Phase I Environmental Site Assessment

Release date: 04/25/2008

Contact Information: Roy Seneca (215) 814-5567

McKEES ROCKS, Pa. (April 25, 2008) — Funding from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s brownfields program will provide $1.75 million in grants to help revitalize abandoned industrial and commercial properties in five western Pennsylvania communities.

“Brownfields initiatives demonstrate how environmental protection and economic development work hand-in-hand. This funding will put western Pennsylvania communities on a path to reclaim properties that have been unused for years and turn those sites into assets for the community, the environment and the economy,” said Donald S. Welsh, administrator for EPA’s mid-Atlantic region.

Welsh joined local business and government leaders today as he announced that EPA has selected the following organizations to receive brownfields funding: the Pittsburgh North Side Industrial Development Company, the Washington County Authority, Cambria County Redevelopment Authority, Johnstown Redevelopment Authority and the Clearfield County Economic Development Corp.

The announcement was made at the McKees Rocks Industrial Enterprises property in McKees Rocks, which is one of several communities in the Chartiers Creek watershed that will benefit from two grants totaling $400,000 going to the North Side Industrial Development Company. These grants are for assessing brownfields properties in McKees Rocks, Coraopolis, Carnegie, Bridgeville Township and Stowe Townships. These communities once thrived with industries that supported the rail and steel industries, but now contain numerous abandoned industrial sites.
The other grants announced include:

· Three grants totaling $550,000 to the Washington County Authority to clean up three buildings that were part of the former Western Center State School and Hospital.

· Two grants totaling $400,000 to the Clearfield County Economic Development Corp. to assess properties for potential cleanup and development.

· One grant for $200,000 to the Johnstown Redevelopment Authority to help clean up the former Rosedale KOZ/Ore Yard site that was once used to store raw materials for the Bethlehem Steel complex. Site soil is contaminated with heavy metals including zinc, arsenic and cadmium.
· One grant for $200,000 to the Cambria County Redevelopment Authority to assess abandoned properties that were once associated with steel-related industries.

These five communities are among 209 communities nationwide selected to receive more than $74 million in brownfields-related funding this year. Brownfields are generally abandoned industrial properties where redevelopment is complicated by real or perceived contamination.

EPA estimates there are more than 450,000 brownfields in the U.S. Cleaning up and reinvesting in these properties increases local tax bases, facilitates job growth, utilizes existing infrastructure, limits development pressures on undeveloped, open land, and both improves and protects the environment.

More information on the brownfields program and brownfields grants is available at: http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/index.html .
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EPA Awards Two Brownfields Job Training Grants

Release date: 03/06/2008

Contact Information: Dave Bary or Tressa Tillman at 214-665-2200 or r6press@epa.gov

(Dallas, Texas – March 6, 2008) The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today announced that two organizations in Louisiana have been selected to receive brownfields job training grants of $399,000. The grants will teach environmental assessment and cleanup skills, place graduates in environmental jobs and track students for one year.

The EPA awarded $200,000 to Goodwill Industries of Southeastern Louisiana, Inc. in New Orleans, and $199,999 to Southern University at Shreveport (SUSLA).

“These grants are achieving results,” said EPA Regional Administrator Richard E. Greene. “They train people for important environmental jobs - jobs that restore properties and turn them into community assets of local pride.”

Goodwill Industries of Southeastern Louisiana plans to train 40 students, place 80 percent of graduates in environmental jobs or post-secondary education, and track students for one year. The training program will consist of four 13-week, 404-hour training cycles that will offer certifications in mold, lead, and asbestos abatement, and construction safety. Additional training will include coursework in engineering, debris removal, and federal, state, and local environmental rules and regulations.

Southern University at Shreveport plans to train 37 students, place 31 graduates in environmental jobs and track them for one year. The training program will consist of three, 121-hour training cycles comprising technical instruction, safety, asbestos abatement, CPR, and first aid. Students will be recruited from low-to-moderate income populations living in areas impacted by brownfields.

