LAND REVITALIZATION FACT SHEET
SUSTAINABLE RECOVERY
AFTER NATURAL DISASTE
EPA \s assisting several commu-
nity-led efforts to build energy
efficiency and sustainability into
post-disaster redevelopment plans.
EPA is one of 16 federal agencies
involved in the Federal Emergency
Management Agency's (FEMA)
Emergency Support Function (ESF)
#14 (Long-Term Community Recov-
ery) under the National Response
Framework.
Created in response to Hurricanes
Katrina and Rita, ESF #14 is a commu-
nity-based process that facilitates
multiple stakeholder involvement in
post-disaster recovery decisions and
enables communities to prepare for
long-term recovery needs. The result
of the long-term community recovery
process often is a plan, strategy, or
framework that allows the community
to articulate a vision and rally around
goals, objectives, and initiatives that
move the community toward a shared
vision for recovery.
Under ESF #14, EPA headquarters and
regional offices are providing techni-
cal assistance, supporting commu-
nity visioning charrettes, and helping
communities plan and implement
policies, strategies, and practices
for sustainable recovery after natural
disasters.
Region 7 was the first EPA Region
tapped by FEMA to offer long-term
community disaster recovery assis-
tance under ESF #14. Region 7 staff
participated in an interagency team
that worked closely with residents, local
government, local businesses, and
other stakeholders in the small, rural
community of Greensburg, Kansas, that
was devastated by a tornado in May
2007. EPA Region 7 staff also offered
sustainable recovery assistance to six
NEW ENVIRONMENTAL SOLUTIONS
EPA's land revitalization initiatives are producing significant environmen-
tal benefits and helping to transform communities into more sustainable
and livable places. The strategy of encouraging market-driven redevel-
opment of brownfields and other contaminated sites for economic
reuse is proving to be a successful approach at many sites. However,
challenging real estate markets and economic realities can leave some
formerly contaminated properties unused, possibly for a long time. New
approaches are needed to revitalize these sites and protect human
health and the environment.
EPA's Land Revitalization Team is working with communities, states, other
federal agencies, academic institutions, nonprofit organizations, and
the private sector to develop and test new approaches that recognize
valuable reuse alternatives for formerly contaminated properties. Build-
ing green infrastructure to help manage stormwater runoff and floods,
promoting safe soil management to support urban agriculture, and
siting renewable energy on contaminated sites can bring environmental,
ecological, and social benefits to communities. Unlocking the potential
value of these underused properties often requires creativity and close
collaboration with many public and private partners. These projects can
help stabilize communities and spur economic development.
small communities in eastern Iowa as
they developed a vision for a greener
future after major floods tore through
their communities in 2008.
EPA Region 8 and headquarters staff
worked with FEMA under ESF #14
in North Dakota in 2010 to help the
Spirit Lake Tribe build a compre-
hensive recovery plan. This was the
first time that FEMA, EPA, and other
federal partners provided compre-
hensive post-disaster ESF #14 recov-
ery assistance to a tribe. The plan
will guide tribal community long-term
recovery from several years of flood-
ing in Devil's Lake.
EPA's Office of Sustainable Communities
is providing training and capacity-build-
ing assistance to the tribe on planning
for sustainable living. Region 8's Partner-
ship for Sustainable Communities with
the U.S. Departments of Transportation
(DOT) and Housing and Urban Develop-
ment (HUD) is developing a strategy
to assist the tribe with recovery once
implementation work begins.
The goal of EPA's activities in support
of ESF #14 is to help these and
other disaster-impacted communi-
ties in adopting smart growth, green
infrastructure, and green building
practices as well as developing land-
use policies to rebuild and plan for
growth that is good for the environ-
ment, community, and the economy.
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HELPING PUT THE "GREEN" IN GREENSBURG, KANSAS
In Greensburg, EPA Region 7 staff
worked with a multi-stakeholder "green
team" that spearheaded a community-
based effort to develop a sustainable
redevelopment plan. The plan includes
rebuilding all municipal buildings of
more than 4,000 square feet to the
Leadership in Energy Efficient Design
(LEED) platinum standard. The plan
also calls for rebuilding the community
recycling center, creating a center on
sustainability, developing a sustain-
able master plan, and promoting the
adoption of a voluntary green business
and green home plan for Greensburg.
The plan also calls for using renewable
energy whenever possible.
Today, Greensburg is doing exactly what
the city's motto says: "Rebuilding Stronger,
Better, Greener." The new arts center, made
of recycled materials, is the first building in
Kansas to receive a LEED platinum rating,
and Greensburg's new municipal center is
the first in the nation built to meet the LEED
platinum standard. Several other buildings
received or are awaiting final LEED certifica-
tion. Greensburg also built a wind farm that
can generate enough electricity to power
4,000 homes—in a town with only 1,400
residents. Extra energy will be sold to the
Kansas Power Pool.
Greensburg's progress toward realizing its
goal of becoming "the greenest town in
New Arts Center made from
recycled material
America" also boosted the local economy
by attracting eco-tourists from through-
out the world who are eager to see what
sustainable revitalization looks like in
practice.
SUSTAINABLE REDEVELOPMENT PLANNED FOR IOWA CITY'S
RIVERFRONT CROSSINGS DISTRICT
EPA Region 7's Land Revitalization Team
is assisting Iowa City in designing a
conceptual redevelopment plan for a
10-square block portion of its Riverfront
Crossings District. The district includes
several brownfields and a wastewater
treatment plant that will be decommis-
sioned over the next several years. As
part of this effort, contractors working
with Region 7 and EPA headquarters
staff are helping the city develop a
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Conceptual Redevelopment Plan
for part of the district
MORE INFORMATION:
plan for inventorying, assessing, and
remediating brownfields in the target
area. The plan is expected to become
final in mid-2011.
While a portion of the EPA project area
lies in the 100-year floodplain, the area
outside of the floodplain is being consid-
ered for a combination of retail and
affordable housing opportunities linked to
a proposed Amtrak station and a possible
light rail line. The conceptual redevelop-
ment plan also envisions a new urban park
on the site where the wastewater treatment
plant now stands. The redevelopment plan
will transform the area into a high-density,
mixed-use, pedestrian friendly, transit-
oriented neighborhood. Cleaning up the
property, reusing the land, and providing
new housing choices will create jobs and
new economic opportunities in Iowa City.
The project in Iowa City is one of five
pilots under the interagency Partnership
for Sustainable Communities, an agree-
ment between HUD, DOT, and EPA to
help communities identify opportunities
to link housing, transit, and brownfields
revitalization. The pilot grew out of ERA'S
partnership with FEMA to address long-
term recovery after major floods hit
the area in 2008. As a result, EPA, HUD,
DOT, and FEMA are working together
to coordinate resources and provide
expert assistance to help Iowa City build
a sustainable future.
Region 7 also is providing long-term
disaster recovery assistance to the
communities of Coralville, Cedar
Falls, Cedar Rapids, New Hartford and
Waverly, Iowa. Assistance includes
supporting community design
charrettes, developing plans for new
green infrastructure to improve storm-
water management, and helping
the communities review and propose
improvements to existing policies and
codes that will promote better land use
and smart growth.
Visit FEMA's Long-term Recovery and ESF #14 web site: http://www.fema.gov/rebuild/ltcr/index.shtm
Visit the Partnership for Sustainable Communities web site at: http://www.epa.gov/smartgrowth/partnership/
Visit EPA's Land Revitalization program web site at: http://www.epa.gov/landrevitalization/
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Off ice of Sol id Waste and
Emergency Response
(5105T)
EPA560-F-11-017
April 2011
www.epa.gov/brownfields/
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