t until November 16, 2017, the DNR requests at least two weeks’ notice – November 2 – to develop and deliver your letter in a timely manner. These federal grants are available for the assessment and cleanup of brownfield properties.

You can request your state letter of acknowledgment from the DNR by contacting Elisabeth Kuisis (608-267-0543).

To find out how to get a DNR letter of acknowledgment and other useful information, visit the DNR Federal brownfield grants web page. For more information about the federal grants, see the September 20 article in the RR Report.

Snapshot: PECFA Financials

Posted on by elisabethkuisis

The RR Program provides monthly updates on the status of PECFA claims and the overall PECFA budget.

Below are the updated PECFA claim numbers for September 2017, including the number of claims received, claims paid, and the total dollar amount of claims paid in the current fiscal year.

Number Value
Claims Received 137 $547,713
Claims Paid 77 $521,805
Claims in audit line (as of September 30) 76 $333,066
Total Paid FY18 $1,719,127

Upcoming ITRC Training

Posted on by elisabethkuisis

October 3:
Geophysical Classification for Munitions Response

October 5:
Issues and Options in Human Health Risk Assessment – A Resource When Alternatives to Default Parameters and Scenarios are Proposed

October 12:
Groundwater Statistics for Environmental Project Managers

October 26:
Geospatial Analysis for Optimization at Environmental Sites

November 14:
Long-term Contaminant Management Using Institutional Controls

November 16:
Petroleum Vapor Intrusion: Fundamentals of Screening, Investigation, and Management

 

Issues & Trends: An Alternative for Determining Soil RCLs for PAHs

Posted on by elisabethkuisis

On October 4, 2017, please join the RR Program for a teleconference discussion of the RCL spreadsheet and a substitute method of calculating alternative non-industrial direct-contact residual contaminant levels (RCLs) for select carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (cPAHs).

Waste management specialist Paul Grittner and hydrogeologist David Swimm, both with the RR Program, will discuss the modified soil RCL spreadsheet which can be used to attain compliance when the applicable cPAH direct contact RCLs in NR 720 is not practicable. The spreadsheet changes how non-industrial direct contact RCLs for seven cPAHs are assessed. The spreadsheet evaluates cPAH compounds on a cumulative basis only, rather than on an individual compound basis and a cumulative basis.

This approach is allowed under NR 722, but the DNR’s pre-approval is required prior to implementation. Paul and David’s presentation will focus on the process recommended for assessing PAH data using the modified soil RCL spreadsheet, as well as the DNR pre-approval process.

The teleconference will take place at noon on Oct. 4. No pre-registration is required. Call 1-855-947-8255 and use passcode 6612 745#. This presentation will be recorded and available the following day on the RR Program’s Training Library.