By Michael Bliss, VP Sales & Marketing at Hill Environmental

On Thursday, September 13, 2018, the Brownfield Coalition of the Northeast (BCONE) hosted a “Current Opportunities in the Pennsylvania Redevelopment Marketplace,” featuring Cosmo Servidio, USEPA Regional Administrator for the Mid-Atlantic Region and Patrick Patterson, Regional Director for the PADEP Southeast region. The sold-out event was held at the Center City Philadelphia offices of Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney PC and was attended by 55 environmental professionals from various backgrounds.

Regional Administrator Servidio spoke about the importance of collaboration and partnerships in redeveloping areas in Pennsylvania. The goal under his leadership is to see the redevelopment marketplace thrive. He stressed the importance of partnering with the state, the success of the Act 2 program and making the process of brownfield redevelopment easier for all parties involved.  Currently, Mr. Servidio noted that communication across government, private and public entities can be improved to help accomplish this. Ultimately, he stated that redevelopment decisions should  be made based on regulations, science, and data.

Mr. Servidio further noted that BCONE’s members are the experts and problem solvers who are an integral part of improving the redevelopment process for all parties involved. An invitation was extended for BCONE to host an event at the EPA office at a future date.    

Regional Director Patterson, based in Norristown, Pennsylvania, stressed that solutions can be found to just about any issues in redevelopment by working together. Mr. Patterson noted that over 6,000 sites have been cleaned up via the Act 2 program in Pennsylvania. In addition, 1,400 properties from the Southeast Regional office have been remediated with 1,100 more in various stages of the process. Current challenges include funding; legislation is anticipated to make funding easier for involved parties.  

In summary, Mr. Servidio and Mr. Patterson emphasized cooperation and that BCONE plays an important part in that process. Environmental professionals can benefit and gain knowledge about the process through BCONE and becoming active participants.   

The event included networking with light fare and a reception with beautiful views of the Philadelphia skyline.  Many thanks to BCONE’s venue host, Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney PC and to the evening’s event sponsors Clean Earth, Geosyntec Consultants, Langan, Environmental Standards, Whitman, AECOM, Syngergy Environmental, Pennoni, Terraphase Engineering, Hill Environmental Group, and Willis Towers Watson. Thanks to the event committee: Mike Bliss of  Hill Environmental, Brian Clark of Buchanan of Ingersoll & Rooney PC, Skelly Holmbeck of Montrose Environmental and member of the BCONE Board of Directors and Elizabeth Limbrick of NJIT and the TAB Program for USEPA Region 3.  Mr. Bliss, Mr. Clark and Ms. Limbrick are all members of the BCONE Advisory Board.

Photos of the Event: