Brownfields '97 - Partnering For A Greener Tomorrow Brownfields '97 -- Partnering For A Greener Tomorrow
rownheds
Partnering For A Greener Tomorrow
Track Two:
Community Involvement
PURPOSE OF THE TRACK
Community involvement is crucial to the long-term success of the brownfields
program. Discuss ways to turn community visions into reality by attracting the
private sector, marshaling public resources, and involving stakeholders at the local
level. See how concerns about environmental justice, job opportunities, and public
health can be integrated into land use planning. Listen to brownfields veterans
from all levels of business, government, and community organizations explain how
to build model public-private partnerships that work.
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Brownfields'97 Partnering for a Greener Tomorrow Brownfields '97 Partnering for a Greener
(2A) Why Not? Alternative Uses for Brownfields Sites
Thursday, September 4,1997
8:00 a.m. -10:00 a.m.
Description: Think outside the box! Take advantage of this opportunity to leam about exciting and unexpected
options for the redevelopment of brownfields sites.
Location: Room 1205
Speakers and Affiliation:
Mr. Neil Seldman (Moderator)
Ms. Joyce Perkins
Mr. Richard Thai
Institute for Local Self-Reliance
Los Angeles Neighborhood Initiative
Jamaica Plain Neighborhood Development Corporation
MR. NEIL SELDMAN
[Biography was not available at time of printing. Please refer to conference addendum.]
Ms. JOYCE PERKINS
Joyce Perkins has served as executive director of Los Angeles Neighborhood Initiative (LANI) since its formation in
1994. LANI is a private nonprofit organization engaged in the economic revitalization of neighborhoods with
"community-driven" transportation and pedestrian improvements. LANI has been nationally recognized for its
"community participation" model, and currently operates in twelve (12) culturally and economically diverse Los
Angeles neighborhoods.
Knowledgeable in land use, urban planning and public policy, with a long history of community volunteerism, Ms.
Perkins currently serves on several land use and transportation boards, and is a former commissioner on the City of
Los Angeles Board of Zoning Appeals. She has conducted community land use planning workshops, participated in
many land use forums, and has proven successful acting as a liaison between the community and governmental
entities.
Ms. Perkins is co-author of the "Red Flag Report" (August 1992) which inspired revisions during development of the
Joint Land Use-Transportation Policy of the City and County of Los Angeles and her article "Los Angeles
Neighborhood Initiative: A Citizen Process for Creating Livable Communities" (September 1996) was published in
the 1996 Annual Proceedings of the American Society of Landscape Architects.
A realtor and former small business owner, Ms. Perkins earned a liberal arts degree in social welfare with emphasis
in community organization from San Francisco State University, and is the recipient of several community awards.
MR. RICHARD THAL
[Biography was not available at time of printing. Please refer to conference addendum.]
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Brownfields '97 Partnering for a Greener Tomorrow Brownfields '97 Partnering for a Greener Tomorrow
DOCUMENTS THAT SUPPORT
PANEL 2A: WHY NOT? ALTERNATIVE USES FOR BROWNFIELDS SITES
Brownfields '97 Partnering for a Greener Tomorrow Brownfields '97 Partnering for a Greener Tomorrow
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LANI
Los Angeles Neighborhood Initiative
A Community-Driven Neighborhood Revitalization Program
LANI jump starts economic revitalization and improves transit access in transit dependant urban neighbor-
hoods by providing:
Seed funding for community-planned improvement projects,
Hands-on training in project planning and development, and
Technical assistance in the development and support of sustainable community organizations.
Background
In Los Angeles neighborhoods and nation-wide, walkable main streets which once served as centers of community life
have been degraded by crime, auto congestion and physical and economic deterioration. Without vital businesses and
public spaces, and safe streets which invite pedestrian activity, many communities have lost their identity and sense of
place.
Many developments intended to address these problems lack neighborhood scale and connection to public transit, and
well-meaning programs often fail to involve community members in the decision-making process. As a result, as Los
Angeles learned from the 1992 civil unrest, residents often feel disconnected from efforts to improve their own
neighborhoods - and in many cases they are.
History
The Los Angeles Neighborhood Initiative was founded in 1994 to bring back a sense of identity and ownership to
main streets and transportation corridors
throughout the City. Sponsored by Mayor
Richard Riordan and funded largely by the
Federal Transit Administration Livable
Communities Initiative, LANI began as a
three (3) year demonstration project in eight
(8) ethnically and geographically diverse
transit dependent communities.
LANI has since been federally recognized as
a national model for community-driven
revitalization, and has become a permanent
non-profit, public-benefit corporation.
Having secured over $6 million dollars for
improvement projects since 1994, LANI
recently expanded to serve twelve
project areas throughout Los Angeles.
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Community Participation: Recognized Community Organizations (RCOs)
Community participation is the foundation of the LANI process. Based on the understanding that communi-
ties know what they need, LANI has established an innovative process for involving community members in
neighborhood revitalization. Each LANI project area creates and is guided by a Recognized Community
Organization (RCO) composed of local residents, business and property owners, and representatives from com-
munity organizations.
As constituent representatives, RCOs are responsible for conducting outreach to their communities. More than
an advisory board, they participate in every aspect of project planning and implementation, from developing
projects to hiring designers and contractors . With their strong ties to the community and detailed knowledge
of its strengths and needs, committed RCO members are uniquely qualified to lead their neighborhood's revi-
talization - and more importantly, to sustain it.
The LANI Process
1. Community Work Plans: Working with consultants and design professionals, each RCO develops a Work Plan, which
includes a description and assessment of their area and identifies short-term goals for quick, visable improvements, and
achievable long-term goals.
2. Physical Improvements: LANI implements quick, highly visible, "neighborhood-scale" improvements which can give
an immediate economic boost to local businesses, attract further public and private sector investment, and create safe,
attractive pedestrian and transit environments.
3. Sustaining revitalization: Recognizing that true sustainability requires local, grass-roots commitment, the RCOs take
responsibility for maintaining LANI improvements and continuing revitalization efforts through Community-based
organizations. LANI provides RCOs with the training and technical assistance necessary to develop these organizations
or ally with existing ones, such as Community Development Corporations and Business Improvement Districts.
Cooperative Partnerships
Collaborating with elected and government official at the City, County and federal level, LANI has leveraged seed money
to attract additional public funds, and has played the leading role in the City's development reform process. In the pri-
vate sector, LANI has attracted substantial in-kind contributions and technical assistance from local corporations such
as RTKL International, Gannett Transit and O'Melveny &c Myers.
A partner on many projects, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) provides LANI with technical assistance,
office space, and other forms of support, including the production of this document.
Los Angeles Neighborhood Initiative
818 West Seventh Street Los Angeles
Mailing Address: LANI c/o MTA One Gateway Plaza Los Angeles, California 90012-2932
(213)922-9150 fax: (213)922-9152
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Brownfields'97 Partnering for a Greener Tomorrow Brownfields '97 Partnering for a Greener
(2B) Healthy Alternatives for Land Use Planning
Thursday, September 4,1997
10:30 a.m. -12:30 p.m.
Description: The consideration of the importance of health risks and community concerns in land use planning
decisions cannot be underestimated. Panelists will provide insight into how communities have integrated these
important factors into their land use plans
Location: Room 1204A-B
Speakers and Affiliation:
Dr. Gerald Poje (Moderator)
Dr. David Carpenter
Ms. Vemice Miller
Dr. Bailus Walker
National Institute for Environmental Health Sciences
State University of New York at Albany
Natural Resources Defense Council
Howard University Cancer Center
DR. GERALD POJE
Dr. Gerald Poje is the director of the Office of International Programs and Public Health located in the Office of the
Director for the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS). He works on disease prevention,
public health and environmental justice issues. He helped organize and facilitate the national symposium on "Health
Research and Needs to Ensure Environmental Justice," sponsored by environmental justice leaders and six federal
agencies. In addition, he actively participates on several federal interagency working groups on environmental
justice and brownfields, and he serves on the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) committee which
has drafted its environmental justice strategy and implementation plan. He also is working with other HHS agencies
to draft the Department's brownfields and public health strategy.
Dr. Poje is a scientist, educator and environmental health advocate. He received his doctorate degree from New
York University, and serves on the faculty at Miami University of Ohio. Prior to joining NIEHS, he was the
environmental lexicologist for the National Wildlife Federation and vice president of Research for Green Seal.
In both a professional and volunteer capacity, Dr. Poje has bridged the gap between academic science and
community health by serving as an adviser to community-based organizations seeking resolutions of environmental
health problems. Among his many efforts to link sound science with public policy, Dr. Poje has written a citizens'
guide to groundwater protection, co-authored a guidebook to emergency planning and co-produced an award-
winning television program on cleaning up hazardous waste.
Dr. Poje has testified on numerous occasions before Congress on pollution prevention, clean air legislation,
chemical accident prevention and protection of groundwater resources. He is an adjunct associate professor in the
Department of Health Care Sciences at George Washington University. He serves as an advisor to the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on pollution prevention and toxic data reporting, and to the American
Institute of Chemical Engineers' Center for Chemical Process Safety. Dr. Poje has also co-authored several national
analyses of the Toxics Release Inventory Data. In addition, he has lectured on the Right-To-Know and the Right-To-
Act before citizen groups, labor activists, industries and various levels of government in North America and Europe.
DR. DAVID CARPENTER
Dr. Carpenter is dean of the School of Public Health at the State University of New York at Albany. He also is a
research physician who has been involved for many years in the study of human health effects from environmental
contaminants. His personal research has focused primarily on the effects of metals and persistent organics. He has
been active in working with minority communities on a variety of issues related to environmental problems, education
and social conditions. He is the director of a large multidisciplinary Superfund Basic Research Program project,
which has provided particular experience on remediation issues, effects of contaminants on everything from ecology
to culture and experience in working with communities on these complex issues.
Ms. VERNICE MILLER
[Biography was not available at time of printing. Please refer to conference addendum.]
Brownfields '97 Partnering for a Greener Tomorrow Brownfields '97 Partnering for a Greener Tomorrow
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Brownfields '97 Partnering for a Greener Tomorrow Brownfields '97 Partnering for a Greener
DR. BAUUS WALKER, JR.
Dr. Bailus Walker, Jr., is professor of environmental and occupational medicine, associate director, Howard
University Cancer Center, Howard University Medical Center, and American Public Health Association's
Congressional Fellow (1994) in the Office of Congressman Louis Stokes. From 1990-1994, he was dean of public
health faculty and co-director of the Center for Health Policy, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center,
Oklahoma City. Dr. Walker has served as commissioner of public health for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts
and chairman of the Massachusetts Public Health Council (1983-1987). In 1981-1983 he was state director of public
health for Michigan. In 1979-1981 he was director of the Occupational Health Standards, Occupational Safety and
Health Administration (OSHA), U.S. Department of Labor. Dr. Walker is past president for the American Public
Health Association, and is distinguished Fellow of the Royal Society of Health (London, England). He was elected to
membership in the Institute of Medicine (IOM), National Academy of Sciences (NAS) in 1989. Dr. Walker has served
on numerous IOM - NAS commissions including the Commission to Study the Future of Public Health in the United
States. Dr. Walker is a graduate of the University of Michigan and holds a doctorate degree in environmental and
occupational medicine from the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis.
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Brownfields '97 Partnering for a Greener Tomorrow Brownfields '97 Partnering for a Greener
(2C) The Big Picture: Successful Community Approaches to Problem-Solving
Thursday, September 4,1997
8:00 a.m. -10:00 a.m.
Description: Come take a look at effective community participation projects. Learn how diverse stakeholders
deal with tough issues and reach consensus. Members of an expert panel will share their own success stories
and discuss hurdles they experienced along the way.
Location: Room2210C
Speakers and Affiliation:
Ms. Martha Matsuoka (Moderator)
Dr. Robert D. Bullard
Mr. Allen Edson
Ms. Sherry Nikzat
Urban Habitat Program of Earth Island Institute
Clark Atlanta University
African-American Development Association
City of East Palo Alto, California
Ms. MARTHA MATSUOKA
[Biography was not available at time of printing. Please refer to conference addendum.]
DR. ROBERT D. BULLARD
Robert D. Bullard is Ware Professor of sociology and director of the Environmental Justice Resource Center at Clark
Atlanta University. Before joining the faculty at Clark Atlanta in 1994 he was a professor of sociology at the
University of California, Riverside. His most recent books include Dumping in Dixie: Race, Class and Environmental
Quality (1990,1994), In Search of the New South: The Black Urban Experience in the 1970s and 1980s (1991),
Confronting Environmental Racism: Voices from the Grassroots (1993), Unequal Protection: EnvironmentalJustice
and Communities of Color (1994), and Residential Apartheid: The American Legacy (1994). His new book coedited
with Glenn S. Johnson is entitled Just Transportation: Dismantling Race and Class Barriers to Mobility (1997).
MR. ALLEN EPSON ,
[Biography was not available at time of printing. Please refer to conference addendum.]
Ms. SHERRY NIKZAT
Sherry Nikzat has been with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for the past seven years. Ms. Nikzat
was the first EPA brownfields coordinator for the Region 9 office and is currently on loan to the City of East Palo Alto
as part of the EPA Brownfields Initiative. Her position in East Palo Alto, where she serves as the Environmental and
Economic Development Coordinator, is collaboratively funded by EPA and the U.S. Department of Housing and
Urban Development. Prior to working for EPA, Ms. Nikzat spent five years with the U.S. Department of Labor,
working in unemployment insurance and job training programs.
