Cleanup Tools

No Increase to VPLE Review Fee for FY17

Posted on by elisabethkuisis

The Remediation and Redevelopment Program has recalculated the hourly review fee rate for sites in the Voluntary Party Liability Exemption (VPLE) program. As required by law (Wis. Admin. § NR 750.07), the fee is calculated each year using the rates for current wages, fringe and indirect costs. The rate will not change for the upcoming year and will continue to be $105/hour for the state fiscal year 2017 which began July 1, 2016 and ends June 30, 2017. This rate has remained unchanged since July 2014.

The Wisconsin DNR’s VPLE program allows for anyone to conduct a complete investigation and remedial action of a piece of property and receive an exemption from future liability that is transferable to future property owners. Participants in the VPLE program pay this fee for DNR staff to provide technical oversight of the work conducted as part of the remediation process.

More information about the VPLE program is available on the RR Program website: http://dnr.wi.gov/topic/brownfields/vple.html.

RR Program RCL Calculator Updated

Posted on by elisabethkuisis

The Wisconsin DNR updated the numerical soil standards, or residual contaminant levels (RCLs), in the Remediation and Redevelopment program’s spreadsheet of RCLs to reflect the US EPA June 2016 update to its Regional Screening Level (RSL) website. The RR Program RCL Spreadsheet Update (RR-052d) provides a summary of the updates incorporated in the June 2016 spreadsheet.

For more information and to access the RCL calculator (macro and non-macro versions), visit the Resources for Environmental Professionals webpage and click on the “Soil RCLs” tab.

 

Brownfield Awards go to Three Communities in Wisconsin

Posted on by elisabethkuisis

Three Wisconsin Assessment Monies (WAM) Contractor Services Awards were awarded to assess contamination at two former wood-processing plants and a former creamery in Clark, Lincoln and Rusk counties.Investigating for Contamination

The projects are valued up to $18,000 each. The services will be used to determine soil and groundwater conditions at the former Owen Manufacturing wood-processing plant in Clark County; the former Hurd Manufacturing facility in Merrill/Lincoln counties; and at the former Sheldon Creamery in Rusk County.

See the full article for more information.

Leverage Resources for Brownfields Redevelopment

Posted on by elisabethkuisis

The US EPA’s new guide – Setting the Stage for Leveraging Resources for Brownfields Revitalization – assists communities in overcoming the challenges of making sound investment decisions to attract additional resources for brownfields revitalization projects. This guide is intended to help communities identify how best to invest limited local resources that could potentially open opportunities for additional public funds and attract the interest and support of outside investors for additional funding.

BOTW Database Has Documents for Download

Posted on by elisabethkuisis

Did you know there are over 30,000 documents available for viewing and downloading on the Bureau for Remediation and Redevelopment Tracking System (BRRTS) on the Web (BOTW) database? BOTW is DNR’s online, public database that provides information about contaminated properties and other activities related to the investigation and cleanup of contaminated soil or groundwater in Wisconsin.

The DNR’s RR Program is adding new documents daily and working toward the goal of having the major reports, approvals and letters for all clean-up case files available online. Contact one of our Regional Environmental Program Associates (EPA) before making any plans or appointments to visit an office to review a file. There is a chance it is now available electronically.

US EPA Releases Online Mapping Tool to Help Protect Drinking Water Sources

Posted on by elisabethkuisis

Welcome page of DWMAPS displays search tools for users to find information about drinking water sources.

This robust, online mapping tool provides the public, water system operators, state programs, and federal agencies with critical information to help them safeguard the sources of America’s drinking water.

The DWMAPS – the Drinking Water Mapping Application to Protect Source Waters – allows users to learn about their watershed and understand more about their water supplier. The DWMAPS also allows users to see if sources of their drinking water are polluted and if there are possible sources of pollution that could affect their community’s water supply. The tool can even guide users to ways they can get involved in protecting drinking water sources in their community.

 For more information and to access the map visit http://www.epa.gov/sourcewaterprotection/dwmaps.

 

UW-Whitewater Report Identifies Big Benefits from Brownfield Reclamation

Posted on by elisabethkuisis

Since 1998, Wisconsin has invested $121.4 million in the remediation of 703 contaminated properties, according to a recent UW-Whitewater study. The study says this investment leveraged tens of millions of dollars in local and federal incentives, and recouped nearly $1.8 billion from enhanced economic activity. This is a 14-fold return on investment, on top of the public health and environmental benefits generated by these cleanup projects.

The 703 projects that received state assistance are a small, but important, portion of the 15,000-plus state properties that have been cleaned up and put back into productive use over the past 20 years. These brownfield properties were once some of the toughest projects to tackle. They were dilapidated, destitute and, often, significantly contaminated. These properties needed a public push to get going.

The UW-Whitewater study, prepared by the University’s Fiscal and Economic Research Center for the Brownfields Study Group and the Wisconsin Economic Development Institute, calculates that local governments in Wisconsin gain $88.5 million annually from redeveloped brownfields.

The report shows that $1.00 of state funding for brownfields projects leverages $27.25 in total economic growth funding. In other words, $121.4 million from the state has generated $3.3 billion in direct total investment. The report also identified 29,883 direct new and retained permanent jobs related to completed projects in the 703 studied, and says another 9,107 jobs are planned at projects still underway.