Contact: Barbara Khan, (212) 637-3675, khan.barbara@epa.gov

NEW YORK (Feb. 13, 2023) – Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced more than $83.7 million from President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to address emerging contaminants, like Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS), in drinking water in New York. This investment, which is allocated to states and territories, will be made available to communities as grants through EPA’s Emerging Contaminants in Small or Disadvantaged Communities (EC-SDC) Grant Program and will promote access to safe and clean water in small, rural and disadvantaged communities while supporting local economies. EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan announced the availability of $2 billion.

“Too many American communities, especially those that are small, rural, or underserved, are suffering from exposure to PFAS and other harmful contaminants in their drinking water,” said EPA Administrator Michael Regan. “Thanks to President Biden’s leadership, we are investing in America and providing unprecedented resources to strengthen our nation’s water infrastructure while safeguarding people’s health and boosting local economies. These grants build on EPA’s PFAS Strategic Roadmap and will help protect our smallest and most vulnerable communities from these persistent and dangerous chemicals.”

"This funding is part of the once-in-a lifetime investments we are making to transform infrastructure under the President's Bipartisan Infrastructure Law,” said U.S. EPA Regional Administrator Lisa F. Garcia. “EPA is working with our state partners to deliver clean water to communities, protect public health, and advance environmental justice across New York State and the nation.”

The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law invests $5 billion over five years to help communities that are on the frontlines of PFAS contamination reduce PFAS in drinking water. EPA announced the funds for New York as part of an allotment of $2 billion to states and territories that can be used to prioritize infrastructure and source water treatment for pollutants, like PFAS and other emerging contaminants, and to conduct water quality testing.

Senator Charles Schumer said, “Thanks to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law I fought to pass, communities across New York will finally have access to the funding they need to clean-up toxic PFAS pollution and ensure safe and clean drinking water. These federal funds will jumpstart critical projects and help communities big and small on the frontlines of PFAS contamination, all while creating good paying jobs to stimulating the local economy. I am proud to deliver over $83 million for New York to directly tack the issue of emerging contaminants and PFAS and I will keep pushing for speedy cleanups across New York: from Long Island to Newburgh and Niagara.” 

“This is a historic investment that will help clean up some of the most dangerous and widespread contaminants in our drinking water,” said Senator Kirsten Gillibrand. “I’m proud to have fought to pass the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to provide this funding to small and disadvantaged communities across New York and I look forward to continuing to work with the Biden administration to protect the environment and fight PFAS contamination.”

EPA is also releasing the Emerging Contaminants in Small or Disadvantaged Communities Grant Implementation document. The implementation document provides states and communities with the information necessary to use this funding to address local water quality and public health challenges. These grants will enable communities to improve local water infrastructure and reduce emerging contaminants in drinking water by implementing solutions such as installing necessary treatment solutions.

Today’s actions represent a significant milestone within the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitments to combat PFAS pollution and safeguard drinking water, and specifically EPA’s October 2021 PFAS Strategic Roadmap. Under the Roadmap, EPA is working across the agency to protect the public from the health impacts of PFAS. EPA has taken a number of actions to deliver progress on PFAS including: 

• Proposing to designate two PFAS as CERCLA hazardous substances. If finalized, this will be a critical step toward increasing transparency around releases of PFAS and holding polluters accountable for cleaning up their contamination.
• Releasing drinking water health advisories. Acting in accordance with EPA’s mission to protect public health and keep communities and public health authorities informed when new science becomes available, the Agency issued drinking water health advisories for four PFAS.
• Laying the foundation to enhance data on PFAS. This included an order under EPA’s National PFAS Testing Strategy requiring companies to conduct PFAS testing, and nationwide sampling through the Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule for 29 PFAS in public drinking water systems .
• Expanding the scientific understanding of PFAS. The Agency issued more than 30 scientific publications by EPA researchers and released EPA’s PFAS Thermal Treatment Database.
• Translating the latest science into EPA’s cross-agency PFAS efforts. This included updating EPA’s contaminated site cleanup tables, developing new PFAS methods and conducting toxicity assessments, and issuing draft national recommended water quality criteria to protect aquatic life.
• Continuing engagement with the public. EPA’s PFAS work was informed by public webinars, stakeholder meetings, Congressional testimony, and engagement with EPA’s federal advisory committees.