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Brovvnfields '97 Partnering for a Greener Tomorrow Brownfields '97 Partnering for a Greener Tomorrow
DOCUMENTS THAT SUPPORT
PANEL 2C: THE BIG PICTURE: SUCCESSFUL COMMUNITY APPROACHES TO
PROBLEM-SOLVING
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SUBURBS ARE MAKING Us SICK:
HEALTH IMPLICATIONS OF SUBURBAN SPRAWL AND
INNER CITY ABANDONMENT ON
COMMUNITIES OF COLOR.*
Prepared by
Carl Anthony
Director, Urban Habitat Program
President, Earth Island Institute
for
Brownfields '97 Conference
Community Involvement Track
The Big Picture: Successful Community Approaches to Problem Solving
September 3-5,1997
Kansas City, Missouri
© Copyright Carl Anthony 1996. For more information about the Urban Habitat
Program or for copies of this report contact the Urban Habitat Program at (415) 561-
3334 or write to: P.O Box 29908, Presidio Station, San Francisco, CA 94129-9908.
1>This paper was originally presented at the Environmental Justice Resource Center's Conference
on Health and Sustainable Communities. Clark Atlanta University. April 1997.
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Page 2
SUBURBS ARE MAKING US SICK:
Health Implications of Suburban Sprawl and Inner City Abandonment on
Communities of Color
by Carl Anthony
Respiratory damage/ loss of lung function, increased susceptibility to
infection, low birth weight and lung cancer are all associated with ozone and
carbon monoxide from automobile emissions. One half of the people in Los
Angles County are particularly at risk from ozone and carbon monoxide
exposure.2
Childhood lead poisoning, causing brain damage and even death, is more
common in inner city, low income communities. In the 1970's, African-
American children in inner city neighborhoods had blood lead concentrations
more than 15% higher than a potentially fatal dose. Although lead exposure
has been reduced by eliminating lead additives in gasoline, lead paint
poisoning is still most frequent in low-income, older homes with deteriorated
paint.3
6.7% additional homicides and 5.6% additional heart attacks have been
attributed to each percentage point rise in the national unemployment index.4
Hunger is a common experience for two million Californian children and
three million adults with incomes at or below poverty level. Nutritional
deficiencies, even of short duration, can cause lifetime impairment. In two
inner city neighborhoods of San Francisco lacking convenient access to
supermarkets, residents purchase food at corner or convenience stores where
prices are 42% to 64% above supermarket prices.5
These statistics reflect separate and distinct health risks faced by inner city low
income residents. Yet these concerns all spring from one cause: the pattern of
suburban development and consequent inner city abandonment that plagues our
cities. As environmental justice advocates and inner city activists, it is important
that we address the daily biological and social risks that are the outcomes of this
2Mann, Eric & the Watchdog Organizing Committee, LA's Lethal Air, New Strategies for Policy,
Organizing and Action, Labor Community Strategy Center, 1991.
3Schwartz, Joel and Levin,Ronnie Lead, Example of the Job Ahead, EPA Journal, Mar/April 1992
4Merva,Mary & Fowles, Richard Effect of Diminished Economic Opportunities on Social Stress: Heart
Attacks, Strokes, and Crime, Economic Policy Institute
5 California Food Policy Advocates, Improving Access to Food in Low-Income Communities: An
Investigation of There Bay Area Neighborhoods, Prepared for the Evelyn & Walter Haas Jr. Fund,
19%
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Page 3
development pattern, and is also imperative that we understand and ultimately
speak to the root cause.
For the past 50 years, suburban sprawl has been the predominant growth pattern
for virtually all metropolitan areas in the U.S. As development resources have
flowed to new construction on the suburban fringe, it has literally sucked
population, jobs, investment capital and tax base from the urban core. The built
environment of our center cities is slowly being abandoned, and with it the
enormous resources of our urban communities.6 The health and well-being of
inner city residents, which are to a large extent communities of color, are deeply
at risk from this wholesale abandonment.
At the same time, a related social disorganization has taken place in the rural
hinterland. Corporate agriculture has forced small farms into extinction,
transforming rural towns from viable commercial centers into agrarian
plantations where poorly paid workers toil among dangerous concentrations of
pesticides, locally unwanted land uses, or in factories and feed lots for the
production of food.
A constellation of economic, social and political forces drives these events,
which have not only destroyed communities, but have concentrated wealth and
resources in the hands of the few. In response to booming suburban
development, inner city residents have developed a range of community based
support systems for localized housing, health, transportation and educational
relief, yet the larger forces of suburban development continue to erode the
viability of inner city communities. This paper is a call to arms for urban
environmental justice activists to document and give testimony on the enormous
public health and other effects of inner city abandonment, and to organize, build,
and lead coalitions with suburban neighbors to slow the tide that ebbs along our
urban shores. During the last decade, a broad social movement has emerged,
linking environmental and social justice issues. It is now time to put these
resources to the task of devising a strategy to address the environmental,
economic, and equity issues of suburban sprawl.
II. HEALTH, SAFETY AND THE URBAN HABITAT
A viable urban habitat supports the health and biological well-being of the
community and individuals who belong to it. As Kevin Lynch has pointed out
in his pioneering work, A Theory of Good Urban Form, many aspects of individual
6Anthony, Carl "Energy Policy and Inner City Abandonment," Race, Poverty & the Environment
Newsletter, Volume n, Number 2, Summer 1991
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and community health depend on social structure rather than environment.7 But
there are aspects of health and well-being that: a) are clearly defined; b) depend
on spatial organization of our communities; and c) are rooted in universal
characteristics of human biology. Three performance dimensions of the urban
environment that are conducive to health, good biological function, and survival
are: a) sustenanceadequate supply of food, energy, water, air, safe disposal of
wastes; b) safetywhere hazards, poisons or diseases are absent, and fear of
encountering them is low; and c) consonancethe spatial environment is
consistent with the basic biological structure of the human being, for example,
maintenance of internal temperature, and support for natural rhythms such as
sleeping, waking, alertness and inattention.
The pattern of urban development known as sprawl imposes enormous
economic and social costs on inner city residents.8,9 The wasteful dispersion of
investment toward new development at the suburban fringe, and corresponding
disinvestment in the maintenance and enhancement of existing communities
where substantial financial commitments already exist, imposes excessive
burdens on our most vulnerable populations. The social and economic costs
include racial stratification, economic homogeneity, isolation of populations from
one another by class, age and gender.
In the absence of a national urban policy, critical land-use decisions affecting the
future of the entire metropolitan region is left to autonomous suburban
municipal governments. Rarely do the private land owners and racially
segregated suburban municipalities, working in cooperation with banks and
public agencies, understand the degree to which they share a stake in the
abandoned inner city communities within their region.10
This is despite the fact that the enormous environmental costs of sprawl:
pollution of air, waste of land, energy, water, biological resources, and traffic
congestion have been well documented. Intensive public and private investment
in massive districts of single-family housing on relatively large lots, job centers
inaccessible by public transit, commercial strip development and shopping malls,
all force private automobile dependence. Locally unwanted land uses, such as
industrial or residential waste processing facilities that serve the entire region,
become concentrated in abandoned urban or isolated rural communities that do
not benefit from suburb and development.
7 Lynch,Kevin A Theory of Good City Form, MIT Press, Cambridge MA, 1981, pp. 121-130.
8Beyond Sprawl: New Patterns of Growth to Fit California, Bank of America, California Resources
Agency, Greenbelt Alliance, The Low Income Housing Fund.
Diamond, Henry and Noonan, Patrick Land Use In America, Report of the Sustainable Land Use
Project, Island Press, Washington D.C., 1996
10Reich, Robert The Work of Nations, Vintage Books, 1991 pp 282-300 "The Politics of Secession,"
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Communities of color continue to be concentrated in America's inner cities, and
isolated in rural areas.11 Although suburban development, inner city
abandonment, and rural restructuring are connected, their relationships are not
always obvious to the residents of these communities. For example, suburban
development decisions are made far away from the inner city, frequently with
very long time frames. Consequently, the issues of suburban sprawl lack a sense
of spatial and temporal immediacy for inner city residents where economic,
social, and health challenges are closer at hand. The social stratification built into
publicly supported suburban development helps to perpetuate inner city racial,
economic, and political isolation. Suburban land use and zoning patterns also
contribute to the concentration of locally unwanted uses in inner city areas.
III. IMPACTS OF SUBURBAN SPRAWL AND INNER CITY
ABANDONMENT
The building of new suburban communities farther and farther out of the urban
fringe while disinvesting in the urban core undermines the health and biological
well functioning of inner city residents in several ways.
1. Toxic exposures from the over-concentration of regional serving
locally unwanted land uses in the inner city. The health consequences of living
and working in proximity to toxic waste facilities is well known in the
environmental justice community. Toxic exposure has been linked to breast and
other cancers, respiratory illness, and birth defects. Abandoned urban
manufacturing sites are often located within or near the borders of cities, where
residents live in close proximity to derelict buildings and contaminated lots.
The extent of these "Brownfields" is not yet known, but the U.S. General
Accounting Office estimates the number of contaminated urban sites to be
between 130,000 and 425,000. In Boston, the one and a half square mile Dudley
Street neighborhood alone contains 54 hazardous waste sites. The Bayview-
Hunters Point neighborhood of San Francisco has numerous abandoned
industrial facilities, two Superfund cleanup sites, a closed military facility and
two power plants.
Not surprisingly, San Francisco Department of Public Health studies have found
that the incidence of breast and cervical cancer in Bay view-Hunters Point, a
predominantly African-American community with a high concentration of
11 Rusk, David Cities without Suburbs, Woodrow Wilson Center Press, 1993, and M. Gottdiener,
The Social Production of Urban Space, University of Texas Press pp. 229-256.
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industry and public utilities, to be double those of other parts of the city.12
Residents there also suffer elevated levels of respiratory disease, including
asthma and bronchitis.
2. Respiratory ailments and toxic poisoning related to the use of streets,
roads, and highways through inner city neighborhoods serving suburban
communities.13 The link between suburban sprawl, motor vehicle emissions
and respiratory problems is direct and unmistakable. Vehicle emissions are
responsible for 60% of air pollution. With sprawl development, vehicle miles
traveled in the U.S. have doubled every 20 years. Residents of 100 U.S. cities
regularly breath air that does not meet 1970's era federal health standards.
Recently the Environmental Protection Agency announced plans to raise those
standards, and double the number of areas where air quality is found to be
unhealthy.
Water quality has also been degraded by increased automobile use. Asphalt
road runoff is the largest pollutant in the waters of the San Francisco Bay; other
water sources near large cities are similarly affected. Many inner city residents
fish regularly for food and are exposed to these waterborne toxins. San Francisco
Bay fish have been found to contain toxins at levels that are dangerous for
children and pregnant women.
3. Accidents and hazardous exposures resulting from the skewing of public
safety and infrastructure investments to serve new suburban residents are at
the expense of the inner city poor. Suburban sprawl has placed many inner city
communities at the locus of roadway networks that serve the entire region.
Autos and heavy trucks barrel through, or worse, idle in congested traffic within
sight, hearing and breathing distance of inner city residents who bear the
consequences of a transport system built not for their needs, but those of an
entire region. Local city streets also carry a great deal more traffic. Seattle
estimates that commuter's cars double their auto population each workday.14
The autos also bring additional traffic accidents, increasing the risk to public
safety.
As city streets are remade to accommodate higher traffic volumes, the human
form of the city disappears or is abandoned altogether. By widening streets,
trimming sidewalks, timing traffic signals for cars instead of pedestrians, the
12 San Francisco Department of Pubic Health, Bureau of Epidemiology, "Comparison of Incidence
of Cancer in Selected Sites Between Bayview/Hunters Point and San Francisco and the Bay Area"
1995.
13 See Race, Poverty & the Environment, Special Issue on Transportation and Social Justice, Henry
Holmes, Guest Editor, Vol. VI, No. 1, Fall 1995.
14"Urban Autos on Welfare, "in The Gridlock Gazetteer, July/August 1993. Institute for
Transportation and the Environment, Seattle.
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human scale of the city is lost. Inner city residents inhabit a world of unhealthy
dissonance scurrying across multi-lane streets, dwarfed by oversized parking
lots and plagued by traffic noise. The result is a daily and incessant burden that
has not been acknowledged.
These accommodations to rising traffic have been paid for at the expense of other
urban improvements. Not only were city parking garages, and street widenings
paid for from local funds, but the garages, streets, and freeway rights-of-way all
represent land removed from the urban tax base. Studies in New York City
suggest that suburban automobile drivers cost the city as much as $800 each per
year, in lost revenue, due to roadway maintenance, parking, traffic, police, and
ambulance services.15 A Seattle study totals city expenses on motor vehicles at
$120 million per year, one half of which is a direct subsidy from municipal sales
tax and property tax revenue.16
As suburban development increases, urban infrastructure and maintenance
projects compete for funding with new suburban systems. Public funds for
roads, water and sewer projects are spread thin. In the West, where center cities
and the suburban fringe may be in one jurisdiction and where service costs are
averaged, taxpayers in the center city subsidize those on the fringe. One such
city estimated that new residential development on the urban fringe costs local
government as much as $10,000 more per unit to service than those in the urban
core.17
Government funds for the new roads required by suburban sprawl will total
more than $8 billion each year. These funds will be diverted from public transit,
pedestrian or other road rehabilitation projects which would undoubtedly better
serve inner city residents.
Infrastructure improvements to protect residents from natural disaster or
industrial accidents are also deferred by the enormous costs of suburban
development. North Richmond in the San Francisco Bay Area is a good example.
Before World War II, North Richmond was basically a flood plain, with a
Chevron plant located nearby. During the Second World War, when there was a
national mobilization to fight in the Pacific, a large number of migrants from the
South came to the Bay Area to work in the war industries. Due to racial
15Komanoff, Charles Pollution Taxes for Roadway Transportation,,Peice Environmental Law Review,
1994
l6Urban Autos on Welfare, in The Gridlock Gazetteer, July/August 1993. Institute for
Transportation and the Environment
l7The Technological Reshaping of Metropolitan America, Office of Technology Assessment, U.S.
Congress, 1995 p208
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discrimination, the people who moved to this area to help build the ships and
fight in the war were not allowed to live in the existing residential
neighborhoods of Richmond and Contra Costa County. The African-American
community was forced to live on the flood plain, with water rising in their
basements. Today this community is at flood risk in wet years and the Chevron
plant with its toxic emissions is still a neighbor.
