R-PAT or Recovered Property Protection Assurance Trust is a legislative proposal to provide long term liability relief for owners of brownfield properties. As envisioned, R-PAT would be similar to a federal insurance corporation such as the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or the Pension Benefit Guaranty Trust Corporation. For a fee paid by property owners, R-PAT would assume environmental liability in perpetuity for sites remediated under federal or state cleanup programs. So are you interested in learning more yet? If so come to this special session on an enterprising edge topic.

Elliott Laws, Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pitman LLP

Dwight Bedsole, DuPont

Brownfields2008 - Addressing Liability Concerns for Property Owners.ppt (444 KB)

A mothballed brownfield is a property where the owner is unwilling or unable to revitalize the property or put it back into productive reuse. Mothballed brownfields may cause blight, inhibit economic development, threaten public heath, and encourage urban sprawl. Many mothballed brownfields sit in the center of communities that comprise our nation's heartland. Despite the many challenges that communities face when attempting to encourage the redevelopment of mothballed brownfields, some collaborative efforts are succeeding in cleaning up these properties and spurring community-wide revitalization by putting these properties back into productive use. Come listen to community and corporate leaders who are at the forefront of implementing solutions to mothballed brownfields and standing at the forefront of community revitalization. Panelists will include community leaders, corporate stakeholders, and experienced developers.

Steve Luftig, EMS

Mark Gregor, City of Rochester Division of Environmental Quality Read bio

Mark Gregor is the Manager of the City of Rochester’s Division of Environmental Quality. For the past 22 years he has been responsible for conducting and managing environmental site investigations, remedial projects, and environmental regulatory compliance for the City of Rochester. He has managed numerous USEPA and NYSDEC grant funded brownfield/voluntary cleanup projects, NYS Superfund cleanup projects, as well as joint cleanup/redevelopment projects with private developers. He is currently also responsible for implementation of the 50 acre Port of Rochester redevelopment project. He testified before the United States Senate Committee on the Environment and Public Works regarding the federal Superfund Program Completion Act of 1999 and participated on the New York State Conference of Mayors Municipal Brownfield Caucus and the Pocantico Roundtable for Consensus on Brownfields in New York. Mr. Gregor holds a Bachelor of Science from the State University of New York at Geneseo, a Master of Science in Industrial Hygiene and Environmental Studies from the University of Rochester and a Master of Public Administration from Syracuse University. He is also a Certified Hazardous Materials Manager, and serves on the Board of Directors of the Rochester based Center for Environmental Information.

Colleen Kokas, New Jersey DEP Read bio

COLLEEN KOKAS , Chief NJ Department of Environmental Protection Assistant Commissioner’s Office Office of Brownfield Reuse PO Box 028, Trenton, NJ 08625 (609) 633-1499 Colleen.Kokas@dep.state.nj.us Colleen Kokas is the Chief of the Office of Brownfield Reuse at the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection bringing extensive experience in project management, financing, cleanup negotiations, litigation support, cost recovery and brownfield policy to effectuate brownfield redevelopment. In her capacity in the Office of Brownfield Reuse, Colleen is involved with the Brownfield Development Area Program, a “multi-site” approach to brownfield remediation and redevelopment. In addition to being a resource to communities that have received EPA Brownfield Assessment Pilot Grants, Colleen monitors legislation that effects brownfields. Colleen plays a key role in advising municipalities and developers on conducting investigations and cleanups using the various brownfield incentives available. Colleen serves on the NJ Brownfield Interagency Team and the Brownfield Task Force Policy and Legislative Subcommittee that is responsible for coordinating brownfield policy throughout the various state agencies. She is also the NJDEP’s representative for the Brownfield Reimbursement Program administered by the Commerce and Economic Growth Commission and Department of Treasury, advising developers on incentives for brownfield remediation and negotating Prospective Purchaser Agreements. She is currently providing brownfield support to two of New Jersey’s most prominent mulit-billion brownfield redevelopment projects, the Xanadu entertainment complex and the new Jets/Giants football stadium in the New Jersey Meadowlands. Colleen received a Master’s degree in Public Administration from Rutgers University, focusing her final project on why business left New Jersey. She obtained her undergraduate degree from Cook College, receiving a Bachelor of Science in Geology. Colleen is a regular speaker for environmental training at Rutgers University and the New Jersey League of Municipalities. She is on the Board of Directors of the Institute of Bronwfield Professionals and a member of the Advisory Board of the National Brownfield Association. Collen is very active on the Executive Committee of the New Chapter of the Society of Women Environmental Professionals and serves as the Vice President of the New Jersey Chapter of the National Brownfield Association.

