Brownfields Redevelopment

NAR Activities Now Available on RR Sites Map

Posted on by Jodie Thistle

DNR staff recently completed a project which added geographic information for No Action Required (NAR) activities on RR Sites Map.

NAR activities are sites where after notification of a hazardous substance discharge the DNR determined that the responsible party did not need to undertake an investigation or cleanup in response to that discharge because there was no or insignificant contamination.

This information is accessible as a new layer on RR Sites Map and the DNR GIS Open Data Portal. This layer provides users with direct access to over 11,000 additional activity locations on RR Sites Map.

Users can access map layers by selecting Navigate on the top menu bar. Select “Show Map Layers” and expand the “Additional Site Information” menu to check the “No Action Required (NAR) Activity” layer. This will populate the map with small yellow boxes with an activity number beginning with “09.” The prefix “09” is used for NAR activities in BRRTS on the Web (BOTW).

 

Brownfield Fundamentals On-Demand Webinars Available; Registration for Brownfields Fundamentals Panel Discussions Open

Posted on by Jodie Thistle

Action by local communities is often the key to cleaning up and redeveloping brownfield sites. The DNR has new resources available for communities interested in revitalizing brownfields, but aren’t sure where to start or need financial resources to make it happen.

Brownfields Fundamentals On-Demand Webinars
Interested in learning how cleaning up brownfields can help your community? The DNR’s series of on-demand Brownfields Fundamentals webinars cover brownfields planning, cleanup, liability, and other topics as part of a well-rounded crash course in Wisconsin brownfields redevelopment. Topics include:

Brownfields Fundamentals on-demand webinars are available on the RR Program’s Presentations and Trainings webpage.

Brownfields Fundamentals Panel Discussions Sept. 15, 2022

9:30 – 11 a.m. Brownfields Assistance: Boosting Redevelopment with Fresh Funds A panel of experts from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation, and the Kansas State University Technical Assistance for Brownfields program will join the DNR to discuss brownfields financial assistance available to Wisconsin local governments, with an emphasis on federal infrastructure funding.

1:30 – 3 p.m. Local Governments and Brownfields: Best Practices and Lessons Experienced staff from four Wisconsin communities – Calumet County and the cities of Prairie du Chien, Manitowoc, and Appleton – will share best practices and lessons learned while navigating brownfield redevelopment projects.

Register on the RR Program’s Presentations and Trainings webpage.

Public Input Opportunity – Five-Year Review Of The Lauer 1 Landfill/Boundary Road Superfund Site

Posted on by Jodie Thistle

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is now seeking input on the Five-Year Review of the Lauer 1 Landfill/Boundary Road (BRL) Superfund Site and the potential formation of a Community Advisory Group for the BRL Superfund site.

The public notice and a fact sheet with further details can be found at the Remediation and Redevelopment Program’s Public Notices & Guidance webpage under the “Public Notices” tab. Comments may be submitted through Aug. 31, 2022 to BJ LeRoy at BJ.LeRoy@wisconsin.gov.

Save the Date! Brownfield Fundamentals Series

Posted on by Jodie Thistle

Are you looking for ideas to address the brownfields in your community, or information on how to fund brownfield redevelopment projects? Join the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) for two panel discussions on Sept. 15, 2022, as part of our Brownfields Fundamentals series.

The panel discussions will include experts from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation, and the Kansas State University Technical Assistance for Brownfields to discuss brownfields financial assistance available to Wisconsin local governments, with an emphasis on federal infrastructure funding.

Save the date! Sept. 15, 2022

  •  9:30 – 11 a.m. Brownfields Assistance: Boosting Redevelopment with Fresh Funds 
    A panel of experts from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation, and the Kansas State University Technical Assistance for Brownfields program will join the DNR to discuss brownfields financial assistance available to Wisconsin local governments, with an emphasis on federal infrastructure funding.
  • 1:30 – 3 p.m. Local Governments and Brownfields: Best Practices and Lessons Learned
    Experienced staff from four Wisconsin communities will share best practices and lessons learned while navigating brownfield redevelopment projects.

Both panel discussions will be held via zoom video conferencing.

Watch the RR Report and the RR Program Presentations & Trainings webpage for registration and additional information.

Request for Statements of Qualifications

Posted on by Jodie Thistle

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is accepting Statements of Qualifications (SOQs) to provide professional services to the DNR for the following Requests for Qualifications (RFQs):

  • Federal Brownfields Assessment at Vapor Intrusion Priority Properties
  • Federal Brownfields Assessment at Wisconsin Assessment Monies (WAM) Properties
  • State Vapor Intrusion Zone Contract for Vapor Investigation and Mitigation Services

Interested consultants may choose to submit an SOQ to any or all of the RFQs.

Copies of the RFQs are available on the RR Program Public Notices webpage.

DNR’s Database Of Remediation And Redevelopment Activities Can Help Local Governments

Posted on by Jodie Thistle

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) maintains a public database of locations with remediation and redevelopment activities in Wisconsin.

The database is referred to as the DNR’s Bureau of Remediation and Redevelopment Tracking System on the web. A visual display of much of the information is available on the web-based mapping system, RR Sites Map.