Earthquakes, another natural disaster familiar to California, overwhelming kill
poor people. In our state, roadway retrofitting for seismic safety continues at
great expense. What has not been paid for is urban residential retrofit.
4. Health risks for communities of color have increased due to investments
in new housing on the suburban fringe and the failure to maintain and
upgrade existing housing stock to meet current standards of habitability.
Shelter is a basic human necessity. Inadequate housing and homelessness are
health as well as social issues. There is no doubt that suburban development has
removed resources for housing rehabilitation and development from central
cities. This relationship is clearly understood for private real estate investment,
but the extent of federal support for suburban development is less known.
The New Deal federal home loan programs of the 1930's first enabled suburban
sprawl through preferences for new residential construction. Those programs
were soon joined by federal and private bank loan portfolios (like the Veteran's
Loan Program) that redlined "high risk" urban neighborhoods, further
segregating these communities by race and class. Redlining continued until the
1960's when the Federal Housing Administration discontinued racial distinctions
in mortgage criteria, but low market values remained to dissuade private capital.
Federal public housing policy built large housing blocks in low income urban
neighborhoods, again increasing race and class segregation. The practice of
routing new interstate highways through low- income neighborhoods removed
entire city blocks of urban housing. The new highways were difficult to traverse
and ultimately served as walls separating the remaining communities from
urban centers.
The federal income tax code, through tax credits for mortgage interest, capital
gains and property tax payments all provide subsidies for upper- and middle-
income home owners. It was projected that these subsidies in 1995 would reach
$83.2 billion, while subsidies to low-income renters in the form of public housing
and rental assistance totaled $24.9 billion in 1995.18 High income property
owners receive greater subsidy. In 1993, households with annual incomes over
$100,000 received 38.9% of the homeowner tax subsidies, even though they
18Home Inequity, by Viki Kemper, Common Cause Magazine, Summer 1994
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represent 5% of the population. The great majority of these homeowner
subsidies go to the suburbs, where both home ownership and prices are higher.
The inequalities of these subsidies have direct biological results. Lead poisoning,
causing low attention span, learning disabilities, limited vocabulary and
behavior problems is a pressing health issue for low-income, urban communities.
One half of the children suffering from lead paint poisoning are African-
American.19 Lead paint is found in homes built before 1980, but the worst
exposures are found in structures built before 1940, and where old paint is
deteriorating. This exposure is a direct result of the failure of private and public
resources for urban housing rehabilitation and construction.
The health consequences of homelessness are tragically apparent. In the last 17
years, homelessness has risen across the nation. It is now common for people to
sleep in doorways, under freeways, in parks and open space. In 1980, federal aid
to cities provided 18% of city budgets. It now provides 6.4%. These cuts,
combined with years of recession, have left cities unable to provide homeless
services, let alone transit, social services, or job training programs that would
assist urban residents to secure adequate housing.
5. Emotional stressors and other health disorders related to the flight of
inner city jobs to the suburban fringe. Health disorders as well as crime rates
have been directly connected to increases in unemployment. The two point
increase in the nation's unemployment rate between 1990 and 1992 is estimated
to have precipitated 35,307 additional deaths from heart disease, 2,771 additional
deaths from stroke, 1,459 additional homicides, and 62,607 additional violent
crimes.20 Another study found a correlation between poverty and domestic
homicide; the six fold difference in black and white rates of domestic homicide
disappeared when household crowding ~ meaning more than one person living
in a room was factored in as an indication of socioeconomic status.21
The suburbanization of employment and lack of access to jobs by inner city
residents is de-politicized by the term "the job mismatch" by economists. Many
edge cities on the urban fringe now contain more office and retail space than
their metropolitan downtowns.22 Yet, these locations are not well served by
public transit and inner city residents rarely have the resources to get to them.
Unemployment in ghetto neighborhoods of the nation's 100 largest cities is now
19Hamilton,Cynthia Environmental Consequences of Urban Growth and Blight, in Toxic
Struggles, Edited by R. Hofrichter, New Society Publishers, 1993
20 Merva, Mary & Fowles,Richard Effect of Diminished Economic Opportunities on Social Stress:
Heart Attacks, Strokes, and Crime, Economic Policy Institute
21New York Times, 6/15/95
22 Wilson, William Julius When Work Disappears,Alfred A Knopf, 1996 p.37
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up to 60%.^ Communities of widespread and persistent unemployment
experience a consequent litany of social disorganization, from family problems
too high rates of crime, gang violence, and drug trafficking.
As suburban planners and developers set their sights outward for new office and
retail space, municipal tax revenues have declined, leaving cities less able to
provide services for unemployed or low income residents. This budget loss,
when combined with cuts in federal aid to cities, has eroded a host of municipal
programs for urban mass transit, public service jobs and job training,
compensatory education, social service block grants, local public works,
economic development assistance and urban development action grants.
The suburbanization of jobs is one outcome of the global economic restructuring
that has removed manufacturing jobs from older cities and forced workers to
compete globally for shrinking wages in combination with difficult work
conditions. While cities remain locations for financial centers, international
capital no longer needs cities as employment or manufacturing centers.
Decentralization and suburban sprawl are the new forms that have emerged
from the global restructuring. Both forms are particularly efficient for
controlling workers.24
6. Health care made inaccessible by location of health facilities away from
public transit. Downtown Oakland narrowly lost a major hospital facility when
Kaiser Hospital proposed moving to a site adjacent to a major freeway in nearby
Emeryville.25 The original plan was to site the facility in a location served by Bay
Area Rapid Transit, and a number of bus lines linking the proposed facility to
inner-city flatlands neighborhoods of working class and poor people.
Several smaller hospitals have closed in recent years in San Francisco and
Oakland. Health care workers fear the inner cities of the Bay Area will soon
have no more than three hospitals. Because suburban sprawl is the dominant
metropolitan planning paradigm, planners of new and consolidated health
facilities often assume mat staff and patients will arrive by automobile, and think
of access by public transportation as secondary, if at all. These decisions
combined with the consolidation of health care facilities create barriers for poor
people seeking access to health care particularly to out patient facilities.
7. Inner city hunger resulting from inadequate access to food because food
markets locate in more affluent urban and suburban neighborhoods. "The
^Wilson, William Julius When Work Disappears,, Alfred A Knopf, 1996 p. 69
24Environmental Consequences of Urban Growth and Blight, Cynthia Hamilton, in Toxic
Struggles, Edited by R. Hofrichter, New Society Publishers, 1993
^Oakland Tribune, Jan. 28,1996
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vast majority of Californians with income at or below the poverty line experience
actual hunger caused by lack of resources to obtain food approximately five
million people, including two million children and over a quarter million
seniors."26 "Hunger is capable of producing progressive handicaps
impairments which can persist throughout life. The severe impact of hunger
upon a child's opportunity to learn is well documented ...even nutritional
deficiencies of a relatively short term nature influence children's behavior and
ability to concentrate."27
Access to good quality food in inner city neighborhoods has become
problematic. As supermarket chains have followed the suburban exodus,
residents are forced to shop at corner markets and convenience stores. Many of
these outlets operate primarily as liquor stores, and carry mainly pre-packaged
processed snack foods, over-aged milk and fruit at extremely high prices. In two
San Francisco, neighborhoods without nearby supermarkets and with significant
levels of poverty, residents pay 42% more for the same food items at corner
stores in the Tenderloin district, and 64% more in Bay View Hunters Point.28
In the 1980's, the city of Oakland secured a $2.6 million bond, and later loaned
$780,000 to a supermarket operator in an effort to keep a supermarket open
within the city's Acorn Shopping Center. In 1994, the cities of Berkeley and San
Francisco failed in negotiations to keep two neighborhood Safeway stores from
closing.
As suburban development has reduced agricultural land on the urban fringe,
sources of food production for inner city residents have become increasingly
distant. California's Central Valley, the state's leading agricultural region, lost
nearly a half million acres of productive farmland between 1982 and 1987
alone.29 Air pollution from increased automobile use has a deep impact on farm
productivity. Sprawl induced ozone pollution alone can reduce crop yields by as
much as 30%. The Agricultural Issues Center at U.C. Davis estimates pollution
induced costs to agriculture exceed $200 million nationally each year. 30
California Senate Office of Research Report (SOR Report, April 7,1995)
^Statement on the Link Between Nutrition and Cognitive Development in Children, Center on Hunger,
Poverty and Nutrition Policy at Tufts University School of Nutrition. 1994
^Improving Access to Food in Low-Income Communities, January 1966, California Food Policy
Advocates.
29 Beyond Sprawl: New Growth Patterns of Growth to Fit California, Bank of America California
Resources Agency, Greenbelt Alliance, The Low Income Housing Fund.
^Beyond Sprawl.
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IV. ORGANIZING FOR ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE, AND
SUSTAINABILITY AT THE METROPOLITAN SCALE
For the past seven years, in order to address these health and other impacts of
suburban sprawl and inner city abandonment, the Urban Habitat Program led
by communities of color has been working toward a metropolitan organizing
strategy for environmental justice and sustainability in the San Francisco Bay
Area.31
During the early years, UHP sought to raise environmental issues in
communities of color, and carry ideas about social justice to the environmental
community. We placed a priority on identifying constituencies in the San
Francisco Bay Area communities of color concerned about the environment,
exploring environmental justice and sustainability issues salient to these
communities, developing common language about environment and
development and building the capacity of these constituencies to process
information and intervene in decisions affecting their communities.
In an early survey of 44 organizations in the San Francisco Bay Area working on
environmental justice, we found that over 20 focused on public health, including
concerns about air quality, toxic pollution in community gardens, pesticide
spraying in rural communities, lead poisoning in housing and playgrounds,
exhaust from nearby freeways, occupational health and safety, and pollution
from underground storage tanks. In addition, many more communities
registered concerns, developing proactive strategies to address traffic accidents,
health issues of homeless people, health stresses resulting from unemployment,
access to health care, and food security. For example, to improve access to food,
the San Francisco League of Urban Gardeners (SLUG) has worked in urban
neighborhoods to establish community gardens and farmers markets. The
Garden Project works with the county Sheriff's Department for a garden
program within the county jail. Community gardeners in the Bay Area now
harvest 1,500 tons of produce each week.
Residents of Bayview-Hunters Point in San Francisco are working on a long
range project to assess the level of toxics, establish priorities for cleanup, and find
alternative, non-polluting energy sources. Bayview-Hunters Point community
activists are leading a community-based effort to establish a sustainable energy
policy for the entire city.
As the Urban Habitat organization grew, building on direct engagement in
community struggles, it sought to support and compliment organizing efforts of
31See Sustainability and Justice, A Message to the President's Council on Sustainable Development, An
Urban Habitat Program Reader, Earth Island Institute, April 1995.
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Page 13
other grassroots groups and initiate its own model projects linking issues of
environment, justice and community-based development. UHP's objective was
to test its practical understanding of sustainable development. While we
participated in and supported protest activities, we sought to develop proactive
strategies for long-term community change. These projects initiated by Urban
Habitat in collaboration with others include, a light rail project in Bay view-
Hunter's Point, mobilizing communities in response to base closures in the San
Francisco Bay Area, and our Brownfield Working Group have been multi-
disciplinary in focus. Each of these projects has a public health dimension.
The Urban Habitat Program is currently in a new phase of development. The
organization has moved its offices to the Presidio, a former military base
converted to national park. We provide leadership development, capacity
building, community organizing and education, through documentation and
technical assistance to community-based organizations. Working with our
primary constituenciesorganizations based in San Francisco Bay Area
communities of color and a number of regional organizations, we have begun
to design the outlines of a new metropolitan vision, to address the issues of
suburban sprawl and inner city abandonment. This work draws heavily on an
emerging national debate about the future of our metropolitan regions.32
Our goal in this phase is to solidify our relationship with our primary
constituencies and jointly plan campaigns at the metropolitan regional scale-
linking inner city, blue-collar communities concerned about social and
environmental justice, and urban and suburban constituencies with traditional
environmental concerns. UHP is now preparing the groundwork for a legal and
political challenge to the developers of large residential, commercial and
industrial projects on the suburban fringe. The concept and plan of action are
intended to address the negative impact of suburban sprawl on inner city
communities, and the economic and political isolation of the inner city.
Strategies include documentation of the negative environmental, economic and
political impacts of suburban sprawl on San Francisco Bay Area inner cities,
education of our constituencies, formulation of legal, direct action, media and
other campaigns, selecting of targets, and mobilization of our communities and
allies. This is a multi-year effort, mirrored in several other metropolitan regions.
32 See Peter Calthorpe, Tlte Next American Metropolis, Ecology, Community and the American Dream,
Princeton Architectural Press, 1996. Jonathan Barnett, The Fractured Metropolis, David Rusk, Cities
Without Suburbs, Woodrow Wilson Center Press, 1993, Henry Richmond, "Linked Housing and
Transit Development for America's Cities and Suburbs," Sustainability and Justice, Urban Habitat
Reader, Earth Island Institute, 1995. Neal Pierce, Citistates, How America Can Prosper in a
Competitive World, Seven Locks Press, 1993, Anthony Downs, New Visions for Metropolitan
America, Blockings Institute, 1994. Myron Orfield, Baltimore Metropolitics, A Regional Agenda for
Community and Stability, Metropolitan Area Program, forthcoming
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VL CONCLUSION
Across the United States, metropolitan regions are emerging as a critical terrain
for new policy initiatives, social organization, and governance. Globalization is
simultaneously pushing power and decision making up to the international
level, and down, away from the national toward the local level.
Suburbanization, inner city abandonment and rural re-organization are
dimensions of this larger context which have enormous implications for the
health, safety and well-being of communities of color. There is a flourishing of
grassroots, neighborhood and workplace activity. But to be effective, we must
find ways to link local community-based projects at the metropolitan regional
scale.
