Environment and Redevelopment

The positive impact of focusing regionally on environmental issues is illustrated by these winning projects ranging from environmentally friendly office buildings to water/air quality programs and brownfields redevelopment.

The Chattahoochee Flint Regional Development Center in Georgia managed the five-year Erosion and Sedimentation Control Technical Study project undertaken by a statewide panel studying soil erosion. Extensive field testing and computer modeling of the Chattahoochee River basin soils showed that current levels of erosion can be measurably reduced in many cases using cost-effective techniques. The project produced a training video, developer’s guidebook and a policy paper by the National Academy of Public Administration.

Faced with being placed on the Environmental Protection Agency’s Non-Attainment List for Ozone, the Green River Area Development District developed and implemented the Owensboro-Daviess County Gas Cap Replacement Program. With the help of two full-service gas stations, the program will test and replace over 3,000 missing or leaking gas caps free of charge on residents’ vehicles. The program will ultimately reduce air pollutants by 51 tons. Funding was secured through the Federal Highway Administration and local match.

The West Michigan Shoreline Regional Development Commission worked with several partners to coordinate the Pentwater Watershed Management Project. Aimed at maintaining and improving water quality in the South Branch Pentwater River Watershed, the County Soil and Water Conservation District developed a watershed management plan. The state university water resources institute created a Decision Support System, which compiles information specific to the project area and can be used by local officials in decision-making. The commission also created the local government guidebook for water quality improvement.

Over 2,300 people attended Land-of-Sky Regional Council’s Clean Air Car Fairs in North Carolina. The fairs, designed to enhance consumer demand for “low” emissions and alternative fuel vehicles and build awareness of the link between vehicle use and air quality, displayed 57 “low” emissions, hybrid and alternative fuel vehicles. Twenty educational exhibits displayed air quality and transportation information, and expert speakers discussed clean car technologies. Area car dealers have reported increases in hybrid vehicle orders and are running advertisements that include low-emission benefit facts.

The Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) Permanent Collection Facilities also established by the Land-of-Sky Regional Council in North Carolina provide proper collection and storage of pesticides and other toxic lawn/garden/crop chemicals. Funding was obtained to purchase, permit and place certified, modular hazardous waste storage buildings at three landfills. The permits also allow the storage of paint, cleaners, fluorescent lights and batteries. The project reduces public health risks associated with long-term storage of toxic materials on residential properties, improper disposal of unwanted hazardous materials and associated governmental liability.

The Mark Twain Regional Council of Government (COG) in northern Missouri played a lead role in constructing the Council Goes Green project, a shared energy-efficient and environmentally friendly office. Insulated concrete forms with high insulation ratings, shingles made out of a recycled asphalt/ fiberglass mix and carpeting made from recycled plastic bottles were used to increase energy efficiency and reduce the amount of materials used. The 2,300 square foot, ADA accessible office facility houses the COG and local rural development corporation and is open to the public as a demonstration project.

The Alleghany/Ashe Straight Pipe Elimination Project in North Carolina uses partnerships to accomplish the project’s mission of eliminating blackwater and graywater discharge sources. The Region D Council of Governments is responsible for conducting household surveys to locate and correct nonconforming sewage disposal with the installation of a septic system or rerouting graywater discharge to existing septic tanks. The correction costs are funded through deferred loans or low-interest loans to the offending household. Currently 2,247 households have been surveyed, 329 deficiencies have been recorded and 79 corrections have been made.

The Catskill Watershed Corporation Board of Directors, comprised of state, city, local and environmental representatives, established and administers the Catskill Watershed Partnership Programs, providing education about water quality and “environmentally sound” economic development for the five-county, 1,600 square mile watershed. In three years, the programs have remediated 1,500 failed septic systems, built 30 sheds to store road salt, funded stormwater control projects, assisted in the approval of more than $5,000,000 in business loans, awarded watershed awareness grants to schools and nonprofits, and promoted water user-steward partnerships. A $1.6 million three-year regional marketing and tourism promotion campaign has been initiated.

Returning Brownfields to Productive Use by the Illinois Institute for Rural Affairs and Western Illinois Regional Council informs municipal officials about brownfields and ways to effectively redevelop them using federal and state grant and loan funds. In partnership with the state Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the council offered a series of training workshops. Partnering with the Illinois Institute for Rural Affairs, the council conducted a survey of 1,000 Illinois cities to determine the obstacles to redevelopment and to gauge general attitude toward redevelopment. Survey findings and workshop feedback are being used by the state EPA to perfect program delivery and increase redevelopment.

Minnesota’s Headwaters Regional Development Commission, with broad community support and landowner approval, has initiated the Southeast Lake Bemidji Redevelopment Planning Project. The project will redevelop a manufacturing plant on Lake Bemidji that encompasses 170 acres, including 6,000 feet on the lakeshore. Although rejected as a US EPA demonstration assessment pilot recipient, funding for the project will come from various federal sources, foundations and local governments. The project conforms to local land use policy and is expected to meet future development needs.

Award Winners Erosion and Sedimentation Control Technical Study, Chattahoochee Flint RDC. Contact: Tom W. Sills, AICP, PO Box 1600, Franklin, GA 30217; (706) 675-6721; fax (706) 675-0448; email cfrdc@cfrdc.org; web www.cfrdc.org Owensboro-Daviess County Gas Cap Replacement Program, Green River ADD. Contact: Keith Harpole, 3860 US Hwy. 60 West, Owensboro, KY 42301-0200; (270) 926-4433; fax (270) 684-0714; email keithharpole@gradd.com; web www.gradd.com Pentwater Watershed Management Project, West Michigan Shoreline RDC. Contact: Erin Kuhn, PO Box 387, Muskegon, MI 49443-0387; (231) 722-7878; fax (231) 722-9362; email sdey@wmsrdc.org or ekuhn@wmsrdc.org; web www.wmsrdc.org Clean Air Car Fairs and Household Hazardous Waste Permanent Collection Facilities, Land-of-Sky Regional Council. Contact: Ron Townley, 25 Heritage Dr., Asheville, NC 28806; (828) 251-6622 ext. 130; fax (828) 251-6353; email ron@landofsky.org; web www.landofsky.org Council Goes Green, Mark Twain Regional COG. Contact: Mark Fuqua

or Robin Fitzgerald, 42494 Delaware Lane, Perry, MO 63462; (573) 565-2203; fax (573) 565-2205; email cog@nemonet.com Alleghany/Ashe Straight Pipe Elimination Project, Region D COG. Contact: Rick Herndon, PO Box 1820, Boone, NC 28607; (828) 265-5434; fax (828) 265-5439; email dfender@regiond.org; www.regiond.org Catskill Watershed Partnership Programs, Catskill Watershed Corporation. Contact: Alan Rosa, PO Box 569, Margaretville, NY 12455; (845) 586-1400; fax (845) 586-1401; email invest@cwconline.org; web www.cwconline.org Returning Brownfields to Productive Use, Illinois Institute for Rural Affairs and Western Illinois Regional Council. Contact: Norman Walzer, 518 Stipes Hall, Western Illinois University, Macomb, IL 61455; (309) 298-1031; fax (309) 298-2142; email norm_walzer@ccmail.wiu.edu; web www.iira.org Southeast Lake Bemidji Redevelopment Planning Project, Headwaters RDC. Contact: David Hengel, PO Box 906, Bemidji, MN 56619-0906; (218) 444-4732; fax (218) 444-4722; email dhengel@hrdc.org; web www.hrdc.org

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