2020 Program
EPA Region 3 All Grantees Meeting
Moderator: Stephanie Branche, EPA
Join us for an EPA update followed by a roundtable discussion.
Speakers: Kristeen Gaffney, Gary White – NJIT, Jill Gaito, Gaito & Associates, Kirby Date, AICP, KM Date Community Planning LLC, Adrienne Squillance, AVP, PNC Community Development Banking
CABIN Summit ARC Brownfields Bluefield Let’s Play Ball WV Redevelopment
Chair: Kim Hoover, PA Department of Environmental Protection, Harrisburg, PA
On Monday afternoon, join Central Appalachian Regional Brownfield Summit (CABIN) for a focus on our ongoing regional conversation, including highlights from across Appalachia, an opportunity to network with stakeholders from Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Ohio, Virginia, Kentucky and Tennessee, and the return of the state panel discussion. The 5th annual CABIN Summit educates stakeholders from across the region on complex redevelopment issues; provides the opportunity for communities to network with peers, agency representatives, development professionals, and environmental experts in person; and highlights success stories from across the Central Appalachian region.
Speaker: Bradley Roebke, Appalachian Regional Commission, Washington, DC
Mobile Workshop/Tour
The bus tour features a visit to the adaptive reuse of the former Bellefonte Match Factory. See the Penn State University campus, including a stop at the Creamery.
Get Acquainted Reception
Get acquainted with fellow conference attendees at our opening reception. This event is held at the Bryce Jordan Center (see the map for information) on the campus of Penn State University.
Brownfields 101 Workshop*
Chair: Steven Miano, Esq., Hangley Aronchick Segal Pudlin & Schiller, Philadelphia, PA
Spend an hour before the start of the conference learning the basics of Pennsylvania’s brownfields program. The session is designed for those who are new to brownfields redevelopment, those who want a refresher, or those who want to put the entire redevelopment process into perspective. The session will cover the basics of Acts 2, 3 and 4, the legal protection provided, federal counterparts, the drivers of the process, managing technical issues, the nuts and bolts of doing the deal, risk management, vapor intrusion issues as a new issue, and long term stewardship of redevelopment projects including environmental covenants. Speakers will provide both the DEP and private practice perspectives and will include a DEP representative, a technical consultant and an environmental lawyer who are all very experienced in the PA Brownfields program.
Speakers: Steven Miano, Esq., Hangley Aronchick Segal Pudlin & Schiller, Philadelphia, PA; Troy Conrad, PA Department of Environmental Protection, Harrisburg, PA; Bill Ahlert, Ph.D., HDR, Bethlehem, PA
Welcome to the PA Brownfields Conference!
Chair: Mark Urbassik, KU Resources, Inc.
DEP Secretary Patrick McDonnell joins DCED Secretary Dennis Davin and EPA Region 3 Regional Administrator Cosmo Servidio to welcome you to the 13th Pennsylvania Brownfields Conference.
1A: From Brownfield to Workforce Housing: Part 1 Part 2
Chair: Kim Hoover, PA Department of Environmental Protection, Harrisburg, PA
In 2015, Petra Community Housing (Petra) investigated 730 Wheatland Street, Phoenixville, in Chester County, as a potential site for development of permanent affordable and workforce housing. The owner of this 3.2-acre parcel of vacant land provided an environmental report showing the presence of arsenic and lead. Barry Isett & Associates (Isett) was retained to provide environmental consulting. Based upon a Phase I Environmental Site Assessment and the expectation that the not-for-profit Petra would be eligible for partial cost reimbursement from the Industrial Sites Reuse Program (ISRP), the property was purchased.
Completed in November 2018, SteelTown Village is now home to elderly, disabled veterans, persons with permanent disability, and working families at affordable rates. The availability of affordable workforce housing remains a concern in Chester County as it has the highest per capita income of any county in the state. Additionally, in the last ten years, Phoenixville has shown an immense increase in the production of luxury housing for its size. This increase is as great as or greater than any municipality in the state. The ability of the workforce to live in the region where they work remains an important public policy issue.
