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/

An old, deserted former factory site may soon have life again.

The Delanco Township Joint Land Use Board granted final major site plan approval June 1 to Delanco Family Apartments Urban Renewal LLC.

In addition to 64 affordable apartment units, there will be one site manager's unit and other improvements to the property, referred to as the Rhawn Factory site.

The site, at 200 Rhawn St., is near the intersection of Rhawn and Coopertown roads, adjacent to the New Jersey Transit Delanco Rail station and bordering Rancocas Creek.

All existing buildings at the site have been demolished and industrial uses removed. 

According to the builder, the Walters Group, construction could begin by October and will take 12 to 15 months to complete, with the first occupants moving in nine or 10 months after work first starts.

The eight, two-story buildings will feature eight units each, with a mix of one-, two- and three-bedroom rental units leased exclusively to tenants whose incomes are at or below 60 percent of the area median income, qualifying it as a "low- and moderate-income housing development."

New York State and local governments spend billions to generate economic development.

But economic development is a complex process that has no simple formula or roadmap. Given the size of the financial assistance being granted, it is essential that citizens understand what their community is gaining in return.

Accordingly, my office regularly monitors the performance of the state's Industrial Development Agencies (IDAs) in an effort to assess how these entities work to attract, retain and expand businesses within their communities.

Our annual IDA report, which was released today, found the state's 109 active IDAs provided $1.1 billion in total tax exemptions in 2014. These IDA-sponsored projects reported a total of 645,010 full-time jobs, which reflects an increase of 235,888 jobs over the life of these projects. 

As you can see, IDAs are an important catalyst for economic development in our state. But as the value of tax exemptions to private businesses continues to increase, taxpayers must be reassured that their community is receiving promised benefits. 

Thankfully, my legislative proposal to increase transparency and scrutiny of IDAs was signed into law last year and will result in better evaluation of the economic impact they are having in New York. 

This legislation (S.5867/A.7915) will improve the process by which IDAs approve new projects, the quality of the information they gather about the projects, and policies for recapturing financial assistance if project goals are not met. The new law, developed with support from the New York Economic Development Council, becomes effective on June 15. 

I hope you find this report informative. If you have questions, contact our Division of Local Government and School Accountability.

Together with the NJ Business Action Center (BAC), BCONE hosted the SRAG quarterly meeting held at the NJDEP building. This was a specially formatted meeting that dealt predominately with funding incentives and other programs offered by the state for remediation and redevelopment projects.

BCONE President Steve Jaffe served as host and moderator for the three hour meeting and was joined on the dais by Nancy Belonzi of the BAC, who is a member of BCONE’s Advisory Council. BCONE Regional Council member Alan Miller of NJDEP, BCONE Executive Director Sue Boyle of GEI, and BCONE Advisory Council member Sharon McSwieney of Langan attended the session along with 75 others from consulting firms, law firms, 5 other state agencies, members of the state’s Site Remediation Professionals Licensing Board (SRPLB), and municipal officials.

As is always an agenda item at SRAG meetings, the session started with an update on the activities of the SRPLB  and a summary of the metrics from the Site Remediation Program (SRP; click here for those metrics).  Presentations then followed from the BAC, the Environmental Infrastructure Trust (EIT), the Economic Development Authority, the NJ Redevelopment Authority and the NJ Department of Transportation.  The PowerPoints from these agencies will be available in about a week on the NJDEP SRP website or you can contact BCONE for the weblink.

A panel discussion on the Somerville, NJ Green Seam Brownfield Development Area project followed.  The PowerPoint presented by Colin Driver, Somerville’s Economic Development Director will be available on the NJDEP SRP website.  President Jaffe kept the panel discussion moving by asking Mr. Driver; Michael Deely  and Ron Wienckoski of NJDEP’s Office of Brownfield Reuse; and  Frank Scangarella of the EIT and Gene Chebra on NJDEP’s Infrastructure Financing about requirements for each incentive program used, timeframes, loophole, and other words of wisdom.

Project Expands Environmental Outdoor Learning for Newark Students

Contacts: Jennifer May-Reddy, 212-637-3658, may.jennifer@epa.gov; Mary Mears, 212-637-3673, mears.mary@epa.gov

(New York, N.Y. – June 2, 2016) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has awarded a $91,000 environmental education grant to the Greater Newark Conservancy to expand its environmental education program to include 1,750 kindergarten through sixth grade students in Newark Public Schools. The expansion focuses on teaching these students environmental stewardship, using outdoor hands-on learning as a learning tool. The project includes visits to the Conservancy’s 1.3 acre Outdoor Learning Center, as well its 2.5 acre Hawthorne Avenue urban farm.