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Brownfields '97 Partnering for a Greener Tomorrow Brownfields '97 Partnering for a Greener
(2D) A Seat at the Table: A Community Training Session
Wednesday, Septembers, 1997
3:45 p.m.-5:15 p.m.
Description: The legal, financial, and technical issues associated with brownfields can be overwhelming. This
session will provide introductory training for community members new to the brownfields arena. It is designed to
equip participants to be effective players in the redevelopment process.
Location: Room 221OC
Speakers and Affiliation:
Mr. Rome! Pascual (Moderator)
Ms. Arlandria Byrd
Ms. Kweli Kitwana
Mr. Lenny Siegel
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 9
Greater East St. Louis Community Fund
McAuley Institute
San Francisco State University
MR. ROMEL PASCUAL
[Biography was not available at time of printing. Please refer to conference addendum.]
Ms. ARLANDRIA BYRD
Ms. Byrd has worked with the East St. Louis community and residents in their efforts to revitalize neighborhoods by
assisting neighborhood associations with research on local East St. Louis environmental issues. Ms. Byrd has
worked with "grass roots" groups on brownfields issues. Much of Ms. Byrd's focus is on training of residents to
identify, evaluate and address the environmental hazards that are present throughout East St. Louis neighborhoods.
Ms. KWEU KITWANA
[Biography was not available at time of printing. Please refer to conference addendum.]
MR. LENNY SIEGEL
Lenny Siegel has been Director of CAREER/PRO (the California Economic Recovery and Environmental Restoration
Project), a project of San Francisco State University's San Francisco Urban Institute, since 1994. He is one of the
environmental movement's leading experts on military base contamination, and he has worked as a consultant to a
wide range of organizations.
He is or recently has been a member of several government advisory committees, including, the Defense Science
Board Task Force on Unexploded Ordnance, the Federal Facilities Environmental Restoration Dialogue Committee,
the Subcommittee on Waste and Facility Siting of the National Environmental Justice Advisory Committee, and
California Environmental Protection Agency (CalEPA) Site Mitigation Update Advisory Group.
Mr. Siegel edits the Citizens Report on the Military and the Environment, and his organization runs Internet forums
both on military environmental issues and brownfields issues.
Brownfields '97 Partnering for a Greener Tomorrow Brownfields '97 Partnering for a Greener Tomorrow
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Brownfields '97 Partnering for a Greener Tomorrow Brownfields '97 Partnering for a Greener
(2E) Help Wanted: Learning Increases Earning Power
Friday, Septembers, 1997
8:00 a.m. -10:00 a.m.
Description: Panelists will emphasize job opportunities in cleanup and redevelopment of brownfields. They will
discuss successful efforts to transform brownfields cleanup efforts into employment opportunities for local
residents and offer training tips for your brownfields community.
Location: Room 2201
Speakers and Affiliation:
Mr. Donald Elisburg (Moderator)
Ms. Sharon D. Beard
Mr. Steven D. Fenton
Mr. Gary Kaplan
Donald Elisburg Law Office
National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences
Hazardous Materials Training and Research Institute
Jobs for Youth
MR. DONALD ELISBURG
Mr. Elisburg has spent the last thirty-four years working on various aspects of labor law. Since 1981 he has been in
private practice in Washington, D.C. representing a number of organizations on environmental, occupational health,
worker environmental training, worker disability and labor standards issues, as well as legislative and regulatory
matters, and prior to that he held a wide variety of positions within the U.S. government. Mr. Elisburg served three
years as a member of the National Environmental Justice Advisory Council (NEJAC) Waste and Siting sub-
committee.
Ms. SHARON D. BEARD
Sharon D. Beard is currently an industrial hygienist in the Worker Education and Training Program of the Division of
Extramural Research and Training (DERT) at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National
Institute of Health (NIH) in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina. As an industrial hygienist, Ms. Beard is primarily
responsible for coordinating, promoting, evaluating, and improving the nationwide worker education and training
program especially in the area of the Minority Worker Training Program (MWTP) pilot initiative. She designs and
implements administrative guidance on the new pilot MWTP and develops and promotes environmental justice
programs for the institute. She was instrumental in coordinating the successful workshop on Environmental Job
Training for Urban Inner City Youth intended as an informational meeting to bring together organizations with interest
in environmental justice and community outreach for the MWTP. Ms. Beard holds a Master of Science in
environmental science and management from Tufts University, Medford, Massachusetts and a Bachelor of Science
in biology with a minor in business from Western Carolina University, North Carolina.
MR. STEVEN D. FENTON
Mr. Fenton is an associate director of the Hazardous Materials Training and Research Institute (HMTRI), an
environmental partnership between the Eastern Iowa Community College District (EICCD) and Kirkwood Community
College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. In this capacity, Mr. Fenton serves as the manager of a number of environmental
grants and contracts, and supervises curriculum development projects for the Institute. He is the department
coordinator for both the Environmental Compliance and Technology and Industrial Safety and Health programs for
the Eastern Iowa Community College District. Mr. Fenton is the editor of the ATEEC News, a quarterly review of
education and career opportunities in environmental science and technology funded by the National Science
Foundation, and is a member of the ATEEC Curriculum Council. He also represents the State of Iowa on the
Steering Committee of the North Central Partnership for Environmental Technology Education (NC PETE), and was
a past chairperson (1995) and vice-chairperson (1994) of NC PETE.
Mr. Fenton has eleven years of experience in education, job training, and grants administration and four years
experience as a safety and environmental compliance officer in private industry. He is a trained developing a
curriculum (DACUM) facilitator.
Brownfields '97 Partnering for a Greener Tomorrow Brownfields '97 Partnering for a Greener Tomorrow
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Brownfields'97 Partnering for a Greener Tomorrow Brownfields '97 Partnering for a Greener
He holds an Associate of Science in business administration from Belleville Area College, Belleville, Illinois; a
Bachelor of Science in business administration from Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville; and a Master of
Science in educational administration from Western Illinois University, Macomb, Illinois.
MR. GARY KAPLAN
Gary Kaplan has been involved with education and training for over thirty years. In his twelve years as executive
director of Jobs for Youth, he has developed a series of innovative employment programs leading to the Academy
for Career Excellence, a specialized skill-training model which has been selected by the Ford Foundation for national
replication. He holds a bachelor's degree from Northwestern University and a master's degree from the University of
Chicago.
Brownfields '97 Partnering for a Greener Tomorrow Brownfields '97 Partnering for a Greener Tomorrow
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Brownfields '97 Partnering for a Greener Tomorrow Brownfields '97 Partnering for a Greener Tomorrow
DOCUMENTS THAT SUPPORT
PANEL 2E: HELP WANTED: LEARNING INCREASES EARNING POWER
Brownfields '97 Partnering for a Greener Tomorrow Brownfields '97 Partnering for a Greener Tomorrow
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Brownfields '97
Track: 2E
"Help Wanted": Learning Increases Earning Power
Presenter:
Steven Fenton, Associate Director
Hazardous Materials Training and Research Institute (HMTRI)
500 Belmont Road
Bettendorf, Iowa 52722
Phone: (319)441-4082
FAX: (319)441-4080
E-mail: sfenton@eiccd.cc.ia.us
September 3-5,1997
Kansas City, Missouri
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Brownfields '97
September 3-5, 1997 - Kansas City, Missouri
Track: 2E - "Help Wanted": Learning Increases Earning Power
Presenter: Steven Fenton, Associate Director, Hazardous
Materials Training and Research Institute (HMTRI)
Introduction:
The Hazardous Materials Training and Research Institute (HMTRI) was
established in 1987 by two Iowa community colleges that have long been active in
environmental education. These two colleges are the Eastern Iowa Community College
District (EICCD) located in Davenport, Iowa, and Kirkwood Community College located
in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. In the last ten years, HMTRI, which is a not-for-profit consortia,
has grown into a national affiliation of community colleges, technical institutes, and
other training providers, the purpose of which is to promote worker protection and the
maintenance of a clean and safe environment through education and training.
In July 1994, the United States Environmental Protection Agency signed a
Cooperative Agreement with the Hazardous Materials Training and Research Institute
(HMTRI) to conduct a series of workshops for community colleges located near
Brownfields Pilots. These workshops were entitled, "How to Develop and Implement
Environmental Programs." In addition, HMTRI was asked to provide technical
assistance to these colleges as needed.
Workshop Content:
To date, and per our cooperative agreement with EPA, HMTRI has conducted
five national "How To Develop and Implement Environmental Programs" workshops.
These workshops have been held in Charleston, South Carolina; Baltimore, Maryland;
St. Louis, Missouri; Boston, Massachusetts; and San Francisco, California. These
workshops provide the following information:
Day 1
* An overview of the Brownfields Economic Redevelopment Initiative.
+ A Brownfields panel discussion from the perspective of city officials.
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A tour of the local Brownfields sites.
A Brownfields case study.
Day 2
Conducting a labor market assessment.
Developing credit and non-credit programming.
Welfare to work and life skills.
Recruitment and placement of students.
Environmental justice issues.
Overview of available resources.
In providing information on how to develop or enhance an environmental
program, HMTRI stresses that it is important for the colleges in or near a Brownfields
site to make every effort to try and recruit students who reside in these affected
communities. Consequently, we cover the importance of student recruitment and
placement, the need to incorporate basic skills and life skills into program development,
and environmental justice issues.
HMTRI also stresses the need to conduct a thorough labor market survey prior to
starting any environmental program. It serves no purpose to develop an environmental
program if there are no corresponding jobs in the labor market.
Technical Assistance Component:
After the workshop, HMTRI is available to provide assistance in a number of
ways. We have attended and provided information at community meetings on behalf of
the local community college or mayor's office. We have also attended meetings on
college campuses to help facilitate the development of environmental programs.
HMTRI has also provided colleges that attend these workshops with curriculum.
Results:
To date there are now 113 national and regional Brownfields pilots. Of this
number, 65 community colleges representing 57 Brownfields pilots have attended one
of the five national "How to Develop and Implement Environmental Programs"
workshops nationwide. The discrepancy in this number is explained by the fact that
some Brownfields pilots are working with more than one college. One pilot, the Oregon
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ill Sites, has seven separate sites and four colleges have attended representing that
pilot. Of the 65 community colleges that have attended these workshops:
* 41 community colleges (63%) have either developed new environmental
programs (short-term, non-credit, or full-credit programs) or they have enhanced
existing programs.
5 community colleges (8%) are investigating the feasibility of program startup.
19 community colleges (29%) do not have a program at this time, but are
investigating the feasibility of starting a program.
HMTRI is in the process of collecting data regarding how many courses (both
credit and non-credit) have been run, how many students have attended these courses,
how many students have obtained employment (and what kind of employment), and
what the average wage at placement is.
Short-term Job Development Opportunities:
It would appear that the initial job opportunities which may become available for
local citizens in the community trained by community colleges might be in the following
short-term, non-credit areas:
40 - Hour Asbestos Training as an Asbestos Abatement Worker
40 - Hour Lead Training as a Lead Abatement Worker
40 - Hour Hazardous Wastesite Worker (HAZWOPER)
The training programs listed above could be completed in a 40-hour training
program. However, these training programs may have to be combined with a basic
skills or life skills component to better prepare the individual for the workforce.
Long-term Job Opportunities:
There are a wide variety of additional job possibilities at Brownfields sites which
require at least a two-year Associate of Applied Science Degree. Some of these kinds
of jobs might include:
Environmental Field Technicians: These individuals would assist in
conducting Phase I and Phase II site assessments to determine the extent of
contamination and hazards present. Technicians working on Phase I audits do
visual inspections, historical research on past use of the site, and government
regulations and records applicable to the site. Technicians working on Phase II
audits do extensive on-site environmental testing for contamination. They
survey, drill, and collect samples of water, soil, waste, and air.
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Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Technicians: These individuals take
all the soil, water, and information concerning the terrain available to them and
do digitized mapping that visually displays the many databases of information
collected from sites. Upon a base map, they use software like ERMA to lay
layers upon layers of analysis related to erosion points, drainage, vegetation,
locations of hazardous waste, etc. They also use global positioning systems
(GPS) technology, based on national mapping systems, to verify accuracy of the
local mapping.
Remediation Technicians: These individuals are able to inspect, plan for, and
safely remove asbestos, lead paint, and other hazardous and non-hazardous
wastes from contaminated sites.
Water and Wastewater Technicians: These individuals work with cities to
ensure wastes are properly treated and that water supplies are protected. They
work within the industry to pretreat waste before it enters public streams and
sewers.
Air Monitoring Technicians: These individuals check emissions from stacks to
ensure that pollutants from industrial processes fall within regulatory limits. They
issue permits and assure that air quality meets standards.
Environmental Technicians: These individuals work within regulatory agencies
to ensure compliance, and assist business and industry in meeting government
regulations.
Safety and Health Technicians: These individuals audit facilities and job sites
to ensure compliance with government regulations and standards. They are
prepared to respond to spills of hazardous materials and to protect the safety
and health of all workers who must handle toxic chemicals. They ensure that
any hazardous materials to be shipped are properly packaged, labeled, and
handled.
Pollution Prevention Technicians: These individuals handle materials
recovery, recycling, and energy efficiency within industry and municipalities.
They study the complete product life cycle to determine what raw materials are
best used in the manufacturing process and where they end up after products
are consumed. Their goals are to minimize hazardous and solid waste
generation.
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Solid Waste Technicians: These individuals manage the collection of
community wastes, supervise recycling and reuse operations, operate waste-to-
energy incinerators, and work at our landfills.
This is a short list of employment possibilities that require more rigorous
academic and hands-on training. This list also does not encompass all possibilities that
exist; rather, it is representative of the many possibilities that exist at Brownfields sites.
The report and accompanying chart from Defining Environmental Technology shows
even more job possibilities that exist.
Finally, HMTRI has created a Web site at http://www.ateec.org/blest which is
tracking the development of community college programs and who the specific contacts
are for each program. In addition, where possible, additional links are being added
specifying specific job opportunities available in that community.