Speaker: Alex Ulmer, Barry Issett & Associates, Phoenixville, PA; Steve Kambic, Petra Community Housing, Spring City, PA
1B: Connected, Automated and Green: Collaboration for the 4th Industrial Revolution*
Chair: Bill Ahlert, Ph.D., HDR, Bethlehem, PA
The United States and the World are in the midst of the 4th Industrial Revolution. The forces of globalization, automation, connectivity, changing demographics, and shared and on-demand economy are changing everything from how we communicate to do business. The form of our communities is changing, and individual governments, non-profits, businesses, civic leaders and social media mavens will need to work together to rise to the challenges of the new emerging economy. Pennsylvania is in a unique position with a ready workforce, reuse opportunities, connected transportation systems, an abundance of higher education and technical training facilities, and the ever-important location, location, location, to serve as a leader. Utilizing the case study of Lehigh Valley, with the highest new industrial facility growth rate in the US, 70 years of population growth, success in brownfield reuse and redevelopment, and a series of regional collaborations, the session will explore how to position your region or community to compete in the new economy by utilizing:
1) Establishing goals, policies and actions that balance housing, the environment, transportation, sewer and water systems, health, parks, recreation, farmland preservation, education and the economy
2) Public-public, public-private, public-non-profit-private partnerships and collaborations
3) Balancing brownfield and greyfield reuse with community-needs and the emerging economy
4) Hazard mitigation, emergency response, resiliency and the “climate change effect
5) Engaging entire communities, building and communicating a single-unified message
6) Working towards communities and regions that are future-focused, prepared and flexible to successfully address change.
The Lehigh Valley Planning Commission’s professional planners and engineers and key regional and local partners will present the session with a short presentation and panel discussion followed by an interactive audience activity to build skills to take back to the office and to communities.
Speaker: Becky Bradley and Tracy Oscavich, Lehigh Valley Planning Commission, Allentown, PA
1C: Addressing BAD Buildings*
Chair: Mark Urbassik, KU Resources, Inc. Duquesne, PA
Abandoned and dilapidated buildings dot the landscape of communities of all sizes in Pennsylvania and West Virginia. The WVU BAD (Brownfield, Abandoned, Dilapidated) Buildings program has developed a strategy to tackle blight in the West Virginia and the entire Appalachian region. Significant progress is being made by building an inventory and understanding the community makeup; as well as, envisioning the future of communities through site reuse planning. Policies such as vacant building registry’s and Land Reuse Agencies have given communities tools to address BAD Buildings resulting from the program. The BAD Buildings program has encouraged stakeholders to form the Abandoned Properties Coalition, which is dedicated to pursuing the revitalization of abandoned and dilapidated properties across West Virginia through sustainable planning and policies that positively contribute to community well-being. This panel discussion will include Kathy Wyrosdick, Planning Director for City of Erie, PA, representatives from the City of Wheeling, WV and other community developers from PA and WV to discuss their experiences with the BAD Buildings program. Learn more about how the WVU BAD Buildings model can impact this key issue and how your community can get involved.
Speaker: Carrie Staton, Central Appalachian Brownfields Innovation Network (CABIN), Morgantown, WV; Kathy Wyrosdick, City of Erie, Erie, PA
Keynote Session: Crazy Aaron
Chair: Troy Conrad, PA Department of Environmental Protection, Harrisburg, PA
For Aaron Muderick, the CEO of Crazy Aaron’s, success did not happen overnight. Starting in 2002 from a small company with a handful of employees, the company has grown into a top brand in specialty toys to inspire curiosity and wonder and to educate and delight their customers all over the world. Crazy Aaron’s new headquarters is located in Norristown, PA where Thinking Putty is proudly made in the USA.
2A: Regional Hot Topics in Brownfields: Resiliency, Fill Policy, and Sustainability*
Chair: Jess Anderson, P.G., LEED AP, Michael Baker International, Allentown, PA
A truly interactive session with panelists representing PA, NJ and NY. The nuanced discussion of topics crossing state boundaries will include resiliency and sustainability issues and approaches being used in those states at brownfield sites as well as the impact of the management of fill policies in each state and how they are impacting the flow and use of fill at projects. Additional state examples from within the BCONE region will be brought in to illuminate the discussion. Panelists will speak among themselves and bring audience members into the discussion throughout the entire 50 minute session.
