Petroleum Brownfield Sites Identified

The City of Louisville has identified six sites in the downtown area to be assessed using their U.S. EPA Brownfield Grant funding.

By Brian Kvam
Tuesday, April 7, 2009

Summary: Using their U.S. EPA Brownfield Grant Funding, the City has identified six high priority sites in the downtown area where Phase I Environmental Site Assessments (ESAs) will be conducted. Concurrent Technologies Corportion (CTC), will be working with the City and the property owners to complete the Phase I ESAs.

The City conducted a thorough review of property records over the past two years and developed an inventory of 19 sites with potential petroleum contamination. Six of these sites have been prioritized for assessment and redevelopment activities.

The City will work with community groups, citizens and other stakeholders to identify any additional brownfield sites in the community, develop a database of these properities for future use, and prioritize the sites for assessment activities.

All Phase I ESA’s will follow procedures specified in the American Society for Testing & Materials (ASTM) Standard Practice for Environmental Site Assessment (E 1527-05) and the EPA approved All Appropriate Inquiry Rule (AAI).

The primary goal for this activity is to make an “appropriate inquiry into previous ownership and use of the property consistent with good commercial or customary practice.” There are four primary components to the Phase I ESA: Records Review, Site Reconnaissance, Interviews, and Report Preparation. The final report will include a statement as to evidence of recognized environmental conditions (RECs). Where concerns are identified, recommendations for future assessment may be included in the report in order to help the City with their redevelopmnet goals.