Federal, state, and local governments offer incentives for brownfield redevelopment and redevelopment. Some of these incentives are provided directly to communities and local governments. Some incentives are only available to homeowners. These include: If you expect all of your employees to immediately evacuate the emergency spill area and seek refuge, you must create an emergency action plan and complete training in accordance with the provisions of 29 CFR 1910.38. However, if you could have an emergency authorization for hazardous substances at your site, you are still responsible for choosing a dangerous goods response provider and verifying that the supplier you choose can meet your specific emergency needs. Not all local fire departments, for example, have dangerous goods teams. If the local fire department is not trained and equipped to respond to a dangerous goods emergency, you will need to take other precautions. These agreements may include contracting with a private dangerous goods stakeholder, training your own dangerous goods management team, or coordinating with other local employers and community response organizations to establish a municipal dangerous goods team. Brownfields, which must comply with the Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response (HAZWOPER) standard (see question 8), must have a site-specific health and safety plan (see questions 10 and 11) that defines the roles and responsibilities of personnel, including health and safety oversight. Sites for which a single HASP has been developed generally delegate safety and health oversight to one person, the Health and Safety Coordinator. This person is typically an employee of the prime contractor (or site manager) and is responsible for site-wide compliance with the PSSA. However, individual contractors and subcontractors must continue to ensure the safety and health of their own employees.
Sites may also have multiple VHPs (one ASPP for each contractor), with each ASPP designating an individual health and safety coordinator. In 2002, President George W. Bush signed the Small Business Liability Relief and Brownfield Revitalization Act (the “Brownfields Act”), which provides grants and tools to local governments for brownfield assessment, remediation, and revitalization. The motivation for this act was the success of the EPA`s brownfield program, launched in the 1990s in response to several lawsuits that led lenders to alternate contaminated properties for fear of being held liable under the Superfund. As of September 2015, the EPA estimates that the brownfield program has prepared 56,442 acres of land for reuse. [8] Local government agencies: Local economic development, planning, and taxation authorities can provide incentives for brownfield redevelopment to attract investors and businesses to their communities, manage growth, and create jobs. Local health authorities may have an interest in ensuring that brownfield pollutants do not pose a threat to community health. Developers: Developers generally manage the entire process of cleaning up and adapting real property to new uses, but may limit their involvement in identifying and implementing marketable brownfield reuses.
Employers whose employees supervise the operation of the construction site have the same duty to protect their employees. These employers may choose to adopt and comply with the provisions of an existing site SASP, provided that the HASP adequately performs the duties of supervisory staff and provides effective risk control measures. OSHA`s response would only occasionally be the same for field workers. Technical advisors: Technical advisors can help plan and implement the investigation and remediation of brownfield pollution. Technical advisors can also help property owners or developers work with state regulators and municipalities around the property. Many of these brownfields could be converted from potential liabilities into successful developments. Legal Counsel: Lawyers can assist you in many aspects of brownfield redevelopment, redevelopment and sale by advising all interested parties, from homeowners and developers to neighbours and community members, on regulatory requirements, negotiating with regulators and potential buyers, drafting sales contracts and communicating with others interested in the project. HAZWOPER may also apply if state brownfields or the voluntary clean-up program (VCP) in which you participate requires compliance with the standard. Federal brownfields and voluntary state remediation programs may require compliance with HAZWOPER even if they exclude government-identified hazardous waste sites from participation in the program. If your website participates in any of these programs, you may be required to comply with some or all of HAZWPOPER`s cleaning requirements set forth in paragraphs (b) through (o). For example, EPA brownfield initiatives are typically funded through a Superfund Cooperation Agreement (CA), and these CAs require compliance with HAZWOPER (see question 20).
If your project is an EPA brownfield pilot project (demonstration assessment or brownfield cleanup revolving loan), you should review the funding agency and resources listed in Question 22 to determine if HAZCOOPER compliance is required. If your brownfield site is in a state plan state where the state`s HAZCOOPER standard differs from the federal standard (currently Michigan, California, and Washington), HASP requirements may differ slightly. See question 18. If you are an employer at a location that is not subject to paragraphs (b) to (o) of HAZWOPER and there is a potential hazardous materials emergency at your location, the emergency provisions of paragraph (q) of HAZWOPER apply to you. Subject to subsection (q), you may always evacuate your employees in the event of an emergency, provided you develop an emergency plan and train your employees in accordance with 29 CFR 1910.38. You remain committed to making arrangements for effective emergency response to hazardous substances at your site. Construction managers require reasonable hours of initial training based on anticipated exposure levels and an additional eight hours of supervisory training. In general, construction managers require the same level of initial training as the staff who supervise them. The additional eight hours of training should familiarize supervisors with your comprehensive health and safety program and its application to brownfield sites. OSHA provides technical resources to help you control or mitigate hazards in the field.
Since brownfield sites are similar to construction sites and hazardous waste landfills, there are many online resources for both types of sites that should be helpful. OSHA provides compliance resources and links to these types of websites on the Brownfields Safety and Health Topics website. Employers can also call or write to OSHA to clarify compliance issues. See the list of federal and state offices. As a community member interested in brownfield sites, it is important that you are aware of the benefits of rehabilitating and repurposing a site and can discuss them with potential developers and owners. Some of the benefits for homeowners and developers are: From the perspective of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), a contaminated site is a hazardous waste landfill if the landfill meets OSHA`s definition of an uncontrolled hazardous waste landfill. This definition is found in paragraph (a) of 29 CFR 1910.120 and 1926.65 Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response (HAZWOPER). In states where the state`s HAZCOOPER standard differs from the federal standard (currently Michigan, California, and Washington), the definition may differ. Please read the text of the state standard and question 18 for more information on the state plans. Federal, state, and local environmental agencies can also oversee brownfield projects. These organizations focus on the assessment and remediation methods used at the site and generally do not have direct responsibility for health and safety oversight.