Speakers: Sue Boyle, GEI Consultants, Inc. and representative from the Brownfields Coalition of the North East (BCONE), Mt. Laurel, NJ; Brian Clark, Esq., Buchanan Ingersoll, Harrisburg, PA; Jeffrey Casaletto, Esq., Norris McLaughlin, Bridgewater, NJ
2B: The Arc of the Covenant
Chair: Troy Conrad, PA Department of Environmental Protection, Harrisburg, PA
The Uniform Environmental Covenants Act (UECA) was signed into Pennsylvania law on December 18, 2007 as Act 68. The goal of Act 68 was to standardize the process for creating activity and use limitations at contaminated sites and ensuring long-term maintenance, enforceability, and communication of the limitations. Act 68 has largely been successful in accomplishing it’s stated goals. However, some covenants, especially those created in the early days of Act 68, are too broadly written resulting in conditions that may be overly restrictive. Blanket restrictions on groundwater use, residential development, etc. were, and in some areas, continue to be common practice. In many instances, such restrictions are not necessary to attain remediation standards, but offer a sense of security to remediators. Overly restrictive covenants can be a severe impediment for the development of brownfields to their highest and best uses by private and public developers.
The former Tyco Electronics Plant in the Borough of Carlisle, PA was identified as a brownfield catalyst site under a USEPA Areawide Plan in 2015. The plant had been closed in 2009 and remained on the market for over ten years until the Cumberland Area Economic Development Corporation – Real Estate Collaborative (REC) acquired the property from Tyco in 2018. The on-site plant building was demolished in 2019 and the REC has been working with partners to develop the site. A commercial / retail end use was anticipated under the 2015 Areawide Plan, but current market conditions are such that the highest and best use of the property includes residential and health care, along with some retail and entertainment. An Act 2 closure was completed for the site which included implementation of an Environmental Covenant (EC) on the property. The EC has multiple activity and use limitations, including a restriction to non-residential development, which is not necessary to maintain attainment with remedial standards. This case study will provide attendees with an inside look at how the REC partnered with the PADEP to resolve the overly restrictive EC. Attendees will also learn how to create well-written covenants that protect public health and remediator liability, but also provide for reasonable land development opportunity.
Speakers: Jill Gaito, Gaito Associates, LLC, Carlisle, PA; Jonathan Bowser, Integrated Development Partners, LLC, Wormleysburg, PA; Jonathan Spergel, Manko, Gold, Katcher & Fox LLP, Bala Cynwyd, PA:Dominick Anselmo, Hull & Associates, Inc., Pittsburgh, PA
2C: A Success Story: Remediation and Redevelopment of a Former Manufacturing Facility*
Chair: Greg Firely, BCES, AMO Environmental Decisions, Doylestown, PA
Metal-treatment and/or herbicide/pesticide manufacturing was performed at a 26-acre Ambler, Pennsylvania facility between 1914 and 2003. Specialty laboratory, and general business and site-support services were conducted between approximately 2003 and 2010. Owners of the property directed several environmental investigation and/or remedial activities at the facility between the early 1980s and present. A 99-year ground lease was entered between the current owner (BASF Corporation) and Ambler Yards in 2015. A major aspect of the site assessment, cleanup, and ultimate redevelopment involved mitigating site concerns to the public and lessees.
This presentation provides an overview of several environmental actions performed under Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PADEP) and/or the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) cleanup programs. It highlights technical approaches designed to obtain PADEP’s Release(s) from Liability under Pennsylvania’s Land Recycling and Environmental Remediation Standards Act (Act 2), quantify potential residual environmental liability, and support redevelopment of the property. It also highlights the importance of public/private partnerships and stakeholder involvement in the process. Several stakeholders, including representatives of Ambler Borough, Lower Gwynedd Township, PADEP, and USEPA took ownership of the remediation and redevelopment process, which led to Ambler Yards Grand Opening in September 2019. A unique working relationship between BASF and Ambler Yards was also integral to the beneficial reuse of the property. Technical aspects of the presentation include: the use of statistical-based soil sampling programs to assess the entire 26-acres of the property, target areas requiring remediation, and manage risk; and methods used to investigate and remediate groundwater contamination in fractured bedrock (including low-flow extraction with ex-situ treatment, and in-situ treatment using hydraulic and pneumatic fracturing techniques). Non-technical aspects include: examples of public/private partnerships having positive influences on the outcome; and photographs illustrating the site’s transition to a flourishing commercial member of the Ambler community.
