EPA Announces Brownfields Grants

Press release:

MEDIA CONTACT:   Francisco Arcaute, 312-886-7613,   312-898-2042 Cell,  arcaute.francisco@epa.gov
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                    No. 12-OPA69

EPA Announces Brownfields Grants

MADISON (August 21, 2012) -- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Regional Administrator Susan Hedman today announced EPA brownfields grants totaling $800,000 to clean up contaminated properties in Madison, Wisconsin.
Hedman joined Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Secretary Cathy Stepp and Madison Mayor Paul Soglin at a brownfield site on East Washington Avenue for the announcement. The City will use these funds to assess and clean up contaminated former industrial and commercial properties.
"EPA brownfield grants help to revitalize neighborhoods and create jobs,” said EPA Regional Administrator Susan Hedman. “Cleaning up contaminated brownfield sites protects public health and fuels economic development.”
“As the city works to develop brownfield sites throughout the Isthmus area, a partnership with the federal and state government is very instrumental,” said Mayor Soglin. “I am so pleased that the Environmental Protection Agency and Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources understand the importance of these projects, and I welcome EPA Regional Administrator Susan Hedman to Madison.”
“It’s easy to see how these brownfield projects are win-wins for everyone involved,” said DNR Secretary Cathy Stepp.  “We’re excited to watch this project grow to completion, and with DNR’s commitment to environmental cleanup and economic revitalization, we look forward to continued success in the brownfields arena.”
The grants include:

• $400,000 to clean up a former automotive sales and repair site on East Washington Avenue. The City will provide another $80,000 toward the cleanup.
• $400,000 to conduct environmental assessments and plan future cleanups in the surrounding area.

The City of Madison previously received a $400,000 cleanup grant for the East Washington property from WDNR’s brownfield revolving loan program, which is also funded by EPA.
There are an estimated 450,000 brownfield sites in the United States. EPA brownfield grants have been used to clean up over 700 contaminated sites and to assess over 18,000 properties, primarily in low-income areas disproportionately impacted by environmental contamination.
See list of all EPA brownfields grants by state: http://cfpub.epa.gov/bf_factsheets/

More information on EPA’s brownfields program: www.epa.gov/brownfields/

More information on brownfields success stories: www.epa.gov/brownfields/success/index.htm

EPA, HUD, and DOT Partner with States to Meet Growth, Development Goals

Press release:


EPA, HUD, and DOT Partner with States to Meet Growth, Development Goals
Release Date: 07/31/2012

Contact Information: Latisha Petteway (News Media Only), petteway.latisha@epa.gov, 202-564-3191, 202-564-4355

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) announced today they will partner with the Governors’ Institute on Community Design to provide enhanced technical guidance to governors seeking to tackle housing, transportation, environmental, and health challenges facing their states.

The partnership, a part of the Federal Partnership for Sustainable Communities, is designed for states seeking to spur economic growth and development while addressing these issues.

“The Governors’ Institute on Community Design helps states address local challenges in ways that are cheaper and more effective, making it an important part of the Obama Administration’s commitment to communities,” said EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson. “The EPA has been proud to be a part of the program since it was created in 2005. We look forward to working with our colleagues at HUD and DOT as well as Smart Growth America to continue supporting the Institute's workshops, and help states achieve their economic, environmental and public health goals."

“With this effort, our three agencies are providing the cutting-edge technical assistance states need to create healthier, more livable communities,” says HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan. “Just as importantly, we are demonstrating once again that the key to more affordable housing, transportation and access to jobs is providing partnership at the federal level that supports innovation at the local level.”

DOT Secretary Ray LaHood adds, “By working with HUD and EPA over the last three years, we’ve made significant progress to help communities across the country become safer, healthier, and better connected.” “We’re excited to expand our collaboration by working directly with the Governors’ Institute to increase state transportation options.”

Established in 2005, the Governors’ Institute brings together leading practitioners and academics in government, design, development, and regional economics to help governors and their state executive teams make informed choices about growth and development in their states. At the request of a governor, the Governors’ Institute conducts a workshop that pairs the governor and his or her cabinet with planning experts to identify strategies that spur development and help communities achieve their economic, public health, and environmental goals. Governors also receive follow-up assistance on technical issues.