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PERMISSION STATEMENT
I, Steven Fenton, give EPA my permission to reproduce my paper for the Brownfields
'97 binder.
TOTflL P.09
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JOBS FOR YOUTH - BOSTON, INC.
125 Tremont Street. Boston, MA 02108
Phon* (61?) 338-0615 Fax (617) 338-0242
Jobs For Youth-Boston:
A Model of Environmental Training for Brownfields Communities
Globalization. Privatization. Downsizing. UpskHling. Retraining.
Welfare to work. School to work. The buzz words swarm like hungry locusts
devouring a field of ripe grain. The louder the buzz, the harder it is to hear
what the words mean. Let's try to deconstruct the buzz.
The background is familiar. Our economy has changed dramatically in
the last few decades. We used to have a large unionized manufacturing
sector which provided well-paying jobs for millions of workers who did not
have very high academic or occupational skills. Mass production and a global
near-monopoly made it possible to support this sector from 1945 until the
mid-70s. But then the market conditions that gave American manufacturing
global hegemony changed. The price of oil went up. Technology changed the
work content of mass production. Other countries caught up to'and surpassed
us in the skills of their workforces. Some of those countries also had lower
cost structures, including labor costs. Computerized telecommunications
eliminated many of the barriers of geography. Global markets made offshore
manufacturing economically advantageous. Competition from higher-quality
lower-cost countries eroded our share of the global market. The comfortable
middle of the labor market, where high wages and low skills coincided, all
but disappeared.
The main points are these:
The nature of work in America has shifted from production of goods to
provision of services. Manipulation of information and communication
with customers have displaced fabrication of products. This shift,
analogous to the shift from agriculture to industry in the last century, has
changed the nature of work and the skill content of jobs. The change in
skill content is more fundamental than the transition from farjning to
manufacturing.
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Technology has eliminated the need for many layers of management and
administration by computerizing communication and control processes. As
a result, organizational structures have become flatter and leaner. Clerical
support pn
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JFY's core innovation in the 1990s has been the substitution of job-
specific technical skills for the general academic degree. Our envirotech and
financial services programs prepare our trainees to work side by side and at
the same salary with bachelor's degree graduates. We are placing people with
high school credentials supplemented by three to six months of JFY training
at salaries of $22,000, $24,000, as high as $30,000. The implications of this
innovation are far-reaching.
If we can equip people for career advancement with a short-term
training instead of a four-year degree, we can make higher wages and a
higher standard of living accessible to many who cannot afford either the time
or the cost of college. Welfare recipients are one visible group, Displaced
workers are another. Low-income people in general need short-term job-
specific training to escape poverty. Three-quarters of the over-18 population--
150 million people nationally, 368,000 in Boston have not graduated from
college. Without some other way of acquiring marketable skills, the earnings
of this huge population will be constrained. The potential value of short-term
low-cost skill training in terms of increased earning power is immense.
The next major question before us is the question of scale: how do we
make our training available to a larger public than the relatively few who can
come to JFY? The answer to this question lies in technology. Our IBM
Community Workforce Development project gives us the technological basis
for the development of distance learning. As we apply distance learning
technology to our skill training programs, we hope to be able to extend the
opportunity of higher earnings to a much broader public at a lower cost. The
combination of job-specific content and the low-cost virtual classroom could
be the formula for a workforce development system on the scale our society
needs.
The implications of the virtual classroom for Brownfields are
significant. Access to information, expertise and technology is the key to
community empowerment. JFY's training in environmental job skills provides
the technical expertise for community residents to participate fully in
Brownfields projects. The economies of scale attainable through distance
learning will make it possible to offer JFY training to all Brownfields
locations at very low cost.
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Permission is hereby granted to EPA to reproduce this paper for the Brawnfields '97
binder.
For additional information or copies contact:
Gary Kaplan
Executive Director
Jobs For Youth
125 Tremont Street
Boston, MA 02108
Phone: 617-338-0815
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Brownfields'97 Partnering for a Greener Tomorrow Brownfields '97 Partnering for a Greener
(2F) From Welfare to Faring Well:
Thursday, September 4,1997
3:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Meeting the Challenges of Welfare Reform
Description: This panel spotlights job development and training within the context of the new welfare-to-work
requirements. Panelists will examine environmental employment programs that hire welfare recipients and
discuss how life skills training can prepare individuals to get and keep good jobs.
Location: Room 1202A-B
Speakers and Affiliation:
Mr. Isiah Turner (Moderator)
Ms. Elizabeth Morgan Freese
Ms. Gloria Thurman
City of Richmond. California
U.S. Navy
Anacostia-Congress Heights Partnership
MR. ISIAH TURNER
As deputy city manager for the City of Richmond, California, Isiah Turner is responsible for Economic Development,
Workforce Preparation, Housing Authority, the Port of Richmond and Redevelopment Agency. Mr. Turner brings 27
years of management and administrative experience to his current position. He is a graduate of Evergreen State
College in Washington State and the John F. Kennedy School of Government Program for senior, state and local
executives, Harvard University-State of Massachusetts. Mr. Turner has received many national, state and local
awards over the years.
Ms. ELIZABETH MORGAN FREESE
Ms. Freese was bom and raised in Rockford, Illinois. She graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Platteville and
has done graduate work at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, Utah. She began her career with the federal
government in June 1985 at U.S. Army Dugway Proving Ground. She also served at U.S. Army Letterkenny Army
Depot with the Defense Reutilization and Marketing Office Chambersburg, U.S. Army Test and Evaluation Command
as the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) program manager at headquarters, Naval Security Group
Command as the environmental compliance manager with worldwide responsibilities, chief of Naval Operations
Occupational Health and Environmental Office as the RCRA program manager for Navy, and in June 1994 assumed
her current position as the safety/environmental director for Naval District Washington, the oldest continuously-
operating facility in the federal inventory. While most of Ms. Freese's experience has been in RCRA compliance, her
current position has exposed her to a wide variety of challenges to include historical issues and community outreach
and involvement.
Ms. Freese is a resident of the District of Columbia and has recently become the proud owner of an 1855 Federal
Row house on Capitol Hill, so environmental issues at the Navy Yard involve her and her community every day.
Ms. GLORIA THURMAN
[Biography was not available at time of printing. Please refer to conference addendum.]
Brownfields '97 Partnering for a Greener Tomorrow Brownfields "97 Partnering for a Greener Tomorrow
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Brownfields '97 Partnering for a Greener Tomorrow Brownfields '97 Partnering for a Greener
(2G) Having Our Say: The Role of Community Development Corporations
Wednesday, Septembers, 1997
3:45 p.m.-5:15 p.m.
Description: Community development corporations (CDC) work to overcome brownfields-related problems,
despite the obstacles associated with limited human resources, issues of environmental justice, and the
challenge of consensus-building. Small and rural communities, and others, will want to hear about the
advantages CDCs offer, particularly ways to ensure broad community involvement in the redevelopment process.
Location: Room 1205
Speakers and Affiliation:
Ms. Juanita M. Joyner (Moderator)
Mr. Donald L. Maxwell
Mr. Rob May
Mr. Roy Priest
ISLES, Inc.
Community Development Corporation of Kansas City,
Missouri
Chicago Association of Neighborhood Development
Organizations
National Congress for Community Economic Development
Ms. JUANITA M. JOYNER
[Biography was not available at time of printing. Please refer to conference addendum.]
MR. DONALD L. MAXWELL
[Biography was not available at time of printing. Please refer to conference addendum.]
MR. ROB MAY
Rob May, Associate Director of Industrial Development, has significantly expanded the role of the Chicago
Association of Neighborhood Development Organizations (CANDO) in community-based brownfields redevelopment.
Rob staffs the "Strengthening Nonprofit Capacity" implementation work-group that has evolved out of the Chicago
Brownfields Forum. As a result of that work, CANDO was awarded a $500,000 Federal Empowerment Zone grant to
host a Brownfields Redevelopment Institute and Predevelopment Initiative to build the ongoing capacity of
Community Development Organizations to initiate and direct redevelopment in their neighborhoods.
MR. ROY PRIEST
[Biography was not available at time of printing. Please refer to conference addendum.]
Brownfields '97 Partnering for a Greener Tomorrow Brownfields '97 Partnering for a Greener Tomorrow
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Brownfields '97 Partnering for a Greener Tomorrow Brownfields '97 Partnering for a Greener Tomorrow
DOCUMENTS THAT SUPPORT
PANEL 2G: HAVING OUR SAY: THE ROLE OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
CORPORATIONS
Brownfields '97 Partnering for a Greener Tomorrow Brownfields '97 Partnering for a Greener Tomorrow
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The Brownfield
'
nstitute
Building Community
Capacity
to
Address Brownfield
Redevelopment
-------
CANDO
The Chicago Association of Neip^othood
Development Organizaibls
:, ;S^»S^|KPPS« j \-S "'-*-
; ;v^f ;"';&8SfcVv;
Funding Provided by
The City of Chicago
Empowerment Zone and
Enterprise Communities
-------
Initiative Objective
to improve the economic conditions of
Chicago's EZ/EC residents
to build the organizational capacity of
EZ/EC community development groups to
overcome brownfield issues
to enable CDCs to a play key role in the
redevelopment of their neighborhoods
-------
A Two Prong Attack on Brownfields
Brownfield Redevelopment Institute
- Objective: to build on-going community
capacity
- Eight Course Curriculum
Brownfield Predevelopment Initiative
- Objective: to reduce risk and uncertainty of
Empowerment Zone development projects
- Predevelopment Field Work
- Peer mentoring
-------
Brownfield Redevelopment Institute
Course Outline
Real Estate Market
Analysis
Intro, to Risk Analysis
& Environmental
Regulations
Field Work
Intro to Phase I
Environmental
Reports
Analysis of Phase I
Environmental
Reports
Real Estate
Development
Intro to Phase II
Reports
Analysis of Phase II
Reports
-------
Brownfield Predevelopment
Initiative
EZ/ EC Site Inventory
Market Analysis on 24 Sites for Project
Phase I Work on 15 Project Sites
Phase II Work on 9 Sites
-------
Initiative Partners
CANDO
The Chicago Association of Neighborhood Development Organizations
1
Clean Sites, Inc.
Course Development
and Presentation
M. G. Simmons & Associates
and
Asset Environmental, Inc.
Phase I Work
Roy F. Weston, Inc.
Phase II Work
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Building Community Capacity
The Chicago;Association of
Neighborhood Development Organizations
For More Information
Please Contact:
Rob May,
Associate Director
Industrial Development
at
312-939-7171x16
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Brownfields '97 Partnering for a Greener Tomorrow Brownfields '97 Partnering for a Greener
(2H) True Democracy! Community, Government, and Academic Partnerships
Thursday, September 4,1997
10:30 a.m. -12:30 p.m.
Description: The key to achieving the goals of cooperative redevelopment lies in recognizing and harnessing the
resources of various institutional and community stakeholders. This session will provide insight into effective
partnerships among government agencies, communities, and academic institutions.
Location: Room 221OA
Speakers and Affiliation:
Mr. Charles Lee (Moderator)
The Honorable John K. Bullard
Dr. Mildred McClain
Dr. Geraldine W. Twitty
United Church of Christ
U.S. Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration
Citizens for Environmental Justice
Howard University
MR. CHARLES LEE
Charles Lee is director of Environmental Justice for the United Church of Christ Commission for Racial Justice. He
has played a singularly pioneering role in the definition and development of issues of race and the environment. Mr.
Lee is the architect of the two seminal national events in the emergence of environmental justice as a nationally
prominent issue, the landmark 1987 report Toxic Wastes and Race in the United States and the historic 1991
National People of Color Environmental Leadership Summit. He also helped to initiate the process which culminated
in the 1994 Federal Interagency Symposium on Health Research and Needs to Ensure Environmental Justice,
during which time President Clinton signed Executive Order 12898 on environmental justice.
Mr. Lee has served on many advisory panels and boards. These include U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) National Environmental Justice Advisory Council where he chairs the Waste and Facility Siting Subcommittee.
In that capacity, Mr. Lee convened a five-city series of public hearings in 1995 which resulted in the report
Environmental Justice, Urban Revitalization, and Brownfields: The Search for Authentic Signs of Hope. Mr. Lee
serves on a National Academy of Sciences/Institute of Medicine Committee on Environmental Justice: Research,
Education, and Health Policy Needs. Mr. Lee has written numerous articles and scholarly papers, and is the editor
of three books, Proceedings: First National People of Color Environmental Leadership Summit, Racism and Public
Education, and Residential Apartheid: The American Legacy, for which he received the 1995 Gustavus Meyers
Center for Study of Human Rights in America Book Award.
THE HONORABLE JOHN K. BULLARD
Since 1993, John K. Bullard has been Director of the Office of Sustainable Development and Intergovernmental
Affairs for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in the U.S. Department of Commerce.
Mr. Bullard has served as a principal liaison for NOAA Administrator D. James Baker to the President's Council on
Sustainable Development (PCSD) and has represented NOAA and the Department of Commerce on the interagency
steering committee for the Clinton Administration's Brownfields Initiative.
As a former Mayor of New Bedford, Massachusetts, Mr. Bullard has been intimately involved in the issues
surrounding brownfields redevelopment. This involvement has intensified during his tenure at NOAA/Commerce,
particularly because of the emphasis which the PCSD and its Task Forces has placed on brownfields issues as part
of a comprehensive strategy to promote sustainable communities.
In addition to these activities, Mr. Bullard serves as a trustee of the New Bedford Harbor Trust, which is charged with
the redevelopment of a major Superfund site in that New England coastal community.
Brownfields '97 Partnering for a Greener Tomorrow Brownfields '97 Partnering for a Greener Tomorrow
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Brownfields '97 Partnering for a Greener Tomorrow Brownfields '97 Partnering for a Greener
DR. MILDRED MCCLAIN
[Biography was not available at time of printing. Please refer to conference addendum.]