Speakers: Jay Ash, AMO Environmental Decisions, Doylestown, PA; Edward Vanyo, BASF, Florham Park, NJ; Matt Sigel and Marc Policarpo, Ambler Yards, Ambler, PA; Kathleen Hunsicker, Lower Gwynedd Township Board of Supervisors, Lower Gwynedd, PA
3A: Brownfields – Planning for the Future
Chair: Bill Ahlert, Ph.D., HDR, Bethlehem, PA
Learn about the importance of employing urban planning and design as part of the brownfields cleanup and redevelopment process. Examples of projects from around the country and in Pennsylvania will be presented. The panel will discuss how urban planning and design can be used to facilitate discussions with community stakeholders, establish a vision, develop consensus, and implement design solutions to address community brownfields. From individual properties and districts to corridors and sub-areas, learn how the group has engaged communities to establish a vision and implementation mechanisms for redeveloping brownfields. Topics to be discussed include the following:
•Identifying stakeholders
•Interactive stakeholder engagement
•Establishing the redevelopment program
•Iterative design process/solutions
•Preferred plan/redevelopment concept
Speakers: Doug Bisson, AICP, ENV SP, HDR, Omaha, NE; Nicole Henderson, General Dynamics Information Technology, Pittsburgh, PA; Dave Hopkins, City of Easton, Easton
3B: Funding Community Brownfields: Grant Sources Roadmap
Chair: Greg Firely, BCES, AMO Environmental Decisions, Doylestown, PA
Grant funding sources are available, yet not widely advertised. These sources range from State and Federal to Local Philanthropic. Attendees to this session will learn successful strategies from two teams who have blazed this trail on both fronts. The first team successfully leveraged grants from the US EPA Brownfields Grant Program, Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development and Keystone Communities Grant for the assessment, remedial planning, cleanup and construction of a community park. These funding sources were staged pursuant to each phase of work. The team will discuss the planning, timing and implementation of the funding strategy to make this project happen in Scranton, Pennsylvania.
The second team will discuss a seldomly taped resources, Philanthropic grants. Learn how to build relationships with foundations and how to craft your project story to unlock the many philanthropic opportunities available throughout the redevelopment process. Very few philanthropic foundations ever talk about brownfields as a priority, but many are funding projects across the nation—they just don’t always think of them that way. By focusing on the broader aspects of a project, redevelopment leaders across the country are tapping into funds with priorities in economic transition, community development, education, recreation, and more, building broader projects and more lasting change through partnerships and diversified funding avenues.
Speakers: James Bedison, Ph.D., AMO Environmental Decisions, Doylestown, PA; Patrick Kirby, WV Brownfields Assistance Center at WVU, Morgantown, WV; Brenda Sacco and Sandra Opshinsky, Lackawanna County Department of Planning & Economic Development, Scranton, PA
3C: PFAS and Brownfield Redevelopment: Risk Management*
Chair: Colleen Costello, P.G., GHD, North Wales, PA
Per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (“PFAS”) are extremely durable, man-made compounds of fluorine and carbon which have been manufactured since the 1940s and used for a wide variety of purposes. The U.S. Food & Drug Administration (“FDA”) has estimated that there are nearly 5,000 types of PFAS. Some PFAS, the FDA notes, have been more widely used and studied than others. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) notes evidence that exposure to PFAS can lead to adverse health effects. State and federal regulators are seeking to develop remedial standards for certain PFAS and considering the extent to which all PFAS should be regulated or investigated. But as new risk-based research appears contending that at least some PFAS compounds or strands of PFAS compounds may be more dangerous to health or the environment than previously suspected, the determination of remedial standards remains uncertain. In Pennsylvania, this uncertainty has complicated the response to PFAS contamination in water systems in both Bucks and Montgomery County. Nationally, class action lawsuits involving PFAS have multiplied in the last decade. These lawsuits have sought medical monitoring and damages for personal injury and property damage. Other lawsuits have sought to recover the cost of treating water contaminated by PFAS. Even without litigation pending or threatened, and even without a definite regulatory regime established, PFAS can present a major transactional risk. If not recognized and managed, this risk can result in exorbitant liabilities. This presentation will briefly discuss what PFAS are and how they have been used, current and proposed regulatory standards, the risks of litigation PFAS poses, the risk transactions face, and how these risks may be mitigated by insurance. Attention will be given to how both Act 2 – Pennsylvania’s brownfields statute – and Pennsylvania’s Constitution can be used to protect against certain liabilities created by PFAS contamination. Advanced GeoServices will moderate and provide insight into the complexity of PFAS. Holland & Knight will draw on its experience in the management of environmental risk in transactions to address due diligence for PFAS and potential liabilities related to PFAS under federal and Pennsylvania, including Act 2 and Pennsylvania’s Constitution. Great American Environmental will explain the types of environmental insurance policies available and how underwriters approach PFAS. Finally, the Horsham Land Redevelopment Authority will provide a perspective on the challenges faced by the redevelopment of a closed federal facility impacted by PFAS in Montgomery County.
