Local Government Issues

Updates to Wisconsin Spill Law Help Promote Land Recycling

Posted on by elisabethkuisis

Last November, the Governor signed 2017 Act 70, which modified Wis. Stat. ch. 292 (Wisconsin’s “Spill Law”) to help encourage brownfield cleanup and redevelopment. The Act was based on recommendations made by the Brownfields Study Group in its 2015 report, Investing in Wisconsin.

Modifications to the Spill Law include:

  • Clarification that the off-site liability exemption applies if there is vapor intrusion impacting an off-site property (Wis. Stat. § 292.13(1m))
  • Changing the definition of “property” as it is used for Voluntary Party Liability Exemption (VPLE). The new definition is “…an area of real property that is included in an application to obtain an exemption under this section, made up of a legally identifiable parcel or legally identifiable contiguous parcels created in compliance with applicable laws.” (Wis. Stat. § 292.15(1)(c))
  • Specifying the process for changing the footprint for the VPLE “property” after an application has been submitted if the “property” is subdivided, combined with other properties or otherwise changed. (Wis. Stat. § 292.15(2)(at))

The DNR’s Remediation and Redevelopment Program’s role with brownfields redevelopment is not directly affected by many of the other provisions in the Act, such as changes to tax incremental districts (TID) requirements for environmental remediation; expansion of the property-assessed clean energy (PACE) financing option to include brownfield revitalization projects; expanded options to address tax delinquent brownfields and other provisions.

Program staff will make necessary changes to VPLE documents and webpages and work with the program’s Land Recycling Team to identify other actions needed to implement the changes.

More information on the bill, including descriptions of the provisions in the Act, can be found in Senate Bill 173.

“All Aboard!” Spooner’s Historic Roundhouse Revival

Posted on by elisabethkuisis
Spooner Roundhouse

Contaminated soils from around the Roundhouse were excavated and hauled off site to the old Spooner Landfill. The Roundhouse area was then capped and seeded. This area will be used for a public space. Spooner will be renovating the Roundhouse as a public space.

The city of Spooner, located in northwestern Wisconsin, pop. 2,700, has a rich railroad heritage. The city’s origin and colorful history is rooted in the railroad expansion of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Spooner was an important railroad center of the Chicago and North Western Railway for many years. A historic railway roundhouse, a surviving turntable, and other aspects of the original rail yard still exist. The Spooner roundhouse is one of the few remaining structures of its kind.

Several local and state organizations have collaborated for years on efforts to clean up environmental contamination and preserve this unique and historic landmark property. The land is in the “Museum District” which also includes the Railroad Memories Museum and the Wisconsin Canoe Heritage Museum. The Roundhouse property includes one of the only working turntables in the state. The Wisconsin Great Northern Railroad operates active tracks on the site.

Remediated dirt

The regulatory issues involved in this project were handled through a collaboration of the Wisconsin DNR’s R&R and Waste and Materials Management programs. The excavated soils were placed at the old Spooner Landfill and used as part of a recapping project. The contaminated soils remaining at the site were capped and seeded.

Many years of railroad activities and subsequent manufacturing uses led to concerns about possible environmental contamination on the property. Section 128(a) funding from the EPA contributed to several successful Green Team project meetings with the Wisconsin DNR, the city of Spooner, and other stakeholders. Section 128(a) funds also supported the Wisconsin DNR’s efforts to counsel the city on managing environmental liability and other communications with the city. Spooner further received Phase I ESA contractor services through the Wisconsin DNR’s Wisconsin Assessments Money (WAM) program, funded by the EPA ARC Assessment grants, prior to its acquisition of the roundhouse property.

Contaminated soils from around the roundhouse were excavated and disposed of at the old city landfill, as part of a recapping project. The roundhouse property was then capped and seeded. The property will be open to the public, and the city of Spooner is also renovating the roundhouse as a public space.

Roundhouse turntable

The Roundhouse property includes one of the only working turntables in the state.

The success of this northern Wisconsin cleanup site is highlighted in the recent year-end Report, a summary of the outcomes funded by a Section 128(a) grant from the US EPA made to the Wisconsin DNR’s Brownfields program. Previous 128(a) reports, including mid-year and year-end summaries going back to 2012, can be found on the DNR’s RR Program web page.

 

Brownfields Success: West Milwaukee

Posted on by elisabethkuisis

With the “snick” of a ceremonial scissor, the new Burnham Business Center officially opens for business in West Milwaukee. This former Auto Paradise site has a long history as a carriage and cartage company, going back to the early 1900s. Most recently, the site was used to disassemble cars, stripping them of all usable pieces before recycling the remaining parts.

Burnham Business Center

A portion of the new, 83,000 square foot Burnham Business Center along W. Burnham Street in West Milwaukee. The facility recently opened after guidance from the DNR’s Remediation and Redevelopment program.

The DNR’s Remediation and Redevelopment Program in the Southeast Region started guiding the cleanup investigation back in February of 2016. With an approved remediation plan in place, the SER team is now evaluating plans for long-term groundwater monitoring. The site is currently in the DNR’s VPLE program, a process by which an individual, business or unit of government, can voluntarily conduct an environmental investigation and cleanup of a property and then receive limits on their liability for historical contamination on that property.

The new 83,000 sq. ft. light industrial facility has eight tractor-trailer bays which facilitates the cross-transfer of a variety of products. As part of the site development, work crews also conducted a stream bank improvement project, where the banks of this unnamed stream were hardened and properly re-sloped.

 The ribbon-cutting ceremony to open the new facility was held October 24.

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.

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.

 

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.

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.

FY 2018 EPA Brownfields Grant Application Guidelines Released

Posted on by elisabethkuisis

The FY 2018 application guidelines for EPA’s Brownfields Assessment, Revolving Loan Fund and Cleanup grants have been released by the Office of Land and Emergency Management. Proposals are due to EPA by November 16, 2017 at 11:59 p.m. Eastern time.

These federal grants are available for the assessment and cleanup of brownfield properties.

For assistance with applying for a FY 2018 Brownfields Grant, contact your regional EPA representative or the Region 5 Technical Assistance to Brownfield (TAB) provider, KSU. TAB can provide free review of your draft EPA Assessment and Cleanup proposals. Please give TAB a one-week heads-up that you will be sending a draft to review. It generally takes TAB a few days to get the proposals back to you. Please contact Blase Leven (785-532-0780) to reserve your spot.

To find out how to get a DNR letter of support and other useful information, visit the DNR Federal brownfield grants web page.

Pittsville, Edgerton receive DNR brownfield awards

Posted on by elisabethkuisis

MADISON – Two Wisconsin communities stand to benefit from Department of Natural Resources brownfields awards to assist with the investigation of historic contamination.

Pittsville and Edgerton received Wisconsin Assessment Monies (WAM) from the DNR for contractor services worth a combined $45,000. Administered by the DNR Remediation and Redevelopment Program, WAM awards provide communities with professional environmental site assessments of contaminated properties.

“The work will help the communities better understand the contaminated areas in question, leading to potential job growth, retention and economic development,” said Christine Haag, DNR brownfields section chief.

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