“This grant gives the Greater Newark Conservancy an opportunity to reach more children in Newark,” said Judith A. Enck, EPA Regional Administrator. “By giving these students knowledge of their relationship with the environment, this project gives Newark elementary school students the tools they need to learn more about environmental protection.”

The primary goal of the Greater Newark Conservancy’s project is to increase environmental literacy among the participating students and encourage behavior that benefits the environment by demonstrating that care of trees, water resources and the natural environment is critical to a sustainable and healthy community. The project includes a “Sustainable Cities” curriculum of urban sustainable planning, lessons based on the protection of water ecosystems, and compositing among other environmental topics.

The Greater Newark Conservancy was one of three recipients to receive the 2015 round of environmental education grants from EPA Region 2, which is responsible for New York, New Jersey, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and eight Indian Nations.  A total of $222,000 was awarded in EPA Region 2 for the three grants and funding nationwide for this round of grants totaled more than $3.3 million. Nationally, EPA funded 35 grants from organizations in 26 states for the 2015 Environmental Education Grants.

Since 1992, EPA has distributed approximately $68 million supporting more than 3,600 projects. This competitive grants program supports environmental education projects that increase public awareness about environmental issues and provide participants with the skills to take responsible actions to protect the environment.

For more information on the new awardees and on how to apply for future environmental education grant competitions, please visit:

http://www2.epa.gov/education/environmental-education-ee-grants.

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by Shawn R. Beals, Hartford Courant (CT)

As part of a yearlong effort to get Middletown residents talking about how to reuse brownfield sites for recreation, the city and a consultant held the first of three weekly open houses Wednesday.

The Middletown On The Move project began in September 2015 after the city received a $143,970 grant from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to study brownfield sites for reuse. Brownfield sites are vacant or underutilized former industrial or commercial properties that have potential pollution or contamination.

"We've asked the public to envision what would a multiuse public space look like," said Patrice Barrett, the city's project coordinator for Middletown On The Move. "We've tried every kind of avenue we can to solicit what people think."

…

For the entire article, see

http://www.courant.com/community/middletown/hc-middletown-brownfield-study-0526-20160525-story.html

Recipients include Niagara County, City of New York, Kingston, Rome, St. Regis Mohawk Tribe and Wappingers Falls 

Contact: Elias Rodriguez, (212) 637-3664, rodriguez.elias@epa.gov

(New York, N.Y. – May 20, 2016) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is providing nearly $2 million to Niagara County, the Cities of New York, Kingston and Rome, the Village of Wappingers Falls and the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe to help those communities clean up abandoned and contaminated sites. The funding was awarded through EPA’s Brownfields Program, which helps communities assess, clean up, redevelop and reuse contaminated properties. Brownfields are properties where moderate contamination threatens environmental quality and public health and can interfere with productive re-use of the sites.

“Cleaning up brownfields protects people’s health and the environment, revitalizes neighborhoods and creates jobs,” said Judith A. Enck, EPA Regional Administrator. “There is untapped opportunity at brownfields sites, and these grants help communities find ways to unlock it. In many cases, these are pieces of land that had been written off, sitting unused, dragging down the surrounding neighborhoods. But with the help of these grants, they can be resources for recreation, jobs, parks and sustainable development.”

The EPA’s Brownfields funding will be awarded to communities in New York as follows:

Niagara County – $500,000

The $500,000 community-wide grant will be used to support a revolving loan fund from which Niagara County will provide one loan and one subgrant to support cleanup activities for sites contaminated with hazardous substances. Grant funds also will be used for marketing the revolving loan fund and supporting community outreach activities. The requested EPA grant funds will build upon Niagara County’s brownfield inventory, assessment, and remediation efforts over the past fifteen years and allow Niagara County to build on the community support and momentum created thus far.

