OHIO’S VOLUNTARY ACTION PROGRAM IS 20 YEARS OLD! A Perspective from some of the original Steering Committee members OHIO BROWNFIELDS | APRIL 6 TH, 10:30 AM

1996 HAPPENINGS Didn’t Lose to Odelay > 9,700 $20 $1.26

1996: VOLUNTARY CLEANUP PROGRAMS

2015: VOLUNTARY CLEANUP PROGRAMS

OHIO LEADERSHIP Senator Betty Montgomery Sponsored SB 221 Governor Voinovich signs legislation September 1994 Ohio EPA Director Don Schregardus 1 st VAP Manager Jenifer Kwasniewski

HOW NFAs BECOME CNSs

Our Panel….1996 ….And Now

THE AGENCY PERSPECTIVE …  Amy Yersavich

ONCE UPON A TIME…… Before the VAP, how did sites get cleaned up when “regular folk”* wanted them cleaned up???  Request that the site be put “under orders”, i.e. Consensual DERR Remedial Orders  Follow RCRA corrective action guidance and requirements and then ask Ohio EPA or U.S. EPA RCRA to review the assessment and clean-up documentation  Assess and clean up the site using an environmental consultant and hope that the buyer, financer, developer, etc. was OK enough with the work done. But most folks were stuck in the YOYO world….. *“regular folk” means not U.S. EPA, Ohio EPA, POTUS, SCOTUS, Pope Francis I, Queen Elizabeth II, Bill Gates…

VOLUNTARY CLEANUP BECOMES THE LAW OF THE LAND….  Senate Bill 221 passes in the summer of 1994 and becomes effective in September 1994, creating ORC Chapter 3746…aka the VAP Statute.  Interim standards for assessment and cleanup of properties created, leading to a release of liability for the cleanup….aka CNS.  Gave authority for a Multidisciplinary Board, appointed by the Governor, to create rules (OAC) for the VAP.

CHAPTER 2: CREATING VAP RULES (AKA MAKING SAUSAGE)  MDB – made up of representatives of government, industry, environmental law and consulting, citizens groups, environmental groups and others.  Wasn’t easy but we ended up with a good set of administrative rules for the VAP in one year’s time and technical rules in two!

AND THEY LIVED…….?????  Growing pains for both VAP staff and the VAP Certified Professionals (CPs) as the first state to create such a privatized process for voluntarily cleaning up a property and receiving a civil liability release!  Started out with a lot of interaction between the CPs and VAP reviewers both during the assessment and cleanup as well as the VAP staff’s review of the CP’s No Further Action letter, aka NFA.  Ohio EPA and CPs didn’t always see eye-to-eye but, for the most part, both sides worked really hard to make sure sites were properly cleaned up and received a CNS at day’s end.

WELL...TWENTY YEARS AND WE’RE STILL HERE!  We’ve changed! Rules have been updated several times and how the VAP staff review NFAs has evolved markedly over the years.  CPs have changed! They have become very experienced in conducting voluntary cleanup and very savvy about what it really takes to make brownfields revitalization successful.  Those other “regular folk” have also become very savvy! Lenders and investors have become much more comfortable lending and investing in brownfield site cleanup and redevelopment. Developers are more comfortable – even have developers who do only brownfield projects! Community leaders even like the VAP too!

ONCE UPON A TIME 2! - WHAT WILL BE OUR FUTURE??? My thoughts for a “happily ever after”:  Good relationships between VAP and CPs (it’s not us vs. them – it’s us and them working together to remove contamination and blight). The end product is good for EVERYONE!  Continue to promote more and better brownfield incentives at both the local, state and federal level (not only grants, loans and tax incentives, but greater flexibility for voluntary cleanup, i.e. far fewer silos)  Communication, Communication, Communication!

THE VOLUNTEERS PERPECTIVE  Robert W. Hare, PE, CHMM

VAP RETROSPECTIVE | THE “TIMES”  Industry “down-sizing”  Excess Industrial properties on company books increasing  Environmental condition and prospect for completing timely remediation an impediment to property transfers

VAP RETROSPECTIVE | THE CHALLENGES  Variability in cleanup criteria created uncertainty.  Variability in risk assessment assumptions created uncertainty  ALL groundwater “defaulted” to aquifer status (irrespective of background quality or quantity available or fate and transport)  Resources available for timely review of documents extended timing for remediation (affects transactions)  NFA’s few and far between

VAP RETROSPECTIVE | THE OBJECTIVES  Reduce uncertainty in criteria/risk processes  Develop GW criteria that recognize background condition and “useability”.  Recognize obvious fate and transport for groundwater (near rivers).  Improve time to complete remediation at industrial sites.  Get CSN to “end” the remedy.

THE DEVELOPER’S PERPECTIVE  Brad S. White

VAP DEVELOPMENT GOALS: Create a predictable regulatory process for Brownfield Redevelopment. 2.Establish clear cleanup standards to facilitate Brownfield Redevelopment. 3.Establish meaningful financial incentives to encourage Brownfield Redevelopment. 4.Change to regulatory mindset to encourage the productive reuse of Brownfield sites.

20 YEAR REPORT CARD FOR ACHIEVING VAP DEVELOPMENT GOALS 1.Create a predictable regulatory process for Brownfield Redevelopment. A GRADE: A -- The VAP has evolved as the gold standard in redeveloping brownfields in Ohio. 2.Establish clear cleanup standards to facilitate Brownfield Redevelopment. A GRADE: A -- Both the generic and risk-based standards have streamlined the remedial and redevelopment process in Ohio.

20 YEAR REPORT CARD FOR ACHIEVING VAP DEVELOPMENT GOALS 3.Establish meaningful financial incentives to encourage Brownfield Redevelopment. A GRADE: A -- Grants/Loans: Clean Ohio Revitalization Fund was the leading financial incentive program in the nation. D GRADE: D -- Grants/Loans Post-Clean Ohio: Ohio incentives went from the clear leader to greatly diminished. F GRADE: F -- Tax Incentives: The VAP tax provisions are both misunderstood and rarely meaningful. The 10-year Automatic Tax Abatement was intended to cover all improvements to real estate, including new construction, but has not been interpreted as such by the Ohio Department of Taxation. The VAP tax provisions should be revised.

20 YEAR REPORT CARD FOR ACHIEVING VAP DEVELOPMENT GOALS 4.Change to regulatory mindset to encourage the productive reuse of Brownfield sites. A GRADE: A -- The 1994 regulatory “command and control” attitude has achieved a paradigm shift. VAP staff have dramatically facilitated redevelopment in Ohio !

WRIGHT FACTORY DAYTON

HOLLYWOOD CASINO COLUMBUS

HOLLYWOOD CASINO TOLEDO

Questions? Craig Kasper, CEO | HULL Amy Yersavich, Manager Site Assistance and Brownfield Revitalization Section | Ohio EPA/DERR Bob Hare, Cleanup Manager | Racer Trust Brad White, Director of Business Development | HULL