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SRP Brownfields Roundtables

April 7, 2003 Meeting Minutes

Quarterly Brownfield Roundtable Meeting Minutes: 4-7-03

The meeting began at 10:15 AM on Monday, April 7, 2003. The following are short descriptions of the information presented.

  • Assistant Commissioner Evan Van Hook
    • Two initiatives designed to expedite cases through the Site Remediation program:
      • Technical Review Panel designed to settle technical case management disagreements. This process includes review and response by managers within the Site Remediation Program.
      • Rejectable Document Policy permits an expedited rejection of grossly deficient submittals. This will make more time available to Case Manager and Technical Support teams to review proposals and reports that comply with appropriate deliverables.

    • Mr. Van Hook also briefly described the new Brownfield Development Area initiative.

  • Stephen Kehayes, Office of Brownfield Reuse (OBR)
    • Further described the Brownfield Development Area (BDA) initiative & introduced staff assigned to the current BDA. Additional information on the BDA initiative may be found at the Office of Brownfields web site, www.nj.gov/dep/srp/brownfields/bda.
      • Colleen Kokas, OBR – North Camden BDA & Cramer Hill BDA (both in Camden)
      • Anthony Findley, OBR – Elizabethport BDA (City of Elizabeth)
      • Kirsten Hahn, Bureau of Field Operations-South – Trenton BDA

    • OBR Regional Assignment includes Northeast New Jersey, including Hudson, Bergen and Essex Counties.

  • Anthony Findley, OBR
    • OBR Coordinator for New Jersey Meadowlands Commission, Union County and the City of Elizabeth EPA Brownfield Assessment Pilots.
    • OBR Regional Assignments include North Central/East New Jersey, including Union County. Mr. Findley will also be helping with Hudson County brownfield projects.

    • Mr. Findley described the status of the Elizabethport BDA, which is well organized. The Elizabethport BDA Steering Committee is developing strategies site investigation, remedy and reuse. They are also identifying funding sources.

  • Kirsten Hahn, Bureau of Field Operations-South
    • Managing the Trenton BDA. Ms. Hahn described the BDA and progress to date. BDA sites have been identified and strategies are being developed to promote the investigation, remedy and reuse of these sites.

      • Trenton BDA is the Gould Battery/Magic Marker site and several surrounding sites. This BDA also includes the area around the Monument School.

  • Colleen Kokas, OBR
    • Managing the two Camden BDA; Cramer Hill BDA and the North Camden BDA.
    • OBR Coordinator for the Camden, Pennsauken, Atlantic City and Gloucester City EPA Brownfield Assessment Pilots.

    • OBR Regional Assignment includes South Jersey.

  • Bureau Chief Ken Kloo, OBR
    • Described Triad, an integration of systematic planning, dynamic work plans, and real-time measurement technologies to achieve more cost-effective and quicker cleanup.
      • Identified Maria Franco-Spera as the Office of Brownfield Reuse contact for Triad.
    • Described an initiative under development that will address areas of ubiquitous ground water contamination.

      • Maria Franco-Spera is also the Office of Brownfield Reuse contact for both the Areas of Ubiquitous Contamination initiative.

  • Maria Franco-Spera, OBR
    • Provided additional descriptions of both Triad and the Ubiquitous Groundwater Contamination initiative.
      • Areas of Ubiquitous Contamination initiative includes a groundwater remedy buy-out strategy for non-responsible parties redeveloping brownfield sites. The initiative is still under development; however, the intent is to permit brownfield developers to contribute, into a trust, the estimated cost of addressing ground water contamination from a site in an area of regional groundwater contamination. Trust revenue will be applied to an area-wide remedy of groundwater contamination.
      • Triad is an EPA approved innovative approach to site investigations that includes planning, real time data and a dynamic Workplan. Additional information on Triad may be found at https://www.epa.gov/tio/triad/.
    • OBR Coordinator for the Middlesex County, Perth Amboy, Patterson and Phillipsburg EPA Brownfield Assessment Pilots.

    • OBR Regional Assignments include North Central/West New Jersey, including Middlesex County.

