The Basics About Getting Involved with Contaminated Sites

The Basics About Getting Involved with Contaminated Sites February 2008

What Do We Mean by Contaminated Sites? • DEM Regulates Contaminated Sites: – Properties found to have levels in excess of any of the standards required to be reported to DEM (e. g. lead, arsenic, VOCs). • Goal is to Mitigate Risk from Contamination • Includes Superfund sites, Do. D sites, sites w/ leaking underground storage tanks (USTs), and all other state sites requiring some sort of cleanup.

Brownfields • Brownfields = Subset of Contaminated Sites Properties being investigated or cleaned up as a result of property transfer • Goal is to mitigate risk from contamination and facilitate reuse and redevelopment • Sites where potential liability for actual or suspected contamination is a barrier to reuse or redevelopment. • Often driven by economic development efforts. • However, can also be motivated by other community needs for land/facilities.

Who are the Likely Players Involved in the Cleanup of Contaminated Sites? • • • Developers & property owners Banks/lenders Environmental consultants DEM (state regulatory agency) Local government (planning, zoning, etc) Citizens/community organizations

What Does All This Mean for Residents/Neighborhoods Near These Sites? • There are risks associated with living near contaminated sites. • There is an opportunity for residents & organizations to get involved in the cleanup and redevelopment process. • Asking questions about the cleanup and redevelopment process is critical (construction? trucks? fences? contact person if problems? )

There is a Risk Associated with the Site – Soil: Eat it, put it on your skin, track it into your home – Air: Vapors move indoors, landfill gas – Water: Surface water and groundwater These risks can vary depending upon whether the contamination is entirely within the boundaries of the site or if the contamination has migrated off the site into surrounding property.

You (as a Resident/Concerned Citizen/Local Organization) Can Get Involved • Lean about the site’s history - residents are a great source of information about a sites history (which companies? what chemicals? ) • Get involved as early as possible with city & developer when cleanup & reuse are being planned • Take advantage of public meetings.

Asking Questions about a Site Cleanup is Critical…. Helps Communities Know What to Expect • • Timing? Noise? Traffic? Is waste treated onsite or trucked through neighborhood? • Dust/smell? • Site fenced off? • How long will cleanup and construction last? • How will the public be provided with information about the site - signs? meetings?

Stay Connected…. and Be a Connector • DEM has project managers who can answer questions about a particular contaminated site. • City planning departments are often involved with the project and are a good source of information. • DEM Brownfields Assessment Program has $$$ available to help municipalities and non-profits investigate sites so they can be productively reused.

Resources • Brownfields – Turning Bad Places into Good Spaces (English & Spanish) • http: //www. dem. ri. gov/envequity/index. htm • RI DEM Office of Waste Management 222 -2797 http: //www. dem. ri. gov/programs/benviron/waste/inde x. htm • Reinvesting in Rhode Island’s Brownfields • http: //www. dem. ri. gov/brownfields/default. htm • EPA Region 1 Brownfields in New England • http: //www. epa. gov/region 1/brownfields/index. htm

Questions? Elizabeth Stone RI DEM elizabeth. stone@dem. ri. gov 222 -4700 x 2422