news

UConn TAB at Region 1 Brownfields Summit

Posted on by

If you are attending the Brownfields Summit on May 18th – May 19th be sure to stop by and attend our session.


Session 1

Date: May 18th
Time: 4:30 PM – 5:45 PM 
Session: Concurrent Session 3B
Topic: Community Engagement & Environmental Justice

Agenda:

4:30 PM – 4:55 PM Unraveling Environmental Justice in New England
Nefeli Bompoti, UConn TAB
4:55 PM – 5:20 PM  Brownfields Are for Everyone
Rupal Parekh & Randi Mendes, UConn TAB
5:20 PM – 5:45 PM
 Community Perspectives on Community Engagement in New London, CT
Tom Bombria, City of New London & Kathleen Barrett, Freedom Trail Neighborhood Association Moderator: Charles Springer, TRC

Session 2

Date: May 19th
Time: 10:15 AM – 11:30 AM 
Session: Concurrent Session 5B
Topic: You Can Bank On It!

Speakers: Wayne Bugden, Eastern Connecticut Land Bank; Rick Dunne, Connecticut Brownfields Land Bank
Moderator: Marisa Chrysochoou, UConn TAB

 

UCONN TAB Spring Webinar Series

Posted on by
UConn TAB would like to bring your attention to our upcoming webinars. All webinars will be held on the respective dates below from 1:00 PM – 1:45 PM.

Registration for future webinars will become live as dates approach!

Topic: Brownfield Inventories: A Practical Guide on How to Develop One Register: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/4138201548224466960
Topic: Effective Community Engagement Register: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/3332480527211159819
Topic: Land Use and Brownfields
Topic: Planning and Funding Site Investigations(6/8)
Topic: Public Health and Risk Communication for Brownfield Sites (6/29)

UConn TAB Spring 2022 Municipal Assistance Program Recepients

Posted on by

We are excited to announce the first UConn TAB Municipal Assistance Program (MAP) recipients!

This Spring semester, our students will be working with communities across New England on brownfield redevelopment projects through the activities of the course Brownfields Redevelopment Practicum. The municipalities will be receiving free-of-charge technical assistance to advance brownfields redevelopment in their communities. The list of projects includes the development of brownfields inventories, community engagement materials, and reuse scenarios for brownfield sites.

The following communities are selected to participate in the Spring 2022 MAP:

  • Town of Athol, MA
  • City of Attleboro, MA
  • Town of Monson, MA
  • Waterbury Development Corporation, CT
  • Bethlehem Reimagined, Inc., NH
  • Town of Lyndon, VT

UConn TAB Webinar & RFP

Posted on by

The webinar will provide an overview of the UConn TAB’s Technical Assistance program for activities supported in Spring 2022. UConn TAB is offering to provide assistance to New England municipalities at no cost for the Spring semester of 2022. The proposals will be supported through the University of Connecticut course Brownfield Redevelopment, which trains UConn students on all aspects of brownfields investigation, cleanup, and redevelopment. 

This webinar will outline examples of projects supported and details for submission. Register Here!

UCONN TAB proposal review now available

Posted on by

The UConn TAB team will provide reviews for the Project Narrative of EPA assessment, cleanup and Revolving Load Fund grant proposals that are due on December 1st, 2021. The turnaround time for review upon submission is a maximum of one week.

We provide two deadlines for the review process.

October 25h: this is the deadline to receive an in depth review of your proposal. In depth review will consist of comments on how your text addresses the EPA review rubric, and suggestions on how to address these comments, resources to use etc.

November 12th: a high level review will be provided if you submit your draft proposal between October 26th and November 12th. This review will consist of comments on how your text sufficiently addresses the EPA review rubric.

Reviews will be provided in a written format, as annotated document of your submitted text. You may also schedule a follow up call with the team member that conducted the review to walk you through the comments.

You may request the review using our submission form.

 

UConn TAB is live!

Posted on by

We are very excited to announce the launch of the UConn TAB program. Starting October 1st, UConn will be the Technical Assistance to Brownfields (TAB) provider for EPA Region 1, including the six New England states Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont.

The Brownfields TAB Program helps communities, states, tribes, and others understand the human health and environmental risks associated with contaminated or potentially contaminated properties, and learn how to assess, safely clean up, and sustainably reuse them. For example, the training and research to be delivered by UCONN will assist New England communities in:

  • Identifying and prioritizing brownfields for redevelopment.
  • Determining the potential public health impact of brownfield sites.
  • Identifying appropriate funding/financing approaches.
  • Applying for and managing EPA brownfields grants.
  • Evaluating feasibility of reuse plans.
  • Interpreting technical brownfield reports, assessments, and plans.
  • Understanding and navigating regulatory requirements.
  • Engaging the community in brownfield redevelopment projects.

