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October 6, 2003 Meeting MinutesQuarterly Brownfields Roundtable Minutes: October
6, 2003 The meeting began at 10:15 on Monday, October 6, 2003 with participant introductions. The following are short descriptions of the information presented. There were approximately 45 attendees. Introductory CommentsIntroductory comments were offered by Frances Hoffman, Brownfield Coordinator for the NJ DCA Office of Smart Growth and from Judith Shaw, Administrator of the NJ DEP Office of Brownfield Reuse. Dr. Hoffman informed the assemblage that the Office of Smart Growth was working with the New Jersey Redevelopment Authority to improve the Site Mart internet-available brownfield marketing database. She encouraged attendees to enter sites on Site Mart. She also asked attendees how they marketed brownfield sites. Dr. Hoffman offered to include a link from the Site Mart to county inventories. Additional information about the NJRA Smart Mart may be found at http://njbrownfieldsitemart.state.nj.us/brownfields/site/default.asp
Dr. Hoffman suggested that the attendees reach out to gas station owners as part of their brownfield property owner outreach efforts. Often, these active and former gas stations are in the center of communities. Inactive gas station sites are underutilized and pose a potential threat to public health and the environment. There are incentives for developers of these sites. Dr. Hoffman announced a March 19 meeting to include redevelopment interests in the eight southern New Jersey counties. She also announced an October 22 Tri-state Regional Alliance marketing meeting that will include development interests from both northern and southern New Jersey. Please contact the Office of Smart Growth at (609) 292-3096 for more information. Additional information about the Office of Smart Growth may be found at https://www.nj.gov/dca/osg/. Dr. Shaw’s comments began with the announcement that N DEP is considering another round of BDA applications for Spring/Summer 2004. She then described a study conducted by Georgetown University that found an acre of redeveloped brownfields equates to four and a half acres of greenfields saved. The study also opined that each public dollar spend towards brownfields development generates two dollars forty eight cents ($2.48) in private investment. Dr. Shaw described the Frequently Asked Questions portion of the Office of Brownfield Reuse web site. This Frequently Asked Questions information is found at https://www.nj.gov/dep/srp/brownfields/faq/#top. Dr. Shaw will be meeting with the recent BDA applicants that were not designated. She will review their efforts and offer advice on how to better support their proposal. Brownfield Development Area (BDA) Updates
Share Learning ExperiencesAttendees exhibited significant concern with the impacts of the Natural Resource Restoration policy (Policy # 2004-07, found at https://www.nj.gov/dep/nrr/ that was recently announced by the Commissioner. It was unclear if non-responsible brownfield redevelopers were subject to natural restoration damage (NRD) liability. Are municipalities that acquire abandoned brownfields exposed to NRD liability? There was a suggestion to develop a flow chart depicting the interrelationship of brownfield sites recognized by the Office of Brownfield Reuse with the Office of Natural Resource Restoration NRD responsibilities. Another suggestion included a cross review of the NRD process by someone outside NJ DEP. It was agreed that John Sacco, Administrator of the Office of Natural Resource Restoration would be invited to our next Quarterly Brownfield Roundtable. A Camden representative described a brownfield redevelopment project that involved the relocation of residences, warehouse reuse and the preservation and adaptive reuse of historic structures. The Department of Community Affairs and the State Historic Preservation Office were recognized for their assistance to Camden. Cleanup Star ProgramKen Kloo, Bureau Chief, Office of Brownfield Reuse, described the Cleanup Start initiative. Sites eligible for oversight b a Cleanup Star will be sites that have less than two areas of environmental concern and have no groundwater impact. Sites ineligible for Cleanup Star oversight include wetland sites, Immediate Environmental Concern sites, sites in the Pinelands, National Priority List (Superfund) sites and regulated landfills, among others. Approximately twenty five percent of the Cleanup Stars will have an audit conducted on their reports and checklist. These audits may include a field audit. A penalty point system is being developed as a quality control measure. Points will be assigned a Cleanup Start for minor, moderate and major infractions. A Cleanup Star will lose their designation if too many points are accumulated. The Cleanup Star Program does not waive any normally required permits or licenses necessary to implement site assessment and remedy. The NJ DEP is currently accepting Cleanup Star application until October 31, 2003. Cook College will offer the required Technical Requirements for Site Remediation training on October 29. Additional information on the Cleanup Star program may be found at https://www.nj.gov/dep/srp/cleanupstar/. New Jersey Regulatory UpdateColleen Kokas of the Office of Brownfield Reuse provided a legislative update that included proposed changes to the Underground Storage Tank (UST) Remediation Upgrade and Closure Fund. These changes include expanding the definition of eligible owners and operators and increasing the one million-dollar cap to two or three million dollars. The proposals also include a change to the financial criteria supporting conditional hardship grant applications. An extension of the funding application deadline for regulated UST funding is proposed. The proposed deadline is June 30, 2005. Closing CommentsJack Smith of IRG Insurance informed that NRD claims might be recoverable from old general liability insurance policies. Pollution exclusions were first being written into general liability policies around 1969. General liability policies began to write NRD exclusions in policies sometime around 1997-1998. The Roundtable adjourned 3:30 PM.
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