Evan van Hook, Honeywell International Inc. Read bio

Evan is Honeywell’s Corporate Vice President responsible for all aspects of Honeywell’s environmental, health, safety and remediation performance. He is a graduate of the Yale Law School, a former partner in the law firm of Sidley Austin, and a former Assistant Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, where he directed the remediation, brownfields, landfills, hazardous waste, dredging and emergency response programs. For several years Evan has been an adjunct professor at Columbia Law School, where he teaches international environmental law, and he has authored numerous articles on health, safety and environmental topics. He is a former Chair of the Environmental Law Committee of the New York City Bar Association and is currently a Trustee of the Land of the Dutchess County, New York Land Conservancy.

Todd Davis, Hemisphere Development LLC Read bio

Todd S. Davis is the Chief Executive Officer of Hemisphere Development and a Managing Director of Hemisphere Advisors. Mr. Davis focuses his work on all aspects of redeveloping contaminated property and the environmental aspects of real estate transactions. In this role, he has actively acquired numerous sites for Hemisphere’s portfolio and provided strategic advice in hundreds of transactions, including a number of the nation’s largest and most sophisticated brownfield redevelopments. Mr. Davis is a member of the national Board of Directors for the National Brownfield Association and serves as a Vice Chairman of the ABA’s Brownfields Task Force and the ABA’s Environmental Transactions and Brownfields Committee.

With beautiful cinematography and enlightening interviews, this film tells the rich and complex story of one of the most astonishing alterations of nature in human history. Prior to Euro-American settlement in the 1820s, one of the major landscape features of North America was 240 million acres of tallgrass prairie. But between 1830 and 1900 ? in the span of a single lifetime ? the prairie was steadily transformed to farmland. America’s Lost Landscape examines the record of human struggle, triumph, and defeat that prairie history exemplifies, including the history and culture of America’s aboriginal inhabitants. The film also highlights prairie preservation efforts and explores how the tallgrass prairie ecosystem may serve as a model for a sustainable agriculture of the future.

Many brownfield projects focus on greenspace elements solely from an aesthetic or recreational use perspective. But there also is room, and increasing demand, for creating pockets of functional habitat for wildlife in these locations. Learn about programs that have transformed brownfield sites to successful wildlife habitats.

John Lortie, Stantec Read bio

Mr. Lortie is a Professional Wetland Scientist, a Certified Wildlife Biologist, an accomplished botanist, and an experienced ecological risk assessor. He has directed numerous projects involving complex environmental regulations, including RCRA sites and marine facilities, and has taught short courses on eco risk assessment protocols, field methods, and restoration design. His recent work has included serving as a lead ecologist for the G.E./Housatonic River risk assessment and restoration project, one of the largest projects of this type in the eastern United States, and assisting in development of a landmark Biological Assessment for the proposed Cape Wind offshore energy project. In addition to managing major habitat restoration projects and ecological risk projects, he has also led large-scale ecological inventories to search for rare animals and plants, directed coastal migratory bird studies, and has assessed complex natural communities throughout the northern Atlantic region. A former National Wildlife Refuge manager, he also offers special expertise in migratory bird studies. As a Professional Wetland Scientist, Mr. Lortie also specializes in interpretation of wetland regulations, and wetland identification, evaluation, and mitigation. He is frequently retained by corporations, municipalities and professional organizations to provide project review services, lectures, or expert testimony on wetland regulations. Experience Stantec Consulting. 2007-Present. Vice President, Environmental Management. Woodlot Alternatives, Inc. 1987 - 2007. President and Founder. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Wells, Maine 1984 - 1987. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Chatham, Massachusetts 1983-1984. Canadian Wildlife Service, Sackville, New Brunswick 1982. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Calais, Maine 1980-1981. University of Maine at Orono, Entomology Department 1979-1980.

