1. SMARTe: Improving Revitalization Decisions at the Local Government Level
Paul Connor, Executive Director of NALGEP
Ann Vega, U.S. EPA – Office of Research and Development
Doug MacCourt, Attorney at Law, Ater Wynne LLP
CluIn Training
7 March 2006

2. Introduction
Introduction of the presenters
Role of NALGEP in the SMARTe Project
Role of the Brownfields Community Network in the SMARTe Project

3. Outline Introduction – Paul Connor SMARTe Overview – Ann Vega
SMARTe Demo – Doug MacCourt
SMARTe Future – Ann Vega
Contact Information - All

4. SMARTe is being developed by:
EPA and German Federal Ministry for Education and Research (BMBF) have worked collaboratively since The Interstate Technology Regulatory Council was added in We call the partnership the U.S.-German Bilateral Working Group.
Working together toward common goals

5. In 2000, the WG decided to focus on removing obstacles to site revitalization so that more brownfields (i.e., potentially contaminated sites) could be redeveloped instead of using precious greenspace for development. Germany is very densely populated (size of Montana, but density of New Jersey) and greenspace is precious. In the U.S., some states are like Germany, but others still have a lot of “clean land.” The bilateral working group would like to encourage development on potentially contaminated sites as opposed to greenspace, so our children, and our children’s children, can enjoy these beautiful areas as much as we do.

6. Obstacles to Revitalization
To remove obstacles to revitalization identified by the U.S.-German Bilateral Working Group.
Identifying market and non-market costs and benefits of revitalization options
Identifying private and public financing options
Evaluating and communicating environmental risks
Identifying and evaluating characterization, remediation, and long-term monitoring technologies
Identifying state-specific information
In order to encourage redevelopment, the bilateral working group decided that we would develop tools and approaches to help people overcome obstacles to revitalization. In 2001, workshops were held in both countries in order to identify the obstacles to redevelopment of brownfield sites. BMBF, EPA, and ITRC determined which obstacles could be addressed by the U.S.-German Bilateral WG within a 5 year period and what tools might be developed to help overcome those obstacles. SMARTe became the tool on the U.S. side.
Here are 5 obstacles just to give some examples. Handout tickler is for “obstacles list” if you choose to use it. If so, mention that the entire list of obstacles and how they were addressed within SMARTe (or will be addressed) is provided on a handout.

7. SMARTe Overview
Sustainable Management Approaches and Revitalization Tools – electronic
SMARTe is a web-based decision support tool to assist brownfield revitalization stakeholders in the development and evaluation of future reuse scenarios for potentially contaminated sites.
So what exactly is SMARTe? SMARTe stands for…
It is a web-based decision support tool that can help stakeholders develop and evaluate future reuse scenarios for their particular site.

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speedway
In other words, by October 2007 (we’re still in development), it will allow you to look at a site/area and help you decide which reuse option(s) make(s) the most sense from an ecological, social, and economic standpoint.
Discuss an example of an audience-relevant BF site and talk about what pieces of information go into the decision regarding what that site will be.
SMARTe uses a “decision analysis” framework to help bring together the wide variety, and large amount, of information needed for revitalization to help stakeholders make trade-offs depending on the situation, the science, and also stakeholders’ (especially the affected community) needs and wants.
housing

9. Who can Benefit from SMARTe?
Community members
Brownfield grantees
Regulators and Redevelopment Agencies
Federal, State, and Local Government Officials
Financial and Legal Stakeholders
Developers
Property Owners
Private Consultants
SMARTe is intended to be used by both technical and non-technical stakeholders. Non-technical stakeholders will likely access SMARTe for information and some of the non-technical tools and templates while technical users will access the technical tools and use the presentation capabilities to help communicate technical information in a non-technical way. A LOT of information, and some of these tools are available now.
In October 2007, stakeholders will be able to use SMARTe to walk through the entire revitalization process – making sure they’ve addressed all of the different aspects of a revitalization effort and evaluate their potential options.
SMARTe is free to the public.