In addition to this new grant, EPA is also working to propose a PFAS NPDWR in the coming weeks. The draft proposed rule is currently undergoing interagency review and EPA will issue the proposed rule for public comment when it clears the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). The agency anticipates finalizing the rule by the end of 2023. Together, with today’s announcement, these actions highlight EPA’s commitments outlined in the PFAS Strategic Roadmap to protect public health and the environment from the impacts of PFAS.  They also illustrate the benefits of investing in water—protecting public health and the environment, addressing key challenges facing communities, and creating jobs.

To learn more about EPA’s roadmap laying out a whole-of-agency approach to addressing PFAS, visit EPA’s PFAS web page.

To learn more about New York’s PFAS efforts, visit its PFAS web site.

Follow EPA Region 2 on Twitter and visit our Facebook page. For more information about EPA Region 2, visit our website.

Posted February 14, 2023

The New York State Department of State has awarded the Village of Herkimer $173,250 to complete the Village of Herkimer Brownfield Opportunity Area Plan. The Village intends to complete a BOA plan for a 32-acre area along its Main Street corridor, to address blight, safety, and aesthetics of structures, a weak economy and low employment, and poor community engagement. Dana Sherry, Mayor of the Village of Herkimer, explains, “the Village of Herkimer has a strong municipal system and administrators that are dedicated to the completion of the BOA Plan and revitalizing the Village's downtown. The project will benefit from a partnership with the Herkimer County IDA that is directly supporting the Village's pursuit of the project.” Objectives to be achieved include determining the best use for blighted/potential brownfield areas, identifying public/private partnership opportunities, expansion of economic activity, and increased community engagement.

The proposed project will give the Village an opportunity to strategically analyze the

economic potential in its downtown corridor. Collaboration with the community as well as public and private partners and stakeholders will ensure that the BOA is geared toward a commitment to sustainability in the downtown center. “This award, in conjunction with our EPA Brownfield Assessment Grant, will allow us to double our resources and help us to complete this plan” said the HCIDA’s CEO John Piseck. Anticipated community benefits include the identification of strategic opportunities for redevelopment, expansion of economic activity, identification of private partners and available public funds to leverage investment, and increased community support of revitalization efforts and property rehabilitation. Please contact John J. Piseck by cell, 315-868-4928, or email, jpiseck@herkimercountyida.org, with any questions.

Posted January 4, 2023

It was only a matter of time before EPA announced its final rule concerning the new ASTM Phase I ESA Process and it’s designation as being compliant with CERCLA AAI. 

The final rule was published today in the Federal Register (see link below) and it has an effective date of February 13, 2023.

https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2022/12/15/2022-27044/standards-and-practices-for-all-appropriate-inquiries

Posted December 16, 2022

By Stephen Merrill Smith 

On the beautiful fall morning of October 19, 2022, representatives from BCONE (Stephen Merrill Smith, Esq.) and LSRPA (Candace Baker, LSRPA VP and Mike Salerno) met with representatives of The Nature Conservancy (TNC) at Great Falls Park in Paterson, NJ. The group met to tour the Paterson sites and learn about TNC’s plans to work with local partners to restore and create opportunities for public access along the Passaic River and its shorelines. 

Nature Conservancy, New Jersey Director, Dr. Barbara Brummer greeted the group as it gathered in front of the historic Great Falls where two billion gallons of water flow over 77 feet every day. Dr. Brummer introduced the attendees and turned the tour over to TNC’s Cities Program Director Katie-Rose Imbriano, and TNC’s Manager of Cities Projects Dr. Johnny Quispe. Imbriano explained that Paterson is unique as the first industrially planned city in the United States. Alexander Hamilton and Pierre L’Enfant originated the idea of using three tiers of gravity-directed water raceways from the falls for industrial power. A series of raceways funneled the water from the falls to power water mills and turbines at several factories in the area of the redevelopment plan. The factories in this neighborhood produced the first submarine, the engine for Charles Lindbergh’s Spirit of St. Louis, Samuel Colt’s gunsmithing operation, as well as a factory that produced more than 12,000 locomotives. 