Daniel Goldfarb, Wildlife Habitat Council Read bio

Mr. Goldfarb is the Program Manager-Ecologist for the Wildlife Habitat Council (WHC) Northwest Indiana – Southeast Chicago Office, located in Portage, Indiana. Academic and research training includes BS in Natural Resources Management in Aquatic Ecology from Cornell University, a MS in Forest Ecology from Michigan State University, and MFA in Design and Ecology from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Daniel has worked in land restoration and reuse projects in Northwest Indiana and City of Chicago for over ten years focusing on shoreline restoration of the Chicago River, ecological reuse of degraded and contaminated sites, Brownfield redevelopment for native landscapes and public/open space, and environmental justice in low-income minority neighborhoods.

Bruce Pluta, U.S. EPA, Region 3 Read bio

Mr. Pluta is the Coordinator of EPA Region 3’s Biological Technical Assistance Group. This group advises the Region’s Hazardous Site Cleanup Division on all biological issues, particularly those relating to Ecological Risk Assessments and impacts of site cleanups on ecological resources. The group also provides support for the integration of bioengineering and ecological restoration techniques into remedial and removal actions to reduce the impact of these actions on ecological resources and to facilitate recovery of the resources. The BTAG also provides support to Brownfield programs to help facilitate eco-revitalization. Mr. Pluta has served in his current position since 2000. Prior to 2000, he worked for CDM and NUS Corporation for 13 and 5 years respectively. Mr. Pluta received his B.S. from St. Francis University of Pennsylvania and his M.S. from the University of Pittsburgh.

Sam Lovall, hamilton anderson Read bio

Sam B. Lovall, ASLA, has over 30 years experience as a landscape architect focusing on environmental restoration, habitat enhancement and public space improvement projects. As a senior associate with Hamilton Anderson Associates (HAA), Sam has participated in the resurgence of the Detroit Metropolitan area over the past 10 years. Mr. Lovall served as project manager for HAA in assisting Wayne County to develop a Master Plan for the Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge Gateway. This project, adjacent to the last remaining natural area on the U.S. side of the Detroit River, will transform a former, 40-acre automobile paint facility into a diverse habitat demonstration area. A visitor center slated to be LEED certified at the Platinum level will welcome visitors to the refuge. Mr. Lovall also played a key role in planning a regional greenway system in Southeast Michigan. He worked with numerous stakeholder groups to build on local cultural and environmental assets to connect urban neighborhoods with the Detroit River. In managing the Rouge River Gateway project for Wayne County and the Gateway Partnership, Sam contributed to a master plan and the development of a public trail through an important natural area. A former oxbow in the river was recently restored, and there is momentum by the US Army Corps of Engineers to remove two miles of concrete channel as outlined in the master plan. Other work includes assisting the Metropolitan Affairs Coalition with their vision for a water trail on the Rouge, Huron, Raisin and Detroit Rivers; assisting the Detroit Water and Sewage Department in developing an oxbow to enhance habitat on the Detroit River; and supporting the Detroit River Wildlife Refuge Alliance with a driving tour of significant birding destinations in the Windsor-Detroit metropolitan region. Mr. Lovall holds a Bachelor of Landscape Architecture from Michigan State University with continuing education credits at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design. He has served as a planning and landscape design lecturer for higher educational institutions including Michigan State University and Kellogg Community College.

Pluta.pdf (7828 KB)

Bf%202008%20-%20Detroit%20River%20International%20Wildlife%20Refuge-REVISED.pdf (11712 KB)

An area-wide community perspective focuses attention on the issues associated with reliance on Risk-Based Corrective Actions for mitigation of on-site environmental problems. It also offers locally-specific information dissemination opportunities for addressing and minimizing environmental risks, both during and after reclamation and redevelopment. This session examines environmental risk management strategies used by community and corporate stakeholders engaged in such projects.