City of New York – $400,000

A $200,000 community-wide hazardous substances grant will be used to conduct 16 environmental site assessments. A $200,000 community-wide petroleum grant will be used to conduct 14 environmental site assessments. Grant funds of both types also will be used to conduct community outreach activities. The NYC Department of Finance and Department of City Planning data from 2009 indicate that the city has over 3,150 vacant commercial and industrial lots, primarily brownfields due to suspected contamination from prior site operations. EPA grant activities will be targeted within such disadvantaged neighborhoods that contain clusters of brownfields, suffer disproportionate impacts from multiple environmental stressors, and demonstrate community need and thoughtful planning by strong community-based organizations.  Using this approach, New York City will focus the funds on the areas of greatest need, which include the South Bronx, Harlem, and East New York in Brooklyn, along with communities that were badly impacted by Super Storm Sandy in October 2012, such as Staten Island’s North Shore. 

Kingston – $400,000

A $200,000 community-wide hazardous substances and a $200,000 petroleum grant will be used to perform up to 26 environmental site assessments primarily two areas in Rondout and Waterfront and a central area of Midtown slated to become an Arts District. Grant funds also will be used to conduct cleanup planning for 10 sites and support community outreach activities.

Rome – $200,000

A $200,000 petroleum grant will be used to clean up the former Rome-Turney Radiator Company site at 109 Canal Street. The 1.4-acre site was operated by the Rome-Turney Radiator Company from 1905 until the mid-1990s as a manufacturing plant for radiators. In June 1988, the site experienced a petroleum release from fuel storage tanks, contaminating the property’s soil and groundwater. The EPA funds will be used to address petroleum contamination in two areas site,  at the north end of the site near two wings of the building and at the south of the site near the entrance from Canal Street. There is an estimated 2,000 tons of contaminated soil at the site. Grant funds will also be used for community outreach activities.

St. Regis Mohawk Tribe – $200,000

A $200,000 community-wide petroleum grant will be used to conduct nine environmental site assessments former gasoline station sites. Grant funds also will be used to update and prioritize a brownfields inventory, support community involvement activities, and conduct cleanup planning. The most important sites will be evaluated using existing reports and geophysical surveys to look for underground storage tanks and piping.

Wappingers Falls – $200,000

A $200,000 community-wide hazardous substances grant will be used to conduct 15 environmental site assessments. Grant funds also will be used to support cleanup planning and community outreach activities. The Village of Wappingers Falls will conduct assessments on blighted properties with industrial or commercial histories.  Among the prospective properties are former metal plating facilities, dry cleaners, ink and dye manufacturing facilities, industrial storage, gasification facilities, and mechanical manufacturing operations. Of the 24 acre industrially-zoned property in the village, over 14 acres has been left vacant after structural collapse or fire.

The EPA has announced a total of more than $55 million in new investments this year across the country that will redevelop contaminated properties, boost local economies and help create jobs while protecting public health.

Since its inception, EPA’s brownfields investments have leveraged more than $20 billion in cleanup and redevelopment funding from a variety of public and private sources and have created approximately 87,000 jobs. The 240 grantees receiving grants through the Brownfields Assessment, Revolving Loan Fund and Cleanup Grants programs include tribes and communities in 45 states across the country.

Information on grant recipients can be found at: http://www.epa.gov/brownfields

Follow EPA Region 2 on Twitter at http://twitter.com/eparegion2 and Facebook at http://facebook.com/eparegion2

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Recipients include Atlantic City, Asbury Park, Jersey City and Plainfield

Contact: Elias Rodriguez, (212) 637-3664, rodriguez.elias@epa.gov  

(New York, N.Y. – May 20, 2016) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is providing nearly $2 million to Atlantic City, Jersey City, Asbury Park and Plainfield New Jersey to help those communities clean up abandoned and contaminated sites. The funding was awarded through EPA’s Brownfields Program, which helps communities assess, clean up, redevelop and reuse contaminated properties. Brownfields are properties where moderate contamination threatens environmental quality and public health and can interfere with productive re-use of the sites.

“Cleaning up brownfields protects people’s health and the environment, revitalizes neighborhoods and creates jobs,” said Judith A. Enck, EPA Regional Administrator. “There is untapped opportunity at brownfields sites, and these grants help communities find ways to unlock it. In many cases, these are pieces of land that had been written off, sitting unused, dragging down the surrounding neighborhoods. But with the help of these grants, they can be resources for recreation, jobs, parks and sustainable development.”