“The brownfields job training grants will benefit Louisiana by providing resources and education for mostly low-income and minority residents so they can gain the knowledge needed to enter the environmental field,” said Louis Buatt, Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality Assistant Secretary. “These grants will provide unemployed and underemployed residents with the skills needed to sustain employment.”

A brownfield is a property where expansion or reuse may be complicated by pollutants or a perception that the property is contaminated. Brownfields job training grants encourage tribal, local, state and federal agencies, communities, job training organizations, non-profit agencies and others to work together to develop and foster long term employment through environmental training.

Since 1998, EPA has awarded more than $23 million in brownfields job training funds. Approximately 4,000 people have completed training programs, with more than 2,500 obtaining employment in the environmental field. The program is designed to ensure than the economic benefits derived from brownfields redevelopment remain in the affected communities.

Further information on EPA’s brownfields program is available at http://www.epa.gov/brownfields

More about activities in EPA Region 6: http://www.epa.gov/region6

EPA audio file is available at http://www.epa.gov/region6/6xa/audio.htm#audio030608_jobtraining

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Haul Trucks in Dallas Cleaning the Air

Release date: 04/03/2008

Contact Information: Dave Bary or Tressa Tillman at 214-665-2200 or r6press@epa.gov

(Dallas, Texas – April 3, 2008) Seven small businesses based in Dallas will soon be operating newer haul trucks to help clear the air of 69 tons of nitrogen oxide (NOx) pollutants thanks to nearly $700,000 in rebates awarded by the state. Haul trucks provide essential services such as moving construction material and removing debris to landfills or recycling relocations. Haul trucks are active throughout North Texas, so it is important to reduce emissions of NOx while they operate. Over $110 million in grants through the Texas Emissions Reduction Plan (TERP) is available to help other local businesses like these replace or upgrade older heavy-duty equipment and vehicles. This funding is available only for a limited time and applications must be submitted by April 11.

To help last minute applicants, a TERP assistance session will be held on April 7 from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. at the North Central Texas Council of Governments located in Arlington at 616 Six Flags Drive. Assistance is also available by calling the hotline at (800) 919-TERP (8377).

The TERP serves as a national model for replacing and retrofitting older diesel engines and is managed by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ). The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) supports local efforts to encourage participation in TERP as a way to improve air quality in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

Rebate Recipient Award Tons of NOx Removed

Cima Transportation $101,276 10.7
Saturnino Rodriguez $106,816 10.7
Sandra Hernandez $110,645 11.1
Morris Hyman $111,793 11.2
David Gonzalez $107,582 10.8
Robert Earl Jones $111,793 11.2
Donald Ray Jackson $ 42,269 4.2

More about activities in EPA Region 6: http://www.epa.gov/region6

EPA audio file is available at http://www.epa.gov/region6/6xa/audio.htm#audio040308_terp10

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Release date: 04/07/2008

Contact Information: Dave Bary or Tressa Tillman at 214-665-2200 or r6press@epa.gov

More than $5 million in brownfields funding awarded across region

(Dallas, Texas – April 7, 2008) Several groups in Louisiana will be working to transform polluted properties into community assets with the help of $1 million in brownfields grants from the Environmental Protection Agency.

The grants were announced today by EPA to support cleanup efforts in the cities of Alexandria, Lake Charles and New Orleans.

“EPA continues to use the brownfields program to stimulate environmental and economic success in our communities,” said EPA Regional Administrator Richard E. Greene. “This program is a great example of how federal and local groups can work together to turn contaminated properties into viable developments.”

Brownfields are vacant, abandoned or under-used properties with redevelopment potential that suffer from known or perceived environmental contamination. More than $5 million in brownfields grants were announced today across EPA Region 6, which includes Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas.

Louisiana’s brownfields recipients include the following:

* City of New Orleans - two brownfields grants totaling $400,000 to assess sites with hazardous substances and potential petroleum contamination and to conduct community outreach. The city has identified 267 brownfields sites and 177 closed service stations. Redevelopment plans for the sites include housing and greenspaces.