The Governors’ Institute is coordinated by Smart Growth America and is led by former Governor Parris N. Glendening of Maryland and former Governor Christine Todd Whitman of New Jersey. Tom Ridge, former governor of Pennsylvania; Chet Culver, former governor of Iowa; and James Lee Witt, former head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, serve as advisors. In June, EPA awarded Smart Growth America a five-year cooperative agreement to administer the institute. This funding builds upon support provided previously by the National Endowment for the Arts, which brought to the fore issues of community design and art in public places.

The partnership, which celebrated its third anniversary in June, works to provide communities with faster, more streamlined access to federal programs and resources, and works closely with other federal agencies, states, and local governments to ensure that partnership programs use federal resources as efficiently as possible.

More information on the Governors’ Institute: http://www.govinstitute.org

More information on the Partnership for Sustainable Communities: http://www.sustainablecommunities.gov

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IBM and Bauman Moscow State Technical University Open Smarter Cities Development and Education Center in Russia

Collaboration will create new opportunities for students and support the development of Russian Cities

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ARMONK, N.Y. and MOSCOW - 25 Apr 2012: IBM (NYSE: IBM) and Bauman Moscow State Technical University (BMSTU) today announced the opening of a Smarter Cities Development and Education Center in Russia – the first of its kind in the region.

Located on the university's Moscow campus, the center will be home to a unique educational program giving students the chance to explore and apply IBM's latest technologies and solutions to improve the management of urban infrastructure and support the development of smarter cities. Aligned with the Russian government's priorities for the modernization and technological development of urban centers across the country, the center will support the development of IT skills crucial to Russia's innovation agenda.

"The launch of the new Smarter Cities Development and Education Center at BMSTU is a significant milestone for IBM in the Russian market and shows the maturity of the Smarter Cities vision," said Kirill Korniliev, Country General Manager of IBM in Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States. "Skills are crucial for the development of smarter cities and by establishing this new facility we will open up new opportunities for young professionals and spur innovation in the field."

Students will be given the chance to explore how advanced technologies such as analytics software and mobile collaboration tools can help to integrate city systems such as water, traffic and public safety. A key component of the center will be IBM's Intelligent Operations Center (IOC) for Smarter Cities, which is designed to help cities of all sizes integrate city systems and apply intelligence to their operations through one central point of command. Some of the center's first development projects will look at how IBM's IOC solution can be integrated with data from  Russia's Global Navigation Satellite System, which already spans some 33 cities in Russia, to enable officials to better monitor and respond to city incidents.

"Creating this center gives rise to a new professional direction for our graduates," says Anatoly Alexandrov, Rector of Bauman Moscow State Technical University.  "This collaboration with IBM provides our graduates with skills that we believe will be in significant demand as Russia seeks to create Smarter Cities and increase its global economic competitiveness."

In the past two years, IBM has opened Smarter Cities centers in Dublin, Ireland in collaboration with Ireland's Industrial Development Agency and the University of Guadalajara in Mexico. The new center in Moscow is part of IBM's ongoing global effort to help students and city leaders develop expertise and apply innovative technologies to create smart solutions to tackle issues that have high social and economic impact for cities around the world.

About IBM

For more information about IBM Smarter Cities please visit: http://www.ibm.com/smartercities.

About Bauman Moscow State Technical University (BMSTU)

For more information about BMSTU please visit: http://www.bmstu.ru/english/.

Technology Holds the Key to Nairobi's Development

IBM Report: Technology Holds the Key to Nairobi's Development and Increased Competitiveness

As Kenya transitions from a rural to an urban population by 2020, modern approaches and technologies will help transform city systems, Prosperous and Sustainable Future

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NAIROBI, KENYA - 07 Mar 2012: IBM (NYSE:IBM) today announced the launch of a report entitled "A Vision of a Smarter City: How Nairobi Can Lead the Way into a Prosperous and Sustainable Future" that highlights transportation, energy and public safety as three critical areas to address in line with the growth of Nairobi's more economically empowered and mobile younger generation.

