Schenectady County Brownfields Assessment Program
Quarterly Report #4
Schenectady County Brownfields Assessment
Program
Quarterly Report: #5 (October 1 – December 31, 2005
Reporting Period)
Grant Type: United States Environmental Protection Agency
Brownfields Assessment Grant
Cooperative Agreement: BF – 97295904 – 0
Date Submitted: January 27, 2006
Prepared By:
Clough Harbour & Associates
For
The Schenectady County Economic
Development and Planning Department
Schenectady County Project Manager: Jeffrey S. Edwards
Schaffer Heights, Suite 303
107 Nott Terrace
Schenectady, New York 12308
Phone: (518) 386-2225 Fax: (518) 382-5539
Schenectady County Brownfields Assessment Program
Quarterly Report #5
Table of Contents
1.0
Property Profiles .................................................................................................................. 1
2.0
Progress Narrative ............................................................................................................... 1
2.1
2.2
Program Progress................................................................................................... 1
2.1.1
Status of Activities During Reporting Period .......................................... 1
2.1.2
Site-Specific Products ................................................................................ 5
2.1.3
Modifications to Work Plan ...................................................................... 5
2.1.4
Schedule, Obstacles, and Assistance......................................................... 5
Schedule and Budget Status .................................................................................. 6
2.2.1
Schedule Status ........................................................................................... 6
2.2.2
Summary of Expenses ................................................................................ 6
2.2.3
Budget by Task and Subtask..................................................................... 7
2.2.4
Budget Projection ....................................................................................... 8
Tables
Budget Table 1 ................................................................................................................................ 6
Budget Table 2 ................................................................................................................................ 7
Attachments
EPA Standard Form 270 (Rev. 7-97) - Request for Advance or Reimbursement (Hazardous
Materials Grant)
EPA Standard Form 270 (Rev. 7-97) - Request for Advance or Reimbursement (Petroleum
Grant)
January 24, 2006
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Schenectady County Brownfields Assessment Program
Quarterly Report #5
1.0 Property Profiles
During this reporting period, the County’s consultant, Clough Harbour & Associates LLP
(CHA) furthered the Brownfield site inventory for the Schenectady County Brownfield
Assessment Program with input from Schenectady County, the Brownfield Task Force, and
the NYSDEC.
The sites were identified by street address, site infrastructure, and suspect environmental
conditions. The locations of the sites were entered into a database to generate preliminary
Geographical Information System (GIS) maps to help identify the site locations in proximity to
major highways, waterways, wetlands, zoning designations, etc.
The site selection process is continuing and will be completed during the first Federal Fiscal
Quarter of 2006. As a result, there have been no specific sites selected for further study. As a
result no site profiles have been generated. When specific sites are selected for further study,
the appropriate site profile forms will be completed and appended to subsequent quarterly
reports.
2.0 Progress Narrative
2.1
Program Progress
During this reporting period, CHA and Schenectady County have made progress relative to the
site inventory development. This section of the report details these efforts.
2.1.1
Status of Activities During Reporting Period
Community Involvement Activities
Citizen participation will continue to be a driving force behind the success of the Schenectady
County Brownfield Assessment Program. In order to keep the communities up-to-date, a
Schenectady County Brownfields Assessment Program
Quarterly Report #5
website for the Schenectady County Brownfields Assessment program was developed and may
be viewed at the following address:
http://www.schenectadycounty.com/index.php?page_id=563
As the project evolves, Schenectady County will update the website on a regular basis.
Updates will include the posting of meeting announcements and grant-related project
documents. To date, the Citizen Participation Plan (CPP), previous quarterly reports, and the
minutes for the first Brownfield Task Force Meeting have been posted on the web site.
Additionally the project document repository was set up at the Main Branch of the Schenectady
County Library and the Schenectady County Department of Planning and Economic
Development Offices. This repository includes all public documentation of the project to date
including, but not limited to the minutes of the Task Force Meeting, The Workforce Agreement
between Schenectady County and EPA, The RFP to hire a consultant and Clough Harbour, the
successful consultant's proposal.
Site Activities
On October 7, 2005, CHA conducted a windshield survey of potential candidate sites located
throughout the aquifer protection zone in order to screen sites identified by the County and City
of Schenectady to supplement data gathered during the previous quarter.
CHA then submitted a site inventory summary of potential Brownfield sites and mapping on
October 26, 2005 to Schenectady County.
The site inventory identified sites in each
municipality, site address, the tax parcel number, owner information, size/acreage, the zoning
designation, current land use, wetland and flood plain status, CHA’s preliminary
recommendations for further study or exclusion from the program, and general site notes. In
addition to the potential candidate Brownfield sites, CHA created a list of publicly owned lands
for each municipality as a resource for the Task Force Members.