* Jericho Road Episcopal Housing Initiative, LLC - $200,000 to clean up the Saratoga Street Incinerator site in New Orleans. Soil at the site is contaminated with volatile organic compounds, metals, polychlorinated biphenyls, and dioxins. Once cleanup is complete, the property will be used for single-family residences and a community garden.

* City of Lake Charles - $200,000 to clean up the former Sears and Roebuck retail store on Ryan Street. The 30-year-old structure covers about four acres and is contaminated with metals, inorganic contaminants, and other hazardous substances. Future plans include redeveloping the property into a hotel with retail and office space.

* City of Alexandria - $200,000 to set up a geographic information system inventory of sites, conduct assessments, and support community outreach. Former refinery, chemical, and manufacturing activities have left hazardous substances in several areas. Assessment of these brownfields sites is expected to spur community improvements.

Since the beginning of the program in 1995, EPA’s south central region has leveraged $2.3 billion in brownfields cleanup and redevelopment, helped create 10,700 jobs and supported the assessment of 750 properties. The brownfields program encourages redevelopment of America’s estimated 450,000 abandoned and contaminated waste sites. Nationally, brownfields assistance has attracted more than $11.3 billion in private investment, helped create more than 48,000 jobs and resulted in the assessment and cleanup of nearly 12,000 properties.

Additional information on the brownfields recipients and their projects is available at http://www.epa.gov/region6/6sf/bfpages/sfbfhome.htm.

To learn more about activities in EPA Region 6, please visit http://www.epa.gov/region6.

An EPA audio file is available at http://www.epa.gov/region6/6xa/audio.htm#audio040308_louisiana.

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Release date: 04/08/2008

Contact Information: Dave Bary or Tressa Tillman at 214-665-2200 or r6press@epa.gov

(Dallas, Texas – April 8, 2008) The U. S. Environmental Protection Agency has awarded $75,000 to the Texas Transportation Institute at Texas A&M University. The institute will use this grant to study the impact of emissions from older light duty vehicles imported into Mexico. The study will be performed at the El Paso-Ciudad Juarez border in partnership with Ciudad Juarez and Instituto Municipal De Investigacion Y Planeacion. Study activities include quantifying the number and types of vehicles crossing the U.S.-Mexico border on a daily basis, estimating their emissions, and quantifying their emissions impact.

Additional information on EPA grants: http://www.epa.gov/region6/gandf/index.htm

More about activities in EPA Region 6: http://www.epa.gov/region6

EPA audio file is available at http://www.epa.gov/region6/6xa/audio.htm#audio040808_am_grant

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Release date: 03/26/2008

Contact Information: Dave Bary or Tressa Tillman at 214-665-2200 or r6press@epa.gov

(Dallas, Texas – March 26, 2008) Officials from the Environmental Protection Agency joined representatives from the City of Laredo today in a groundbreaking ceremony for a national brownfields site.

EPA awarded a $100,000 brownfields grant to the City of Laredo in 2006, which enabled it to clean up an 18-acre wetland and lake area that was the site of years of illegal dumping. The city plans to develop nature trails and park space on the site.

“Brownfields grants help convert environmental eyesores into sources of local pride,” said EPA Regional Administrator Richard E. Greene. “These grants build on EPA’s commitment of working with communities to hand down cleaner land and a healthier future to the next generation.”

Brownfields are vacant, abandoned or under-used properties where redevelopment may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant. The Laredo site suffered from years of illegal dumping of tires and other solid waste. EPA’s Brownfields Program empowers cities and states to work together to clean up such properties and turn them into community assets.

Since the beginning of the program in 1995, EPA’s south central region has leveraged $2.3 billion in brownfields cleanup and redevelopment, helped create 10,700 jobs and resulted in the assessment of 750 properties. The brownfields program encourages redevelopment of America’s estimated 450,000 abandoned and contaminated waste sites.

