An abandoned downtown property in Lancaster with a 25-year history of petroleum contamination is getting closer to being cleaned up and marketable to possible buyers with assistance from a brownfields grant from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR).
Continue reading “DNR Awards Brownfields Grant Valued up to $35,000 to Grant County”
A blighted riverfront property in Stoughton is on the way to being cleaned up with assistance from a brownfields grant from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR).
Two brownfields cleanup projects in Antigo are getting financial assistance in the form of grants from the Department of Natural Resources.
The financial awards come from the DNR’s Wisconsin Assessment Monies (WAM) program, which provides contractor services worth up to $35,000 for eligible sites. The DNR awarded the grants to the city of Antigo and Langlade County for two neighboring sites near the intersection of Edison Street and 1st Avenue.
“DNR is proud to partner with the city of Antigo and Langlade County as they work to address environmental concerns associated with these two properties,” said DNR Remediation and Redevelopment Program’s Brownfields, Outreach and Policy Section Chief Jodie Peotter. “Often, WAM grants are able to kick-start a project and may be used as leverage against other grants or loans.”
The neighboring properties that were awarded grants face each other from opposite sides of 1st Avenue. The southern property, located at 915 1st Avenue, is occupied by a vacant building that was formerly Care Partners Assisted Living. The vacant building is being considered for future use as a sober living facility for women. The second property that will receive a grant is located across 1st Avenue to the north at 1020 Edison Street. Redevelopment is anticipated to include a similar sober living facility for men.
Both properties are located along an abandoned railroad yard and maintenance facility that was discontinued from service in the late 1970s. The grants for contractor services will help Antigo and Langlade County officials determine whether environmental contamination exists at the properties.
Since 2009, the WAM program has provided more than $2.5 million to 61 communities across the state, partnering to help clean up and redevelop old, often run-down or underused properties that distract from a community’s potential.
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. The program is funded through a U.S. EPA brownfields assessment grant.
Participation in the WAM program requires minimal effort by local governments. Because there is no local financial match, WAM is an attractive opportunity for communities to gain knowledge of environmental conditions. 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 for WAM assistance may be submitted at any time. The DNR uses WAM funding to assess brownfields throughout the state, concentrating on industrial sites and closed, or closing, manufacturing plants. WAM awards are also made for sites that may not have had a history of manufacturing but are in rural areas, racially diverse communities or economically disadvantaged areas.
For more information about WAM or other cleanup award programs from the RR Program, visit the DNR’s WAM webpage or the brownfields webpage.
A brownfields cleanup project near Chilton is getting financial assistance in the form of a grant from the Department of Natural Resources.
The financial award comes from the DNR’s Wisconsin Assessment Monies (WAM) program, which provides contractor services worth up to $35,000 for eligible sites. The DNR awarded the grant to Calumet County for the former Stoeger’s Plating Service/T&M Plating Service, LLC site near Chilton.
“DNR is proud to partner with Calumet County as officials work to clean up this property,” said DNR Remediation and Redevelopment Program’s Brownfields, Outreach and Policy Section Chief Jodie Peotter. “Often, the time and expense of looking into potential environmental contamination is daunting for local governments. An award like this can be very helpful to communities that take on the task of redeveloping brownfields.”
The site, located at N3503 Highway 55 near Chilton, was a cheese factory before it was purchased by the Stoeger family in 1971. The Stoeger family ran an antique store until the late 1990s, when they transferred the nearly two-acre property to their sons. The sons operated a plating business at the site for much of the early 2000s. The property eventually became tax delinquent; Calumet County acquired the site through tax foreclosure proceedings in March of last year.
After the county acquired the property, the U.S. EPA completed the removal of 100 drums and other containers of hazardous materials that were left behind when the building was vacated. Potential environmental issues related to the plating business and other historical site uses require additional environmental investigation. The WAM grant for contractor services will help Calumet County investigate whether environmental contamination exists at the property.
Since 2009, the WAM program has now provided more than $2.5 million to 60 communities across the state, partnering to help clean up and redevelop old, often run-down or underused properties that distract from a community’s potential.
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. The program is funded through a U.S. EPA brownfields assessment grant.
Participation in the WAM program requires minimal effort by local governments. Because there is no local financial match, WAM is an attractive opportunity for communities to gain knowledge of environmental conditions. 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 for WAM assistance may be submitted at any time. The DNR uses WAM funding to assess brownfields throughout the state, concentrating on industrial sites and closed, or closing, manufacturing plants. WAM awards are also made for sites that may not have had a history of manufacturing but are in rural areas, racially diverse communities or economically disadvantaged areas.
For more information about WAM or other cleanup award programs from the RR Program, visit the DNR’s WAM webpage or the brownfields webpage.
Plans for Consultants’ Day 2020 are in full swing, with an exciting keynote speaker identified for both events and a distance-learning option in place for the May conference.
The first of two Consultants’ Day conferences is scheduled for Wednesday, April 29 in Stevens Point at the Holiday Inn Convention Center. The second event will take place on Wednesday, May 13 in Pewaukee at the Ingleside (formerly the Country Springs). The Remediation and Redevelopment (RR) Program anticipates registration opening soon for both events. That announcement will be promptly shared via the RR Report and shared on the RR Program’s Conference & Training web page.
A brownfields cleanup project in the village of Randolph is getting financial assistance by way of a grant from the Department of Natural Resources.
The financial award comes from DNR’s Wisconsin Assessment Monies (WAM) program, which provides contractor services worth up to $35,000 to eligible sites. The grant for contractor services will help city officials assess if environmental contamination exists at the former Graafsma Garage on Stark Street in Randolph.
Continue reading “DNR Awards Brownfields Grant Valued up to $35,000 to Village of Randolph”
The Remediation and Redevelopment (RR) Program reminds environmental consultants to use DNR’s soil boring log (DNR Form 4400-122) to document drilling performed at remediation sites.
Use of the agency’s soil boring log form is required in Wis. Admin. Code § NR 141.23(3) and NR 716.15(4)(g). You can download the form and instructions at the link above.
If you have questions, please contact your Project Manager.
The Remediation and Redevelopment Program recently developed a web page called the “SI Toolkit” to provide environmental consultants and others with a framework for site investigation (SI) work plans and reports.
The new web page makes documents pertaining to site investigation (guidance, checklists, forms and rules) easy to find in one place. New SI-related guidance and factsheets will be added to this web page as they are developed.
Contact Jane Lemcke if you have questions or suggestions regarding the new SI Toolkit.
Brownfields cleanup projects in nine communities across the state have gained momentum in recent weeks with the granting of awards worth a total of $336,000 from the Department of Natural Resources. The help comes from the DNR’s Wisconsin Assessment Monies (WAM) program, which provides grants to eligible recipients in the form of contractor services to investigate potential soil or groundwater contamination at the site.
The communities that have received recent awards include Allouez, Appleton, Eleva, Janesville, Marinette, Prairie du Chien, Stoughton, Watertown and Winneconne.
Continue reading “DNR Awards $336,000 in WAM Funds to Nine Wisconsin Communities”
The Remediation and Redevelopment program’s site investigation checklists, released in April 2019, are now available in fillable PDF format.
The Site Investigation Work Plan Preparation Checklist (Form 4400-316, formerly RR-096) and the Site Investigation Report (SIR) Preparation Checklist (Form 4400-317, formerly RR-097) are optional tools that environmental consultants and responsible parties can use to help develop site investigation work plans and reports in compliance with Wis. Admin. Code NR 716.
Continue reading “Site Investigation Checklist is now Fillable Form”