Visit our Services page for a complete list of services and anticipated turn-around times.

Our Team includes two brownfield and remediation experts; Dr. Marisa Chrysochoou is the UConn TAB Program Director and has 15 years of experience working on technical aspects of site remediation, and directly with communities in Connecticut.

Dr. Dave Dickson of the Center for Land Use Education and Research has decades of experience training community stakeholders on a variety of land use and environmental issues and is the coordinator of the UConn TAB Continuing Education Program.

Dr. Rupal Parekh of the UConn School of Social Work is the Community Engagement Coordinator for the program. With expertise in intergeneration community engagement, will train and support communities to conduct outreach and engage citizens of all ages in the brownfield redevelopment process in their neighborhoods.

Dr. Sara Wakai of the Center for Population Health will work closely with Dr. Parekh and advise community on risk communication strategies and public health information tailored to New England community.

Have questions? Our Community Liaison, Bruce Hyde, has decades of experience in municipal and regional planning, including brownfields and will answer your questions. Email Bruce at our dedicated email address uconn-tab@uconn.edu and set up a consultation session over WebEx.

EPA Grants and Webinars Announced

Posted on by

The FY22 Solicitation for Assessment, Revolving Loan Fund and Cleanup brownfield grants is now open, with a submission deadline of December 1st, 2021.

Guidelines are available on the EPA MARC page and on grants.gov

Important changes to this year's solicitation

  • Multipurpose and coalition assessment grants are not available;
  • Community-wide assessment grants can be up to $500,000; site-specific assessment grants up to $350,000;
  • States and tribes can apply for community-wide assessment grants up to $2,000,000; EPA expects to fund 9 of these grants in FY22.
  • Applicants for a single site cleanup can request up to $650,000.

Grant Guideline Outreach Webinars

EPA anticipates hosting two webinars to discuss the FY 2022 Assessment, Revolving Loan Fund (RLF), and Cleanup Grant Guidelines. Please check the EPA MARC page for updates on the links to join the webinar.

  • Tuesday, October 12, 2021 at 9 AM ET - Cleanup & EJ Tools
  • Wednesday, October 13, 2021, at 1 PM ET - This webinar will discuss the FY 2022 guidelines for entities applying for:
    • Community-Assessment Grant funding
    • Site-specific Assessment Grant funding
    • Cleanup Grant funding
    • RLF Grant funding
  • Thursday, October 14, 2021, at 2 PM ET - This webinar will discuss the FY 2022 guidelines for entities applying for:
    • Community-wide Assessment Grants for States and Tribe

*Sessions are a repeat the second week for those not available the week of October 12th*

  • Thursday, October 19, 2021 at 1 PM ET- Asessment & EJ Tools
  • Wednesday, October 20, 2021 at 1 PM - Revolving Loan Fund (RLF) & EJ Tools
  • Thursday, October 21, 2021 at 1 PM - Cleanup & EJ Tools
  • Wednesday, October 27, 2021 at 10 AM - Community- wide Assessment Grants for States & Tribes & EJ Tools

You can register above or you can click on this link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/DT2X82Y. You can also send an email to R1Brownfields@epa.gov with your name, affiliation, community you are representing, and the session(s) you will be attending.

The National TAB team and Regional TAB providers are hosting the "Brownfields Back Better" webinar on Wednesday, October 20, 2021 at 230 pm ET. Review of the Narrative/Ranking Criteria, specific requirements for each type of application, and overview and changes of the guidelines will be discussed including services offered by the regional TAB provides.

Additionally, the UCONN TAB will host a webinar on October 27th for the EJSCREEN platform to support proposal preparation. A separate announcement with a registration link will be made available.

EJSCREEN Webinar October 27th

Posted on by

The UConn TAB is pleased to announce the first webinar offering supporting New England Communities to prepare successful EPA MARC grant proposals.

In this webinar, our team will provide a hands-on demonstration on how to use the EJ SCREEN tool to develop your narrative proposal. EJ SCREEN a mapping and screening tool developed by EPA to provide a nationally consistent data set and approach for combining environmental and demographic indicators. In this year’s EPA Brownfields Grant guidelines, it is suggested to utilize EJ SCREEN to help characterize target areas and identify threats to sensitive populations.

Live Q&A will be a portion of the webinar. The event will also be recorded and posted on our website.

Wednesday, October 27th, 1.00 – 2.00 pm

You may register here.