Nationally, brownfields assistance has attracted more than $11.3 billion in private investment, helped create more than 48,000 jobs and resulted in the assessment and cleanup of nearly 12,000 properties.

Additional information on the brownfields program is available at http://www.epa.gov/region6/6sf/bfpages/sfbfhome.htm.

To learn more about activities in EPA Region 6, please visit http://www.epa.gov/region6.

EPA audio file is available at http://www.epa.gov/region6/6xa/audio.htm#audio032608_Laredo.

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The U. S. Environmental Protection Agency has awarded $163,076 to the Inter-Tribal Environmental Council for its Superfund program in Oklahoma. This award of $163,076 is the first award for fiscal year 2008 and consists of $97,850 for the Preliminary Assessment /Site Investigation program and $65,226 for the Core program. The PA/SI program includes pre-Superfund screening, preliminary assessments, site inspections, and preparation of National Priority List ranking packages. The Core program involves administrative and non-site specific activities. All activities supported by this grant are aimed at remediating hazardous waste sites and restoring land to safe and productive use.

Additional information on EPA grants: http://www.epa.gov/region6/gandf/index.htm

More about activities in EPA Region 6: http://www.epa.gov/region6

EPA audio file is available at http://www.epa.gov/region6/6xa/audio.htm#audio040308_itec

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From the Ledger Independent:

By OWEN McNEILL, Staff Writer

One local government agency is working to identify properties that are abandoned or under-utilized, because they present real or perceived environmental contamination, work done with the ambition of cleaning up the sites.

The Kentucky Brownfield Program in the Division of Compliance Assistance announced recently the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has awarded a total of $2 million for 10 brownfield grants to Kentucky communities, one of them the Buffalo Trace Area Development District.

BTADD received an assessment grant totalling $200,000 to inventory, characterize and conduct planning and community involvement related to brownfield sites. Brownfields can include factories, abandoned gas stations, former dry-cleaning establishments, illegal dumps, mine-scarred lands and illegal drug labs. There are an estimated 8,000 brownfields in Kentucky.

According to statistics released by the EPA, 10 Kentucky communities authored a total of 16 grant applications to assess and clean up brownfield sites. This was more than twice the number submitted the previous year. Kentucky turned in more applications relative to its population than any other state in EPA Region 4, which covers the southeastern United States.

Doug Padgett, Economic Development director for BTADD, said it actually took two tries to get the grant for this area.

“We submitted our initial application for funding in December of 2006,” Padgett said. “That application was denied with the monies going to other areas. Vicki Brace) attended a bunch of brownfield trainings and grant writing sessions and re-submitted our application this last December.”

“That was the one,” Brace, Economic Development specialist for BTADD said. “We added a few details in one spot and changed some wording in another and they told us to keep Monday’s afternoon clear. They called and told us to be in Covington on Monday, where we received our check.”

“The site in Covington that the grants were awarded is an actual brownfield site,” Brace said. “Doug and I went up there on Monday and it was interesting, to say the least. You can tell that site is a brownfield site, that’s for sure. These monies are needed and that site was a clear indicator why.”

Padgett said there are two categories for brownfield grants, one for petroleum contaminated sites such as abandoned gas stations, and another for non-petroleum contaminated sites. BTADD applied for the non-petroleum contaminated grants hopefully providing the most use for the monies.

“We did it for the five county area of Bracken, Mason, Lewis, Robertson and Fleming counties,” Padgett said. “We felt the non-petroleum contamination monies would help our area the most. This money will be used to determine exactly how many brownfield sites there are in the area. Sites that have been previously determined to be contaminated such as the Hayswood Hospital site and others will not be impacted by this grant. We already know there are problems there. These monies will go directly toward finding new sites. We have to know what we have before we can fix the problem.”

