Consultant selected for the Northern Maine Brownfield Initiative
CARIBOU - County Environmental Engineering Inc. (CEE) of Cross Lake was recently selected as the consultant for the Northern Maine Brownfield Initiative, which is to conduct communitywide environmental site assessments for properties potentially contaminated by hazardous substances and petroleum products.
The funding for the Northern Maine Development Commission (NMDC) initiative is through a $400,000 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Brownfield Assessment Grant, of which $350,000 was earmarked for consultant work.
"Their proposal came in significantly lower than what was budgeted and because of that we will be able to increase the total number of sites served," said Jay Kamm, NMDC senior planner.
Kamm said three environmental firms made it to the final round in the request for proposal (RFP) process and they were all qualified, but County Environmental really "hit it out of ballpark" with their proposal and interview.
"We feel that our local presence offers common ground and familiarity with residents, landowners, developers, financial institutions and municipalities," said Nate Hersey, an environmental technician for CEE. "All of our employees live in Aroostook County and all but one was raised in Aroostook County, so we have a vested interest in the success of our communities."
Now that a consultant is on board, the initiative can pick up speed according to Kamm.
"As of Oct. 1 we were able to go out and spend some money," he said. "We are starting to work with property owners to gauge their interest in the project and hopefully by next month start the site assessments. We have numerous properties in need of assessments throughout the region."
The initiative will identify and review known contaminated sites located within NMDC's service area that comprises all of Aroostook County, and parts of northern Washington, Penobscot, and Piscataquis counties. The environmental site assessments conducted by CEE are done in two phases. A Phase I Environmental Site Assessment is a historical and record review of the property and a looks into the history of what the land has been used for in the past to see if any activities at the property could have caused on-site contamination. A Phase II Environmental Site Assessment, if needed, involves a more detailed examination of the property, such as ground water and soil sampling, to determine if contamination actually does exists on the property.
Kamm and Connie Akerson, NMDC environmental planner, are the project managers for the Brownfield grant.
"Whenever we can get in and perform assessment work on a property it is a benefit all-around - it is a benefit to the community, the property owner, and the environment, it is a win-win for everyone," said Akerson.
"This is all about closing the loop and getting these Brownfields identified, cleaned up and hopefully redeveloped," Kamm said.
Municipalities or landowners that want more information are urged to contact Kamm or Akerson at NMDC at (207) 498-8736 or check out the website www.northernmainebrownfields.org.
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