Brownfields Buzz

Your hub for brownfields spotlights, tools, events, news, and more

May, 2024

Spotlight

Meet the KSU TAB Team

We are so excited to welcome five new regional team members to the KSU TAB team: Roxanne Anderson (Regional Director for EPA Region 5), Kristin Prososki (Assistant Regional Director for EPA Regions 5 & 7), Leslie Etzel (Assistant Director for EPA Region 6), Jacob Rohter (Assistant Regional Director for EPA Region 7), and Kate Lucas (Assistant Regional Director for EPA Region 8)! They bring with them many years of experience and knowledge, expanding our dedicated team of professionals with technical and practical expertise in a variety of areas including environmental sciences and engineering, all aspects of brownfields redevelopment, community revitalization, grant writing and administration, environmental justice and social equity, and understanding and building Tribal Response Programs. Please contact these individuals to request assistance for communities in EPA Regions 5, 6, 7, and 8. Please contact Tribal TAB staff to request assistance for Tribal Nations and Indigenous communities nationwide. KSU TAB also provides nationally available E-Tools to create site inventories and assist in drafting proposals for EPA brownfields funding.

Toolbox

EPA Introduces the Environmental Justice Clearinghouse

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the Environmental Justice (EJ) Clearinghouse, a first-of-its-kind online collection of resources related to environmental justice. The EJ Clearinghouse will help the public access federal and non-federal resources online as part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s ambitious environmental justice agenda. EPA’s Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights will continue to add information to the clearinghouse on a rolling basis and welcomes input and any submissions from the public for review and potential inclusion.

The preliminary resources listed on the EJ Clearinghouse were submitted by agencies from across the federal government and include funding opportunities, screening and mapping tools, and technical assistance. The EJ Clearinghouse features searchable categories to simplify results for the public to ensure a more efficient and accessible process for accessing information related to environmental justice. Visit EPA’s website to view the Environmental Justice Clearinghouse or submit a potential resource.

Events

In addition, KSU TAB has regional and national events that will be scheduled throughout the year. Please visit our Events webpage to find an event near you!

News & Noteworthy

Brownfields Job Training

The FY25 Brownfields Job Training grant competition is live! Applications are due August 15, 2024 and the guidelines can be found here. Check out the KSU JT-TAB webpage and the EPA Brownfields Job Training Resources webpage for tools, resources, and other guidance to help you prepare your Job Training proposal and effectively manage a successful Job Training program.

Your TAB provider is available to review draft Brownfields Job Training Applications during the May 17 – August 15, 2024 time period.

Please request a review by email, at least one week before you send your draft application
Our goal is to provide review comments within several days of you emailing your draft to us (please send in MSWord format)
We can guarantee a review of draft applications submitted to us by August 6^th (nine days before EPA’s applications due date)

Not sure who your TAB provider is? Check the map and list of TAB points of contact below to get your draft Job Training proposal reviewed.

Region 1 (CT, ME, MA, NH, RI, VT)

University of Connecticut: Randi Mendes, randi.mendes@uconn.edu

Region 2 (NJ, NY, PR, VI)

New Jersey Institute of Technology: Sean Vroom, svroom@njit.edu

Region 3 (DE, DC, MD, PA, VA, WV)

West Virginia University: Carrie Stanton, carrie.staton@mail.wvu.edu

Region 4 (AL, FL, GA, KY, MS, NC, SC, TN)

International City/County Management Association: Chris Harrell, charrell@icma.org

New Jersey Institute of Technology: Sean Vroom, svroom@njit.edu

Region 5 (IL, IN, MI, MN, OH, WI)

Kansas State University: Blase Leven, jt-tab@ksu.edu

Region 6 (AR, LA, NM, OK, TX)

Kansas State University: Blase Leven, jt-tab@ksu.edu

Region 7 (IA, KS, MO, NE)

Kansas State University: Blase Leven, jt-tab@ksu.edu

Region 8 (UT, MT, WY, CO, ND, SD)

Kansas State University: Blase Leven, jt-tab@ksu.edu

Region 9 (AZ, CA, HI, NV, AS, GU)

Center for Creative Land Recycling: Claire Weston, claire.weston@cclr.org

Region 10 (AK, ID, OR, WA)

Center for Creative Land Recycling: Claire Weston, claire.weston@cclr.org

Follow your KSU TAB Team on LinkedIn and Facebook!

Visit our website at www.ksutab.org.