General Program Announcements

Congratulations to RR Program Staff Award Winners

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award winners

Bill Fitzpatrick, Christine Haag and Judy Fassbender Not pictured: Alyssa Sellwood, Gena Larson and Darsi Foss

The Remediation and Redevelopment Program would like to congratulation our staff who received the DNR’s 2016 Environmental Management Division Awards. Each award winner brings unique qualities, knowledge, and passion to their work. We are honored to have these outstanding people – and all our staff members – on the Remediation and Redevelopment team.

The following were recognized this year for their contributions to the RR Program:

  • Remediation and Redevelopment Employee of the Year – Alyssa Sellwood
  • Environmental Management Division Supervisor of the Year – Christine Haag
  • Environmental Management Division Team of the Year – Contaminated Materials Management Workgroup (RR members) Judy Fassbender, Gena Larson, Darsi Foss

Recent RR transfer Bill Fitzpatrick was also recognized as the Employee of the Year in the Office of the Great Lakes for his work in that program prior to joining Remediation and Redevelopment.

Redevelopment Successes Detailed in Reports

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Report Covers

The RR Program details the various activities undertaken and achieved throughout the year through the biannual Section 128(a) Report.

For nearly 15 years, the Remediation and Redevelopment Program has worked under a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to enhance state efforts with the cleanup and redevelopment of brownfields. As part of the agreement, the RR Program details the various activities undertaken and achieved throughout the year and makes those efforts available to the public through the biannual Section 128(a) Report. These reports can be found on the Brownfields Program webpage and we invite you to have a look. Recent reports detail redevelopment sites in Manitowoc and Madison, highlight video projects, recognize staff efforts, and recognize our external partners for helping guide program efforts.  

 

Reminder: Required Submittals, Consultant Qualifications and Certifications

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As part of the Remediation and Redevelopment Program’s continuing outreach to its customers, the program wants to remind consultants and responsible parties that:

(1) Wis. Admin. Code § NR 700 rule series (hereafter “NR 700”) specifies the technical reports or documents that must be submitted to the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) regardless of whether the responsible party is requesting a fee review or not; and

(2) Those documents are to be prepared by or under the supervision of a professional engineer, hydrogeologist or scientist as those terms are specifically defined in NR 712.03. This rule chapter requires: (1) appropriate qualifications of the consultant; (2) signatures; and (3) certification language to be included with the appropriate NR 700 submittals.

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Wisconsin Communities Receive $1.8M in EPA Brownfields Awards for FY17

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Money stack clip artA handful of Wisconsin communities, counties and entities will put to use recent brownfields awards from the US EPA. The awards are for assessment or cleanup activities and are part of the 279 awards given to communities across the nation, totaling $56.8 million.

These Assessment and Cleanup Grants, in Wisconsin and elsewhere, will aid under-served communities through the assessment and cleanup of abandoned industrial and commercial properties and expand the ability of communities to recycle vacant and abandoned properties for new, productive reuses.

Recipient Assessment / Cleanup Award Amount
Blugold Real Estate Foundation, Inc. (Eau Claire) Cleanup $200,000
Blugold Real Estate Foundation, Inc. (Eau Claire) Cleanup $200,000
Green Bay Assessment $300,000
Sheboygan County Assessment $300,000
Washington County Assessment $600,000
Wauwatosa Assessment $200,000

The US EPA has a list of all FY17 grants selected for funding, as well as a searchable database and fact sheets of all selected applicants.

NR 700 Semi-Annual Reporting Due Soon

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Clip art of reportSemi-annual reporting for the period of January 1, 2017 to June 30, 2017 is due August 8, 2017. Semi-annual reporting is required of responsible parties (RPs) for all “open” sites, including those sites the DNR formerly classified as “conditionally closed,” in the BRRTS online database. Consultants may submit these reports on behalf of the RPs.

An email from the DNR with your unique report identification number will go out on July 7, 2017. If you do not receive an email, you can request a number by submitting the Report ID Request Form. The Report ID number you will receive uniquely identifies the activity for which you wish to report, the reporting period, and verifies the person using the ID is authorized to submit the report. If you have any questions, please contact Tim Zeichert at (608) 266-5788.

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Public Input Opportunity on Soil RCLs for PAHs

Posted on by Zachary Teicher

The Remediation and Redevelopment (RR) Program seeks your input on a new guidance document titled Calculating Soil RCLs for PAHs Wis. Admin Code § NR 722.11 (1) (RR-079).

This guidance document introduces the modified residual contaminant level (RCL) spreadsheet that allows for an alternative method of calculating non-industrial direct contact RCLs for seven carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (cPAHs). The modifications are based on a reassessment of the risk posed by cPAHs by the Wisconsin Department of Health Services.

The modified spreadsheet assesses these cPAHs exclusively on cumulative risk and does not assess their individual compound-specific risk. Use of this spreadsheet complies with the requirements of Wis. Admin. § NR 722.11 for developing alternate standards when meeting the RCLs in Wis. Admin. § NR 720 is not practicable.

The comment period will be open through May 31, 2017. This document can be reviewed on the Department’s public input web page, and comments can be submitted to Paul Grittner.

New Tools Available for Vapor Intrusion Professionals

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The RR Program recently added four, new online tools to our vapor intrusion (VI) prevention web page to assist environmental professionals as they prepare VI assessments or plan for outreach on a site impacted by vapor intrusion.