TNC’s Cities Program has a goal of benefiting at least 100,000 people through greening projects and supporting policy development in its two focal cities, Newark and Paterson. During the tour, participants were able to see a small portion of all the projects envisioned. To accomplish such an ambitious goal, TNC is working to support and partner with MSU, the City of Paterson, local leaders, and anchor institutions. One project we toured was the cleanup and redevelopment of the (Allied Textile Printing) ATP site. Dr. Quispe and Imbriano emphasized that it is critical for the project to ensure planning for equitable conservation in the largely overburdened neighborhoods along the Passaic River. Historically, communities along the river are prone to flooding, increasing their overall vulnerability. The project aims to ensure that community members have opportunities to provide input into plans and realize the benefits they wish to see within their community. Ultimately, one of the key goals is to connect communities to the Passaic River by creating public access and use nature-based solutions to reduce flooding impacts (recently by Hurricane Irene). Regarding the flooding, the State has bought out some of those properties, but there is a lot of work remaining. One site next to the river, will serve as an expression of the history of waterpower and industry because the three-tiered raceway power system is a significant industrial archaeological site in the United States, especially considering that the provenance of Hamilton is what drove it forward. Because it represents such a unique interaction between the environmental and the historical opportunities, the proposed Green Innovation Center at the ATP site provide an opportunity to showcase a world-class historical renovation and educational example of the raceways, demonstrating the rushing water and how it served as renewable power in the 19th century. Moreover, the project envisions improved access to the riverfront, examples of green urban runoff buffer zones next to rivers, as well as an extension of the river walk. Dr. Quispe noted that just north of where we were standing the construction we could hear was where the riverwalk work had recently broken ground; the design is to stretch out the riverwalk and connect it to the Northside communities of Paterson. 

Additionally, Dr. Quispe held up a rendering of a green street landscape already that is currently being designed and slated for construction in 2024. Dr. Quispe emphasized that this was only a subset of a larger vision to construct green streets throughout Paterson that connect schools, parks, and the Passaic River. Dr. Quispe mentioned the Green Team (which included a local group of Paterson Flood Fighters, Waterspirit, New Jersey Future, and Rutgers’ Water Resources Group) had worked on initial design of the Green Street project on Fair Street. He re-emphasized that the team is planning to use this beautiful new green street to demonstrate to the community how practices such as green streets can alter a typical streetscape into connected green spaces that provide opportunities for integrating multi-modal transportation and utility upgrades. Along the tour we passed through the Power Arts District where there is a lot of renovation for artist housing. Resident artists in Patterson have made this a center of revival for the arts in the city. 

At several points during the tour, especially during the presentation by Montclair State University President, Jonathan Koppell, it became clear that collaborating and communicating with all partners, including the State, the City of Paterson, the National Park Service, and Habitat for Humanity is key to the project’s success. There is a genuine desire to involve the community in envisioning the great possibilities for Paterson and the Passaic River. This is another area where BCONE and LSRPA could help – to become partners in the project to help with community involvement. TNC and MSU emphasized that they seek to solicit engaged community input so that the project ideas presented during the tour represent a cumulative vision of the community that serves the entire community.re community.

A highlight of the tour; Barbara treated us all to lunch at a Peruvian restaurant in Paterson. 
In attendance were TNC Trustees and Conservancy Council members Barbara Brummer, Conservancy Director; Eric Olsen, Director of Conservation Programs; Katie-Rose Imbriano, Director of Cities Programs, Dr. Johnny Quispe, Manager of Cities Projects; Carrie VanDusen, Director of Philanthropy 

NOW OPEN! Check out EPA's new grant opportunities for brownfields technical assistance & research. Applications due February 14, 2023. 

FY 2023 Technical Assistance to Brownfields (TAB) Grants 

This solicitation is anticipated to be $5 million over a 5-year period of performance for each geographical region that corresponds to EPA’s 10 Regions, and $3 million for Nationwide Technical Assistance. 

For more information: FY 2023 Technical Assistance to Brownfields (TAB) Grants  

Apply Now:FY 2023 Guidelines for  Technical Assistance to Brownfields Communities (EPA-I-OLEM-OBLR-22-11)  

FY 2023 Brownfields Training, Research, and Technical Assistance Grants 

For this solicitation we anticipate awarding five entirely new Nationwide Brownfields Technical Assistance cooperative agreements, which will focus on five different areas of technical assistance and research. Award amounts will range from $500,000 to $1 million over a 4-year or 5-year period of performance, depending on the subject area of focus. 