The EPA’s Brownfields funding will be awarded to communities in New Jersey as follows:

Atlantic City – $763,000 Total

A $200,000 in community-wide hazardous substances grant will be used to inventory and prioritize brownfields, and conduct environmental site assessments. A $200,000 community-wide petroleum grant will be used to assess sites with potential petroleum contamination. Additionally, $363,658 in hazardous substances grant funds will be used to clean up the Bungalow Park site at 709 Mediterranean Avenue, and the Delta Basin Homes site at North Maryland, Wabash, and Adriatric Avenues. The Bungalow Park site is vacant, undeveloped land and is contaminated with historic fill. The Delta Basin Homes site was formerly developed with a vehicle inspection station and automobile repair garages, and is contaminated with historic fill. Grant funds at both sites also will be used for community outreach and involvement activities. A few key sites have been identified where housing and the local workforce can be constructed. There are redevelopment plans in place in the inlet, downtown and other areas.

Asbury Park – $400,000

A $200,000 community-wide hazardous substances grant will be used to conduct eight environmental site assessments, and prepare two cleanup plans. Grant funds also will be used to support community outreach activities. A $200,000 community-wide petroleum grant will be used to assess sites with potential petroleum contamination. This project will focus on the area just west of the train station and the core downtown, where the most of the areas brownfields are located.  This project include  the targeted assessment, cleanup, and re-development of properties that will bridge the gap between the “east” and “west” sides, and revitalize the area.

Jersey City Redevelopment Agency – $400,000

A $200,000 hazardous substances grant will be used to conduct eight environmental site assessments, and prepare one cleanup plan. A $200,000 community-wide petroleum grant will be used to conduct seven environmental site assessments, and prepare one cleanup plan. Grant funds of both types also will be used to support community outreach activities. Most of Jersey City’s brownfields are located within 90 community-designated redevelopment areas.  Jersey City’s redevelopment areas can range in size from a handful of blocks to large swaths of land covering over 100 acres. It is in such redevelopment areas that the EPA Assessment Grant funds will be targeted, as redevelopment areas in Jersey City have the greatest concentration of brownfields.

Plainfield – $400,000

A $200,000 community-wide hazardous substances grant will be used to conduct eight environmental site assessments, and prepare one cleanup plan. Grant funds also will be used to support community outreach activities. A $200,000 community-wide petroleum grant will be used to conduct the same tasks at sites with potential petroleum contamination. The focus area for this proposed assessment is the area immediately surrounding one of the closed train stations, the former Grant Avenue train stop, now known as the West End Station.  While no longer serving as a rail station, the New Jersey government is planning a bus rapid transit line between Newark and Plainfield which would terminate at the West End station.

The EPA has announced a total of more than $55 million in new investments this year across the country that will redevelop contaminated properties, boost local economies and help create jobs while protecting public health.

Since its inception, EPA’s brownfields investments have leveraged more than $20 billion in cleanup and redevelopment funding from a variety of public and private sources and have created approximately 87,000 jobs. The 240 grantees receiving grants through the Brownfields Assessment, Revolving Loan Fund and Cleanup Grants programs include tribes and communities in 45 states across the country.

Information on grant recipients can be found at: http://www.epa.gov/brownfields

Follow EPA Region 2 on Twitter at http://twitter.com/eparegion2 and Facebook at http://facebook.com/eparegion2

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Funds help protect health and the environment; Revitalize communities

BOSTON – EPA has awarded $15,994,000 in Brownfield grants to municipalities and organizations working in all six New England states to protect people’s health by assessing and cleaning up contaminated parcels in New England communities.

The grants, funded by EPA’s Brownfields Assessment, Revolving Loan Fund, and Cleanup grant program, provide communities with the funding they need to assess, clean up and redevelop contaminated properties, boost local economies and leverage jobs while protecting public health and the environment.

In the six New England states, EPA is awarding 38 separate grants to 35 different organizations. The funding is part of $55.2 million in EPA Brownfields investments awarded across the country this year.

“EPA’s Brownfields program has helped assess abandoned or derelict properties in communities across the region, cleaning them so they can return to productive use,” said Curt Spalding, regional administrator of EPA’s New England office. “When we put a dollar into brownfields, the community gets back $17 in the jobs and economic opportunities. Cleaning and revitalizing contaminated sites not only makes our communities cleaner, it also makes economic sense.”

