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UNITED STATES AND GERMAN BILATERAL WORKING GROUP ON REDEVELOPMENT OF POTENTIALLY CONTAMINATED SITES SITE-SPECIFIC MANAGEMENT APPROACHES AND REDEVELOPMENT TOOLS - RESOURCE (SMARTRESOURCE)
Citation:
Vega*, A, A M. Gatchett*, R. Argus, Costopolous, U. Ferber, AND K. Steffens. UNITED STATES AND GERMAN BILATERAL WORKING GROUP ON REDEVELOPMENT OF POTENTIALLY CONTAMINATED SITES SITE-SPECIFIC MANAGEMENT APPROACHES AND REDEVELOPMENT TOOLS - RESOURCE (SMARTRESOURCE). 2003.
Impact/Purpose:
The purpose is to: (1) Aid developers and site mangers in preparing a redevelopment plan, financial summary, and vision for potentially contaminated sites, including brownfields; (2) Assist stakeholders that are not directly responsible for redevelopment of the site in understanding the issues and obstacles associated with such an effort; (3) Focus on the crucial links between environmental, economic, and social issues that are often overlooked by site developers and planners; (4) Provide ideas for cost reduction, increased success rates, long-term viability (sustainability), innovative planning techniques, project benefits, and financial planning; (5) Help to streamline the gaps between municipal officials, local community, and investors; (6) Provide background information and sources for additional information on important subjects such as assessing environmental risks, economic viability, and community relations that provide information to assist site managers in the development of strategies to make their redevelopment project an environmental and financial success; and (7) Provide a guide for preparation of redevelopment plans that can be used as a communication and marketing tool.
Description:
The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) continues an ongoing partnership to gain an understanding of each other's approach to the cleanup of chemical contamination in order to protect human health and the environment. This partnership has now entered its third phase with a new focus on providing a variety of tools, approaches, and technologies that could facilitate streamlined, cost-effective cleanup and redevelopment of contaminated sites, or brownfields. The Interstate Technology and Regulatory Council (ITRC), a key state-led organization, is also a significant contributor to the third phase activities. In 2000, the US-German Bilateral Working Group (EPA, BMBF, ITRC, and others) conducted studies to identify elements of brownfields redevelopment and understand which elements posed the most difficulties during a redevelopment effort. The Working Group discussed tools that could be developed to assist stakeholders in overcoming the barriers to redevelopment that were identified. The SMART resource is one of these tools. SMARTresource is a compilation of ideas, resources, and best practices to facilitate redevelopment of potentially contaminated sites.