Moderator: Frederick J. Shoyer, III, LSRP, Advanced GeoServices Corporation, West Chester, PA
Speakers: Robert P. Frank, Esq., Holland & Knight, Philadelphia, PA; Olivia Derderian, Great American Environmental, New York, NY; Tom Ames, Horsham Land Redevelopment Authority (HLRA), Horsham, PA
Plenary Session: Federal and State Updates
Chair: Troy Conrad, PA Department of Environmental Protection, Harrisburg, PA
Federal and State Updates – Hear about regulatory and program updates and brownfields initiatives from representatives of US EPA and PA DEP.
Speakers: David Lloyd, EPA Office of Land and Emergency Management, Washington, DC; Troy Conrad, DEP Bureau Director, Harrisburg, PA
4A: Rebuilding Rural Coal Region through Environmental Justice*
Chair: John Gross, PA Department of Environmental Protection, Harrisburg, PA
Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Office of Environmental Justice (OEJ) supports PA environmental justice (EJ) communities to address environmental issues and support equitable application of law and policy. OEJ has been hosting roundtable meetings to engage stakeholders on EJ issues through the state, starting with the City of Shamokin, an Act 47 distressed community located in the Appalachian coal region. Shamokin is designated by DEP as an EJ Area as nearly 24% of the population lives below the poverty line and faces critical environmental challenges. Following the roundtable meeting in 2018, the faith-based community, NGOs, academia, and local, county, federal and state government are working together to address some of the more pressing environmental concerns, including brownfields redevelopment. DEP’s Environmental Cleanup and Brownfields (ECB) program and OEJ are advancing a collaborative effort to build community capacity and knowledge to revitalize their community. DEP coordinated a city exchange where Shamokin leaders visited other cities including Bethlehem that have had successful revitalization of their brownfields. EPA recently awarded DEP a Small Communities Technical Assistance Pilot Grant to facilitate education, capacity development, and development of a brownfields plan for Shamokin with community stakeholders. Shamokin is on a path to rebuilding itself through a community-driven effort with DEP and EPA serving as a catalyst.
Speakers: John Brakeall, PA DEP Office of Environmental Justice, Harrisburg, PA; Randy Farmerie, PA DEP Environmental Cleanup and Brownfields Program; Kathy Jeremiah, The Franciscan Center, Shamokin, PA
4B: Playbook for Pennsylvania’s Retired Coal-Fired Power Plants* C Kokas A Walters
Chair: Colleen Kokas, Environmental Liability Transfer, Inc., St. Louis, MO
As the market continues to shift from coal to natural gas as fuel for generating electricity, Pennsylvania is witnessing the closing of many of its coal-fired power plant facilities. In addition to the job losses associated with power plant closures, the properties where these facilities operated often remain as brownfields with little to catalyze their redevelopment. These sites are potentially valuable real estate assets for communities looking to create jobs by bringing them back into productive reuse – they often have extensive transportation infrastructure – river, road, rail – along with viable energy infrastructure such as natural gas and proximity to large electrical substations.