DR. GERALDINE W. TWITTY
Geraldine W. Twitty is Professor of Biology at Howard University. During a recent sabbatical leave with the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Office of Environmental Justice, she was actively engaged in establishing
relationships between EPA and various academic institutions and co-authored a paper on endangered communities.
Dr. Twitty is actively engaged with the Environmental Roundtable and the District of Columbia Coalition for
Environmental Justice.
Brownfields '97 Partnering for a Greener Tomorrow Brownfields '97 Partnering for a Greener Tomorrow
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Brownfields '97 Partnering for a Greener Tomorrpw Brownfields '97 Partnering for a Greener
(21) Brownfields Redevelopment: Tools for Environmental Justice
Friday, September 5,1997
8:00 a.m.-10:00 a.m.
Description: Brownfields cleanup and redevelopment can be a powerful tool for addressing environmental
justice concerns. Representatives of organizations that have successfully incorporated environmental justice and
public participation strategies into economic redevelopment planning will explain how they did it. The discussion
will spotlight practical educational tools, such as videos and resource guides.
Location: Room 221 OB
Speakers and Affiliation:
Ms. Deitra P. Crawley (Moderator)
Dr. David A. Hindin
Ms. Beverly Negri
International City/County Management Association
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of
Enforcement and Compliance Assurance
City of Dallas, Texas
Ms. DEITRA P. CRAWLEY
[Biography was not available at time of printing. Please refer to conference addendum.]
DR. DAVID A. HINDIN
[Biography was not available at time of printing. Please refer to conference addendum.]
Ms. BEVERLY NEGRI
Beverly Negri is the City of Dallas Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) brownfields liaison. She serves as the
facilitator and coordinator for the city's Brownfields Program. She organizes brownfields activities and actions
between EPA, the city, the Dallas business community, other federal organizations, neighborhoods, other pilot cities
and the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission. She oversees the City of Dallas brownfields
environmental site assessments and brownfields sites inventory development for the Brownfields Redevelopment
Information Management System database.
Ms. Negri has worked extensively with EPA's pollution prevention program, comparative risk analysis, sustainable
development, risk-based correction action, community-based environmental justice, budget planning, development,
and analysis, program review, workload planning/analysis and grants administration management.
Ms. Negri serves on several American Society for Testing and Materials subcommittees, the National Association of
Local Government Environmental Professionals National Brownfields Advisory Committee and the Eastfield College
Computer Information Advisory Committee. She participates on the Dallas County Local Emergency Planning
Committee. Ms. Negri earned her Master of Science and Bachelor of Science degrees from Abilene Christian
University.
Brownfields '97 Partnering for a Greener Tomorrow Brownfields '97 Partnering for a Greener Tomorrow
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Brownfields '97 Partnering for a Greener Tomorrow Brownfields '97 Partnering for a Greener
(2J) Reality Check! When Community Vision is Not Enough
Thursday, September 4,1997
10:30 a.m. -12:30 p.m.
Description: Economic realities impose limitations on what can be accomplished in brownfields cleanup and
redevelopment. This panel will present an economic perspective for examining the limitations of brownfields
redevelopment and a realistic look at what can and cannot be accomplished.
Location: Room 2217
Speakers and Affiliation:
Dr. Robert Simons (Moderator)
Mr. Larry Ellison
Mr. John A. Pendergrass
Cleveland State University
Struever Brothers, Eccles & Rause
Environmental Law Institute
DR. ROBERT SIMONS
Robert A. Simons is an associate professor of urban planning and development at the Levin College of Urban Affairs
at Cleveland State University (CSU). Dr. Simons received his doctorate degree from the University of North Carolina
at Chapel Hill (UNC-CH) in city and regional planning, with an emphasis in real estate. He also holds a master's
degree in regional planning and a Master of Science in economics, both from UNC-CH. His undergraduate degree
in anthropology was earned at Colorado State University. He has been a member of the American Institute of
Certified Planners (AICP) since 1983.
At CSU, Dr. Simons teaches graduate courses in environmental finance, public sector microeconomics, and urban
development finance and market analysis. Current research interests include brownfields redevelopment, effects of
environmental contamination on nearby property, inner city housing subsidy policy, and public real estate
management. Dr. Simons has published over 15 articles in various academic and professional journals, and has a
forthcoming book on brownfields redevelopment to be published by Urban Land Institute.
MR. LARRY ELLISON
Mr. Ellison has more than thirty years of experience in the construction and development of real estate throughout
the Baltimore/Washington region. He has been responsible for the creation of new and renovated office, industrial,
retail, and residential facilities valued at more than $200 million.
His current assignment as an asset manager is with Struever, Brothers Eccles & Rouse, where he is responsible for
the overall integrity of the company's portfolio of commercial properties valued above $33,000,000. His area of
expertise involves the management of the properties' operations, marketing, tenant relations, tenant attraction, value
enhancement, financing, and redevelopment.
Mr. Ellison received his formal education from Virginia Polytechnic Institute in architecture and building construction,
graduated from the University of Maryland summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Science in business, and received
his post graduate degree, a Master of Science, from the Johns Hopkins University in real estate development. His
latest membership work has included the Governor's Task Force for the implementation of a statewide Voluntary
Cleanup Program, the culmination of which is the recently signed brownfields legislation.
MR. JOHN A. PENDERGRASS
Mr. Pendergrass joined the Environmental Law Institute (ELI) as a Senior Attorney in July of 1988. He is Director of
ELI's Center for State, Local and Regional Environmental Programs. He has conducted numerous studies of state
environmental programs and has written extensively about state programs and the state-federal relationship. His
research and writing has covered a variety of topics, including land use, Superfund, state hazardous substance
cleanup programs, brownfields and institutional controls. Mr. Pendergrass was a member of the Study Committee
on Hazardous Wastes in Highway Rights-of-Way of the National Research Council. He received his Juris Doctorate
from Case Western Reserve University School of Law and a Bachelor of Science in environmental science from
Michigan State University.
Brownfields '97 Partnering for a Greener Tomorrow Brownfields '97 Partnering for a Greener Tomorrow
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Brownfields '97 Partnering for a Greener Tomorrow Brownfields '97 Partnering for a Greener Tomorrow
DOCUMENTS THAT SUPPORT
PANEL 2J: REALITY CHECK! WHEN COMMUNITY VISION IS NOT ENOUGH
Brownfields '97 Partnering for a Greener Tomorrow Brownfields '97 Partnering for a Greener Tomorrow
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LESSONS FROM BROWNFIELD REDEVELOPMENT CASES:
13 deals in 7 venues
By
Robert A. Simons
Associate Professor of Planning and Development
Levin College of Urban Affairs
1737 Euclid Avenue
Cleveland State University
Cleveland, Ohio 44115
(216)687-5258
roby@cua3 .csuohio.edu
September 4, 1997
A Paper Presented at the Brownfields '97 Conference
in Kansas City, Missouri
ABSTRACT
This paper uses a case study approach to derive lessons from the field that can guide brownfield
redevelopment in the late part of the 1990s. After briefly introducing state brownfield initiatives,
a systematic case study analysis is provided on 13 successful brownfield projects in 7 different
venues, including five U.S. states, the United Kingdom, and New Zealand. The paper closes
with lessons from the successful projects that can be useful for brownfields redevelopers, and
implications for public policy.
Public subsidy for the projects was dependent on local land values. Where land prices
were high, subsidy was low. The average public subsidy was about 20%. Remediation costs
typically represented about 10% of total project value, but some projects with innovative
remediation techniques kept the remediation costs below 5%. Private sector financing was
available for most projects, but typically required indemnification and loan to value ratios in the
.5-.6 range. The paper also sets forth over 30 specific strategies for developing brownfields,
organized around the themes of site acquisition and design strategies, remediation cost
minimizing and reporting, dealing with government regulators, the type of public subsidy are
available, lowering risk when looking for financing, and loan guarantees.
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I. INTRODUCTION
Difficulty in redevelopment of contaminated urban lands (brownfields) is a problem
facing most urban areas today. At least half a million US brownfield sites are affected.
Development of uncontaminated, agricultural greenfield sites over the past few decades has been
a major contributor to urban sprawl. Despite the negative implications for central cities and the
likelihood that demand for a large portion of these lands will not be met in our lifetimes, it is
possible to reap real estate profits from these contaminated lands, and developers have shown
considerable in them because of recent state initiatives which reduce remediation costs and
eliminate much of the uncertainty of redeveloping these properties.
Definition and extent of Brownfields. Realization of the brownfield problem is relatively new, so
experts cannot agree on what a brownfield is. The narrowest definition includes formerly
industrial or commercial land, with or without an existing building, that is prevented from
attaining its highest and best use because of perceived or actual contamination. A
brownfield may or may not be on one of the many federal or state lists of known contaminated
sites. As a result, of the perceived or actual contamination, the property cannot be financed or
redeveloped. This may be accompanied by financial distress, such as flagrant property tax
delinquency or mortgage default. If it is believed that contamination has migrated off-site (e.g.,
groundwater contamination from leaking underground storage tanks) then a brownfield could
give nearby properties brownfield status. An existing industrial business with a partly
contaminated site that cannot get a loan to expand may also be considered a brownfield. A
vacant, formerly residential lot with the old building plowed into the basement and covered over
with dirt could also be a residential brownfield. Some would insist that there is demand for
redevelopment (as the former use or another, higher use) be present for the property to be a
brownfield. Some brownfields may have multiple sources of contamination.
These properties, including those on one of the United States Environmental Protection
Agency (USEPA) lists or the state Leaking Underground Storage Tank (LUST) lists kept by
most states, may become stigmatized. That is, its ability to be sold is reduced, and if the property
does sell, it would probably be at a price that is lower than its true "arms length" market value,
less any future actual clean up cost. While this is unfortunate for current owners, there is profit
to be made for shrewd real estate investors who can envision the market value of the property
after clean up, buy it very low at a stigmatized price, implement project clean up, obtain the
correct state EPA (or other agency) sign offs, and then sell (or develop and finance) a former
brownfield property at only a small reduction in sales price or value.
Not all contaminated lands are likely to be redeveloped. For example, USEPA superfund
sites, which have the highest priority status on the USEPA National Priorities List (NPL) are not
mainstream brownfields because they are most importantly public health problems, and not
economic development opportunities. Likewise, active landfills, although contaminated by
design, are presumably in their highest and best use as a public waste depository, and therefore
do not meet the hindrance of the best use requirement of a brownfield. Also, there are many
smaller, poorly located and functionally obsolete brownfields which may never be redeveloped.
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Number of Brownfield Sites in U.S. There are at least 384,000 known contaminated sites on over
a dozen active USEPA lists and state LUST and hazardous waste site lists. A conservative
estimate is also made that there are another 75,000 or more formerly industrial sites in 31 large
US cities which are probably not on any official list, but are likely nevertheless to be brownfields
based on lack of current productive use and suspected contamination from prior use. Some type
of brownfields exist in virtually every community.
Recent State Brownfield Initiatives
Fortunately, many states (31 as of December 1996) have recently enacted some form of
risk and cost reducing brownfields law, usually termed a Voluntary Cleanup Program (VCP)
which encourages brownfield clean up and redevelopment. USEPA has contributed to the
reform by deregistering most of the sites on the NPL, and turning over control of these and future
site remediation issues to the states. Many states have responded with legislation clarifying
necessary level of cleanliness required for different uses and different soil conditions. These
Risk Based Corrective Action (RBCA) standards help in two ways. First, they serve to
substantially reduce the cost of clean up in many cases. Second, they answer the question: how
clean is clean enough? Some states specifically coordinate between agencies when a multiple
brownfield problem is encountered (e.g., LUSTs and heavy metals). States have also provided
liability exemptions by statute for new lending and equity capital, provided site assessment is
conducted in advance and followed. Upon successful site remediation, many state EPAs are
giving closure documents including No Further Action (NFA) letters, and Covenants Not To Sue
(CNTS), which state that the clean up has been satisfactorily completed and which further
regulatory actions are possible in the future. On occasion, additional agencies are bound by this
letter. Some states and localities are also giving site assessment and site remediation grants to
determine the extent of the contamination and get the property cleaned up and back on the
market. The status of these laws in individual states is one of the most critical factors to
ascertain in order to efficiently manage a brownfield problem. Another trend to separate
groundwater from soil issues hi areas where the underlying water is not used for drinking. These
state regulatory changes are now being used by brownfield developers. Exhibit 1 shows a map
of the US states and status of brownfield legislation hi each one, hi early 1997.
II. THE 13 BROWNFIELD REDEVELOPMENT CASE STUDIES
The 13 brownfield redevelopment case studies have been selected to represent a cross
section of likely future conditions brownfield redevelopers may encounter. Thus, five US states'
regulatory environments, and two foreign cases are represented: the United Kingdom (UK), and
New Zealand (NZ).
Research Design and Rationale for Inclusion in the Study
The state of knowledge about successful brownfield projects is in the early discovery
state, with very limited detailed public information available. Therefore, this paper seeks to
explore and describe the situation. By selecting only "successful (i.e., nearly complete), cases,
the study employs a retrospective, not random research design. Pattern matching and
-------
explanation-building are the main analytical tools to be used.
The cases were selected to represent diverse conditions. A spectrum of real estate end
uses are represented, including retail (3 cases), for sale and rental housing (6 cases), industrial
and R&D (3 cases) and a health clinic (1 case). Regulatory environments ranged from state-led,
tightly controlled, with substantial subsidy (Michigan and Connecticut), private sector led, with
state concurrence (Ohio). The UK and NZ cases featured mostly city-led environmental
permitting. Contamination types included various types of soil and groundwater contamination.
Case Study Summaries
A brief summary of each case is provided below, including location, regulatory
environment, type of project, status, and outcomes. The complete case studies, which range from
15-30 pages per venue, will be available in a forthcoming brownfields book to be published by
the Urban Land Institute.