  • Administrator Judy Shaw, OBR
    • Discussed the interagency coordination between the Department of Community Affairs (DCA), the New Jersey Economic Development Authority (EDA) and the Department of Environmental Protection.
      • DCA provides planning assistance and access to the Office of Smart Growth Brownfields Redevelopment Interagency Team. This interagency team provides a forum for municipalities to present their brownfield redevelopment challenges to a large group of state agencies that then brainstorm for solutions and resources.
      • EDA provides financial assistance.
      • DEP provides technical assistance in managing the public health and environmental aspects of a brownfield redevelopment project.

    • Administrator Shaw then introduced Dr. Francis Hoffman from the DCA Office of Smart Growth.

  • Dr. Francis Hoffman, Director, Environmental Projects & Brownfields Program, DCA Office of Smart Growth.
    • Described the resources available from the Office of Smart Growth, including the Brownfields Redevelopment Interagency Team and the Smart Future Planning Grants, formally known as the Smart Growth Planning Grants.
    • Described, in more detail, the Brownfields Redevelopment Interagency Team.

    • Any questions concerning the Office of Smart Growth, the Brownfields Redevelopment Interagency Team of the Smart Future Planning Grants may be addressed to Dr. Hoffman at (609) 292-3096, or, at fhoffman@dca.state.nj.us. The Office of Smart Growth web site is at www.nj.gov/dca/osg.

  • Ian Curtis, OBR
    • Mr. Curtis has also been tasked with tracking program successes and other learning lessons. These lessons learned will be shared on the Office of Brownfield Reuse web site.
    • OBR Coordinator for the Trenton, Long Branch, Lakewood and Somerset County EPA Brownfield Assessment Pilots.

    • OBR Regional Assignments include Central New Jersey, including Somerset and Monmouth Counties.

  • Susan Boyle, Site Remediation Program.
    • Described the Office of Brownfield Reuse web site found at www.nj.gov/dep/srp/brownfields/obr.

    • Described Perspective Purchaser Agreements (PPA). PPA is an instrument that provides brownfield redevelopers with certain liability protections before the issuance of a No Further Action approval. For further information about PPA, please contact Ms. Boyle at (609) 633-2933.

  • Laurie Sheppard, New Jersey Redevelopment Authority

    • Described the New Jersey Redevelopment Authority Brownfields Site Mart inventory. This is a marketing inventory of publicly held brownfield sites that are redevelopment priorities in the 68 approved Urban Coordinating Council (UCC) Empowerment Neighborhoods. This web site may be found at www.nj.gov/njra.

  • Jay Watson, Administrator, NJ DEP Green Acres Program
  • Jim Lewis, NJ Dept. of Transportation, Statewide Planning Office – NJDOT Transit Village Program
    • Described the Transit Village Program, intended to reduce auto dependent land uses around transit hubs by establishing an interagency workgroup to work with designated communities to advance mix used development. This includes redevelopment of brownfield sites.
    • Governor McGreevey has promoted this Smart Growth initiative in both the State of the State Address and his recent Smart Growth address. The Governor has charged the Department of Transportation to increase the number of Transit Villages to 12 before the end of the year.

    • For more information about this program, please contact Monica Etz, Transit Village Program Manager, at (609) 530-2884.

      • Mr. Lewis "Transit VIllage Initiative" Presentation:
      Entire Presentation (PDF 12.38 Mb)
      Presentation in Four Easier-to-Download PDF Files:
      One (2.47 Mb), Two (4.12 Mb), Three (2.80 Mb), Four (3.23 Mb)
      Zip of the Four Files (11.57 Mb)

By the end of the above presentations, roundtable attendees opted to waive the roundtable portion of the agenda to start their return commutes before the snowstorm worsened.

Attendees were asked for agenda suggestions for the next Roundtable. The suggestion was made to include funding sources as a topic for presentation, therefore, funding sources will be presented at the next Brownfields Quarterly Roundtable.

The next Roundtables are scheduled for July 7, 2003 and October 6, 2003.