REFUELING REUSE ECOLOGICAL REVITALIZATION OF ABANDONED GAS STATIONS \\ W*® ' , ^ 1 m, ^n&i ¦if JiJf ¦: f ' ¦ % TO* •' , y'1 fc; Abandoned Gas Stations are a common type of brownfields. If you have one in your community, use this checklist to bring more life to the environment through ecological revitalization. WHY FOCUS ON ABANDONED GAS STATIONS? There are 450,000 U.S. Brownfield sites and approximately 50% have leaking underground storage tanks (USTs) at old gas stations. Many abandoned gas stations are under 3 acres in ideal locations for reuse as parks, gardens, greenspaces, recreation, residences, or commercial spaces. Community health and the environment can benefit when petroleum contaminants at the site, in the building, in groundwater, and soils are addressed and exposures prevented. ------- HOW CAN YOUR ABANDONED GAS STATION REUSE IMPROVE THE ENVIRONMENT? Review the below checklist points to determine their applications within your site context. SOIL HEALTH & REMEDIATION • What can help speed up the natural breakdown of petroleum? • Soil amendments, as organic materials, can improve soils, reduce compaction and help reduce the spread of petroleum contaminants. Add native plants to create habitat and biodiversity. • A healthy soil structure and soil amendments can balance pH, improve water holding capacity and drainage, filter contaminants and cycle nutrients which promote plant growth and biological diversity. Learn more about Soil Properties, Phytotechnologies, and Bioremedjation. GREFN INFRASTRUCTURE AND STORMWATER • How can expanding green space and unpaved areas near a site bring benefits? • Adding and extending green areas with rain gardens, bioswales, green roofs, and permeable pavements aid stormwater management and provide other health benefits to the community. • Green design may also reduce construction costs and the need for salt in the winter. Read more about green infrastructure here. ECOSYSTEM BENEFITS • What natural features provide benefits and strengthen ecosystems? • Planting trees, shrubs, grasses or flowers can reduce air pollution, assist temperature regulation, buffer noise and provide habitat for pollinators, birds, and wildlife. Learn more using the EnviroAtlas tool here. Photo source: Community Guide to Bioremediation ACCESSING GREENER REUSE • How do residents, workers or visitors access and enjoy natural features of the intended reuse? • Natural features can beautify and have environmental function that increase property values. Consider how greenery can add commercial value and complement solar panels, battery storage, EV charging and other forward- looking reuses. Photo: David Doyle, Region 7 Bioremediation enhances natural biological processes that degrade contaminants in soil and groundwater. Trees and plants can extract, degrade, or immobilize pollutants through Phytoremediation ------- ABANDONED GAS STATION REVITALIZATION EXAMPLES Successful reuse is not one size fits all. Contact your local, state, and tribal brownfields program for their help Big Daddy's Garden Emeryville, California Big Daddy's Complete Rejuvenating Community Garden is named for the owner of the gas station and autoshop that was once at this site. • Neighborhood residents led the creation of the garden space. • Volunteer work and a combination of city and local donor funding fueled the construction. • Bringing in raised garden beds and clean soil is a safe practice to ensure residual petroleum contaminants are not taken up into the garden products. Read more on what you should Know Before You Grow. SeQuential Biofuels Eugene, Oregon SeQuential is a biofuels station and retail store restored with green infrastructure in a gas station brownfield redevelopment. • Stormwater is filtered by the station's vegetated roof, roadside rain gardens, and a retention pond. • Passive solar heat and lighting reduce energy needs of the site. • Local pollution from fuel is reduced by offering bioethanol and biodiesel produced from used cooking oil and agricultural and industrial waste instead of volatile oil compounds. Brandywine Village Green Wilmington, Delaware The city of Wilmington in coordination with the Greater Brandywine Village Revitalization Group revitalized an abandoned gas station site into a park and parking lot with green infrastructure features to fit the immediate needs of the community. • Permeable pavement enables stormwater to collect in piping under the parking lot, where it then flows to a bioswale - a depression in the surface used to collect stormwater. • Contam nants in runoff are absorbed by sand and peat moss below the parking lot and bioswale. RS Automotive Tacoma, Maryland RS Automotive is an electric vehicle (EV) charging station opened in 2019 after the owner closed the previous autoshop and gas station. • Underground storage tanks were removed with plans to keep the autoshop open. • City and state grant funds revitalized the shop into an EV charging station. • Patrons visit nearby businesses while their car charges for 15-30 minutes. Photo source: Green Roofs .com. Featured Project Photo source: Region 3 "Paving its Brownfields Green" Photo source: Mhari Shaw/NPR EPA Resources: EPA Brownfields Grants ------- WHY TRANSFORM ABANDONED GAS STATIONS INTO ENVIRONMENTAL COMMUNITY ASSETS? Determine with community members what benefiits they want ito see in the site reuse. Meeting community need Many communities do not have access to green space. Transforming abandoned gas stations into green spaces on main streets and commercial areas has environmental possibilities nationwide. The benefits associated with remediating and revitalizing a single abandoned gas station site can be impactful for a single community. At a national scale, adding benefits from the thousands of sites across the US may lead to significant benefits over time (EPA2014). The following sections contain a few reasons to introduce environmental assets to a community in place of an abandoned gas station. Trees and greenery Planting a greater diversity of tree species facilitates significant recreational and aesthetic value. The estimated beneficial effects of trees on greenery include 17.4 million tons of air pollution removed and $7 billion value in human health savings in the Conterminous U.S. according to a 2014 study. In addition to reducing pollution and providing green space, trees also lower energy bills and energy demand by providing shade and cooling the air through evapotranspiration. Green Infrastructure Redevelpoment of metro area brownfield sites reduces impervious surfaces, a type of green design for stormwater management, by 73-80% compared to business as usual development (EPA 2020). Green infrastructure can bolster the capacity to manage stormwater. It costs less than conventional gray infrastructure and reduces municipal water usage and cooling costs. Reducing stormwater-related impacts also reduces a person's exposure to water pollution and flooding-related health hazards and their associated health outcomes, such as waterborne illnesses. EV charging Create an EV charging station to meet growing charging needs and reduce vehicle emissions. Decreasing emissions reduces air pollution. Assess the market potential of an EV charging station in your community, as demonstrated in Alameda County, California. The property cleanup costs can also be less expensive when repurposing the site as an alternative fueling the site as an alternative fueling station compared to other redevelopment options. Read more here on how to convert your abandoned gas station site into an EV charging station. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Office of Research and Development Office of Land and Emergency Management Center for Public Health and Environmental Assessment Office of Brownfields and Land Revitalization EPA/600/R-22/123 ------- |