The five focus areas are:

• Revolving Loan Fund Technical Assistance 
• Nonprofit Technical Assistance 
• Local Government Leaders Technical Assistance 
• Minimizing Displacement Research 
• Land Bank Research 

Apply now: FY 2023 Guidelines for Brownfields Training, Research, and Technical Assistance Grants (EPA-I-OLEM-OBLR-22-12)

Here are the the four Region TAB coordinators:

Region I Tab: Nefeli Bompoti - University of Connecticut

Region 2 Tab: Colette Santasieri - NJIT

Region 3 Tab: Katie See - West Virginia University Research Corporation

Region 4 Tab: Clark Henry - ICMA

Posted November 28, 2022

by Jeff Campbell, Peak Environmental

Identifying real estate available for purchase is a simple process through the well-established commercial and industrial real estate markets that realtors, developers, lenders, insurers and attorneys participate in every day. Locating environmentally impaired and underutilized property that is available for purchase and redevelopment as part of a local or state redevelopment plan is another matter, yet it is the first critical step in the Brownfield process. State Brownfield programs that include formal designation of redevelopment areas, liability management, and financial incentives have greatly enhanced connections, leading to countless Brownfield success stories across the nation. Local governments actually hold title to a limited number of properties in need of redevelopment, therefore, privately owned properties represent the primary source of Brownfield opportunities.

Read more...

November 17, 2022

by Jeff Campbell, Peak Environmental

The American Society of Testing and Materials (ASTM) committee recently updated the ASTM E1527 Phase I Environmental Site Assessment Standard (Phase I ESA). The current version, E1527-13, was published in 2013 and the updated version was approved by ASTM International in November 2021. The USEPA issued a rule in March 2022 adopting E1527-21, which was set to become final on May 13, 2022; however, due to adverse comments the rule is not yet final. Since it is anticipated that the EPA will address the comments and issue the rule in final soon, it is currently acceptable to use either version of the standard or a hybrid of the two. Here are a few key changes to look for in the 2021 standard.

Read more...

Posted November 17, 2022

by Jeff Campbell, Peak Environmental

In the October 17, 2022 NJ Register, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) posted interim soil remediation standards for several per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) compounds, using authority provided in NJAC 7:26D Remediation Standards, which does not require public or stakeholder participation. The interim standards are for the direct contact and migration to groundwater exposure routes, and include perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA), perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS), and hexafluoropropylene oxide dimer acid and its ammonium salt (also known as GenX).

Read more...

Posted November 17, 2022

by Jeff Campbell, Peak Environmental

Solid and hazardous waste regulations in New Jersey require permits to transport solid waste materials and  to operate receiving facilities. In addition, services related to brokering, purchase, sale or disposition of these materials also require a license, commonly known as an A-901 license. In August, NJDEP issued a policy statement clarifying applicability of this license to LSRPs, as the management of waste is common in remediation projects. Because of this and the strict regulations under which LSRPs operate, LSRPs retained to remediate a property and associated staff are not required to hold an A-901 license for that project. However, everyone, including LSRPs must have an A-901 license for waste management projects that the LSRP is not formally retained.

View the article here: https://peak-environmental.com/2022/08/30/njdep-clarifies-a-901-applicability/

Posted November 17, 2022 

By: Matthew J. Sinkman and David J. Freeman in Development/Redevelopment on 11/08/2022

David J. Freeman and Matthew J. Sinkman of the Gibbons Environmental Group will serve as Panel Chairs at the upcoming annual Superfund/Brownfield Program Update 2022, presented by the Environmental & Energy Law Section of the New York State Bar Association.

The program will take place virtually on December 7, 2022. Mr. Freeman, Co-Chair of the conference, will moderate a panel regarding developments in the federal Superfund program over the past year. Mr. Sinkman will moderate a panel regarding renewable energy issues and the New York State Brownfield Cleanup Program (BCP).

An outstanding faculty of government officials, attorneys, and consultants will participate on these panels as well as panels regarding statutory amendments to the BCP and proposed changes to BCP regulations, affordable housing issues, and a case law update. Julie Tighe, President of the New York League of Conservation Voters (NYLCV) and NYLCV Education Fund, will be the Keynote Speaker and discuss the results of the 2022 elections and what they mean for New York’s environmental agenda.

You can register for this timely program by clicking here.

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Posted November 17, 2022