10. How are we Developing SMARTe?
Open Literature – EPA and Other Sources
Existing Databases
National and International Conferences
CABERNET, ConSoil, National Brownfield Conference
Discussions with Experts in the Field
Model Projects – Interviews and Presentations
Joint Workshops
Review Comments
User Feedback
Beta Test Sites
Over the last several years, we’ve used information from the literature/internet, national and international conferences, discussions with experts (bankers, insurance companies, environmental professionals, community advocates, etc.),
Model projects (these were projects selected in the U.S. and Germany that were successful in at least one aspect of revitalization),
Joint workshops (U.S. and Germany held 5 workshops on aspects of revitalization to help fill data gaps. Topics were: economic tools, project management and marketing, risk assessment and communication, social aspects, and sustainable reuse). Plug final conference!
Now, we’re receiving comments from reviewers, feedback from users/stakeholders, and we’re starting beta testing (more on this later).

11. To Access SMARTe 2006 www.smarte.org
Requires Internet Explorer 6.0 or Mozilla/Firefox 1.1 & higher
Can also access from ITRC website and EPA’s brownfields office website.
This is where the presenter switches over to live internet and choose parts of SMARTe to show that are relevant to the audience. First, make sure to discuss the disclaimer. Then teach people how to navigate via “table of contents” on left, the icons at the top (tools, tutorial), and the search function. Click on best practices and show people how they can search for best practices or enter a best practice (encourage them to enter them). Point out that each page can generate a pdf file. Show how someone would submit feedback and talk about the feedback database. Then begin on examples. Try to make it as interactive as possible.

12. Additional SMARTe Focus Areas
Rural areas
Mine-scarred lands
Methamphetamine sites
Railfields
Regional and local land use planning
Green buildings/materials; energy conservation
Sustainable project management and long-term stewardship
Brownscape Design
Additional analysis tools
After the demo, return to the presentation and finish up.
Additional information and tools are needed in the following areas: …
The ones highlighted in purple will be addressed by the U.S.-German Bilateral Working Group over the next several years.

13. Schedule Annual updates to add tools and address comments
SMARTe 2006: currently at:
SMARTe 2007: Available October 2006
SMARTe 2008 (Complete decision support capability): Available October 2007
Development of sustainable revitalization tools:
Final SMARTe: 2010 (updates as needed)
Continuous beta testing and user feedback
Additional tools will be added to SMARTe each year, and each year a new version will be released in October with full decision support capability available in October As SMARTe is used and users submit feedback via the feedback buttons, the comments go into a database. The SMARTe Technical Development Team attempts to address these comments within a month of submission. If you submit feedback, you’ll receive a “bugzilla” that provides a link to the comment so you can monitor the status.
In January 2006, we will also begin “beta testing” SMARTe. We put a call out for sites that were “stuck” and weren’t moving forward. The idea is to see if SMARTe can help the site become “unstuck” and start moving forward again. Nine beta test sites will be selected by December A SMARTe liaison will be assigned to each site to assist the stakeholders in using SMARTe and to obtain targeted feedback from the beta test site regarding the impact of SMARTe on the site.

14. Paul Connor Ann Vega Doug MacCourt
Executive Director of NALGEP
Ann Vega
U.S. EPA – Office of Research and Development
For questions, etc. regarding ???, contact Paul Connor
For questions, etc., regarding SMARTe – contact Ann Vega.
For questions, etc., regarding??? Contact Doug MacCourt.
Doug MacCourt
Attorney at Law, Ater Wynne LLP

15. Web Sites Office of Brownfields Cleanup and Redevelopment (OBCR)
US-German Bilateral Working Group
Interstate Technology Regulatory Council
SMARTe
Here is a list of websites that might be useful. You can access SMARTe from all of these sites.

16. Links to Additional Resources
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