The Wisconsin DNR’s Remediation and Redevelopment (RR) Program is hiring a Regional Spills Coordinator in the Hydrogeologist – Advanced classification. This position may be stationed in Antigo, Ashland, Park Falls, Rhinelander, Spooner, or Superior.
The deadline to apply is Monday, April 16, 2018.
Please see the job announcement for additional information.
The U.S. Forest Service anticipates approximately $3.7 million in new funds will be available for tree planting and restoring native vegetation in the Great Lakes Basin. This funding will be competitively awarded to the best proposals received through the May 11, 2018 deadline at grants.gov. Search for Grant Opportunity Number USDA-FS-2018-GLRI. See the attached announcement and the link below for more information.
Door County, WI
Funds will be distributed across the following three program areas:
See the 2018 Great Lakes Restoration Initiative RFA website for more information.
Invitation for an informational webinar about this grant opportunity:
Thursday, April 5, 2018, @ 2:00 p.m. Eastern/1:00 p.m. Central–Webinar will be recorded for later viewing.
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In June 2017, the city of Oshkosh received the final Wisconsin DNR approval of the remediation of the former Mercury Marine facility on the Fox River. In 2006, the city acquired the closed facility from Mercury Marine with hopes to convert the property into a new and improved community asset. The city used EPA brownfields grants for assessment and cleanup work on the properties as well as state, city, and private funding.
A new riverwalk provides additional community access to the waterfront.
This property housed industrial facilities since the mid-1800s. Past uses of the land include a lumber business, candle company, and a bulk fuel tank farm. The site was then owned by the Kiekhaefer Aeromarine Company who then sold it to Mercury Marine in the mid-1970s. A range of contamination types were identified at the site as well as several feet of waste fill across the entire property. Metals, petroleum contamination, and chlorinated compounds were identified in the soil and groundwater.
The city removed much of the contamination while using buildings and parking lots to serve as a cover over the residual contaminated soil. In addition, the cleanup included an innovative approach where they left one area of heavily contaminated soil under a newly created, city owned, small park. This park serves as a protective barrier, saves project funds and creates additional public green space. This park connects to a new public riverwalk and piers along the river. The city partnered with a private developer to build three high quality apartment buildings, two specifically for senior residents. The site went through the DNR’s Voluntary Party Liability Exemption (VPLE) program and received a Certificate of Completion in August 2017 which provides liability protections for current and future property owners.
The RR Program recently updated a fact sheet on the state’s off-site environmental liability exemptions, When Contamination Crosses a Property Line: The Off-Site Environmental Liability Exemption – Wis. Stat. §§ 292.12 and 292.13, Rights and Responsibilities of Off-site, Affected Property Owners, RR-589 Please recycle old versions of this DNR document and reference to the updated document moving forward.
The update also includes content from and replaces, a publication titled, What Homeowners, Lenders and Realtors should know about Off-site Contamination, RR-927. More information about the off-site exemption, and RR Program contacts, are available on the DNR’s web page, Off-site contamination – contamination that crosses property lines.
March 22: Geophysical Classification for Munitions Response
March 27: Groundwater Statistics for Environmental Project Managers
March 29: Geospatial Analysis for Optimization at Environmental Sites
April 5: Petroleum Vapor Intrusion: Fundamentals of Screening, Investigation, and Management
April 10: Long-term Contaminant Management Using Institutional Controls
April 26: Remediation Management of Complex Sites
May 3: Bioavailability of Contaminants in Soil: Considerations for Human Health Risk Assessment
The DNR’s Remediation and Redevelopment Program brings back the Issues & Trends series at noon on April 4 with a conference call regarding the recently published guidance on vapor intrusion.
The guidance, Addressing Vapor Intrusion at Remediation & Redevelopment Sites in Wisconsin, RR-800, was revised in January 2018. During the next Issues & Trends event, vapor intrusion team leader Alyssa Sellwood will walk participants through key updates to RR-800 to familiarize callers with the new document. Alyssa will also discuss several topics related to vapor mitigation in greater detail, including mitigation in new construction and the importance of performance verification.
To join the conference call:
There is no cost to participate and no pre-registration is required.
Questions or comments in advance can be sent to DNRRRComments@wisconsin.gov. Handouts or any other materials related to the April 4 conference call will be made available in advance at the RR Program’s Conference and Training web page.
Applications are due April 9 for the 2018 Wisconsin RPCs and DNR Great Lakes Basin Tree Planting Grant Program. The goal of the program is to increase tree planning in Wisconsin to mitigate the effects of the emerald ash borer and to help reduce runoff in urban communities. Phytoremediation efforts may be eligible.
All communities within the Wisconsin Great Lakes Basin are eligible, but this program will particularly target projects in communities:
Just over $120,000 is available to help fund projects ranging in cost from $1,000 to $20,000.
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 February 2018, 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 | 66 | $411,896 |
| Claims Paid | 50 | $215,869 |
| Claims in audit line (as of February 28) | 41 | $215,869 |
| Total Paid FY18 | $3,800,975 |
Many communities in Wisconsin have properties with known or suspected contamination that could benefit from environmental assessment to help move those properties from underused to productive. The Wisconsin DNR’s Remediation and Redevelopment Program may be able to help.
Through the Wisconsin Assessment Monies program – or WAM – the DNR provides professional environmental site assessments to local governments, tribes and to private entities in select circumstances to help them to turn properties around and ready them for new uses. 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.
Applications for WAM services are accepted on an ongoing basis. 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. Sites assisted by WAM are generally less than 10 acres and have petroleum or hazardous substance contamination that can be assessed for less than $35,000.
Please call Tom Coogan, the WAM program administrator, at 608-267-7560 or email Tom to discuss eligibility requirements or for more information.
The NR 700 Technical Focus Group will meet on March 12 in Madison. This group meets on an as needed basis to discuss technical issues and the application of our NR 700 series of administrative rules to the realities that consultants encounter while working on the investigation and cleanup of soil and groundwater contamination. Any consultant or other interested party may attend to listen or to speak with the DNR about the cleanup and redevelopment of contaminated properties.
Meeting logistics and agenda can be found on the NR 700 Technical Focus Group website (dnr.wi.gov search “NR 700 technical focus group”). Please note: Attendees must check-in at the visitors desk on the first floor. A conference call number is also available. Please RSVP to Judy Fassbender if planning to attend.
