NYC's BIG program to provide financial incentives for the study and remediation of Brownfield props.

New York City's Brownfield Incentive Program (BIG) was launched on July 21. The BIG program will provide financial incentives for the study and remediation of Brownfield properties in New York City. Brownfields are vacant or underutilized properties that remain undeveloped because of complications caused by environmental contamination. The new grant program will provide over $9 million in city funds over the next 3 years for environmental investigations, remediation and planning. The program will be administered by the Office of Environmental Remediation, a new office established by Mayor Bloomberg in June 2008 to implement Brownfield goals of PlaNYC, the City's long-term vision for a greener greater New York. The BIG program is expected to be the first in a series of new programs for Brownfields, each program should help land owners and developers clean contaminated properties and bring them back into use. The program will provide grants in two phases, Pre Enrollment Grants and Enrollment Grants. The Pre-Enrollment grants will provide funds up to $10,000 for Qualifying Brownfield Properties or up to $25,000 for Preferred Community Development projects. These funds can be used towards services such as Phase I Environmental Site Assessments (ESA), site surveys, community outreach as well as Phase II ESA activities such as geophysical surveys, soil borings, groundwater monitoring wells and Phase II ESA reports and work plans. Once a property is accepted into the BIG program then it can also qualify for Enrollment Grants including Cleanup Grants and Environmental Insurance Grants. The Enrollment Grants will provide funds up to $60,000 for Qualifying Brownfield Properties and up to $100,000 for Preferred Community Development Projects. Cleanup grants can be used towards eligible services and activities conducted during remediation such as soil and fill excavation and disposal, cement or asphalt paving and remedial work plans and reporting. The cleanup grants can also be used towards the purchase of pollution liability insurance or cleanup cost cap insurance. The BIG program also offers a $5,000 grant to E designation properties. The BIG grants are designed to cover approximately 75% of the environmental costs. The grant money will actually be provided directly to the environmental company performing the work. Because of this all work must be performed by a BIG qualified vendor who will apply to the BIG program to receive funding for the environmental services. The BIG program has been designed for the development of moderately contaminated properties including sites that are contaminated with urban fill material and petroleum. In order to qualify the OER is requiring that the environmental quality of soil, water and vapors be investigated through an OER approved investigation work plan. The investigations are similar to E designation investigation in that they are based upon site development and both soil and groundwater are investigated. Unlike the E designation program, the BIG program also requires that vapor quality be investigated. The remediation of site will then be performed during the development of the property. If the site is completely remediated (no levels of any contamination can remain on-site) than additional grants can be awarded. Hydro Tech is a qualified vendor for both consulting and contracting services with the BIG program. Examples of consulting services that we are qualified to perform include the performance of a Phase I ESA, Phase II ESA and the reporting and supervision of remedial services. Examples of contracting services include the installation of soil borings, groundwater wells and vapor samples as well as the performance of remedial injections and soil excavations. Contact us today to see how we can help you enter the BIG program or received a $5,000 grant for your E designation project. Rachel Ataman, LEED AP, is vice president of technical services for Hydro Tech Environmental, Corp., Commack, N.Y.