Peter Meyer, The E.P. Systems Group, Inc. Read bio

Peter B. Meyer, PhD (Economics), is President of The E. P. Systems Group, Inc. and Professor Emeritus of Urban Policy and Economics and Director of the Center for Environmental Policy and Management at the University of Louisville. He is also Director of Applied Research for the Institute for Public Leadership and Public Affairs at Northern Kentucky University. Prior to coming to Kentucky in 1988, he served as Director of the Local Economic Development Assistance Center at The Pennsylvania State University for over a decade after helping to launch degree programs in Community Development at Penn State and conducting research on public assistance standards and on the economics of criminal corrections. He is the author of well over 100 articles, chapters papers and reports to sponsors, and has authored or edited a half a dozen books. A specialist in community and local economic development, Dr. Meyer has been actively engaged in brownfield redevelopment research and practice for since 1993. In recent years he has moved into additional work on the forces shaping urban infill and spatial expansion patterns and their economic and environmental impacts. That work is reflected in “Practice Guides” produced by the EPA Region 4 Environmental Finance Center at the University of Louisville, which he co-directs. Those guides are available at: His brownfields and other contaminated land work has included project evaluations, feasibility studies of the use of environmental insurance, a sourcebook for borrowers, studies of different state regulatory, financing, and insurance programs for brownfields. With Kristen Yount of Northern Kentucky University he is currently in the middle of a five year program of research and technical assistance for EPA’s brownfields office addressing public uses of environmental insurance, the current insurance products available for brownfields, the brownfields-UST nexus, and the off-site and neighborhood impacts of brownfield regeneration. Dr. Meyer’s contributions to United States policy on contaminated land include work for EPA, HUD, and the Economic Development Adminstration. His work for EPA on environmental insurance and risk management for brownfields is mostly available in the Library collection of .

Lenny Siegel, CPEO Read bio

Lenny Siegel has been Executive Director of the Center for Public Environmental Oversight (formerly CAREER/PRO) since 1994. He has been director of the Pacific Studies Center, in Mountain View, since 1970. He is one of the environmental movement’s leading experts on military facility contamination, and he has served on numerous advisory committees in that area. His organization runs Internet forums both on military environmental issues and brownfields. He is a member of several advisory committees, including the California Brownfields Revitalization Advisory Group, the Interstate Technology & Regulatory Council's work team on Perchlorate, and the Moffett Field (former Moffett Naval Air Station) Restoration Advisory Board. He has served on U.S. EPA’s Negotiated Rulemaking Committee on All Appropriate Inquiry, the ASTM/ISR Steering Committee on Brownfields Restoration, and the National Environmental Justice Advisory Council Federal Facilities Working Group.

Amy DeMetrowitz, Burlington Community Land Trust

Tim Lopez, Voluntary Clean-Up Advisory Board Read bio

Tim Lopez is a proud, third generation native of Colorado. He started his career as a community activist and grassroots organizer. As he moved forward he became a Union member and Union Representative, With the Communications Workers of America AFL-CIO and has held every elected office with in his local as well as being an International Organizer. In 1986, he helped start the Jobs for Justice Campaign that swept the Nation. As a Negotiator, he has negotiated a number of Union, Business and Community contracts. As a Political Analyst, he has run a number of political campaigns, and can be found at the State House, either lobbying or testifying on a regular basis. His heart has always been invested in his community and people as well as residents. He currently is a resident partner with Making Connections Denver a ten year iniative, through the Annie E. Casey Foundation. And he teaches Leadership Facilitation. He is chair of the Voluntary Cleanup Advisory Board in Denver. He is actively involved With, Save our Section 8 Colorado, Campaign for Responsible Development, Osage Mercado, Westside Family Network, Colorado Immigration Rights Coalition and the newly announced, Community Revitalization Alliance.

Ford Weber, Read bio

Ford Weber is an attorney and practiced law on a full-time basis for 14 years before transitioning into public administration and community development. Ford’s career change was motivated by a desire to make a greater, proactive, impact in communities. A native of Toledo, Ohio, Ford served in a number of positions in the City of Toledo for five years, including as a Senior Attorney, Commissioner of Real Estate, Acting Director of the Department of Neighborhoods, and Deputy Director of the Department of Economic and Community Development. Ford has also served served as the Director of Housing and Neighborhood Services for the City of Roanoke, Virginia. Most immediately, Ford served as the Executive Director of the Richmond, Virginia office of LISC (Local Initiatives Support Corporation). Ford successfully developed holistic urban redevelopment strategies incorporating brownfield redevelopment at Toledo and Roanoke. Over a four-year period, Ford obtained $3.4 Million in U.S. EPA brownfield redevelopment grants for Toledo. While in Roanoke, Ford started a brownfield redevelopment program and successfully applied for $400,000 in U.S. EPA brownfield redevelopment grants. Ford has spoken/presented on the topic of holistic urban redevelopment strategies at several major conferences and meetings, including Brownfields 2004 (St. Louis, Mo.; October 2004), IEDC National Conference (Chicago, Ill.; September 2005), and the 5th Annual New Partners for Smart Growth Conference (Denver, Co.; January 2006).