January 24, 2005
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Schenectady County Brownfields Assessment Program
Quarterly Report #5
On November 17, 2005, the first Schenectady County Brownfield Task Force Meeting was
held at the Schenectady County Public Library. CHA and the County provided the Task Force
with a summary of the goals and objectives of the Schenectady County Brownfield Program,
and a summary of the work completed to date. CHA displayed graphics illustrating key zoning
and natural constraints as well as the preliminary geographic distribution of potential candidate
sites.
CHA and the County also provided the Task Force Members with the list of publicly owned
lands for each municipality and a Brownfield Assessment Candidate Form. CHA and the
County then asked each member of the Task Force to recommend additional sites for
consideration and submit the candidate forms to CHA by December 16, 2005.
To further an initiative discussed during the Task Force meeting, on November 28, 2005,
Schenectady County provided CHA with a summary of tax delinquent properties located in
Schenectady County. CHA reviewed this information and entered the appropriate property
information into the inventory of potential Brownfield sites. CHA received the Brownfield site
candidate forms from the Task Force Members in late December 2005 and early January 2006.
This delay was believed to be attributed to the holidays
As will further be discussed in Quarterly Report #6, the property information was entered into
the inventory of potential Brownfield sites and on January 12, 2006, CHA conducted a final
windshield survey of the recommended candidate sites, tax delinquent properties, and select
municipally owned properties. On January 18, 2006, CHA submitted a consolidated inventory
of Brownfield sites and mapping which illustrates the distribution of potential Brownfield sites
to the County for consideration.
Brownfields Program Activities
As stated, during the reporting period, CHA has furthered the site inventory for the
Schenectady County Brownfield Assessment Program. On October 26, 2005, prepared a site
inventory summary of Brownfield sites, GIS project mapping, and a list of publicly owned
lands for each municipality in Schenectady County was submitted to the County. Since this
January 24, 2005
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Schenectady County Brownfields Assessment Program
Quarterly Report #5
submission, CHA has refined the preliminary inventory with the assistance of the County and
the NYSDEC. As is stated above, the first Brownfield Task Force meeting was held on
November 17, 2006, and a subsequent submission to the County was made on January 18, 2006
which will be discussed in quarterly report #6.
Non-Grant Brownfields Activities
Both the City of Schenectady and the Town of Glenville were recently awarded New York
State Brownfield Opportunity Area grants.
Brownfield Opportunity Area (BOA) grants
provide municipalities with assistance to develop area-wide Brownfield redevelopment
planning initiatives. The BOA awards will complement the EPA funded program and increase
the likelihood that Schenectady County can use EPA funds to leverage State Brownfield
redevelopment funds.
In addition, Schenectady County communities have discussed preliminary Brownfield
redevelopment activities with developers and the New York State Department of
Environmental Conservation. These Brownfield redevelopment activities have included the
following:
1)
City of Schenectady – pursuing redevelopment of a large abandoned shopping plaza
that was formerly used for industrial purposes.
2)
Town of Glenville – pursuing redevelopment of a former tank farm
3)
Town of Rotterdam – pursuing redevelopment of a shopping plaza, which includes a
NYSDEC Class 2 site, as new Town offices.
Miscellaneous Program Activities
Schenectady County staff members involved with the implementation of the Brownfields
Assessment Grant as well as Brownfield Task Force Members have participated both internally
and with CHA staff in periodic program status meetings.
January 24, 2005
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Schenectady County Brownfields Assessment Program
Quarterly Report #5
2.1.2
Site-Specific Products
No Site-Specific products were produced during this reporting period.
Interim project
deliverables discussed in earlier sections of this report were prepared that summarize the
preliminary inventory of potential candidate Brownfield sites.
2.1.3
Modifications to Work Plan
No modifications to the Work Plan were made during the reporting period.
2.1.4
Schedule, Obstacles, and Assistance
A tentative schedule of activities for this Brownfield Assessment Program is presented in the
table provided below which summarizes the key milestones for this project.
