Updated March 4, 2021

Written by Rachel Ross, Communications Coordinator

The extraordinary array of CALRC conference sessions are now available to view!

2020 has been a challenging year, to say the least. CCLR and our partners at U.S. EPA and DTSC created this year’s California Land Recycling Conference to address head-on the relationship between redevelopment and the struggles we’re facing in public health, climate change, and racial injustice. “The scope and breadth of the redevelopment field can feel daunting, but it is important that as land reuse practitioners, we make every effort to understand its intricacies and interdisciplinary nature. That is key to better brownfields redevelopment,” CCLR Program Manager, Claire Weston, said during her welcoming remarks on day two of the conference. 

Posted March 5, 2021

Written by Ignacio Dayrit

Since the turn of the 21st century, California cities and developers have successfully and safely reused urban sites for housing. For sites potentially compromised by vapor intrusion (VI) - where contaminants in the subsurface can volatilize and enter buildings through cracks on the floor, joints, walls and pipes - California regulatory agencies typically applied a 0.001 attenuation factor (AF) to estimate the concentration of vapors entering proposed residential sites. In 2015, the U.S. EPA proposed a guidance AF of 0.03. There has been little discussion on the cost impact of the 0.03 AF to VI response costs, which currently are the responsibilities of cities and developers, though it is expected that they will increase substantially. State agencies should resolve their differences expeditiously, look beyond their silos, and realize the unintended impacts of this new policy.

Posted February 24, 2021

Written by Ignacio Dayrit, Director of Programs

Everybody knows what a webinar is. It’s predictable. Unimaginative. And short-lived. 

At the onset of COVID, webinars were the most common way of hosting meetings, conferences, and training, raising the specter of endless unimaginative webinars full of PowerPoint presentations. CCLR anticipated that webinars would continue to be a primary outreach method for the long-haul. Despite having captive audiences, it would not make for interesting or engaging events. Enter the MOVIENAR. Coined and first envisioned by CCLR, this pre-recorded and edited mashup of a webinar and a documentary movie can be used in place of a webinar but can also stand alone as a mini-documentary. It’s a more interesting format and is versatile beyond the original screening. It could be a more engaging alternative for many organizations performing virtual outreach.

Posted February 16, 2021

Written by Rachel Ross, Communications Coordinator

Compromises are, by definition, imperfect. Yet in many brownfields projects, moving forward with cleanup and reuse of an underutilized and potentially hazardous site is dependent on overcoming entrenched positions to find a compromise. Such is the case of the former PureGro site in Brawley, CA; compromise enabled the cleanup of a site with known contamination, sitting vacant for more than a decade. 15,000 cubic yards of contaminated soil was removed from the site in December 2020, marking a major milestone in the cleanup of the site - and satisfying a key desire of the Brawley community. 

Posted January 17, 2021

Written by Jennifer Duong, CCLR Intern, in collaboration with Sally Baker, Executive Director of Philmont Beautification, Inc. 

A small village located in Columbia County, New York, Philmont has always been a close-knit community. It was the creation of a memorial garden for Preston Stern back in 2000 that first brought a group of Philmont residents together to form Philmont Beautification Inc. PBI’s work in redevelopment and land reuse started with and continues to revolve around collaboration and engagement. Working with community members is an integral part of revitalization, and that mutual respect has resulted in winning outcomes for the Philmont community. Philmont’s story and their ongoing initiatives exemplify the idea that revitalization initiatives that truly reflect the needs and priorities of the community are built on effective communication, vigilant and strategic outreach, and opportunities for continued engagement.

Posted January 15, 2021

Written by Laura Tepper, Senior Program Consultant and Ignacio Dayrit, Director of Programs

The City of Emeryville, California is showing the value of patience, partnership, and persistence in the process of brownfield redevelopment, reaping its latest reward in the form of a long-awaited piece of bike and pedestrian infrastructure, the South Bayfront Bridge. This public project tops off a decades-long community revitalization effort, bridging brownfields sites to build a more sustainable community.

Posted January 11, 2021

Written by Johanna Roth, Master’s of Public Health and Master’s of City Planning Candidate, U.C. Berkeley 

While brownfields lie idle, they have the potential to negatively impact public health by polluting local air and groundwater supplies, which burdens local neighborhoods with health challenges. Further, they may deplete local tax bases, decrease surrounding property values, and attract illegal activity. Living in proximity to derelict and disinvested sites may also affect mental health and a sense of safety for community residents. With brownfields disproportionately burdening marginalized, low-income, and high minority neighborhoods, it is important to redevelop them in a timely manner, to focus on beneficial and equitable reuse of sites, and to recognize the potential they hold for transforming communities and increasing community health.

Posted December 1, 2020

Written by Ayano Healy, Cascadia Partners and Rachel Ross, CCLR Communications Coordinator

After receiving an EPA Brownfields Multipurpose grant in the spring of 2020, the first step for the City of Ponderay was to develop a series of aspirational land use scenarios for the brownfield site through a community engagement process called Vision-to-Action (V2A) planning. However, performing community outreach during the COVID-19 crisis was a challenge. Utilizing virtual tools, Ponderay was able to receive community input and keep the project moving forward. 

Posted November 17, 2020

Written by Ignacio Dayrit, Director of Programs

To those that have never prepared an EPA Brownfields MARC (Multipurpose, Assessment, Revolving Loan and Cleanup) grant application, it can be daunting. CCLR works to transform pain into gain - free of charge. Though applications were submitted to EPA on October 28, we'll see you in the spring for the next round of these annual grants. Continue reading for a review of this grant round and tips and tricks for next year. 

Posted October 7, 2020

Written by Rachel Ross, Communications Coordinator

“Although you didn’t create the problem, you may be held financially responsible for the outcome.”

Due to the concerns around historical site contamination, redevelopment professionals may consider environmental insurance to help mitigate operational exposure while moving forward on a project. Great American Insurance Group’s Environmental Division understands the intricacies of environmental exposures and can help protect against hazardous pollution risks posed in brownfield redevelopment operations. Launched in 2008, Great American Environmental is one of the few insurance carriers serving the industry for over a decade. Their core products and service capabilities enable businesses to effectively manage financially threatening risks. GAIG policies offer environmental liability coverage for a fixed location, including brownfields and redevelopment sites, as well as the contracting professionals who perform environmental remediation and build structures.