In 2018, the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) worked with Pennoni as the lead contractor to create a “Decommissioning and Redevelopment Playbook” at one of these retired coal-fired power plant assets at the former Sunbury Generation power plant in Shamokin Dam, PA. The ‘playbook’ provides valuable information about various potential assets and liabilities that exist at the site – the results of a Phase 1 Environmental Site Assessment; information about existing permits; costs associated with preparing the side for pad-ready use; a catalogue of existing utilities; a regional market analysis; and a highest and best use analysis. The report concludes with multiple distinct “plays,” or specific recommendations for technically and economically feasible reuse options.
The Sunbury Generation Playbook is part of a larger strategy at DCED around how the commonwealth can work to help navigate some of the broad challenges occurring throughout Pennsylvania’s energy system. Further, our approach is replicable and may serve as a template for other states and regions seeking to deal with the negative impacts from changes in the nation’s coal economy. Three ‘playbooks’ have been completed to date with additional ones being contemplated. Our goal is to raise the profile of these brownfield sites as viable options for redevelopment among project developers, real estate professionals, and site selectors. By beginning to highlight both the challenges and opportunities that exist on each site, we are providing a tool to act as a meaningful starting point for anyone seeking to evaluate these sites based on the specifics of an individual project. We are expecting that this approach will help to entice private sector investment and transformational redevelopment of the property – ultimately, helping to bring these brownfield assets back into productive reuse.
Speaker: Adam Walters, Pennsylvania Governor’s Office of Energy, Harrisburg, PA
4C: Becoming (and Remaining) a Bona Fide Prospective Purchaser: Lessons and Best Practices from the First Two Decades of the BFPP Defense
Chair: Steven Miano, Hangley Aronchick Segal Pudlin & Schiller, Philadelphia, PA
The Bona Fide Prospective Purchaser (“BFPP”) defense has been a major catalyst for brownfield redevelopment and has done a great deal to establish and shape the brownfield industry. Introduced as part of the 2002 Brownfields Amendments to CERCLA, the BFPP defense provides cover from CERCLA’s otherwise unforgiving liability provisions. Although the statute and accompanying EPA regulations set out the BFPP criteria (including continuing obligations), the question of whether a party has satisfied those criteria is fraught with uncertainty, and, because BFPP is a legal defense, the courts are the only source for a definitive answer. Nevertheless, in the nearly two decades that have passed since the advent of the BFPP defense, the courts have clarified how these criteria should be interpreted and applied, and through their rulings in specific cases, the courts have provided valuable guidance on the type of conduct that weighs in favor of (and against) a party attempting to establish itself as a BFPP. EPA has also provided its own interpretation of various BFPP criteria, as well as general guidance on various circumstances in which it will and will not exercise its CERCLA enforcement authority against a parties claiming to be BFPPs.
This presentation is intended to provide conference participants with a comprehensive, nuts-and-bolts understanding of the BFPP defense and to impart certain best practices—from both technical and legal perspectives—for attaining and preserving BFPP status. Toward that end, following a brief overview of the BFPP criteria, we will explore in detail the ways in which courts and EPA have interpreted certain BFPP criteria (including “all appropriate inquiries” and various “continuing obligations”). The presentation will include several case studies and an overview of the significant aspects of the new guidance document regarding certain BFPP criteria that EPA issued on July 29, 2019 (the first such guidance on this subject that EPA has issued since 2003). We will conclude by summarizing the primary lessons to be gleaned from the first two decades of the BFPP defense and identifying some of the key questions that remain unanswered.
Speakers: Peter Keays, Esq., Hangley Aronchick Segal Pudlin & Schiller, Philadelphia, PA; Joe Perse, PG, LSRP, GEI Consultants, Exton, PA; Craig Boehr, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC
5A: Technical Challenges and Solutions for PFAS at Brownfield Sites*
Chair: Colleen Costello, P.G., GHD, North Wales, PA
Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a class of emerging anthropogenic compounds that can be found in drinking water, groundwater, soil, and landfill leachate. The USEPA has a health advisory limit of 70 ng/L for perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and Pennsylvania will be issuing a Medium Specific Criteria (MSC) for groundwater in 2020 at the same levels. Numerous challenges are associated with PFAS sampling, analytical detection, and remediation. Due to the fact that PFAS can be widespread in groundwater in some areas of Pennsylvania, technical considerations to establishing background conditions can also be challenging at Brownfield sites.