Siegel - Tale of 3 Schools.ppt (3092 KB)

Marked by conflicting perceptions of wilderness and nature, Arid Lands is a moving and complex essay on a unique landscape of the American West. It is a documentary feature about the land and people of the Columbia Basin in southeastern Washington state. Sixty years ago, the Hanford nuclear site produced plutonium for the atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki. Today, it is the focus of the largest environmental cleanup in history. Arid Lands takes us into a world of sports fishermen, tattoo artists, housing developers, ecologists, and radiation scientists living and working in the area. It tells the story of how people changed the landscape over time, and how the landscape affected their lives.

A landowner’s fulfillment of their continuing obligations maintains the liability protections earned through completing a pre-acquisition All Appropriate Inquiry. The American Society of Testing Materials (ASTM) is completing standard guidance for continuing obligations that define a landowner’s post-acquisition obligations. In this session, ASTM Continuing Obligation Task Force members will introduce the relationship between All Appropriate Inquiry to the continuing obligations, describe guidance for maintaining the effectiveness and integrity of activity and use limitations, and introduce property owner obligations established through CERCLA’s reasonable steps provisions. Environmental Protection Agency participants in the standard drafting will comment on the potential standing this standard will have, and its relationship to existing agency guidance.

Bob Wenzlau, Terradex, Inc. Read bio

Bob Wenzlau is the Chief Executive Officer and founder of Terradex, Inc. Terradex (www.terradex.com) monitors land use around contaminated properties, and then alerts before unsafe land uses occur. Mr. Wenzlau founded Terradex after 25 year environmental practice within government, industry and consulting. Mr. Wenzlau serves chair of ASTM's Task Group for Continuing Obligations, a standard for landowner obligations after the purchase of a contaminated property. He is a Registered Civil Engineer holding a Master and Bachelors in Civil Engineering from Stanford University.

Julie Kilgore, Wasatch Environmental, Inc. Read bio

Julie is a Principal of Wasatch Environmental, an environmental science and engineering firm based in Salt Lake City, Utah. She has over 12 years experience in the hands-on application of the environmental site assessment process. Julie is the current Task Force Chair of the ASTM committee that developed the 1527-05 Phase I Environmental Site Assessments standard practice. She was appointed by EPA as one of the environmental professional representatives on the regulatory negotiation Federal Advisory Committee for developing the All Appropriate Inquiry regulation. In November 2004, she was elected to serve on the ASTM International Board of Directors. Julie has lectured for several professional organizations, participated in national conference panel presentations, and provides industry training regarding the 2002 Small Business Liability Relief and Brownfields Revitalization Act, All Appropriate Inquiry, and Phase I Environmental Assessments. She received her Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental Management from Westminster College (Summa Cum Laude) and her MBA from the University of Utah.

A. J. Birkbeck, American Brownfields Assurance Company Read bio

A.J. Birkbeck is currently the President and CEO of the American Brownfields Assurance Company, which he founded in 1999. The company works with units of government and responsible parties to secure liability protection under the Federal Brownfield Amendments and state law, by assuring the long-term maintenance and stewardship of engineered and institutional control mechanisms at contaminated properties throughout the US. This is accomplished both directly and through a series of not-for-profit entities, known as Sentinel Trusts. Mr. Birkbeck graduated with degrees in econometrics and geophysics with distinction from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, as well as with a MBA in corporate finance with high distinction from that same institution. He worked as a senior analyst for Amoco Corporation (now BP America) in Chicago prior to obtaining his J.D. from the University of Chicago Law School. He has practiced environmental law at several law firms, including Winston & Strawn in Chicago and several other law firms which he has either founded or co-founded. Mr. Birkbeck is now acting as managing attorney at the Fulcrum Law Group. His practice includes environmental litigation and complex regulatory compliance issues. Mr. Birkbeck has also served as an officer and board member of other environmentally related entities, including ERS Corporation, which developed a range of ISO 14000 compliant environmental reporting software and environmental management systems. He has also served in a number of capacities and leadership positions, ranging from the ASTM Continuing Obligations Task Force to various government commissions, bar association environmental sections, and advisory committees.

