by Joseph Bebon, Solar Industry 

Officials have dedicated a 3 MW solar project built on a 10-acre brownfield site in Westfield, Mass. During a ceremony, Massachusetts Lieutenant-Governor Karyn Polito; Westfield Mayor Brian P. Sullivan; and Mark Noyes, president and CEO of ConEdison Development, developer of the solar project, celebrated completion of the 8,844-panel installation.

“We applaud Westfield and ConEdison Development for their ingenuity in transforming a brownfield into a source of clean energy and look forward to future projects continuing the growth of the commonwealth’s vibrant solar industry,” said Polito.

...

For the entire article, see
http://solarindustrymag.com/3-mw-brownfield-solar-project-dedicated-in-massachusetts

By Kathleen Schassler, Middletown Press (CT)

The environmental science and engineering firm contracted by the city submitted its final analysis this week for Middletown on the Move, a grant-funded initiative that focuses on brownfield rehabilitation, health education and ideas to create active places and green spaces for residents.

The city last year won a $143,970 grant from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to study brownfields for possible recreational reuse. The initiative seeks to create healthier, friendlier neighborhoods that are safe places to walk, bike and be active.

Brownfields are sites that are vacant or underused because of contamination or potential contamination from oil, chemicals or other toxic substances. Though there are about 200 designed brownfield parcels in the local region, the consultant group has reduced the number of properties considered to six, according to Patrice Barrett, the city’s brownfield community outreach coordinator.

...

For the entire article, see

http://www.middletownpress.com/article/MI/20160901/NEWS/160909972

By Jimmy Lawton, North Country Now (NY) 

Ogdensburg’s formal designation of a 330-acre brownfield opportunity area designation will enable the city to apply for additional funding to implement development strategic.

The designated area stretches from the westernmost edge of the City, east to Paterson Street and from the St. Lawrence River shoreline south to Lafayette Street, creating a concentrated area of strategic opportunity within the larger context of the city.

The BOA includes four strategic districts of brownfields, vacant or underutilized properties all along the city’s waterfront, spanning the St. Lawrence and Oswegatchie.

Ogdensburg’s BOA is broken into four districts, the Diamond District, Fort District, Marina District and Augsbury District.

...

For the entire article, see

http://www.northcountrynow.com/business/ogdensburgs-brownfield-designation-presents-economic-development-opportunities-0179207

by Dyke Hendrickson, Salem News (MA)

A $15 million apartment complex that could be among the most environmentally innovative in the country has received final approval from local planning boards, and early-phase construction could begin this fall.

The Hillside Center for Sustainable Living, to be created by veteran developer David Hall, recently got an OK from the Planning Board to proceed.

It will offer 48 rental units. In addition, it will provide affordable living quarters for 10 women in a program brokered by the YWCA.

The parcel sits on about 4.3 acres off Pond Street, near Route 1. 

“We’re pleased to have the approvals, and now there is a lot of work to do,” said Hall, a major local real estate owner who built the Tannery, among other structures. He is developing the project with business partner Keith Moskow.

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For the entire article, see

http://www.salemnews.com/news/green-community-to-rise-in-onetime-brownfield/article_f278c9dd-b4b4-56f8-90de-21312736bbba.html

New Partners for Community Revitalization President Val Washington said, "The Brownfield Opportunity Area program has truly matured in the last two years, with dozens of designations, renewed funding and valuable brownfield tax credit assistance to help make community visions a reality. Our own recent study demonstrates that this program - unique among the states - is working as designed, and providing real promise for communities that other economic development programs don't reach."

Read the entire release.

Here are a few shots from BCONE’s successful Keystone Industrial Port Complex Site Tour held on Thursday, 8/11/16 at 3:30pm, in Fairless Hills, PA.

Photo Courtesy of Trevan Houser, Clean Earth, Inc.

Photo Courtesy of Elizabeth Limbrick, NJIT

Photo Courtesy of Elizabeth Limbrick, NJIT

Details about the exciting tour of a world class industrial complex are coming your way.  For now, take a look at the photos, which capture the enthusiasm of the group who were fortunate to attend the event!