This presentation will provide a strategic overview of existing to novel investigation approaches, analytical methods and remediation technologies, along with the associated challenges and risks that need to be managed to deliver a successful project addressing short- and long-term performance and effectiveness. The speakers will not only share examples from PFAS sites in Pennsylvania and globally but will also present learnings from leading technical committees such as ITRC’s PFAS Technical Guidance to provide specific technical details for the audience.
Speakers: Troy Conrad and Brie Sterling, Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PADEP), Harrisburg PA; Ryan Thomas, GHD, Niagara Falls, NY; Charles Neslund, Eurofins Lancaster Laboratories Environmental, LLC, Lancaster PA
5B: The Knitting Mills Redevelopment: How Teamwork Led to Project Success*
Chair: John Gross, PA Department of Environmental Protection, Harrisburg, PA
The 53-acre site in Wyomissing (Reading), Pennsylvania has a long history of industrial and commercial use dating to 1899 when the Reading Glove and Mitten Manufacturing Company was first opened. Historical uses of the site have included textile mills, manufacturing operations, automobile repair, a foundry, and a power plant. At its peak, the knitting mills comprised over 750,000 square feet and employed over 6,000 people. In 1970, the VF Outlet was opened as one of the world’s first outlet malls and became an area icon. Visitors from throughout the mid-Atlantic region flocked to the VF Outlet during its heyday in the 1970s and 1980s to experience a one-of-a-kind shopping and dining experience.
By the 2010s, however, the VF Outlet facility was in a state of decline and was largely vacant. Recently, a local developer purchased the facility and undertook an extensive revitalization effort. Certain portions of the site presented unique environmental challenges due to historical uses and impacts. Cooperation and teamwork between the developer and state and local government was necessary to meet critical deadlines and for the overall success of the project. Redevelopment of the Knitting Mills is now underway and will lead to the creation of hundreds of jobs along with significant tax revenue generation for both Wyomissing and West Reading. A Wyomissing Borough Council member was recently quoted as saying “this is the most exciting business news in the borough in the past 50 years”.
Speakers: Joseph Kraycik, P.G. Environmental Standards, Inc., Valley Forge, PA; Aaron Gantz, Greater Reading Chamber Alliance, Reading, PA; Michele Bare, Borough of Wyomissing, Wyomissing, PA
5C: Economic Benefits of Brownfields Redevelopment
Chair: Greg Firely, BCES, AMO Environmental Decisions, Doylestown, PA
This presentation will highlight the positive economic impact of brownfields redevelopment to the local community and economy. Brownfields are often located in areas with existing infrastructure and local transportation routes. The sites were beneficial to the community in which they were situated for a time and for various reasons the sites became idle or vacant. This land is still valuable and preserving these spaces saves greenspace. This presentation will showcase the impact US EPA Brownfields Grants and Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development seed money have not only increased the value of the site via environmental assessments and remediation but the tax benefits to the local community as well as the economic impact to the surrounding areas.
The session will provide details on several case studies from across Pennsylvania, including; recreational, residential and commercial, and describe the process and challenges that were overcome to redevelop these sites and provide the financial benefits realized due directly to the redevelopment.
Speaker: Greg Firely, BCES, AMO Environmental Decisions, Doylestown, PA
6A: The Next Generation of Brownfield Properties from a Buyer’s Perspective
Chair: Colleen Kokas, Environmental Liability Transfer, Inc., St. Louis, MO
25 years after the passage of the highly acclaimed Pennsylvania Brownfield’s Law (Act 2), the complexity of the next generation of issues are now mounting. Many of the properties are now changing ownership and potential use and the more difficult sites remain available for development. Our panel of brownfield professionals (counsel and technical consultants) will discuss the following legal and technical issues impacting future transactions:
• Potential reopeners of emerging contaminants;
• Management of covenants and enforcement;
• Updated MSCs affect on closed sites; and
• Change in use implications on additional site work
Speaker: Brian Clark, Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney PC, Harrisburg, PA
6B: Redeveloping the Lehigh Valley
Chair: Bill Ahlert, Ph.D., HDR, Bethlehem, PA
This session will focus on key redevelopment projects in the Lehigh Valley and will include the partnerships and relationships between community leaders, regulatory agencies, and local officials that made these projects successful. Focus will be given to Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corporation’s Land Recycling Initiative which has been leading the redevelopment push in Lehigh Valley for over 20 years. Featured projects will include the redevelopment of the Klein Building in Allentown, Easton Iron & Metal, and GKEDC Industrial Park II.