Helen Keplinger, USEPA Read bio

Helen B. Keplinger Attorney-Advisor Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance, Office of Site Remediation Enforcement, Juris Doctor degree, Catholic University’s Columbus School of Law BA degree, West Virginia University Member of the Maryland Bar Present responsibilities at EPA include implementation of CERCLA’s Brownfields Amendments through drafting models and policies relating to bona fide prospective purchasers, windfall liens, and bona fide prospective purchasers who intend to do work at a Superfund site that they own. Other assignments include Prospective Purchaser Agreements, innocent-landowners, “RCRA-Prospective Purchaser Agreements,” de minimis generator, de minimis landowner settlements, de micromis issues, the ER3 Initiative, and enforcement lead on EPA’s All Appropriate Inquiry Rule. Helen is a “Charter Member” of Superfund Enforcement, and helped compile oral histories through conducting and recording interviews concerning Superfund for the 25th anniversary of Superfund in 2005.

Michael Sowinski, Opper & Varco LLP Read bio

Mr. Sowinski specializes in the analysis of environmental law, policy, and technical issues concerning brownfields and contaminated property redevelopment, the use of institutional controls, and environmental impacts of land use. Mr. Sowinski possesses extensive experience working for both the private and public sector, including federal and local environmental and redevelopment agencies, where he combines his multi-disciplinary expertise in law and engineering. Mr. Sowinski received his Master of Science degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Maryland and he received his Juris Doctorate from Vermont Law School.

Timothy Haley, Barnes & Thornburg, LLP Read bio

Timothy A. Haley is an associate in the Environmental Department in the firm’s Indianapolis, Indiana office. Mr. Haley received his B.A. summa cum laude from North Carolina State University in Raleigh, North Carolina, where he was also a captain of the varsity Swimming and Diving team. He received his M.P.A. and J.D. from Indiana University–Bloomington. During law school, he served as a research assistant for Professor Kenneth Dau-Schmidt, the Associate Dean of Research and the Willard and Margaret Carr Professor of Labor and Employment Law. Mr. Haley is admitted to practice in the Northern and Southern District Courts of Indiana and the Indiana Supreme Court. He is a member of the Indiana Bar Association.

CO_Tools_BF_2008_v2_Revised.pdf (523 KB)

CO_Tools_BF_2008_v1a SK revision.ppt (5504 KB)

Communities nationwide are seeking to reconnect with their waterfronts, which have often been neglected, degraded, and underutilized. Many localities are developing ambitious revitalization plans that have the potential to create significant public benefits, including environmental cleanup, sustainable development, job creation, increased tourism, and recreation. This session will explore strategies for overcoming the many obstacles to waterfront redevelopment--including the lack of public resources for environmental restoration, the need for infrastructure improvements, regulatory and institutional barriers, and the lack of coordination among various agencies--as well as the unique environmental challenges presented by waterfront projects.

Andrew Seth, The Ferguson Group Read bio

Andrew Seth serves as the director of the American Waterfront Revitalization Coalition. The American Waterfront Revitalization Coalition works to educate key Congressional and federal agency policymakers on the value and promise of waterfront revitalization, identify and seek solutions to overcome policy and regulatory barriers, and advocate for increased federal resources for important economic and environmental revitalization projects on our nation’s waterways. Andy joined TFG after serving as the director of the International City/County Management Association’s (ICMA) Local Government Environmental Assistance Network. Prior to joining ICMA, he managed the National Association of Local Government Environmental Professionals, a non-profit organization representing city and county officials focused on the development of sensible environmental policy.

