WAM

Wisconsin Assessment Monies (WAM) Community Managed Awards Updates

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is now accepting applications for the Wisconsin Assessment Monies (WAM) Community Managed Awards program. WAM Community Managed Awards are subgrants of up to $75,000 each and are available to communities to assess a brownfield property. The award recipient selects a qualified environmental professional and manages all aspects of the project.

To be considered for the first round of awards, contact Gena Larson by March 31, 2023.

Eligible assessment activities through WAM include:

  • Phase I environmental site assessments (All Appropriate Inquiries/AAI)
  • Phase II environmental site assessments
  • NR 716 site investigations
  • Remedial action planning

Eligible applicants for WAM Community Managed Awards include local governments and tribal entities.

Eligible properties must meet the federal definition of a brownfield, “A brownfield is a real property, the expansion, redevelopment, or reuse of which may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant.”

For more information about the application, process, materials needed, and model documents visit the RR Program’s WAM webpage or email Gena Larson at Gena.Larson@wisconsin.gov.

Interested in learning what financial resources exist for cleaning up brownfields in your community? Watch this short overview on RR Program financial resources [00:04:58].

Wisconsin Assessment Monies (WAM) Applications Open

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is now accepting applications for the Wisconsin Assessment Monies (WAM) program. The WAM program provides services and funding to investigate brownfields sites where potential or known contamination is acting as an impediment to redevelopment. Since 2010, the U.S. EPA has awarded the DNR and its partners $5.3 million in brownfield assessment grant funding. The DNR uses the funding to aid local governments and others in investigating brownfield properties throughout the state.

Eligible assessment activities through WAM include:

  • Phase I Environmental Site Assessments (All Appropriate Inquiries/AAI)
  • Phase II Environmental Site Assessments
  • NR 716 Site Investigations
  • Remedial action planning

Two types of awards are available through WAM:

WAM Community Managed Awards: Subgrants of up to $75,000 each are available to communities to assess a brownfield property. The award recipient selects a qualified environmental professional and manages all aspects of the project.

WAM Contractor Services Awards: Award recipients receive assessment services performed by the DNR’s environmental contractors. The DNR manages the project and oversees the contractors.

Eligible applicants include local governments and tribal entities. Private entities may also apply for contractor services awards.

Eligible properties must meet the federal definition of a brownfield, “A brownfield is a real property, the expansion, redevelopment, or reuse of which may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant.”

Applications are accepted on a rolling basis until funds are expended. For more information about the application, process, materials needed, and model documents visit the RR Program’s WAM webpage or email Gena Larson at Gena.Larson@wisconsin.gov.

Request for Statements of Qualifications

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.

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

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.

Brownfields Fundamentals: Cleanup Collaboration Leverages Funding

The benefits of cleaning up and redeveloping brownfield properties are significant. Returning underused and unsightly commercial and industrial properties back to productive use protects public health and promotes community vitality.

State and federal financial assistance for brownfield revitalization is available in many forms for local governments. The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) can help your community put all the pieces together, address environmental contamination and move these projects forward.

Gather Your Team

Once you identify one or more brownfield properties in your community that will likely sit empty for years without local government involvement, contact the DNR to request a Green Team meeting with brownfield specialists. The DNR staff can help your community in many ways, including:

  • Identifying property acquisition methods that give liability exemptions to local governments;
  • Managing liability concerns throughout the cleanup process;
  • Understanding the process of assessing, investigating and cleaning up brownfield properties; and
  • Identifying and explaining financial assistance options.

In addition to bringing the right people to the project conversation, a Green Team meeting will help your community understand how to get started and identify potential funding sources that work well together. Local governments can request as many Green Team meetings as needed to fully understand the technical cleanup path to site closure, and an adjacent funding strategy. The DNR understands that brownfield properties are a burden for local governments and wants to help repurpose these properties.