Speakers: Andrew Kleiner and Doug Warfel, Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corporation, Allentown, PA
6C: Green Remediation for the 21st Century*
Chair: Gary White, NJIT, Newark, NJ
Today’s constantly evolving redevelopment market demands innovative solutions that not only remediate properties, but allow redevelopment. Traditional engineering methodologies left many properties in prime real estate locations such as next to a river, lake or coastline with residual contaminants, increasing their environmental liability and making them unappealing to developers. One often overlooked mitigation strategy is using plants to clean-up contamination with sustainable, cost-effective remediation. Using phytoremediation you can integrate landscape architecture that not only increases the redevelopment aesthetic for your property, but doubles as an active remediation vegetative cap. Tree plots can double as hydraulic control of impacted groundwater plumes, aerating soils with LNAPL plumes to augment degradation. Various plants can be used to sequester and metabolize residuals like PCBs, metals or Poly-Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) for sites with large acreage covered with ubiquitous low-level Brownfield contaminants. This can decrease the need to import costly NJDEP “certified fill” as plants are required to be in contact with contaminated soils. The best part is that phytoremediation runs on solar power, so there are no energy costs. This form of remediation does not require any piping or machinery so there are less installation and zero abandonment costs. There are no permitting requirements at either the municipal or state level. Let Mother Nature do the work for you, satisfying regulatory requirements for NY, NJ and PA departments of environmental protection and the EPA while at the same time ushering in tomorrow’s need for green, sustainable designs.
The second part of this session will focus on in-situ bioremediation, an innovative approach to contaminated site remediation that is quickly replacing conventional, ex-situ methods such as excavation and pump-and-treat. Extremely efficient, cost-effective and green, this cutting-edge technology involves the injection of cultured microorganisms into the subsurface to destroy contaminants in soil and ground water. During transpiration, the “bugs” leave behind harmless gases as by-products. Penn E&R has implemented this in-situ injection technology at multiple sites across the Northeast and Midwest. At a former industrial facility near Philadelphia, we observed a significant reduction in contaminant levels within months. Penn E&R will present how this bio-technology is revolutionizing environmental remediation, provide a case study to illustrate its effectiveness and give details on our association with a nationally recognized university to create a state-of-the-art microbe cultured to specifically target 1,4-Dioxane.
Speakers: Katrina Van Deusen, Whitman, Summit, NJ; William J. Ponticello, PG and Peter R. Lamont, PG, CHMM, Penn Environmental & Remediation, Inc., Hatfield, PA
Economic Revitalization Forecast PPT Talking Points
Matt Ward leads the consulting and government affairs firm Sustainable Strategies DC, which helps localities and economic developers secure resources for community and economic revitalization. Highlighting success story examples from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and beyond, the remarks will give insights to leveraging key tools for brownfield redevelopment with a look toward future revitalization trends.
Speaker: Matt Ward, CEO @ Sustainable Strategies DC
Closing Remarks
Pennsylvania DEP and the Engineers’ Society of Western PA thank you for attending the conference. A survey for your feedback will be sent by email.
Winning EPA Brownfield Grants: Tips and Tricks for Success
Thinking about applying for an EPA Brownfields Grant? Get the expert’s “Tips and Tricks” for writing a successful proposal and find out what you can be doing now to position yourself for success with the provisions of the new BUILD Act and how it impacts the grant guidelines. The EPA Brownfields program provides direct funding for brownfields assessment and cleanup. Funding is limited and competition is intense. This workshop is intended to provide a road map on how a community can position itself for success as well as common application pitfalls and strategies to address shortcomings. Local, county, and regional government and nonprofit organizations who are currently considering applying for an EPA Brownfield grant should attend.
Speakers: Gary White, NJIT TAB, Newark, NJ; Stephanie Branche-Carter, U.S. EPA Region 3, Philadelphia, PA