Patrick Doher, PE, JJR, LLC Read bio

Patrick Doher, PE, JJR, LLC Patrick Doher serves as Senior Vice President with JJR, LLC, a national landscape architecture, planning, urban design, civil engineering & environmental science firm in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Mr. Doher has more than 27 years of experience in brownfield and urban design, river and lakefront development, public and private development, corporate and college campuses. Mr. Doher works with clients from the conceptual phase, through permitting, to implementation and completion. He frequently serves as project manager for many of JJR’s large-scale projects. Brownfield projects include East Detroit RiverWalk, over 2 miles of pathway and promenade along the Detroit River, reconnecting the city of Detroit to the river and a major catalyst for rediscovery and reinvestment; Tri-Centennial State Park and Harbor, for master planning, infrastructure assessment, and storm water management design and planning of the 31-acre urban state park along the Detroit River; and Consumers Energy Headquarters in Jackson, Michigan, a brownfield site consisting of several abandoned and underused parcels on approximately 9 acres. Consumers Energy received the Phoenix Award from the Jackson County Brownfield Redevelopment Authority and the award for Hydro Work, New Headquarters, and Centennial Farm Program, as part of the National Historic Preservation Week, presented by Governor Granholm. Mr. Doher holds a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from Wayne State University, and is a registered Professional Engineer in Michigan, Ohio and Illinois. Mr. Doher is a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers, Engineering Society of Detroit and Construction Specification Institute. He also is a PADI Certified Deep Water Scuba Diver. In addition, Mr. Doher has written the following publications: “The Plan for Detroit’s New Riverfront,” Michigan Tourism Business Web site article; and “Stabilization and Expansion of Historic Navy Pier,” presentation and paper presented at ASCE Marinas, Parks, and Recreation Conference, Milwaukee, WI, July,1994.

Mark Gregor, City of Rochester Division of Environmental Quality Read bio

Mark Gregor is the Manager of the City of Rochester’s Division of Environmental Quality. For the past 22 years he has been responsible for conducting and managing environmental site investigations, remedial projects, and environmental regulatory compliance for the City of Rochester. He has managed numerous USEPA and NYSDEC grant funded brownfield/voluntary cleanup projects, NYS Superfund cleanup projects, as well as joint cleanup/redevelopment projects with private developers. He is currently also responsible for implementation of the 50 acre Port of Rochester redevelopment project. He testified before the United States Senate Committee on the Environment and Public Works regarding the federal Superfund Program Completion Act of 1999 and participated on the New York State Conference of Mayors Municipal Brownfield Caucus and the Pocantico Roundtable for Consensus on Brownfields in New York. Mr. Gregor holds a Bachelor of Science from the State University of New York at Geneseo, a Master of Science in Industrial Hygiene and Environmental Studies from the University of Rochester and a Master of Public Administration from Syracuse University. He is also a Certified Hazardous Materials Manager, and serves on the Board of Directors of the Rochester based Center for Environmental Information.

Bruce Keyes, Foley & Lardner LLP Read bio

Bruce A. Keyes is a partner with Foley & Lardner LLP. He is a member of the firm’s Environmental Regulation and Real Estate Practices and Golf & Resort Industry Team. Mr. Keyes divides his time between Brownfield remediation/redevelopment, sustainable development initiatives, environmental compliance counseling, transactions and environmental litigation. Mr. Keyes frequently counsels residential and industrial property developers, REITS, investment funds, as well as municipal, nonprofit and other institutional clients concerning remediation, Brownfield and sustainable redevelopment. Past development projects have incorporated the use of public-private funding mechanisms; tax-credit and tax-enhanced finance; development and enterprise zone financing; local, state and federal grants; the use of innovative remediation and financing structures employing the use of Business Improvement Districts. Mr. Keyes actively participates in local, state and federal policy development and currently serves as a member of the State Study Group on Brownfield Redevelopment in Wisconsin. In addition to counseling national clients on managing risk and remediation for new or existing property holdings, Mr. Keyes frequently provides counsel to clients about air emissions, waste management, underground storage tank compliance, and water discharge permitting and compliance. Projects include nationwide, multi-facility due diligence and permit transfers arising in the context of mergers, sales and business reorganizations. Mr. Keyes also has represented several clients in civil enforcement actions for prior noncompliance. Mr. Keyes holds a Master of Science in environmental studies from the University of Wisconsin - Madison. He earned his J.D. degree in 1990 from the University of Wisconsin Law School, and from 1990 to 1995 served as a law clerk to U.S. Magistrate Judges Aaron E. Goodstein and Patricia J. Gorence. Mr. Keyes is listed in the current edition of The Best Lawyers in America®. In 2004, Mr. Keyes was selected as one of the "40 Under Forty" by the Business Journal of Milwaukee. He is secretary of the board of directors of Discovery World, Inc., president of the Friends of Hank Aaron State Trail, Inc. and has been active in both a charitable and legal capacity with Menomonee Valley Partners, Inc. since its inception.