Over 95,000 properties are in included in the database. Contaminated sites (i.e., the physical area of environmental contamination) affect properties in all counties and in approximately 95% of all cities, towns and villages in Wisconsin. The system includes links to numerous letters, reports and other information about the properties.

The DNR encourages local governmental units to use the database and RR Sites Map to identify contaminated and cleaned up properties within their communities. Information from the database and RR Sites Map may be useful to local governments when:

  • Identifying potential health and safety concerns in the community
  • Evaluating potential real estate transactions (e.g., conducting due diligence activities prior to the initiation of condemnation, tax foreclosure and other property acquisitions efforts)
  • Considering issuance of permits or approving plans for development – this includes understanding the status of contamination at sites where the cleanup is complete because residual contamination may affect the allowed uses and redevelopment options for a property, or require ongoing maintenance (e.g., caps over contaminated areas)
  • Reviewing proposed public works and utility projects to determine feasibility and whether contaminated material needs to be managed
  • Understanding the status of the property within the cleanup process, including what types of contamination is present, what needs to be done to satisfy regulatory requirements, and who is responsible for completing the necessary work

DNR staff are also available to help. Local governments can contact a brownfields specialist or schedule a “Green Team” meeting with DNR to discuss specific properties.

For more information about how to use the database, go to https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/topic/Brownfields/botwHelp.html

Free, Professional Services To Help Your Community With Brownfield Properties

Posted on by Jodie Thistle

Does your community have any run-down, tax delinquent or otherwise derelict properties that you would like to see get redeveloped? Is the reuse of these properties complicated by known or potential environmental contamination? If so, help is available.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) funds a national program run by Kansas State University that provides free assistance to help communities, tribes and nonprofit organizations get brownfield properties redeveloped.

The program is named the Technical Assistance for Brownfields program, or KSU TAB for short. Contact Beth Grigsby, KSU TAB Regional Coordinator, at 317-601-3839 or bethgrigsbylpg@gmail.com to ask about and apply for services for your community.

KSU TAB Services Include:

  • Help identifying and inventorying brownfields
  • Strategic planning and redevelopment visioning
  • Assistance in identifying stakeholders and partners
  • Economic feasibility and sustainability analysis
  • Educational workshops
  • Community outreach and input
  • Help in identifying funding sources
  • Resource roundtables, funding strategies
  • Review of grant applications
  • Assistance with the use of the TAB EZ tool to write individual grant applications
  • Help finding and evaluating environmental consultants
  • Assistance with request for qualifications (RFQs), request for proposals (RFPs) and evaluation criteria
  • Review of plans and technical reports
  • Assistance with understanding results of Phase I, II environmental site assessment reports and cleanup plans

The DNR also has staff who can help your community with brownfield properties. More information and resources about brownfield redevelopment in Wisconsin is available on the DNR’s brownfields webpage or by contacting DNR brownfields staff.

Now Available: Publication RR-502, Selecting an Environmental Consultant

Posted on by Jodie Thistle

Following a public comment period and consideration of the comments received, the publication RR-502, Selecting an Environmental Consultant, is now posted and available online.

The document can be found here. Additional documents and guidance from the Remediation and Redevelopment Program can be identified using the search tools available on the publications and forms webpage.

The purpose of the guidance is to help responsible parties, local governments, developers, and others understand the key role that environmental consultants play in the assessment, investigation, and cleanup of contaminated properties in Wisconsin, and help these parties identify qualified consultants for their projects.

Questions regarding this document may be submitted to Barry Ashenfelter at Barry.Ashenfelter@wisconsin.gov

Now Available: Publication RR-060, Guidance For Management Of Contaminated Soil And Other Solid Wastes – Wis. Admin. Code §§ NR 718.12 and NR 718.15

Posted on by Jodie Thistle

Following a public comment period and consideration of the comments received, the publication RR-060, Guidance for Management of Contaminated Soil and Other Solid Wastes – Wis. Admin. Code §§ NR 718.12 and NR 718.15, is now posted and available online.

For this document, a sentence that referred to management of asbestos-containing materials on page 2 was removed. In addition, the NR 718 Approval and Process Options approval process for immediate actions involving contaminated soil was modified for clarification (page 5), and the locational requirements (page 12) were updated to include the requirement that a responsible party may not place or replace contaminated soil where it poses a threat to public health, safety, or welfare or the environment.

The document can be found here. Additional documents and guidance from the Remediation and Redevelopment Program may be found using the search tools available on the publications and forms webpage.

This guidance is intended for use by responsible parties when excavating contaminated soil and other solid waste that may not warrant disposal at an operating, licensed landfill. This guidance describes several approvals that may be available in such situations.

Questions regarding this document may be submitted to Paul Grittner at Paul.Grittner@wisconsin.gov.

Now Available: Publication RR-0128, Green Team Assistance for Contaminated Properties

Posted on by Jodie Thistle

The publication RR-0128, Green Team Assistance for Contaminated Properties, is now posted and available online.

The document can be found here. Additional documents and guidance from the Remediation and Redevelopment Program may be found using the search tools available on the publications and forms webpage.

The purpose of the guidance is to provide information about DNR’s Green Team meetings, which are an effective and efficient way for local governments to evaluate options, plan for and work through a brownfield project.

Questions regarding this document may be submitted to Barry Ashenfelter at barry.ashenfelter@wisconsin.gov.