Soil Management at Brownfields Properties SWANA - April 25, 2018 Joselyn Harriger, P.G. NC DEQ Brownfields Program
Today's Goals Brownfields Overview The Issues What's our Process Q&A 2
What is a Brownfield? Abandoned, idled, or underused property where redevelopment is hindered by real or perceived environmental contamination. Sites can be made safe for reuse Land Recycling Reuse brings public benefit Jobs and Local Tax Base Can compete with greenfields Reduces Sprawl Department of Environmental Quality / Brownfields Program 3
Brownfields Property Reuse Act Enacted in 1997 Does not affect State s ability to enforce against responsible party Available ONLY to those who: Did not cause or contribute to site contamination Follow the Brownfields Agreement to make the site suitable for reuse and protect public health and the environment Department of Environmental Quality / Brownfields Program 4
Brownfields Agreement (BFA) Work to be performed As required to protect public health Applies to Prospective Developer (PD) Land Use Restrictions Apply to all future owners Liability Protection Statutory Reopeners Violation of a land use restriction Accurate information was not given to Program New information raises risk to unacceptable levels Department of Environmental Quality / Brownfields Program 5
Brownfields Agreements Statewide 460 Agreements finalized = $11.7 billion in private investment. Approximately 185 projects in the pipeline. 55 Agreements Completed in FY2017 Department of Environmental Quality / Brownfields Program 6
Brownfields Soil Management What's the Problem? Charlotte Area: 159 Finalized 43 projects in the pipeline. 7
Before and After Bridgeport Fabrics Department of Environmental Quality / Brownfields Program 8
Export Harding Place Department of Environmental Quality / Brownfields Program 9
Brownfields Soil Management What's the problem? Isn't it all contaminated? Can I take it? Will DEQ allow it? End result is.. 10
Brownfields Soil Management Think again.. Here to help get to "Yes!" 11
Issue Resolution 15 Whether through necessary cut or fill requirements during construction or for other reasons, brownfields properties may need to import or export soil to/from the property. It is programmatically important for a few principles to be maintained during soil import/export operations: 1) Applicable regulatory requirements for movement of contaminated soils must be complied with. Such requirements are not administered by the Brownfields Program per se, but may be subject to regulation by various other regulatory programs. As such, it is the PD s responsibility to ultimately comply with applicable regulations. 2) As a result of the import/export of soil the brownfields property (and any property which receives soil from the brownfields property) must remain suitable for the uses intended while fully protecting public health and the environment. 3) The program must know where exported soils are taken and understand their final disposition. 4) Documenting imported soils with chemical analyses safeguards the liability protections provided by the brownfields agreement and are in everyone s best interest. 5) Contaminated soil is soil to which contaminants have been released. Therefore, contaminated soil does not include soil with elevated naturally occurring metals or other naturally occurring substances. Contaminated soil is that which contains contaminant levels above unrestricted use levels (currently the IHSB PSRGs). Uncontaminated soil contains levels below unrestricted use levels. 6) Soils that don t meet beneficial fill requirements that are not managed on site must be addressed through an offsite regulated facility that accepts such soils. It is up to that regulated facility to accept the soils under their permit and the Brownfields Program must receive correspondence of said acceptance by the regulated facility, including any and all transfer manifests. It is important to note that under this scenario, the Brownfields Program does not approve soils for such facilities. The facilities accept soils that they deem meet their regulatory requirements. Link to Issue Resolution 15 12
Guidelines for Exporting Soil Step 1: Export Soil Characterization Step 2: DEQ Review of Characterization Step 3: Soil Management Area of Delineation Step 4: Environmental Management Plan Step 5: Redevelopment Summary Report 13
Step 1: Export Soil Characterization Prospective Developer (PD) will prepare a site-specific work plan for soil characterization submitted to DEQ Brownfields Program to include: Export Location on the Property Estimated Quantity Project Timeline Sampling Methodology Laboratory Analysis Frequency of sampling Background concentrations 14
Step 2: DEQ Review of Characterization Submit a report to DEQ with summary of current site data compared with most current DEQ screening levels. Include request to receiving facility type or another DEQ BF Property, or another property. NO Soil may be exported from BF Property without prior DEQ approval. 15
Step 3: Soil Management Area of Delineation Additional in-situ Soil Sampling Field Screening (XRF, UVF, PID, etc). Post Excavation Confirmation Samples 16
17 Step 4: Environmental Management Plan
Step 5: Redevelopment Summary Report In the end, its always documented: 1. Actions taken during construction 2. Cut & fill summary 3. Any field screening or sampling data collected 4. DEQ approvals 5. Profiles & manifests 6. Revised maps, drawings, as-builts, etc. 18
Discussion/Feedback Why not accept soil from brownfields? What are your concerns about accepting export from a brownfields property? What can DEQ BF and SWS do to help the process? How do we make the process smoother? 19
File Availability NCbrownfields.org Select the link: On-Stop Project Data Gate 20
File Availability Enter Address or Zoom into area to find brownfields property 21
File Availability Select the Brownfields Property and menu will pop up, scroll through to the Document Folder option and link to Laserfiche. 22
File Availability Laserfiche is current DEQ online database for project files. 23
Raleigh (919-707-8200) Bruce Nicholson (Program Manager) Tony Duque Sharon Eckard, PG (Eastern District Supervisor) James Rudder Bill Schmithorst, PG Caroline Goodwin Kelly Johnson, PG Brad Atkinson, PG Hayley Irick Sarah Hardison Kathleen Markey Shirley Liggins Charlotte (704-661-0330) Carolyn Minnich Brownfields Program Staff Wilmington (910-796-7401) Samuel Watson David Peacock Mooresville (704-235-2195) Joselyn Harriger, PG (Property Management Unit Supervisor) Jordan Thompson Asheville (828-251-7460) Tracy Wahl (Western District Supervisor) Email/Website First.last@ncdenr.gov www.ncbrownfields.org Department of Environmental Quality / Brownfields Program 24