Suburban Cleveland, Ohio, Retail Project. This 19 acre, 280,000 square foot retail mall
expansion in the Cleveland suburbs is one of the first to be remediated and go through the state's
new VCP process. It received a CNTS in early 1997, and is in the early construction and lease-up
phase.
West New York, New Jersey Housing Complex This 158 acre master planned housing complex
overlooks midtown Manhattan across the Hudson River. The former railyard and transfer station
was mildly contaminated with non-volatile hydrocarbons, which are to be contained on site. The
developer has lined up partners and builders for the first three neighborhoods, with a total of
1,100 housing units. Construction is expected to begin in 1997.
Regional Mall in Waterbury, Connecticut. This 1.2 million square foot regional mall on 90 acres
received over $40 million in public funds. GGP/Brass Mill Inc., the developer, has almost
finished construction of this former brass rolling mill site. Lease up is on schedule, and the
property's grand opening is expected in fall 1997.
Winchester Factory in New Haven, Connecticut. The U.S. Repeating Arms Corp. was the
beneficiary of a new 225,000 square foot state of the art manufacturing building on 15 acres.
The former owner voluntarily remediated the extensively developed former armaments site, with
help from the state of Connecticut and a local not-for profit corporation.. A strong local
financing role helped keep Winchester in New Haven.
Health Clinic and Low Income Housing project in Detroit, Michigan. Michigan is very strong in
terms of leadership, government regulatory issues and financial support of brownfields. The city
of Detroit played a very strong role in site assembly and remediating both of these modest sized,
lightly contaminated projects. The DCHC is a 13,000 square foot building on 1 acre, developed
by a not for profit. It opened its doors to patients in late 1996. Federal grants guaranteed its
bank loan.
The Helen Odean Butler apartments contain 96 low income rental housing units on an 8
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l/2 acre former urban renewal site. This project was financed by the Michigan State Housing
Development Authority.
Auckland New Zealand: 3 Mini-Cases. New Zealand is known for its clean and green
environment, but it also has its share of formerly contaminated property. Almost all authority for
environmental regulation of contaminated property lies with the local political jurisdiction, or the
regional government. The role of private consultants is large. Remediation and land sales data
are provided for a 13 acre shopping center on a former paint factory site, a 40 unit, 4 story
condominium project on a coal gasometer storage facility, and a 26+ unit residential project on a
former bus garage. High density and robust land prices drove the finances on these projects,
which were all developed without government subsidy.
Manchester, England. The British have already grappled with brownfield initiatives by the early
1990s. Greater Manchester, which is very similar to many U.S. rust belt cities, has had more
than ten large (over 100 units) brownfield housing projects, and a 2,600 acre industrial and
business park which is internationally competitive. The successful development of two of the
housing projects (one for sale and one for rent) are evidence of market acceptance. The rental
project has received bank financing. Trafford Park is the mega-industrial park, which was
developed by a successful not-for profit entity over a decade or more. They created infrastructure
and buildable sites, and undertook aggressive marketing to attract off-shore firms interested in
competing in the European market.
California. Emeryville, located right on the San Francisco Bay near Oakland, is a small
community that is taking local permitting authority into its own hands, subject to concurrent of
the state EPA departments. The Chiron Corporation is a biotechnology company seeking to
develop a 25 acre research and development complex for its own use. The $700 million project
is being developed in a groundwater management zone. Foreign banks are financing the project.
The parent company is providing loan guarantees.
Data collected for each case study
The data collected were broken down into two groups. The first, shown in Exhibit 2,
pertain to the first part of site development, including the background of the site, use,
development team, and including the remediation process. The second portion pertains to the
financial aspects of the project and outcomes, and is shown on Exhibit 3.
III. ANALYSIS AND SUMMARY OF OUTCOMES
The results and summary of the outcomes are covered in turn. As mentioned earlier, the
13 cases represent a cross section of retail types in seven jurisdictional environments. Real estate
end uses include three retail, six housing, two industrial, and one clinic and one research and
development facility. Sizes range from $2 million to $700 million in building value at
completion. The typical project was in the $8-20 million range.
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Development Background and Site Preparation
Concerning the development entity, seven projects were solely led by private sector real
estate developers, one was a private firm developing the property for its own use. Two deals had
a combination of private developer and community development corporation (CDC), and three
projects were developed only by CDCs. These are shown on Exhibit 2.
Types of contamination can be broken down into the petroleum based group (VOC, PAH,
BTEX from USTs), and heavy metals (lead, arsenic, nickel, PCB). Most sites also had
construction and demolition debris from prior structures on site. Five sites had petroleum type
contamination, and two had heavy metals in soil only. The remaining six sites had both types of
contamination, generally affecting both soil and groundwater. Five of the projects had ongoing
requirements that included groundwater monitoring.
Remediation features depended upon the contamination problem. All but one project
elected to clean to less-than pristine standards. Typical money saving devices included capping
or encapsulating the contamination, and digging out hot spots. Diluting contamination or
relegating it to various parts of the site which have limited risk to end users (such as parking lots)
was also common. Of those properties with contamination remaining on site, six had deed
restrictions filed with the appropriate local authority.
Finally, the quality of closure document varied widely. Four brownfield deals had a
CNTS, the strongest form of closure, and two had NFAs. One had a combination of an NFA and
approval of the remediation plan. None of the six cases in the UK or NZ had any real closure
letters, although they did have local planning approvals to proceed, and some NZ cases had
"opinions" from regional water quality planners. In these cases, environmental contamination is
treated similar to a non-conforming use, requiring a variance or special use permit.
Financial Ratios, Liability Reduction and Deal Structure
Exhibit 3 contains the same three first columns (case number, state and real estate use,
followed by land values for comparable, uncontaminated property in the area. These are
important because they are related to public subsidy requirements. This is followed by
remediation-related (including consultant fees) costs, as a percent of total project cost. The
developer's estimated profit in a stable year is next, followed by data about the amount of loan,
and any indemnification (either for contamination or to guarantee debt service/lease payments) to
the end user or lender.
Land markets in some venues are quite depressed (e.g., Detroit and Manchester, UK, and
New Haven, Connecticut. Land values in these markets are in the $1-3 per square foot range
(expressed in US currency). Well located retail sites in Ohio and Connecticut were valued in the
S6-10/SF range, as was the very large (158 acre) New Jersey housing site. The highest land
values were in NZ. The NZ values ranged from $13-17 for a retail site to $40 and up for land
under well located, infill housing sites. In California's San Francisco Bay area, land values for
research and development property were likewise high, at $25-30 per square foot.
Because of the market failure concerning brownfields redevelopment, public funds were
an important part of most projects. Only the three NZ projects and the very intensive New Jersey
housing project had no public subsidy. The amount of public money, which is generally the
present value of federal state and local subsidies, depended on what type of remediation was
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required. It often took the form of remediation grants, mortgage loan subsidies, and property tax
abatement. Two projects had minimal subsidy, ranging between 3-8%. Four projects had public
subsidies between 15-21%. Three had subsidies of 24% or more, ranging up to almost 50%. Of
the projects receiving the most subsidy, two were industrial, and one was low income housing.
Not surprisingly, the projects with the lowest land values often received the highest subsidies,
and the projects with high land values received little or no subsidy. This is an important pattern
because it may be subject to policy intervention.
Remediation costs are expressed as a percentage of total project cost (if known, some
deals are in progress). Remediation expenses generally only to those known to have been paid
by the current or recent past owner: some sites were partially remediated earlier by others who
went bankrupt. Five projects had very low remediation costs, of under 5% of total project value.
Two of them were US sites where the groundwater was acknowledged to be undrinkable, and
owners were permitted to cap contamination on the sites is such a way to minimize risk to
occupants. The two NZ sites had low percentages because the value of the built improvements
was so high. All but one of the remaining projects had remediation costs that approximated 10-
15% of total project costs. This is the most typical outcome. One project had expenses that were
reported at about 19% of costs, but this is expected to come down because some of these
remediation costs (parking lot doubling as a remediation cap on contamination) are actually
legitimate construction costs. Typical site remediation costs were $3-6 per land square foot.
Profit data were obtained for six of the projects, but it can be inferred that, since they
were built, all of the projects had a rate of return above the hurdle rate. Rates of return are
generally to the real estate project (rather than to the developer) after debt service and before
income taxes, in a future "stable year". The not-for profit developers were able to get a return of
5-10%. This range (7%) also applied to the owner-occupied R&D facility. For profit developers
of housing and retail obtained between 11-14% profit. An industrial firm with deep public
subsidy was able to achieve a return of over 20%. Finally, the developers for one project
acquired the land at such a discount and remediation costs were so low that the rate of return is
likely to be very large. In short, the developers of these brownfield projects were able to achieve
adequate rates of return on their investments.
Many of the projects obtained private sector financing. However, the loan to value ratios
and terms were generally lower than for typical non-contaminated real estate projects (i.e., .7-.8
LTV on a private sector first mortgage, no public second mortgage, and without
indemnification). Of the six projects that were at the construction stage or earlier, four had
obtained construction loans, and two were financing the project out of their own funds. One of
these had loan guarantees. Four have obtained actual private sector first mortgages (one has a
contingent agreement subject to site plan approval). The two US loans have LTVs of .50 and .60,
and one of these has a loan guarantee. Two projects have public sector first mortgages (one is an
IRB), and one has a loan guarantee. One project has a commitment for a subordinated public
second mortgage at at .2 LTV. Financing data were unavailable for several of the foreign
projects.
Features of the deal were unique in each case, and form the basis for the next section of
this paper. However, in general, the strategies either reduced liability to future participants, or
kept the cost down by creative remediation techniques that left some contamination on site using
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a risk management strategy, or both. Overcoming marketing challenges (both to lenders and end
users) associated with contaminated property is a third area for innovation. A detailed description
of each of the strategies and how they can be used in combination will be available in the
forthcoming book (Author: Robert A. Simons, Turning Brownfields into Greenbacks:
Redeveloping and Financing of Contaminated Urban Real Estate, publishre: The Urban Land
Institute. 1997).
IV. INCLOSING
A typical brownfield developer's model. To succeed, the brownfield developer should obtain a
well located brownfield site, bought at a discount. Then, the site should be remediated using a
combination of risk-based criteria (to keep costs down), and real estate strategies which design
the site around remaining contamination to reduce risk to future occupants. The remediation can
be expected to cost about 10% of project value. At the same time the highest quality of closure
document available from the (state) regulator should be obtained. State or local governments
may be expected to subsidize up to 20% of project costs. Lenders are unlikely to finance
remediation or provide a mortgage until the appropriate closure document is in place. Even then,
a lower loan to value ratio can be expected. An indemnification against future environmental
contamination and/or loan guarantees should be sought.
Policy Issues. In conclusion, the art of the brownfield redevelopment deal is evolving so that
some common patterns are emerging. For example, environmental remediation costs are really
not that large a portion of overall costs, especially for projects with only one type of soil
contamination. Also, the amount of public subsidy is negatively correlated with land values in
the area. This implies that local public agencies should do whatever possible to support land
values, including making sure brownfields have a realistic zoning.
Subsidies appear to exceed purely remediation expenses, indicating that other (market
related?) costs are being financed. Subsidy should be made available in whatever form is most
useful to the developer, but should not exceed a predetermined amount, say in the 15-20% of
project cost range. Industrial projects and low income housing projects, due to their lower end
real estate value, would require larger subsidies. Amortizing remediation costs that accrue to the
site (soil contamination) as opposed to the regional or local environment (groundwater), and
regulating and financing them separately may become more popular in the coming years.
Equitable and efficient public financing mechanisms for dealing with non-potable groundwater
issues is an evolving concern.
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EXHIBIT 1
Overall Ease of Using State Voluntary Clean Up Programs
State Ranking
Ml Excellent
IP Good
H Fair
El Pending
Q Nothing
Prepared by:
Northern Ohio Data & Information Service
The Urban Center, Cleveland State University
Cleveland, Ohio
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Exhibit 2
Brownfield Case Studies
Remediation and Background Information
Case
#
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
a
9
10
11
12
13
Venue
(State,
Country)
OH
NJ
CT
CT
Ml
Ml
NZ
NZ
NZ
UK
UK
UK
CA
Real
Estate End
Use
220 SF
retail
1,100 units of
housing
1.2MSF retail
225 SF
Industrial
96L1HTC
apartments
13 SF clinic
26+ housing
lots
4QCondos
220 SF retail
135 town-
houses
119 apart-
ments
250 acres
industrial park
22MSFR&D
fadltty
Developer
Type
For Profit
For Profit
CDC/for profit
CDC/for profit
CDC
CDC
For Profit
For Profit
For Profit
For Profit
For Profit
Quango
(CDC)
self occupied
Type
of
Contamination
GW, Petroleum,
heavy metals
Light Hydrocarbons
Multiple types, GW
Petroleum, heavy
metals, GW
Lead
Petroleum
Heavy Metals
Hydrocarbons
Petroleum, heavy
metals
Heavy metals
Petroleum
Various
Petroleum, heavy
metals. GW
Ground
Water
Monitoring
Required
Yes
Yes
No
Yes
No
No
No
Yes
No
No
No
No
Yes
Remediation
Feature
Flexible CNTS,
Cap
Cap
"Dig and dump"
CDC contractor
cap
very light
Contamination
City organized
Remediate to back
ground levels
removed hot spots
vapor barrier
Qn-stte
" remediation
..hot spots, cap
phased .
