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West Haymarket Brownfield Redevelopment
The West Haymarket Redevelopment Site meets the EPA definition of a "Brownfield Site." The property consists of approximately 100-130 acres of blighted and underutilized industrial and railroad property on the western edge of the Historic Haymarket District. Within the area there are some environmental issues that exist. However, the level of contamination is manageable enough that the site has the potential to be reused and reclaimed once the property is cleaned up.
"Brownfield Site" means "real property – the expansion, redevelopment, or reuse of which may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant or contaminant."
"Brownfields, generally are considered sites that pose no or limited health risks to communities. However, brownfields may have broader health impacts of concern to the community, including:
"In 2002, Congress passed the 'Small Business Liability Relief and Brownfields Revitalization Act' (Brownfields Amendments). These amendments [to the federal CERCLA/Superfund law] created a new landowner liability protection from CERCLA for bona fide prospective purchasers ("BFPP"). Prior to the Brownfields Amendments, a person who purchased property with knowledge of the contamination was subject to 'owner or operator' liability under CERCLA. Since the enactment of the Brownfields Amendments, prospective landowners may now purchase property with knowledge of contamination and obtain protection from liability, provided they meet certain pre- and post-purchase requirements."
The stated purpose of the federal Brownfields Act is to "promote the cleanup and reuse of brownfields, to provide financial assistance for brownfields revitalization, to enhance State response programs, and for other purposes."
Thus, the Brownfield law works to remediate, redevelop and revitalize environmental problem properties in three ways, providing:
"Since its inception in 1995, EPA's Brownfields Program has grown into a proven, results-oriented program that has changed the way contaminated property is perceived, addressed, and managed. EPA's Brownfields Program is designed to empower states, communities, and other stakeholders in economic redevelopment to work together in a timely manner to prevent, assess, safely clean up, and sustainably reuse brownfields. A brownfield is a property, the expansion, redevelopment, or reuse of which may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant. It is estimated that there are more than 450,000 brownfields in the U.S. Cleaning up and reinvesting in these properties increases local tax bases, facilitates job growth, utilizes existing infrastructure, takes development pressures off of undeveloped, open land, and both improves and protects the environment."
Yes. The Haymarket Park, Salt Dogs Stadium was a 90-acre Brownfield site that was contaminated with lead, arsenic, petroleum, and VOCs – similar to the types of contamination issues in the Haymarket Redevelopment site. The City cleaned up Haymarket Park for $308,000 and was issued a "No Further Action" cleanup letter from the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality in 2006.
Source: NDEQ Brownfields Inventory, Public Record (Updated April 2009), p. 3; see also, NDEQ Haymarket Park files FID#070945; 36-336-4913; City Finance Department.
Since 2005, there have been a number of environmental experts using their knowledge, skills and expertise in the environmental field to assess the risks associated with this site. They've reviewed environmental records, conducted interviews for the properties, collected samples and analyzed the laboratory data. These experts include: professional environmental engineers, geologists, biologists, brownfield technicians, environmental health specialists, environmental and redevelopment attorneys from the City, HWS and Olsson Associates, who are working in cooperation with EPA and its contractor, Seagull Environmental Technologies. During the cleanup, the City's Environmental Team will be expanded to include oversight by the NDEQ.
Source: see e.g., EO # 08-027, Consultant Agreement with Olsson Associates, Inc. for Professional Engineering and Planning Services.
Because the proposed West Haymarket Redevelopment project involves several new elements, including: a civic/sports arena, hotel, an ice center, a District Energy Corporation location, retail and office space, community areas, parking lots and structures, utility corridors, and transportation networks (roads, sidewalks, pedestrian bridges), the City has conducted Environmental Transaction Screens, Phase I Environmental Site Assessments and Phase II Environmental Site Assessments (ESAs) to determine the extent of environmental contamination at the site. Following these investigations, the City will participate in the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality's (NDEQ) Voluntary Cleanup Program (VCP) to develop and implement a complete remediation plan that protects public health and the environment during and after redevelopment.
