The WBWire: Fall 2013 US EPA Regions 8, g&io EPA just released its new solicitation for Brownfields Assessment, Cleanup and Revolving Loan Fund grant proposals! This edition of the WBWire will provide you with the latest information about new grant solicitations, training opportunities and project updates from Port of Newport and Sacramento. ****************** Brownfield Grants Available It's Brownfield grant season again! Don't miss this opportunity to apply for an Assessment, Cleanup or Revolving Loan Fund grant. Proposal deadline is Wednesday, January 22, 2014. Grant Solicitation and more information. EPA Urban Waters Small Grants EPA expects to award up to $1.6 million to support urban water projects in grants of $40,000 to $60,000 each. The goal of the Urban Waters Small Grants program is to fund research, investigations, experiments, training, surveys, studies, and demonstrations that will advance the restoration of urban waters by improving water quality through activities that also support community revitalization and other local priorities. Submission deadline for proposals is December 16, 2013. More information. National Fish and Wildlife Foundation Five Star and Urban Waters Restoration Grants The Five Star and Urban Waters Restoration Program seeks to develop community capacity to sustain local natural resources for future generations by providing modest financial assistance (grants range in size from $20,000 to $50,000) to diverse local partnerships for wetland, forest, riparian and coastal habitat restoration, stormwater management, outreach and stewardship with a particular focus on water quality, watersheds and the habitats they support. The application deadline is February 5, 2014 More information. National Endowment for the Arts Our Town Program Grants The National Endowment for the Arts is accepting applications for Our Town grants which can range from $25,000 to $200,000. Our Town will invest in creative and innovative projects in which communities, together with arts and/or design organizations and artists, seek to improve their quality of life; encourage greater creative activity; foster stronger community identity and a sense of place; and revitalize economic development. Application deadline is January 13, 2014. More Information. EPA Environmental Justice Collaborative Problem Solving Funding Opportunity The FY2014 Environmental Justice Collaborative Problem Solving grant cooperative agreement is designed to help communities understand and address exposure to multiple environmental harms and risks through partnerships. EPA anticipates awarding one cooperative agreement per EPA region in amounts of up to $120,000 per award for a two-year project period. Eligible applicants include non-profit organizations, federally recognized tribal governments, or Native American organizations. The EJ CPS Model is expected to be incorporated into project proposals. Applications are due February 18, 2014. Please see the EPA Region 8 Grants Web page with links to the Request for Funding, EPA Office of Environmental Justice website, and the Collaborative Problem Solving Model. ------- Upcoming Learning Opportunities Join us at the New Partners for Smart Growth Conference in Denver, Colorado, from February 13-15, 2014. ACRES Training - EPA offers two online training courses to assist Brownfields Cooperative Agreement recipients in reporting their grant-funded activities using ACRES. An introductory course for new grantees and the Next Level ACRES training courses are offered throughout the year. For the full schedule and webinar link, go to the ACRES Training page. Ribbon Cutting at the Port of Newport's International Terminal After celebrating the grand opening of Oregon's new International Terminal, the Port of Newport (Port) can finally look forward to a cleaner and more sustainable future. This monumental project—which has been over 10 years in the making—demonstrates the Port's dedication to protecting the environmental while creating jobs and bringing economic vitality to the region. The 3.2 acre terminal has historically been a pillar in the local economy as the only commercial dock in the state available for deep draft vessels. It was originally built in 1948 by sinking two former World War II concrete hulled cargo vessels, the USS Pasley and the USS Hennebique, to serve as wharves for cargo. After over 50 years operating under private and public ownership, structural decay and instability of the scuttled ships significantly reduced and limited access to the terminal. Additionally, sampling confirmed that approximately 200 gallons of oil remaining on the USS Pasley was seeping from a vent pipe in to the ecologically sensitive Yaquina Bay. Over 19,000 gallons of oil were removed between 1996 and 2007, however these significant efforts only scratched the surface of this brownfield as oil, metals, asbestos and PAHs still plagued the site and threatened the surrounding waters. Cleanup wasn't fully completed until 2011, by which point over 19 million gallons of water had been removed and filtered and 5,921 tons of contaminated sediment had been excavated and trucked off-site. The cleanup also called for the full demolition of the USS Pasley. Over 13 tons of scrap metal was removed and recycled during this process while the concrete from the ship was crushed and used as fill and roadbed elsewhere on the site. With the site ready for reuse, no time was lost in redeveloping the newly designed terminal. The remediation and redevelopment of the docks was phased such that the Terminal continued to be accessible to Newport's distant and local commercial fishing fleet as well as to those tenants that serviced the fishing fleet. The terminal was also built to be consistent with federal initiatives for marine navigation included in the Maritime Administration (MARAD) Marine Highway System Plan and the Safe Port Act. By the time the terminal was completed, over $19 million from federal, state, and local funds had gone into the redevelopment, including a $15 million general obligation bond from the Port and $1.5 million from EPA through brownfields grants and loans. The $19 million investment helped to protect the Yaquina Bay estuary, open up the Port to international trade, and catalyze and a new wave of subsequent economic investment to the area. In 2009, concurrent with undertaking the Terminal Redevelopment Project, the Port was selected by the U.S. Department of Commerce's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to become the new home for its Marine Operation Center Pacific Fleet. The Port's Terminal Redevelopment project and its design elements were cited by NOAA as one of the key factors influencing its decision. In 2010, with the anticipated return ------- of improved cargo access to the region, the Port of Toledo, undertook acquisition of a closed heavy lift boat yard with the goal of reopening the property as a public boatyard with the capability to service commercial and recreational fishing vessels over 70 tons. Combined with the NOAA and Port of Toledo projects, this catalyzed over $70 million of infrastructure investment in the region between 2010 and 2012! Warehouse Artist Lofts Under Construction in Sacramento Construction is underway at the Warehouse Artist Lofts (WAL) for the rehabilitation of the existing six story historic Capitol Area Development Agency (CADA) warehouse building, into a residential mixed-use apartment complex. Completion is expected in 2014. Located in the heart of the R Street Historic District between 11th and 12th Streets, this exciting project includes new residential housing construction east of the historic warehouse building, a below grade parking garage, and ground floor retail along R Street. The 116 housing units and 13,000 square feet of commercial spaces will be marketed to the Sacramento artist community with the goal to make the R Street Historic District also an art and culture district. To learn more go to: http://www.cadanet.org/proiect/capitol-lofts/. CADA received a loan from a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Brownfields grant program to help pay for the cleanup. Under DTSC's oversight, CADA prepared a removal action plan and excavated and removed approximately 5,000 cubic yards of contaminated soil to a depth of eight feet. Soils were transported to a permitted facility and the cleanup was completed by the summer of 2004. In September 2004, DTSC issued a certificate of completion that all environmental cleanup activities were completed and that the site was suitable for unrestricted land use. Recently, CADA began the required repayment of its EPA cleanup loans. To learn more, please view EPA's project summary at: http://www.dtsc.ca.gov/ Success/upload/CADA.pdf. -T £ WA / | —— aa mt nd or 7* \ U ; SD / WY NV o CA UT CO Q AZ SERA United States Environmental Protection Agency HI f """ " ~ -AK © WBWire Online Visit your EPA Regional Brownfields website: Region 8, Region 9 and Region 10. For questions, comments, and funding updates, join our Linkedin WBWire Discussion. 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