In New England, since the beginning of the Brownfields program, EPA has awarded 374 assessment grants totaling $99.1 million, 73 revolving loan fund grants and supplemental funding totaling $90 million and 261 cleanup grants totaling $66.7 million. These grant funds have paved the way for more than $1.4 billion in public and private cleanup and redevelopment investment and for nearly 8,859 jobs in assessment, cleanup, construction and redevelopment. These investments and jobs target local, under-served and economically disadvantaged neighborhoods – places where environmental cleanups and new jobs are most needed.

In New England, the following Brownfields grants are being awarded this year:

Connecticut – $1,184,000

• City of Shelton, $200,000 (cleanup)
  
• Northwest Regional WIB, $100,000 (job training)
  
• Naugatuck Valley Council of Governments. $400,000 (assessment)
  
• City of Norwich, $384,000 (assessment)
  

Maine - $7,340,000

• Southern Maine Planning and Development Commission, $820.000 (revolving loan fund for Prime Tanning)
  
• Southern Maine Planning and Development Commission, $200,000 (assessment for Prime Tanning)
  
• Town of Berwick, $500,000 (cleanup for Prime Tanning)
  
• Marble Block Redevelopment Corp., $200,000 (assessment for Prime Tanning)
  
• Greater Portland Council of Governments, $400,000 (assessment)
  
• City of Portland. $800,000 (revolving loan fund)
  
• Town of Lisbon, $200,000 (assessment)
  
• City of Gardiner, $200,000 (assessment)
  
• City of Gardiner $200,000 (cleanup)
  
• Town of Wilton, $200,000 (cleanup)
  
• Midcoast Economic Development District, $820,.000 (revolving loan fund)
  
• City of Belfast, $400,000 (assessment)
  
• City of Old Town, $400,000 (assessment)
  
• Eastern Maine Development Corp., $400,000 (assessment)
  
• Hancock County Planning Commission, $400,000 (assessment)
  
• Piscataquis County Economic Development Council, $400,000 (assessment)
  
• Northern Maine Development Commission, $200,000 (assessment)
  
• Washington County Council of Governments, $400,000 (assessment)
  

Massachusetts – 4,650,000

• Greylock Flume Inc., $200,000 (cleanup of Area-wide Planning Study Area In Adams)
  
• City of Adams, $400,000 (assessment for AWP Study Area)
  
• City of Chicopee, $600,000 (cleanup of AWP Study Area)
  
• Town of Lee, $300,000 (assessment of AWP Study Area)
  
• Town of Plymouth, $600,000. Cleanup of Revere Copper)
  
• Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection, $400,000 (assessment)
  
• City of Everett, $200,000 (assessment)
  
• City of Gardner, $600,000 (cleanup of Garbose Metals)
  
• Town of Merrimack, $530,000 (cleanup of Coastal Metals)
  
• Merrimack Valley Planning Commission, $820,000 (revolving loan fund for Coastal Metals)
  

New Hampshire - $800,000

• Upper Lake Sunapee Regional Planning Commission, $400,000 (assessment)
  
• Lakes Region Planning Commission, $400,000 (assessment)
  

Rhode Island - $1,220,000

• RI Department of Environmental Management, $400,000 (assessment for Providence)
  
• RI Infrastructure Bank, $820,000 (revolving loan fund for Providence)
  

Vermont - $800,000

• Windham Regional Commission, $400,000 (assessment for Making a Visible Difference in Brattleboro)
  
• Chittendon Country Regional Planning Commission, $400,000 (assessment for Burlington)
  

More information:
-    Brownfields grants by state: http://cfpub.epa.gov/bf_factsheets/
-    National EPA Brownfields info: http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/

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By Kathleen Schassler, Middletown Press CT)

An indoor farmers market, skating rink and potential brook-side trail between the Connecticut River and Wesleyan University’s campus were all ideas suggested during two bus tours Saturday of area brownfields. 

More than three-fourths of city residents do not use the parks for recreation, according to a recent survey by Middletown on the Move, a grant-funded program. Citing a lack of quality amenities as a reason, just 23 percent of people say they use city parks, according to Patrice Barrett, the city’s brownfield community outreach coordinator.

The Middletown on the Move initiative, to study the use of brownfield sites for public recreation, is paid by a $143,970 grant from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It was awarded last year through a CDC division focused on effects of hazardous substances in the environment.

…

For the entire article, see

http://www.middletownpress.com/article/MI/20160516/NEWS/160519708