Grantee Research Project Results

Final Report: Midwest Hazardous Substance Research Center Training and Technical Assistance to Brownfields Communities (MHSRC-TTAB) Program

EPA Grant Number: R831578
Title: Midwest Hazardous Substance Research Center Training and Technical Assistance to Brownfields Communities (MHSRC-TTAB) Program
Investigators: Banks, M. Katherine , Grisby, Beth , Leven, Blase
Institution: Purdue University , Kansas State University
EPA Project Officer: Aja, Hayley
Project Period: May 1, 2004 through April 30, 2007
Project Amount: $337,500
RFA: HSRC - TTAB Brownfields (2003) RFA Text |  Recipients Lists
Research Category: Hazardous Waste/Remediation , Land and Waste Management

Objective:

The Training and Technical Assistance to Brownfields (TTAB) program provides training and technical assistance to cities and other groups who are interested in redeveloping brownfields. The TAB program brings university educational and technical resources to communities affected by hazardous substance issues at brownfield sites. The primary goal is to empower communities with an independent understanding of the underlying technical issues related to hazardous substances so they may contribute substantively to the decision-making process when sites are cleaned up and re-used. For brownfield sites, this is usually accomplished by working with the city's brownfields team to provide technical assistance and research services to the city and to assist with community outreach efforts. TAB representatives provide information through a combination of special research, written documents, public presentations, and workshops, as required.

Summary/Accomplishments (Outputs/Outcomes):

TAB projects generally addressed environmental aspects of site redevelopment and the health effects arising from environmental pollution. Specific types of support provided by TAB included:

Workshops on the brownfields redevelopment process, community leader training, environmental site assessments, and risk assessment

Review of bid solicitations and responses

Review of technical reports related to environmental assessment and cleanup work performed by contractors

Clarifying regulatory processes

Assisting in identification of funding sources and reviewing grant applications to EPA

Preparing citizen briefs (fact sheets) on topics relevant to brownfields redevelopment

Advice/assistance with engaging and involving key stakeholders in the planning and redevelopment process, including community visioning workshops

E-tools such as TAB EZ, a free on-line tool to assist writing EPA brownfields assessment and cleanup grant proposals, and a city site redevelopment database.

Our teams worked closely with advisory and steering committees made up of representatives of all stakeholders from the community. Primary points of contact were usually leaders of the advisory committees. These are most commonly city, county, or

redevelopment agency officials designated as brownfields coordinators for individual projects, or sometimes neighborhood group leaders. Other important members of steering committees include site owners, developers, contractors, state and federal environmental regulators, and citizens at large.

Over 25 communities received direct technical assistance and/or training. Some of the communities include:

South (Chicago) Suburban Mayors and Managers Association, Illinois

Cities of Crawfordsville, Anderson, Gary, Goshen, Lafayette, Muncie, Evansville and Frankfort, and Tippecanoe County, Indiana

Cities of Des Moines, Dakota City, and Dubuque, Iowa

Cities of Kansas City, Springfield and Newburg, the Village of Stella, and the Heartland Foundation in St. Joseph, Missouri

City of Atchison and Oak Grove Neighborhood in Kansas City, Kansas

Cities of Scottsbluff, Lincoln, and Dakota City, Nebraska

City of Rittman, Ohio

Susanville Indian Rancheria/Sierra Army Depot, California

Brownfield-specific workshops were conducted in conjunction with KDHE (Kansas Department of Health and Environment) in 2003, 2004, and 2005; Michigan DEQ in 2006; and NDEQ (Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality) in 2005 and 2006; the IDNR (Indiana Department of Natural Resources) in 2008; as well as EPA Regions 5 and 7, and the University of Central Missouri in Warrensburg, Missouri. Evaluation reports were prepared for many of these workshops to assess knowledge gained by the audience. In general, community members indicated an increase in knowledge and confidence in pursuing brownfields redevelopment activities. Well over 135 communities from Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, Michigan, and Missouri sent representatives to these workshops.

TAB staff have been regularly invited speakers at the annual EPA Brownfields Conference, the EPA Nuts & Bolts of Brownfields workshop, and EPA regional and state brownfields grant workshops. Presentations of interest, in addition to basic environmental and redevelopment topics, have included phytoremediation brownfield applications, demonstrations of electronic tools such as SMARTe and TAB E-Z, and the redevelopment visioning process. The last topic won the “People’s Choice” award at a past EPA Brownfield Conference.

Supplemental Keywords:

brownfields, redevelopment, community evaluation, environmental risk assessment, health assessment, hazardous substance contamination, toxic contamination, regulatory process, remediation technologies, RFA, Ecosystem Protection/Environmental Exposure & Risk, Scientific Discipline, INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION, Geographic Area, Waste, Ecological Risk Assessment, EPA Region, Urban and Regional Planning, Ecosystem/Assessment/Indicators, Brownfields, Ecological Effects - Environmental Exposure & Risk, environmental education, environmental consequences, government coordination, environmental risks, risk assessment, Region 7, Region 5, hazardous waste, environmental assessment, risk assessment , brownfield sites, environmental hazards

Relevant Websites:

TAB Program Exit

Progress and Final Reports:

Original Abstract

2004

2005