The first of its kind to be produced in Africa, the report draws on the views of leaders and experts from the public and private sectors, World Bank, UN-HABITAT and civil society organizations. It outlines how Nairobi should turn to the latest technologies and global best practices to transform itself into a smarter and more efficient city as it strives to cope with an expanding population and become a major African business hub.

"With increased urbanization and substantial economic opportunities, major African cities like Nairobi are coming under more pressure than ever to transform," said Tony Mwai, Country General Manager, IBM East Africa. "For Nairobi to reach its full potential as a regional powerhouse, new technologies and approaches are required to modernize the city's systems and to make it a better place to live, work and do business."

Kenya's demographic challenges
Currently home to just over three million inhabitants, Nairobi's population is expected to soar to over five million by 2020 as migration to urban areas continues.

"Kenya is undergoing a simultaneous demographic and geographic transition," explains Wolfgang Fengler, the World Bank's lead economist in Kenya. "Today it is a rural country but by 2033 it will be an urban country with Nairobi receiving the greatest influx of new citizens."

Tackling traffic congestion requires new approaches as well as new infrastructure
According to IBM's Commuter Pain Survey, Nairobi citizens have the fourth most painful commute in the world. City officials estimate that traffic jams cost the economy over Sh50 million ($600,000) per day in lost productivity, fuel consumption and pollution.

City authorities are currently investing to improve Nairobi's roads and basic infrastructure. However, the report highlights that investment in the city's road network should not be the only strategy for addressing traffic congestion.

"Nairobi needs new transport alternatives urgently.  It is increasingly obvious that Nairobi must move beyond the traditional model of just building roads to solve traffic problems. It needs a combination of physical infrastructure, new ways of thinking and new technologies," said Andre Dzikus, Urban Mobility Unit, UN-HABITAT.

The IBM report lists a number of possible technological solutions to consider, including systems to better automate and improve traffic flow, micro chips embedded in driving licenses to record a driver's road history, priced road usage schemes and using mobile phone signal density to pinpoint and predict traffic jams.

Reliable and affordable energy increases efficiency and competitiveness
Energy is a critical and pressing issue for people living and working in Nairobi. According to KENGEN, Nairobi suffers from 11,000 high voltage fluctuations and power outages every month. For Nairobi's smarter city aspirations to be realized, energy has to be affordable as well as reliable.

"Nairobi's unreliable energy is not just an inconvenience, but also a critical business issue," said Linus Gitahi, CEO of Nation Media Group.

The report highlights the development of alternative energy sources, smart metering and incentive schemes to change energy consumption as possible solutions to some of Nairobi's energy problems.

A safer Nairobi needs smarter technologies and increased collaboration
Technology is already starting to help make Nairobi smarter and empower citizens. For example, to enhance security, an expanding CCTV network has been deployed by public and private players. However, the report underlines that analytics technologies are needed to make sense of the data generated by public safety systems.

The report also calls for better collaboration between public and private sectors as well as more integration between government departments. This issue is critical to public safety as Nairobi's citizens rely on a number of private security companies as well as public departments for emergency services. The report suggests that shared emergency resources between public and private sectors and centralized information systems could improve Nairobi's ability to deal with major city incidents such as last year's fuel explosion and fire in the impoverished Sinai district of the city in which more than 100 people were killed.

"By working together with the private sector, the government can create cities that meet the needs of their citizens more efficiently," said Bitange Ndemo, Information Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Information.

The report also underlines Kenya's advantage in technology innovation as a way to address some of the challenges of urbanization. Cloud computing, mobile technologies and social media could all play a role.

"The good thing about Kenya is that it is exporting as well as importing innovations," said Wolfgang Fengler from World Bank. "In the case of mobile money, crowdsourcing and many other innovations, Kenya is quite remarkable."

