City of Fort Wayne to inventory and assess brownfields

City looks to inventory and assess brownfields

By Bob Caylor of The News-Sentinel
Tuesday, January 24, 2012 – 7:09 pm

“For the next couple of weeks, the city of Fort Wayne wants to find out about brownfield sites that might have potential for redevelopment.

Through Feb. 7, the city is accepting “site survey forms” requesting that the city evaluate a site. Brownfield sites are abandoned, idled or underused industrial and commercial sites where expansion or redevelopment is complicated by the real, potential or perceived presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant or contaminant, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

To qualify, a site must:

  • Be located in Fort Wayne
  • Meet the definition of a brownfield
  • Not be owned now by the polluter of the site or be destined for an end use by the polluter

The city began more focused efforts to redevelop brownfields 15 years ago. Since then, city officials say, notable successes include Parkview Field and Harrison Square downtown and the housing, assisted-living center and YMCA that occupy the site of a 1997 tire fire on the near-south side of town. The city of Fort Wayne continues pursuing projects with private investors to redevelop such properties as part of its economic-development efforts.

In this case, the foray into finding and studying brownfields is aided by a pool of funding. Last year, the city received two grants – each for $200,000 – from the EPA to assess brownfields. One grant is devoted to sites potentially contaminated by petroleum. The other will evaluate sites that may be contaminated by hazardous materials.

“This type of recycling of land can revitalize neighborhoods,” said Aliza Tourkow, a redevelopment specialist and grants coordinator for the city, told about 50 people who attended an informational meeting on the grants Tuesday at Parkview Field.

TO FIND OUT MORE

To find out more about the grants, the effort to expand the city’s brownfields listings or about brownfields development in general, go to www.fwbrownfield.org.”

Link to article:

http://www.news-sentinel.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20120124/NEWS/120129716/1012/LOCAL

For reprints please contact the News-Sentinel:

FortWayne.com
c/o Fort Wayne Newspapers
600 West Main Street,
P.O. Box 100 Fort Wayne, IN 46802
Phone: 1-800-444-3303

Fort Wayne Recycling Brownfields Kickoff on Jan 24 at Parkview Field

 

Celebrate 15 Years of Recycling Brownfields! Community Forum to be Held at Parkview Field

Brownfield Redevelopment Kick-offFort Wayne, Ind. – The City of Fort Wayne’s Redevelopment Department invites you to a community forum to discuss new brownfield grant funding, and to celebrate 15 years of brownfield recycling.

At 4:00pm on Tuesday, January 24th, Parkview Field will host the Redevelopment Department’s community brownfield forum.  This forum will discuss details about the $400,000 EPA Brownfield Assessment Grants awarded to the City in late 2011.  There will be refreshments and you will find out:

  • How the grants can be utilized;
  • What type of sites will be eligible for grant assistance;
  • Who to contact if you are interested in redeveloping brownfield impacted areas;
  • How you can keep up-to-date on brownfield events/project status;
  • How to suggest sites as potential brownfields.

City staff and the brownfield consultants will be available after the meeting to answer questions.  Community input and questions are encouraged.

To register for this event, go to the City’s Brownfield website homepage at http://www.cityoffortwayne.org/redevelopment-home/133-brownfields-.html and select the “Register” link under the “Events” section to RSVP for this community forum.  Alternatively, you may call 427-1127 to confirm your attendance.

 

Project Photos added to Facebook

Engineering Pictures Photographs Indiana
We’ve uploaded project photos to our Facebook page.  Our current clients can follow project milestones and prospective clients can view our success stories.

Below is a link to our Facebook page.  Or just click on the image.

http://www.facebook.com/LougheedEngineering

Please take a moment to “like” our new page.

Press Release – Consultants Selected

For Immediate Release
November 30, 2011

City of Fort WayneNews Release

Contact: Greg Leatherman, City of Fort Wayne
Executive Director, Redevelopment Commission – 260.427.2102

Aliza Tourkow, City of Fort Wayne
Grant Administrator/Redevelopment Specialist – 260.427.2792

 

Consultants Selected to Conduct Work on $400k EPA Grants

Fort Wayne, Ind. – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency selected the City of Fort Wayne as a recipient of two Brownfield Assessment Grants. One grant addresses sites potentially impacted by petroleum and the other grant will evaluate sites that may be contaminated by hazardous substances. Each grant is in the amount of $200,000.

The City is pleased to announce the award of the environmental consulting contracts to two local firms, SES Environmental and the team of Lougheed/Mundell & Associates,” said Greg Leatherman, Executive Director of the Redevelopment Commission. “The most important aspect of these grants is that it allows the City to continue its efforts to redevelop and recycle underutilized sites that have been hampered by real or perceived environmental issues.”

SES Environmental, based in Fort Wayne, was chosen to conduct the inventory and site assessments for petroleum-related properties. This environmental consulting firm worked with the City on the 2007-2010 EPA Brownfields Petroleum Assessment Grant. The newly awarded 2011-2014 EPA Brownfields Petroleum Assessment Grant will allow SES Environmental to expand the brownfield investigations they started under the prior grant. Historically, SES Environmental has been instrumental in the assessment and clean-up of many brownfield sites around the City of Fort Wayne, including the Bowser Tire site.

The team of Lougheed/Mundell & Associates will evaluate sites with perceived hazardous substance issues. Lougheed & Associates are based in Fort Wayne, while Mundell & Associates are based in Indianapolis. This is the first time the City has been awarded the Hazardous Substances Assessment Grant.

According to Aliza Tourkow, Grants Administrator, Both consulting teams, SES Environmental and Lougheed/Mundell & Associates, have strong credentials concerning environmental studies and implementing EPA grants. Collaboratively, they provide a local presence with well-rounded environmental assessment abilities.”

A public meeting will be held in January 2012 to explain the details of the grant and to solicit feedback from community members about potential sites of interest. Community members may register for the City’s Brownfields E-Newsletter to receive details about the public meeting and other brownfields-related information. Please visit the City’s website at http://www.cityoffortwayne.org/redevelopment-home/133-brownfields-.html and select the “Subscribe” link to be included in this community dialogue.

Press release in PDF – click here

 

 

City of Fort Wayne selects Lougheed Engineering

We are proud to announce that Lougheed Engineering has been selected, in collaboration with Mundell & Associates, to assist with a $200,000 Grant to the City of Fort Wayne.

City of Fort Wayne Grant
The $200,000 EPA Hazardous Substances Assessment Grant is one of the largest ever received by Fort Wayne.

 

Check back here.  We will post more details as they come available.

 

More information:

 

$2.5 Million Indiana Brownfields – Recovery Act

Indiana will receive $2.5 Million from the Recovery Act to clean up Indiana Brownfields.  More information about the program can be found at the links below.

Indiana Brownfields Recovery Act

On August 4, 2009, the U.S. EPA awarded the Indiana Brownfields Program $2,500,000 in Brownfields Recovery Act revolving loan funds for cleanup of brownfield sites, $900,000 to address hazardous substances and $1.6 million for petroleum contamination. Funds will be used to replenish the Program’s revolving loan fund, from which the Program will provide loans and sub-grants to support cleanup activities at several of the 31 shovel-ready sites identified by municipalities in the State that are contaminated with hazardous substances and/or petroleum.

For More Information