Three of these tools are located on the Vapor Intrusion for Environmental Professionals website, under the “community outreach” tab, and include:

  1. Vapor Intrusion 101 video uses a hand drawn animation technique to introduce the concept of vapor intrusion. It is intended for use in conjunction with factsheets and personal communication when talking with a property owner who is unfamiliar with vapor intrusion.
  2. The Responsible Neighbor – A Vapor Intrusion Story video shares an important message for consultants, attorneys, and RPs on how good communication with neighbors benefits everyone involved with an environmental cleanup.
  3. RR-067: Vapor Intrusion Investigation – Information Sheet for Neighbors can be given to an off-site property owner when access is needed to investigate vapor intrusion on their property. This factsheet provides an introduction to environmental investigations, identifies the parties involved, and clarifies who the property owner can contact with questions.

The fourth new tool is on the same web page, under the “screening levels” tab:

  1. Quick Look-Up Table for VALs and VRSL Wisconsin’s Vapor Action Levels (VALs) and Vapor Risk Screening Levels (VRSLs) have changed over time due to updates to EPA’s risk calculations and changes in default attenuation factors. History of Changes to VALs, VRSLs and Attenuation Factors for Common VOCs is a quick reference to the historical screening levels and the dates when changes occurred, and is intended to clarify the basis for past decisions at a site.

Questions about these new tools or other issues related to vapor intrusion can be directed to Alyssa Sellwood, the RR Program’s VI specialist.

 

 

Wisconsin’s Remediation and Redevelopment Database

Posted on by Zachary Teicher
RR Sites Map Mobile Device

RR Sites Map is accessible via desktop computers, tablets and smart phones.

The Remediation and Redevelopment (RR) Program in the DNR oversees the investigation and cleanup of environmental contamination and the redevelopment of affected properties in Wisconsin. The RR Program also maintains a public database that contains information about known hazardous substance discharges to the environment, investigations, cleanup activities, closure requests, remaining actions needed, spills requiring emergency attention and more. This public database is called the Bureau of Remediation and Redevelopment Tracking System (BRRTS) on the Web (BOTW).

BOTW is augmented by an associated GIS mapping application, called RR Sites Map, which provides a visual representation of data available in BOTW. This interactive map allows users to geographically search for open and closed sites, obtain basic information about a site, click on a link that goes directly to full site information, and more. RR Sites Map is accessible via desktop computers, tablets and smart phones.

Together, BOTW and RR Sites Map are collectively referred to as the Wisconsin Remediation and Redevelopment (RR) Database (WRRD). These two public tools provide easy online access to detailed information about conditions and environmental activities at tens-of-thousands of cleanup sites around the state. This database was formerly referred to as CLEAN, the Contaminated Lands Environmental Action Network.

New RR Program Staff

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The RR Program recently hired four new staff. Two are from outside the program; two are from within, accepting new assignments. They are:

South Central Region Team Supervisor: Steve L. Martin.

Steve is a trained hydrogeologist and has spent most of his 25-plus years working in the private sector. Steve has worked on a wide variety of contaminants across many regulatory programs such as CERCLA, RCRA and NR 700 and has extensive experience as a project manager and supervising teams of hydrogeologists. He’s been with the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection for the last four years, working on remediating sites affected by agricultural chemicals. Steve started with the agency on May 15 and is located in the South Central Region headquarters in Fitchburg.

Waste Management Engineer: Angela Carey

Angela is the engineering technical advisor for all RR program projects. She is responsible for providing assistance with planning, coordinating and evaluating engineering aspects of projects within the RR Program including evaluating alternatives for site remediation, particularly the design and construction/implementation of remedial actions, including untried, new and innovative remedial action technologies. She will also evaluate response action performance at state lead projects and conduct periodic optimization evaluations. Angela will serve as an expert for PCB/TSCA cleanups, hazardous waste requirements at cleanup sites, and RCRA Corrective Actions.  She will also assist with sites in the Superfund and Superfund Alternative program. Angela’s first day with the Program was April 17.

Northeast Region Spills Coordinator: Rick Joslin

Rick started in the RR Program’s Green Bay Office in 2015 as a hydrogeologist and back-up regional spills coordinator. For the last year he’s been acting as the Regional Spills Coordinator while maintaining his responsibilities as a project manager. Rick has worked in the environmental consulting industry for the past 14 years and has been involved with projects in the agriculture, commercial, industrial, government, and solid waste practice areas. Rick’s new position was effective as of May 15.

West Central Region Spill Coordinator: Pat Collins

Pat has 38 years of experience, the last 26 of which has been as a project manager in the RR Program, with three of those years as the backup spills coordinator for the region. Pat has a BS in Soil Science, as well as post-graduate coursework in hydrogeology. In addition, Pat is a Professional Soil Scientist and a Certified Soil Tester, registered in Wisconsin. Pat’s new position was effective as of May 15.

DNR Hosts Nearly 300 at Consultants’ Day Events

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Attendees listening to presentations.

The DNR welcomed nearly 300 guests and staff to Consultants’ Day 2017.

The Remediation and Redevelopment Program at DNR would like to thank the nearly 300 guests and staff who recently attended Consultants’ Day events in Stevens Point and Pewaukee. Guests heard from a number of program staff on subjects such as submittals required by NR 700.11, site investigation completeness, PAH reassessment, case closure reconsideration, modifications to continuing obligations and vapor intrusion outreach. A video recording of the presentations given at the Pewaukee location will soon be available for on-demand viewing on the program’s Conference and Training webpage at http://dnr.wi.gov/topic/Brownfields/Training.html.