“We expect this study to take approximately one year to complete,” he said. “Our next step will be to hold public forums in all five counties and ask for assistance in identifying possible sites to study. Once we have completed the forums, we will form the Buffalo Trace Regional Brownfield Committee which will be composed of the public and elected officials such as Mayors (David) Cartmell (of Maysville) and Patton of Vanceburg. The committee will then look to hire the appropriate environmental company to test some of these possible sites to determine exactly what we have in the five county area. Once identification is complete, the committee will rank all the sites for future attention.”

“This is where we start to get a handle on the situation,” Padgett added. “We need this money to identify the problem sites. Once this process is complete, we hope to apply for funding for clean-up grants like what Owensboro received. With the way the lending markets are right now, every potential commercial loan now has to have a Phase I environmental study done. Any project backed with investment money has to have these studies because banks and lenders can’t take a chance on purchasing one of these contaminated properties. The clean-ups are so cost prohibitive that it is slowing our economy down. With the lending market so tight right now we are hoping this will help move them along.”

“Any site could be a potential brownfield site,” Padgett said, “Chemicals from old warehouses, lead paints, asbestos, mercury in the drains of old school sites and even radiation contamination. These are all problem sites. Even abandoned restaurants have been showing up if charred meats are left behind or stacked up cleaning supplies. This grant will give us a starting point in determining where the problem sites are. From these studies we will be able to go back and apply for clean-up grants that will restore and reclaim these properties for development. We want to reclaim these properties for economic re-development to spur further controlled growth in our five county wide footprint. We feel this grant will be the beginning of that process that, while involving a lot of hard work, will pay off ten-fold in the end.”

Other areas also received monies in the form of brownfield grants. Owensboro received three grants for clean-up activities at brownfield sites which constitutes the actual removal of contamination from the area. Covington received one grant for clean up and two assessment grants while Louisville and BTADD each received one assessment grant each. The Letcher County Conservation District received two assessment grants as well.

The Brownfield Program in the Division of Compliance Assistance is administered by the Department for Environmental Protection in the Environmental and Public Protection Cabinet.

Contact Owen McNeill at owen.mcneill@lee.net or call 606-564-9091, ext. 272.

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Article by Bruce A. Keyes, Thomas K. Maurer and Tanya C. O’Neill
ASTM International (ASTM) has issued a final standard for assessing the risks associated with vapor intrusion in real property transactions. The final standard, ASTM E2600-08 Standard Practice for Assessment of Vapor Intrusion into Structures on Property Involved in Real Estate Transactions (Standard), was released on March 3, 2008, and establishes a flexible, tiered approach for evaluating the potential for vapor intrusion to adversely impact property.

Background
Vapor intrusion occurs when volatile organic compounds (VOCs) found in underlying contaminated soil and/or groundwater migrate as vapor through soils into the indoor air spaces of overlying or adjacent buildings. In many cases, it is most cost effective to evaluate the potential for indoor air contamination from vapor intrusion early in the scope of any investigation. This is a challenging task, however, in part because background levels of VOCs in the ambient indoor air (i.e., from consumer products, art supplies, or dry-cleaned clothes) may compete with or hinder identification of an underground source of contamination. Nevertheless, there are direct and indirect vapor intrusion methodologies provided by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and several states designed to analyze whether subsurface vapors are intruding into indoor air spaces.

Development of the Standard
In 2005, ASTM created a specific task group to develop an ASTM standard to assess vapor intrusion as it relates to property transactions and to determine whether vapor intrusion is a recognized environmental condition (REC) under ASTM E1527-05 Standard Practice for Environmental Site Assessments (ESA): Phase I Environmental Site Assessment Process. ASTM released an internal draft vapor intrusion standard in January 2007 that contemplated using a tiered approach to assess the potential for vapor intrusion to be classified as an REC.

The final Standard adopted a flexible, four-tiered approach that evaluates the presence of vapor intrusion conditions (VIC) in a multiple-step process.