Assess Brownfield Properties With DNR Contractor Service Grants

Environmental assessment, performed by qualified private sector environmental professionals, is typically the first phase of the brownfield property remediation and reuse process. Financial assistance programs that are frequently paired are the Wisconsin Assessment Monies program (WAM), managed by the DNR, and the Site Assessment Grant (SAG) program, offered by the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC).

WAM is a contractor services award program that funds Phase I and Phase II environmental site assessments, up to $35,000. Limited site investigation work may also be funded at some properties. SAG funds environmental assessment and demolition activities.

When applications from local governments are timed right, funding sources can combine to provide broad coverage of environmental assessment needs. The DNR’s WAM award disbursements can also be used to meet WEDC’s SAG financial match requirements.

Clean Up Brownfield Properties With State Loans And Grants

Following site assessment and investigation activities at a property, cleanup work may be needed. With a good plan in place and consistent communication with the DNR, contamination cleanup funding sources can be secured by local governments and lined up to keep the work progressing without delay.

The DNR’s Ready for Reuse revolving loan fund program provides 0% interest-free loan funding for environmental remediation activities. In some situations, partial loan forgiveness is also possible.

The Brownfields Grant Program offered by WEDC can fund site investigation activities, remediation work and subsequent environmental monitoring.

Like the assessment funding programs, the DNR’s Ready for Reuse loans and WEDC’s Brownfields Grants complement each other to provide broad coverage of cleanup needs. They help keep remedial work progressing toward site closure and, when coordinated, can be leveraged to cover match requirements, which minimizes out of pocket expenses for local governments.

Cleaning up and redeveloping a brownfield property takes time, but with Green Team help from the DNR and the support of state financial partners, a successful redevelopment is possible. Many communities have effectively cleaned up and repurposed brownfield properties (see Brownfield Success Stories). The DNR is happy to help you and your community with your cleanup and redevelopment efforts. Request a Green Team meeting and start the conversation today!

DNR Awards Brownfields Grant To City Of Beaver Dam

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has awarded a Brownfields Grant to the City of Beaver Dam to assist with the investigation of potential environmental contamination at the site of a former auto dealership and repair shop.

The grant is from the DNR’s Wisconsin Assessment Monies program, which provides contractor services worth up to $35,000 for the environmental assessment of eligible brownfields sites.

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DNR Awards Brownfields Grant To City Of Altoona

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) today announced the department awarded a Brownfields Grant to the City of Altoona.

The grant is from the DNR’s Wisconsin Assessment Monies program, which provides contractor services worth up to $35,000 for the environmental assessment and cleanup of eligible brownfields sites.

Brownfields are abandoned, idle and underused commercial or industrial properties where reuse is stalled by potential contamination. Brownfields vary in size, location, age and past use; they can be anything from a 500-acre former automobile assembly plant to a small, abandoned gas station.

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DNR Awards Brownfields Grant To Village Of Johnson Creek

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) today announced the department awarded a Brownfields Grant to the Village of Johnson Creek.

The financial award is from the DNR’s Wisconsin Assessment Monies program, which provides contractor services worth up to $35,000 for the environmental assessment and cleanup of eligible brownfields sites.

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DNR Awards Brownfields Grant To City Of Bloomer

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) today announced the site of a former agricultural cooperative on the north side of the City of Bloomer is on its way to being cleaned up with help from a grant from the department.

The financial award is from the DNR’s Wisconsin Assessment Monies program, which provides contractor services worth up to $35,000 for eligible sites. The DNR awarded the grant to the city of Bloomer for a property that local officials say may be in a position for redevelopment once the environmental contamination at the property is better defined.

“Local officials will have the opportunity to market this property—located in an established industrial park—once they get more information regarding the contamination,” said Jodie Peotter, DNR Brownfields, Outreach and Policy Section Chief, Remediation and Redevelopment Program. “The city has already seen interest in the property.”

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DNR Awards Brownfields Grant To Village Of Clinton

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) announced the site where a former gas station that later served as a small engine repair shop in the Village of Clinton is on its way to being cleaned up with help from a grant from the department.

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 the Village of Clinton for the now-vacant property that is known to have some degree of contamination, though just how much contamination is unknown.

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