The Municipal Waste Management Association (MWMA)

Gustav Relief Effort – Immediate Action Needed for Baton Rouge

2008-09-03T12:58:00.000-07:00

DATE: September 2, 2008

During the conference call led by USCM President Manny Diaz this morning, Baton Rouge Mayor Kip Holden reported that his city has been severely hit by Hurricane Gustav and desperately needs our help. Mayor Holden said that FEMA is “about the same” as in the past and not currently meeting his city’s needs. Baton Rouge was not ordered to evacuate, and therefore the citizens remained there and are bearing the brunt of the storm with 250,000 homes without power, diesel fuel supplies running very short, a need for tarps, cleaning supplies, water, and much more.

Immediately, Baton Rogue needs your help. Mayor Holden has designated Mr. Mike Futrell in office as the Gustav relief coordinator. He can be reached directly at (225) 326-7767 or mfutrell@brgov.com . Here is an official list of needs provided by Mayor Holden for the City of Baton Rouge.

· FOOD AND WATER

· COTS

· TRAILER TO HAUL & STORE

· PERSONAL HYGIENE

· FIRST AID SUPPLIES

· DRY GOODS

· BLANKETS

· BLOW-UP MATTRESSES

· WASHING SUPPLIES (POWDER)

· PORTABLE GENERATORS

· PORTABLE STORAGE PODS

· TARPS

· PORTABLE RADIOS (AM)

· COMMUNICATION DEVICES

· HAND SANITIZER

· BABY SUPPLIES

Please contact Mr. Futrell to coordinate any assistance before you send it to Baton Rouge.

New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin reported that any supplies that he has left will be immediately sent to Baton Rogue. Mayor Nagin is also working on a re-population effort for the citizens who evacuated his city. And, we are also working with Mayor Nagin on needs related to his stressed hospitals and medical facilities. We have contacted Doctors Without Borders in Manhattan.

In addition, Mayor John Robert Smith of Meridian, Mississippi reported that he is working with a 29 county relief effort for the smaller cities hit on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, and Mayor Smith will be reporting back on their needs.

I also know that many of your cities are hosting citizens who evacuated, and there will continue to be issues related to FEMA reimbursement that will need to be addressed.

As agreed on the call, I have reached out directly to key private sector partners of our Mayors Business Council including Wal-Mart, The Home Depot Foundation and Walgreens to help as they did during Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma. I am copying this memo to all of our Mayors Business Council members because I know that many of them will want to help. Business Council members who want to help should contact Mr. Futrell directly as listed above, and copy USCM Business Council Managing Director Geri Powell at gpowell@usmayors.org .

We have set up an emergency USCM headquarters at our hotel for the Republican National Convention, and USCM Second Vice President Elizabeth B. Kautz of Burnsville is with us and is helping in this effort.

Mayor Diaz is calling the FEMA Director this morning, and we will continue to provide updates as we learn more from our member mayors. In the meantime, if you have any questions contact me at (202) 744-9110 or tcochran@usmayors.org, or my Chief of Staff Ed Somers at (202) 744-9223 at esomers@usmayors.org .

Organizations Receive $1.5 Million for Brownfields Training, Research, and Technical Assistance

2008-09-03T12:52:00.000-07:00

Contact Information: Latisha Petteway, (202) 564-4355 / petteway.latisha@epa.gov

(Washington, D.C. - Sept. 3, 2008) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is awarding 10 grants for brownfields training, research, and technical assistance projects with national scope and impact. More than $1.5million in funding will support brownfields assessment, cleanup, and revitalization across the country. The grants will fund projects that are exploring new and innovative ideas in the areas of protection of human health and the environment, sustainable development, and equitable development. Each assistance project will receive between $100,000 and $150,000 in annual funding for up to five years. Project examples include:

· Research to advance the science of characterizing arsenic
at mine-scarred land sites.
· Advancing the sustainability of local gardening and farming
initiatives on brownfields.
· Identifying mine-scarred or contaminated lands that could
be used for renewable energy production.
· Supporting green jobs through technical assistance to
communities establishing brownfields job training programs.

Brownfields are sites where expansion, redevelopment, or reuse may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant. In January 2002, President Bush signed the Small Business Liability Relief and Brownfields Revitalization Act, which increased funding, expanded authority, and provided liability protection to help communities revitalize brownfields. EPA provides grants, technical assistance and training to support local brownfields efforts.

For more information on the brownfields grants, go to:
http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/trta.htm#app

USCM Action Alert: Support Full funding for EPA Brownfields Program

2007-05-14T10:48:00.000-07:00

To: MWMA Membership

From: Judy Sheahan, Assistant Executive Director, The U.S. Conference of Mayors

Re: Brownfields Appropriations

Date: May 7, 2007

Next week, the Appropriation Subcommittees for both the House and Senate will be determining appropriation levels for all programs, as they prepare the Fiscal Year 2008 Interior and Environment Appropriations bill.

We urge you to call or write your representatives on the House and Senate side and ask for full appropriations for the EPA and HUD Brownfields program. It is vital that they include the full $250 million for the U.S. EPA Brownfields Program, which was authorized by the Small Business Liability Relief and Brownfields Revitalization Act of 2001 (the “Brownfields Revitalization Act”).

Funds under this program are used to assess and clean up brownfields such as abandoned or under-utilized warehouses, inactive factories, gas stations, salvage yards, vacant lots, contaminated properties, and other eyesores that plague virtually every community. These properties cause blight to neighborhoods, inhibit economic development, pose risks to public health and the environment, and erode the tax base of communities.

By any measure, the EPA Brownfields program has been tremendously successful. Since 1995, EPA has invested approximately $1.3 billion in brownfields site assessment and cleanup, leveraging $10 billion in cleanup and redevelopment dollars – a more than seven and a half-to-one return on public investment. EPA’s brownfields program has resulted in the assessment of more than 10,000 properties and helped to create more than 41,000 new jobs nationwide. These impressive numbers only tell part of the story, as communities across the country report that brownfields projects are often lynchpins to spurring larger revitalization efforts, increasing local tax revenue, and bringing new vitality to struggling neighborhoods and communities.

While the EPA Brownfields Program has helped numerous communities, much remains to be done. Experts estimate there remain as many as 1 million brownfield properties nationwide. These sites continue to blight neighborhoods, discourage new investment, and undermine economic progress in many communities. Historically, EPA has been able to fund only about one third of the qualified applicants for Federal brownfields grants – this figure will decline further this year, as the number of applications is at an all-time high.

Attached you will find sample letters along with a list of members of the Appropriations Committee. Please send this important message to the Hill and protect this valuable resource from being under funded.

Thank you again for your support on this topic of concern.

Judy M. Sheahan

Assistant Executive Director

The United States Conference of Mayors

Welcome MWMA Members!

2007-05-02T08:01:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the MWMA members blog. I am very excited about this new technology which will allow us to share Best Practices and information though a simple web portal. The blog is an added feature to enhance your existing MWMA membership. Please feel free to post comments and links to current city projects you would like to share with your fellow members.

Thank you again for your time and consideration.

Ted Fischer
Staff Associate
Municipal Waste Management Association