Source: HWS Environmental Transaction Screens, HWS Phase I & II ESA; HWS QAPP & Sampling Plan; Seagull Environmental Technologies, Inc. QAPP. NDEQ VCP Guidance Document, Oct. 2008.
An ETS is an inquiry designed to identify recognized or potential environmental conditions (RECs or PECs) in connection with a commercial property.
A Phase I ESA involves conducting an "all appropriate inquiry" into the previous ownership, uses, and environmental conditions of a property for purposes of evaluating environmental risks posed at the site and for qualifying for liability relief under federal law. It "refers to inspecting the property, reviewing historical information, and reviewing environmental records to determine if the property is contaminated."
"A Phase II Assessment refers to collecting samples of soil and groundwater to determine if the property is contaminated. Typically, Quality Assurance Plans describing the type and location of samples that will be collected are discussed with the State Regulatory Agency and are submitted to both the State and EPA to ensure that the data being collected are of the type and quality needed to decide what needs to be done at the site to make it safe for redevelopment."
To evaluate contamination and needed cleanup, the City has and will continue to thoroughly investigate the Haymarket Redevelopment Site prior to site acquisition and commencing remedial action. This is a "step-wise" approach consisting of environmental transaction screens, Phase I ESAs and Phase II ESAs.
*BNSF, Jaylynn and Alter Scrap are properties which are located in areas of proposed redevelopment; whereas the Union Pacific Railroad Property is proposed only for greenspace and stormwater mitigation.
Source: HWS Environmental Transaction Screens, HWS Phase I & II ESA; HWS QAPP & Sampling Plan; Seagull Environmental Technologies, Inc. QAPP.
Results of the Phase I and II ESAs identified the following Recognized Environmental Conditions (RECs):
Source: HWS Environmental Transaction Screens, HWS Phase I & II ESA; HWS QAPP & Sampling Plan; SeagullEnvironmental Technologies, Inc. QAPP.
Additional Phase II Environmental Site Assessments: In Fall 2009, the City of Lincoln received another EPA Brownfields Assessment Grant to conduct 4 additional Phase II Environmental Site Assessments on the priority properties. The Phase II ESAs are currently being drafted by EPA for the BNSF property and will be available on April 30, 2010. Additional environmental sampling has been completed at the Jaylynn property and those sampling results will be available prior to the May 11th vote. Once access is secured by the City on the UPRR and Alter sites, EPAs contractor will be able to conduct additional Phase II testing prior to the City acquiring those properties.
The City pursued and received state and federal Target Brownfield Grant Funding to conduct much of the environmental testing.
It is the intention of the City of Lincoln to take advantage of the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality's (NDEQs) Voluntary Cleanup Program (VCP), as well as, NDEQs Title 200 Petroleum Remediation Program to ensure proper cleanup of the site prior to redevelopment.
No. Under federal law, the City is afforded liability relief in 4 ways by acquiring and cleaning up these Brownfield properties:
To qualify as a BFPP, the City must:
"All appropriate inquiries" (AAI) is the process of evaluating a property's environmental conditions and assessing potential liability for any contamination. EPA issued standards and practices for conducting all appropriate inquiries (70 FR 66070) that became effective on November 1, 2006. The AAI requirements are applicable to any party who may potentially claim protection from CERCLA liability as an innocent landowner, a bona fide prospective purchaser, or a contiguous property owner. EPA recognizes the ASTM E1527-05 Standard Practice for Environmental Site Assessments: Phase I Environmental Site Assessment Process as fully compliant with the AAI final rule.
The levels of contamination on the BNSF, Jaylynn and Alter properties are not high enough to trigger mandatory cleanup by NDEQ or EPA. However, BNSF is currently conducting a cleanup of historic diesel contamination. That cleanup is expected to take 5-7 more years. The City plans to complete the cleanup within 6 months (by November 2010) and apply for reimbursement from NDEQs Title 200 Fund.
The City successfully obtained Brownfield Assessment Grants to provide funding for brownfield inventories, planning, environmental assessments, and community outreach for the properties. The City will pursue a Brownfield Cleanup Grant in Fall 2010 to provide direct funding for cleanup activities taken at the site.