Mark_Gregor_Presentation.pdf (5836 KB)

Bruce_Keyes_Presentation.pdf (16012 KB)

Pat_Doher_Presentation.pdf (5149 KB)

As the automobile sector continues to evolve, one of the ongoing challenges is tracking and assessing former uses and redevelopment. This session will discuss remediation, common types of contamination, historical impact assessments and challenges for the future.

Dr. Vincent Nathan, City of Detroit, Department of Environmental Affairs

Kent Murray, University of Michigan Read bio

Section chair and speaker. Prof. of Geology at the U of Mich for last 15 years. Research is focused on sources of pollution to the Great Lakes. Concerned with land use impacts on groundwater and surface water quality and assessment of brownfield sites.

Marty Kaufman, University of Michigan-Flint Read bio

Professor Kaufman has published extensively on the issues related to brownfields and groundwater contamination in the metropolitan Detroit area. He is currently working on improving geoscience education for students in the Flint, Michigan school district.

Dan Rogers, Amsted Industries Incorporated

Alison Benjamin, National Brownfield Associations

Marilyn Dedyne, General Motors Corporation

Plant Closings.ppt (28 KB)

Auto Legacy Road from Flint to Detroit_Dedyne_6May2008.pdf (57 KB)

Worker training programs play an important role in Brownfields redevelopment projects. They integrate community residents, bring employers together in the marketplace, and seek to train and place more minorities into jobs related to Brownfields redevelopment. Key to these programs are the efforts of non-profit training programs such as the new minority worker training effort in Detroit being funded by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, and new programs that develop tools to promote the establishment of local job development and training programs as part of Brownfields redevelopment.

Myra Lewis, Dillard Univ. - Deep South Center for Envir. Justice Read bio

Myra Marion Lewis is Assistant Director at Dillard Uiversity’s Deep South Center for Environmental Justice with responsibility for all education and training grants, including the Environmental Justice Education Teacher Training Project that was implemented through funding from the Environmental Protection Agency, and the worker training programs and brownfields worker training programs in New Orleans, Savannah, Baton Rouge, and Detroit, all of which are funded under a cooperative agreement with the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. Prior to joining the staff at DSCEJ, Dr. Lewis was a classroom teacher for many years, teaching regular and gifted students in science. In 1992, she was named high school Teacher of the Year for the New Orleans Public Schools. She earned a B.S. in science education from Xavier University in 1967, and an M.Ed. from Texas Southern University and the University of Liberia while serving as a Peace Corps Volunteer Teacher and Volunteer Leader in Liberia, West Africa from 1972 through 1975. She also earned an M.S. in counseling psychology from the University of Florida-Gainesville in 1996. She earned her doctorate in counselor education in 2001 from the University of New Orleans, specializing in multicultural issues.

Michael Senew, HMTRI Read bio

Michael Senew has worked with energy and environmental issues since 1970. First as a Commissioned Officer in the US Public Health Service, then as a civil service employee in the Strategies and Air Standards Branch of the newly formed US Environmental Protection Agency. He has worked as a consultant for Argonne National Laboratories for 15 years and has been associated with The Hazardous Materials Training and Research Institute (HMTRI) since 1987. Mr. Senew has assisted numerous communities establish and sustain environmental job development and training programs. His work in this endeavor has been continuous since the first Brownfields program was established. He holds a Bachelors degree in Mechanical Engineering and a Masters of Science in Industrial Administration both from Purdue University.

Tim Binkley, City of Winston-Salem Earth Movements Read bio

Tim Binkley is the Coordinator of the City of Winston-Salem's Brownfields Job Training program, and an instructor in the program through Forsyth Technical Community College. A geologist by training, Mr. Binkley has worked on Brownfields projects, including assessment, remediation, community outreach, public education, and job training since 1997.

BFJT.Back to School 5.08 final2.ppt (4207 KB)

Brownfields2008.ppt (25019 KB)