Anticipated Project Schedule
Schedule of Task/Milestones
Brownfield Task Force established
CPP submitted to EPA and public notice/placed in
information repositories
First Community and Task Force meeting
Develop Inventory of Candidate Sites
Interface with Owners of Candidate Properties
Submission of Brownfield Matrix and Inventory
Report
Site Selection and Prioritization with the County
and Task Force
Phase I environmental Assessments of Select
Properties
Selection of up to 11 sites for Phase II Assessment
with County and Task Force
Draft Work Plans Complete
EPA Review of Draft Plans Complete
Final Work Plans Complete
Phase II Field Work
Draft Phase II Reports Complete
Final Project Report Complete
Anticipated Completion
Date as of December 2005
September 2005
October 2005
November 2005
January 2006
February 2006
February 2006
Status/Percent
Complete
100%
100%
100%
100%
0%
0%
February 2006
0%
April 2006
0%
May 2006
0%
June 2006
July 2006
July 2006
August 2006 to October 2006
November 2006
December 2006
0%
0%
0%
0%
0%
0%
The County, CHA, and the Task Force will work closely with EPA to ensure that the project
continues to move forward, and will be responsive to the needs of the agency.
January 24, 2005
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Schenectady County Brownfields Assessment Program
Quarterly Report #5
No significant obstacles to the progress to the project have been encountered. Only minor
delays were experienced following the initial task force meeting relative to the receipt of
potential site recommendations from Task Force members.
This delay is believed to be
associated with holidays.
2.2
Schedule and Budget Status
2.2.1
Schedule Status
As indicated in Section 2.1.4, a schedule has been established and a number of the program
work elements have been initiated and/or completed. Progress will continue to be monitored
by the County and CHA on a weekly basis and reported to EPA in subsequent quarterly reports.
2.2.2
Summary of Expenses
In accordance with the EPA Cooperative Agreement, Budget Tables 1 and 2 summarize the
Schenectady County Brownfield Assessment Program budget for the Hazardous Substance and
Petroleum grants, respectively.
Budget Table 1
Summary of Expenses by Category - Hazardous Substances Funding
October 1, 2005 – December 31, 2005 Reporting Period
Budget
Category
Approved
Budget
Previous
Quarter
Expense
Quarter
Expense
Cumulative
Expense
Budget
Balance
1. Personnel
$7,981
N/A
$1,617.63
$1,617.63
$7,981
2.Fringe Benefits
$2,794
N/A
$ 566.17
$ 566.17
$2,794
3. Travel
$2,250
N/A
$0
$0
$2,250
4. Equipment
$0
N/A
$0
$0
$0
5. Supplies
$300
N/A
$0
$0
$300
6. Contractual
$186,675
N/A
$ 5,682.44
$5,682.44
$180,992.56
7. Other
$0
N/A
$0
$0
$0
8. Total
$200,000
N/A
$7,866.24
$7,866.24
$194,317.56
January 24, 2005
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Schenectady County Brownfields Assessment Program
Quarterly Report #5
Budget Table 2
Summary of Expenses by Category - Petroleum Funding
October 1, 2005 – December 31, 2005 Reporting Period
2.2.3
Budget Category
Approved
Budget
Previous
Quarter
Expense
Quarter
Expense
Cumulative Budget
Expense
Balance
1. Personnel
$7,981
N/A
$1,617.63
$1,617.63
$7,981
2. Fringe Benefits
$2,794
N/A
$ 566.17
$ 566.17
$2,794
3. Travel
$2,250
N/A
$0
$0
$2,250
4. Equipment
$0
N/A
$0
$0
$0
5. Supplies
$300
N/A
$0
$0
$300
6. Contractual
$136,675
N/A
$5,682.44
$5,682.43
$130,992.57
7. Other
$0
N/A
$0
$0
$0
8. Total
$150,000
N/A
$7,866.24
$7,866.24
$144,317.57
Budget by Task and Subtask
As stated in section 1.0, no specific sites have yet to be selected for further assessment. As a
result, the contractual fees expended to date have been associated with the completion of the
Citizen Participation Plan, site selection screening activities, the first Brownfield Task Force
Meeting, and the preparation of Quarterly Report #4.
The cost of these contractual services total $11,364.87. As is stated in the Budget Tables 1 and
2, the County was awarded a hazardous substances grant in the amount of $200,000.00 and a
petroleum grant in the amount of $150,000.00. Given the preliminary nature of the activities
conducted to date, half of the project expenses were allocated to each grant. As the program
evolves a more detailed cost summary will be provided in future quarterly reports.
Copies of EPA Standard Form 270 (Rev. 7-97) - Request for Advance or Reimbursement are
attached to this report for both the hazardous material site grant and the petroleum site grant.
2.2.4
Budget Projection
The County currently anticipates no significant Budget variances.
January 24, 2005
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Schenectady County Brownfields Assessment Program
Quarterly Report #5
EPA Standard Form 270 (Rev. 7-97) - Request for Advance or Reimbursement
(Hazardous Materials Grant)
Schenectady County Brownfields Assessment Program
Quarterly Report #5
EPA Standard Form 270 (Rev. 7-97) - Request for Advance or Reimbursement
(Petroleum Grant)