Tier One Evaluation
A Tier One evaluation requires an initial, non-numerical screening of the site, similar to a Phase I ESA, to determine if a potential VIC exists in connection with a target property. If the Tier One evaluation concludes that a potential VIC exists, further investigation such as a Tier Two evaluation is warranted.
Tier Two Evaluation
A Tier Two evaluation is a more refined screening approach that applies semi-site specific numeric screening criteria to existing or newly collected soil, soil gas, and/or groundwater testing results to assess whether or not a VIC exists. If the Tier Two evaluation indicates that applicable risk-based concentrations are exceeded at the property, then further evaluation, including a Tier Three evaluation, may be conducted to determine whether a VIC exists.
Tier Three Evaluation
A Tier Three evaluation is a more sophisticated analysis that focuses on site-specific numerical screening, mandating on-site sampling and comparison of collected vapor intrusion data with predetermined state-specific screening levels. If the results of the Tier Three evaluation indicate that a VIC exists, then a Tier Four evaluation may be appropriate.
Tier Four Evaluation
Tier Four evaluations will evaluate proper mitigation techniques in the event a VIC is identified under Tiers One through Three.
By following the steps set forth in the Standard, a potential purchaser can determine whether a VIC issue exists at a property, and what potential mitigation may be appropriate to address the issue.

Regulation of Vapor Intrusion
Federal Regulation
No final federal guidance has been published. EPA’s Draft Guidance for Evaluating the Vapor Intrusion to Indoor Air Pathway from Groundwater and Soils (Draft Guidance) issued in November 2002 has been criticized for its use of conservative assumptions related to contaminants and exposure levels. Most recently, on March 4, 2008, the EPA Office of Solid Waste issued a draft Vapor Intrusion Database document that provided an update on EPA’s efforts in collecting site-specific vapor intrusion and attenuation of vapor data. This site-specific data is a necessary component of any future vapor-intrusion guidance issued by EPA. EPA will begin seeking public comments on approaches for updating the Draft Guidance at the Interstate Technology & Regulatory Council’s March 2008 meeting.
State Regulation
Nearly half of the states already have established vapor intrusion regulations or have issued guidance on vapor intrusion, including California, Connecticut, Delaware, Kansas, New Jersey, and Ohio, and many other states currently are in the process. Some states, including New York, have begun evaluating or reopening cleanup sites formerly considered “closed.”
Practical Considerations
Vapor intrusion is of particular concern at or near locations where i) remediation was completed without an assessment of the vapor intrusion pathway; ii) the property currently is undergoing remediation; or iii) the property is located in an area with historic contamination in the soil and/or the groundwater. However, simple and cost-effective solutions to vapor migration might be available during construction or renovation of a property, but only if the issue is identified early in the investigation process. If the issue is raised later in a redevelopment project, the remedy may be more costly, disruptive, and time-consuming. To that end, even if the target property or neighboring properties are “closed,” a purchaser should consider reevaluating the site(s) for this newly articulated risk early in the due-diligence process. States recently have increased their efforts to “map” contaminated sites; as a result, the process of identifying potential migrating contamination that could pose a risk to indoor air quality may be more effective.

The risk of toxic-tort claims and claims for diminution in property values related to vapor intrusion is particularly exacerbated by the lack of clear and uniform standards, the substantial debate regarding acceptable risks associated with indoor vapors, and the continuing development of vapor-intrusion modeling and assessment practices. We have noticed a trend in construction best practices to incorporate vapor-mitigation systems as a low-cost prophylactic measure in all new construction, effective for both vapor intrusion from contamination as well as naturally occurring radium. These systems are fairly simple to design and add little cost if installed during the construction (or renovation) of the building.

Conclusion
Vapor intrusion presents potential liability concerns for prospective purchasers. The new ASTM Standard provides potential purchasers with an important tool to evaluate and, where necessary, mitigate the vapor-intrusion risk. Assessment of this risk will continue to evolve as states issue final rules and EPA continues to evaluate whether additional controls or guidance are necessary.

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