Regulation Amendments Take Effect August 12, 2016

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has adopted amendments to the Brownfield Cleanup Program, Commissioner Basil Seggos announced today. The amendments, which take effect August 12, 2016, define the terms "affordable housing project" and "underutilized" as part of the eligibility requirements for tangible property tax credits for brownfields in New York City. The revised regulations also amend the existing definition of a "brownfield site" to comply with the changes enacted to the Brownfield Cleanup Program law in 2015.

"The Brownfield Cleanup Program is an important tool to advance the restoration of blighted areas in communities across the state, and these revisions will encourage redevelopment on many underutilized properties," Commissioner Seggos said. "The amendments, which were driven by recommendations of municipalities and other experts, will ensure a more equitable distribution of these vital property tax credits by incentivizing strategic investments in communities across the state."

To implement key provisions of the 2015 reforms to the Brownfield Cleanup Program, and ensure incentives are targeted to areas most in need, the regulation amendments provide clarification to the eligibility requirements of affordable housing projects and underutilized properties in New York City. In addition, the amended definition of "brownfield site" ensures the implementation of an environmental standards-based approach to Brownfield site eligibility determinations required by law that will ensure tangible property tax credits are prioritized on areas with contamination.

"We commend the new regulations as very much in keeping with the spirit and intent of the 2015 BCP amendments. They will help assure State support for brownfield redevelopment projects that would not happen without assistance, projects that will help revitalize communities debilitated by historic contamination," said Val Washington, president of the board of New Partners for Community Revitalization.

These enhancements to the Brownfields Cleanup Program are the result of several rounds of public comments and hearings, most recently ending on April 8, 2016. The final rule making documents, including the Assessment of Public Comment, are available on DEC's website.

On July 13, 2016, DEC filed a Notice of Adoption with the New York State Department of State to amend Part 375 which defines the terms "affordable housing project" and "underutilized." These definitions are part of the eligibility requirements for tangible property tax credits for brownfields in New York City. It also amends the "brownfield site" definition in accordance with 2015 statutory changes. The amendments to Part 375 are effective August 12, 2016.

The final rule making documents, including the Assessment of Public Comment, are available on DEC’s website at http://www.dec.ny.gov/regulations/101908.html

ecoRI News (RI)

Leaders from a broad coalition of Rhode Island environmental, tourism, recreation and bicycle organizations have voiced support for the $35 million Green Economy Bond referendum included in the budget recently recommended for passage by House Finance Committee.

The committee noted the economic and community benefits the bond would provide for the state with investments in programs ranging from land conservation, outdoor recreation and bike paths to water pollution prevention and brownfield cleanups. If approved by the General Assembly, the Green Economy Bond will be put before voters in the November election.
...
The Green Economy Bond would fund seven initiatives: historic state park development, $4 million; state land acquisition, $4 million; state bikeway development, $10 million; brownfield remediation and economic development, $5 million; stormwater pollution prevention, $3 million; local recreation grants, $5 million; and local open space grants, $4 million.
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For the entire article, see
http://www.ecori.org/government/2016/6/8/ris-green-economy-bond-draws-wide-support

BY GERALD NEILY, Baltimore Brew (MD)

The adverse impact of the Port Covington plan on poor and disenfranchised neighborhoods – the “Other Baltimore” so starkly highlighted during last year’s civil unrest – is not just conjecture or a conflict of values.

The absence of development in one of them, Westport, is proof.

Kevin Plank, the CEO of Under Armour, owns the Westport waterfront as a private investment, and he’s already doing to Westport what his Port Covington plan will do to Baltimore as a whole – suck the air out of citywide redevelopment and growth for the benefit of a small isolated area.

Plank is banking the 43 acres of Westport land, with no development plan in sight, so that it won’t compete with his gargantuan dream for Port Covington that will require $660 million in TIF (Tax Increment Financing) bonds from the city and nearly $600 million more from state and federal sources.
...
For the entire commentary, see
https://baltimorebrew.com/2016/06/07/a-victim-of-port-covington-the-other-baltimore-in-westport/