remediation
CDC organized
Cap. separate soil
and GW approval,
GWrfek
management
Type of
Closure
Document
CNTS
NFA
CNTS
NFA
NFA
CNTS
None
None
None
None
None
None
GW manage-
ment plan,
NFA
Deed
Restrictions
Yes
Yes
No
Yes
On any removed
soil
No
No
Vapor barrier
No
No
No
NA
Yes
Notes:
GW
CDC
Petroleum
Heavy Metals
Closure Type
SF
UHTC
R&D
Ground Water
Community Development Corporation, not for profit
Includes PAH, VOC, BTEX
May include Lead, PCB, Nickel, Arsenic
In generic US equivalents
Square Feet in thousands
Low Income Housing Tax Credits
Research and Development
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Exhibit 3
Brownfield Case Studies
Financial Data and Outcomes
Case
#
i
2
3.. -:'.. .;
4 .:
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
Venue
(State,
Country)
OH
NJ
CT
CT
Ml
Ml
NZ
NZ
NZ
UK
UK
UK
CA
Real Estate
End Use
220 SF
retail
1,100 units of
housing
1 ,2 MSF retail
225 SF
Industrial
96LIHTC
apartments
1 3 SF clinic
26+ housing
lots
40Condos
220 SF retail
135 town-
houses
119 apart-
ments
250 acre
industrial park
2.2MSFR&D
facility
Land
Value
$/SP
$6-10
$6-8
$7-10
$1-2
$1
$1
$40
$40
$13-17
$2-3
$2-3
$1-3
$25-30
Public Funds
'::::.$ %
5.5
0
41.0
':-s3
3.1
0.2
0
0
il'O "
2.0
:.:::;1_2;
41.0
20.0
17%
0%
19%
24%
48%
8%
0%
0%
0%
21%
15%
39%
3%
Remediation
$ %
5.6"
4.0
28.0
3.4
0.2
.11
0.3*
0.4*
3.0*
0.9*
0.9*
165*
10
19%
3%
13%
15%
3%
6%
3%
4%
10-15%
11%
11%
15%
1%
Profit %
NA
Very
Large
11%
24%
3-10%
5%
NA
NA
NA
14%
NA
7%
Indemnification
considering
insurance
None
City/TIF
Parent Company
Prior Site User
No
Federal Loan
Guarantee
No
Partial from prior
owner
No
No
No
No
Parent Company
Mortgage/
Loan to Value
.60 LTV Private First
Public Second
Joint Venture
.7 LTV construction Loan
.77LTVonlRB
0.8 LTV Public First
0,5 LTV Private First
NA
Construction loan
NA
Internal Financing
Yes
Yes
LTV>1 "Credit deal"
Notes:
* Equivalent in U.S. Dollars
** Includes some construction costs
Public Funds & Remediation:
$ = In millions
% = Funds as percentage of total project cost
TIF = Tax Increment Financing
SF = Square feet of builders in thousands
LTV = Loan to Value ratio
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Brownfields '97 Partnering for a Greener Tomorrow Brownfieids '97 Partnering for a Greener
(2K) CERCLA101: Understanding and Negotiating the Maze of Federal Statutes
Friday, September 5,1997
10:30 a.m. -12:30 p.m.
Description: The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), the
Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), and Underground Storage Tanks (UST) Program represent
the alphabet soup of legal authorities under which EPA operates. Learn the basics of the brownfields legal
framework in a user-friendly session. Since knowledge is power, you will leave this session better informed and
equipped to negotiate the tangle of the federal bureaucracy.
Location: Room 221OC
Speakers and Affiliation:
Mr. Michael J. Sanderson (Moderator)
Mr. Jim Belcher
Ms. Karen Floumoy
Ms. Cheryle Micinski
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 7
State of Missouri, Department of Natural Resources
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 7
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 7
MR. MICHAEL J. SANDERSON
Mr. Sanderson has been Director of the Superfund Division with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA),
Region 7 in Kansas City, Kansas, since February 1994. He joined EPA, Region 7 as a staff engineer in the Air
Program in January 1972. Over the past 20 years, he has had management level responsibilities in the air, water,
Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), toxics, and pesticides programs. Mr. Sanderson has a master's
degree in civil engineering from the University of Missouri, Columbia, and a law degree from the University of
Missouri, Kansas City.
MR. JIM BELCHER
Jim Belcher was appointed section chief of the newly formed Hazardous Substance Environmental Remediation
Section of the Missouri Department of Natural Resources in June of 1994. This section is most commonly referred
to as the Voluntary Cleanup Section. Mr. Belcher has been with the Department of Natural Resources since 1980
and has worked in the field of waste management within the department for 15 years. He is currently serving on the
Association of State and Territorial Solid Waste Management Officials' (ASTSWMO) Voluntary Cleanup Task Force.
Mr. Belcher grew up and went to high school in the St. Louis area. He received a bachelor's degree in 1976 from
Southwest Missouri State University and a master's degree in 1987 from the University of Missouri - Columbia.
Ms. KAREN FLOURNOY
[Biography was not available at time of printing. Please refer to conference addendum.]
Ms. CHERYLE MICINSKI
Ms, Micinski is a lawyer who has been with U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) since 1981. Her main area
of practice has been in hazardous waste, with a particular emphasis in Superfund matters. She has been a member
of numerous workgroups on Superfund matters and is a regular speaker on Superfund topics. Ms. Micinski now
serves as deputy regional counsel for EPA, Region 7.
Brownfields '97 Partnering for a Greener Tomorrow Brownfields '97 Partnering for a Greener Tomorrow
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Brownficlds
Partnering for a G
(2L) Be Part of It! A Workshop on the Developing ASTM Brownfields Redevelopment Technical Guidance
Thursday, September 4,1997
3:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Description: Developers! Turn community involvement into an "asset" for your project, not a headache.
Community activists! Are you trying to understand what developers need to take on a sustainable and profitable
project? The American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) is preparing a 'standard guide" that focuses on
three primary components of a complex process: community participation, risk characterization and reduction,
and liability management. Workshop participants will engage in a lively discussion and "mark-up" of key portions
of the guide. Be ready to roll up your sleeves and dive into this workshop!
Location: Room2210C
Speakers and Affiliation:
Mr. Michael B. Taylor (Moderator)
Ms. Beth Benson
Ms. Juanita Joyner
Ms. Vemice Miller
Mr. James R. Rocco
Mr. Thomas Schruben
TRI Thermo Remediation, Inc.
Toronto Waterfront Regeneration Trust
ISLES, Inc.
Natural Resources Defense Council
BP Oil Company
Olympic Underwriting Managers, Inc.
MR. MICHAEL B. TAYLOR
[Biography was not available at time of printing. Please refer to conference addendum.]
Ms. BETH BENSON
In her capacity as a project director at the Waterfront Regeneration Trust, Ms. Benson is working with landowners,
banks, the insurance sector, developers, community representatives, and regulators to help implement cost-effective
solutions to assist in the restoration and reuse of brownfields sites found along the north shore of Lake Ontario. She
is currently managing the development of an area-wide soil and groundwater management strategy for Toronto's
port lands, an area of 425 acres situated on the shoulders of downtown Toronto.
Prior to joining the Waterfront Regeneration Trust in 1993, Ms. Benson was at the City of Toronto's Department of
Public Health where she was involved in site remediation, air quality, drinking water and polychlorinated biphenyl
management issues.
Ms. Benson's graduate work at the University of Toronto dealt with the environmental fate of radioactive Cesium-137
in arctic ecosystems.
Ms. JUANITA JOYNER
[Biography was not available at time of printing. Please refer to conference addendum.]
Ms. VERNICE MILLER
[Biography was not available at time of printing. Please refer to conference addendum.]
MR. JAMES R. Rocco
[Biography was not available at time of printing. Please refer to conference addendum.]
Brownfields '97 Partnering for a Greener Tomorrow Brownfields '97 Partnering for a Greener Tomono
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Brownficlcls '97 Partnc
for a Greener
MR. THOMAS J. SCHRUBEN
Mr. Schruben is a Senior Vice President with Olympic Underwriting Managers, Inc., which is a wholly owned
subsidiary of United Capitol Insurance Company, and the Frontier Insurance Group. He is responsible for the
management of the Columbia, Maryland office and several casualty programs. He is also responsible for the
development of environmental insurance programs.
Before joining Olympic, Mr. Schruben developed environmental insurance programs with Underwriters Reinsurance,
Home Insurance and Reliance Reinsurance. Prior to joining the insurance industry, Mr. Schruben developed
regulations and cleanup technologies for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Office of Underground
Storage Tanks. He began his career in 1981 as an environmental engineering consultant on a variety of cleanup
projects. Mr. Schruben has a civil engineering degree from New Mexico State University, and is an active member of
the American Society for Testing and Materials, where he develops environmental standards. He is also active in
the Air and Waste Management Association, developing environmental conferences.
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Brownfields '97 Partnering for a Greener Tomorrow Brownfields '97 Partnering for a Greener
(2M) Bringing It All Together in the Community
Friday, September 5,1997
10:30 a.m. -12:30 p.m.
Description: This session will examine how the various interests and stakeholder partners can be brought
together to create jobs and economic opportunities based on a community vision. The panel and audience
participants will have the opportunity to challenge experts from all brownfields-related disciplines on how to
achieve that promise. Rather than lecture, the panelists will serve as resources and stimulate the discussion.
Location: Room 1201
Speakers and Affiliation:
Mr. Charles Lee (Moderator)
Ms. Sue Briggum
Mr. David Hahn-Baker
Ms. Ann M. McDonough
Mr. Mathy V. Stanislaus
United Church of Christ
WMX Technologies, Inc.
Inside Out Political Consultants
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Solid
Waste and Emergency Response
Enviro-Sciences, Inc.
MR. CHARLES LEE
Charles Lee is director of Environmental Justice for the United Church of Christ Commission for Racial Justice. He
has played a singularly pioneering role in the definition and development of issues of race and the environment. Mr.
Lee is the architect of the two seminal national events in the emergence of environmental justice as a nationally
prominent issue, the landmark 1987 report Toxic Wastes and Race in the United States and the historic 1991
National People of Color Environmental Leadership Summit. He also helped to initiate the process which culminated
in the 1994 Federal Interagency Symposium on Health Research and Needs to Ensure Environmental Justice,
during which time President Clinton signed Executive Order 12898 on environmental justice.
Mr. Lee has served on many advisory panels and boards. These include U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) National Environmental Justice Advisory Council where he chairs the Waste and Facility Siting Subcommittee.
In that capacity, Mr. Lee convened a five-city series of public hearings in 1995 which resulted in the report
Environmental Justice, Urban Revitalization, and Brownfields: The Search for Authentic Signs of Hope. Mr. Lee
serves on a National Academy of Sciences/Institute of Medicine Committee on Environmental Justice: Research,
Education, and Health Policy Needs. Mr. Lee has written numerous articles and scholarly papers, and is the editor
of three books, Proceedings: First National People of Color Environmental Leadership Summit, Racism and Public
Education, and Residential Apartheid: The American Legacy, for which he received the 1995 Gustavus Meyers
Center for Study of Human Rights in America Book Award.
Ms. SUE BRIGGUM
Sue Briggum has been a director of government affairs in the Washington, D.C. Office of Waste Management since
1987. Before joining WMX Technologies, Inc., she was an environmental regulatory counselor and Superfund
litigator with a law firm where she co-authored the Hazardous Waste Regulation Handbook: A Practical Guide to
RCRA and Superfund (Executive Enterprises, Inc., 1982; revised 1986). She has served on the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency's (EPA) NACEPT Superfund Advisory Committee and its National Environmental Justice Advisory
Committee, where she participated in the Economic Redevelopment and Brownfields Work Group of the Waste and
Facility Siting Subcommittee.
MR. DAVID HAHN-BAKER
[Biography was not available at time of printing. Please refer to conference addendum.]
Brownfields '97 Partnering for a Greener Tomorrow Brownfields '97 Partnering for a Greener Tomorrow
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Brownfields'97 Partnering for a Greener Tomorrow Brownfields '97 Partnering for a Greener
Ms. ANN M. McDoNouGH
Ann M. McDonough currently works as an Environmental Protection Specialist in the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency's (EPA) Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response (OSWER) on Brownfields and State Voluntary
Cleanup Program issues. Ms. McDonough has twenty-two years of federal government experience. Ten years of
that experience focused on identifying, analyzing and communicating major policy issues affecting the involvement
of states, Indian tribes and local governments in federal environmental and energy-related programs. At EPA, she
has worked on state/federal issues in the Superfund program, and served as OSWER's lead staff analyst
responsible for guidance for developing EPA/State Superfund Memoranda of Agreement Language concerning State
Voluntary Cleanup Programs. Ms. McDonough also worked in the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Civilian
Radioactive Waste Management on socioeconomic and intergovernmental issues related to the siting and
construction of a high-level nuclear waste repository. Ms. McDonough has a Bachelor of Science in economics from
the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, and a Master of Science in environmental public
policy from the University of Maryland, College Park, MD.
MR. MATHY V. STANISLAUS
Mathy V. Stanislaus is currently the director of environmental compliance at the environmental firm of Enviro-
Sciences, Inc. In this capacity he oversees compliance with environmental requirements for projects undertaken by
the firm. He also heads the Brownfields Development Initiative. Activities in this initiative included advising
prospective purchasers and current owners of brownfields properties on strategies for the redevelopment of such
properties. His activities have included counseling a community based not-for-profit organization in the acquisition,
remediation, and redevelopment of a contaminated property for a chartered school, and developing strategies for
municipalities for redeveloping "upside* properties or properties which are perceived as having limited value. His
plan for redeveloping brownfields properties in inner city communities through the integration of federal loan
guarantees, Community Reinvestment Act-based lending and insurance products was adopted by the National Black
Caucus of State Legislators and was recently featured in the national publication, the Atlantic Siteline. He is a
member of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Waste and Facility Siting Subcommittee of the National
Environmental Justice Advisory Council, one of the primary advisory bodies of the EPA on brownfields issues.
Mr. Stanislaus is the co-chair of the board of the Minority Environmental Lawyers Association, Inc. In this position he
has mediated conflicts, counseled legislators regarding methods of incorporating equity into environmental laws, and
testified at public hearings. In this capacity he participated in the drafting of the brownfields provisions of the Clean
Water and Clean Air 1996 Bond Act. On June 27,1994, Mr. Stanislaus was appointed to the Environmental
Advisory Council of the United Nations Environmental Programs.
Brownfields '97 Partnering for a Greener Tomorrow Brownfields '97 Partnering for a Greener Tomorrow
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