About IBM:
To download the IBM report "A Vision of A Smarter City: How Nairobi Can Lead the Way into a Prosperous and Sustainable Future" visit:
http://www-05.ibm.com/za/office/ke/en/

For more information on IBM's strategy for Africa please visit:
http://www-03.ibm.com/press/us/en/presskit/34710.wss

For more information on IBM Smarter Cities, please visit:
http://www.ibm.com/smarterplanet/uk/en/sustainable_cities/ideas/index.html

Proposed Storm Water Permit Incorporates Low Impact Development

News release from EPA Region 10:


EPA’s Proposed Stormwater Permit for JBLM Incorporates Low Impact Development to Protect Puget Sound

(Seattle – January 31, 2012) Due to its size, population and proximity to Puget Sound, Joint Base Lewis-McChord has received a proposed Municipal Stormwater discharge permit from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The permit, when final, is expected to help guide how stormwater is managed across nearly 142 square miles of base property over the next decade and beyond.

Located just south of Tacoma, JBLM is recognized as the largest military installation on the West Coast. The most recent population estimate for the base was 95,000 people, including military personnel, military dependants residing on base, civilian employees, and visitors.

"JBLM plays a vital role in our national security and the regional economy," said Mike Bussell, Director of EPA’s office of Water and Watersheds in Seattle. "So we designed this new permit to help them accomplish their mission of providing a safe, healthy community for those who serve our country, while reducing the storm water pollution threat to base streams, lakes and Puget Sound."

Stormwater (surface runoff from rain and snow melt) is recognized as a major source of pollution to the Puget Sound. Commercial and housing development alters the land’s natural ability to absorb and evaporate rainfall. Expanding impervious surfaces (like roads and roofs) then converge with a growing population to produce more vehicle related pollution that settles on those surfaces. When it rains, it all runs off into lakes, rivers, streams and ultimately the Puget Sound.

EPA’s draft municipal separate storm sewer system (MS4) permit for JBLM is the first such proposed permit for a military or other federal facility in western Washington. The draft permit requires specific actions and activities that must be accomplished over at least the next five years to protect local waters.

JBLM has been implementing a stormwater program for several years in anticipation of receiving a permit from EPA. Among the new requirements under the proposed permit, the base must control runoff from all construction sites; control runoff from all new development and redevelopment sites; map, inspect, and maintain the storm system, and engage JBLM employees and the community about preventing pollutants in storm water runoff.

Due to its proximity to Puget Sound, the Base permit also requires:

• stormwater runoff from redevelopment and new projects must meet performance standards through use of Low Impact Development (LID) techniques and, if needed, traditional stormwater features (detention ponds);
• a new construction project threshold of 5,000 square feet or greater;
• a program to reduce runoff from the existing developed areas;
• a biological stream health monitoring program using aquatic insects in Clover and Murray Creeks.

EPA’s proposed permit requires LID practices such as rain gardens, permeable pavement, native vegetation areas, and green roofs to avoid or lessen the reliance on traditional stormwater pipes and ponds. By using LID, a larger portion of rainfall will be intercepted, infiltrated, evaporated, or reused to avoid excess runoff. These actions will help maintain or restore a more natural stream flow throughout the year, replenish groundwater, and help protect fish and other aquatic organisms. It will also reduce the influx of pollutants washed into the streams, creeks and lakes on the base or into Puget Sound.

EPA will hold a public meeting to discuss the permit on:

Monday, March 19, 2012

Lakewood Library

6300 Wildaire Road Southwest

Lakewood, Washington 98499

6:00 pm open house & 6:30 – 8:00 pm public meeting

Comments on the Draft Permit Will Be Accepted through March 30, 2012

Send or e-mail comments by March 30, 2012 to:

EPA Region 10

Office of Water and Watersheds, OWW-130

Attn: NPDES Stormwater – JBLM

1200 Sixth Avenue, Suite 900

Seattle, WA 98101

or via email to the following address: vakoc.misha@epa.gov

After the comment period ends EPA will consider and respond to all comments, and make any necessary changes to the draft permit. The Washington Department of Ecology will also consider certifying the permit in accordance with Section 401 of the Clean Water Act. The EPA Director of the Office of Water & Watersheds will then make a final decision about permit issuance.

For a copy of the Draft Permit:


http://yosemite.epa.gov/R10/WATER.NSF/stormwater/homehttp://yosemite.epa.gov/r10/water.nsf/npdes+public+notices/jblm-ms4-pn-2011

For more about how EPA works to protect water quality from stormwater in the Pacific Northwest: 

http://www.epa.gov/region10/stormwater