Brownfields Buzz

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

January, 2025

Spotlight

KSU TAB 2024 Highlights

2024 was another fantastic year for the KSU TAB program! The TAB 2024 highlight reel showcases an exciting array of accomplishments, including the addition of six new team members, which has allowed us to expand our reach and provide technical assistance to communities at groundbreaking levels. Additionally, we had the pleasure of providing 273 communities with technical assistance and participating in 140 events with a combined total of 8,805 participants. In hosting dozens of webinars, workshops, and community visioning sessions, we were amazed by the depth of imagination and ingenuity residing in communities around the country. Members of our team were guest speakers on podcasts and presented on a variety of topics, from harnessing bioremediation to improving soil health, to implementing equitable development practices and prioritizing community-inspired design. It is always our pleasure to partner with so many wonderful communities, and we look forward to joining you on your re-development journeys in 2025!

Toolbox

Brownfields Inventory Tool (BiT) Gets a Makeover

The Brownfields Inventory Tool (a.k.a. BiT) is a free online site inventory and data management database that has been around for over 15 years. While small improvements have been made to BiT overtime, the user interface (UI) remained unchanged and we’ve decided it is time for BiTs retro tech chic appearance to receive a revamp. We are happy to announce that starting February 10, BiT users will experience a re-designed user interface. The new BiT UI is easier to navigate, allows users to go at their own pace for data input, and provides access to the friendly features with just a click or two. The overall functionality of BiT has not changed - users can still input site specific data, funding sources, upload files and photos, interface with ACRES, etc. To learn more about the new UI, a general overview of BiT, and how it can meet your site data management and storage needs, join us for an informational webinar Tuesday, February 11,2025 1:30pm CT. Click here to register for the webinar today!

Note to existing users: All your program and site data still exist. All that has changed is the look and feel to each section. Not finding something? Please contact a member of our E-Tools Team for assistance: Maggie Belanger (maggiejessie@ksu.edu), Cynthia Annett (cannett@ksu.edu), Jacob Rohter (jrohter@ksu.edu), Leslie Etzel (leslieetzel@ksu.edu).

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

Online ACRES Training

Join EPA staff for an upcoming ACRES Training opportunity on Tuesday, February 11, from 1:00 to 2:00 p.m. CT. The Next Level is for Assessment, RLF, Cleanup, and Section 128(a) recipients who are familiar with using ACRES. The Next Level training will provide instruction on how to make ACRES work for you and your property scenarios and provide answers to commonly asked questions. The link to join this training, as well as additional webinar dates, can be found here.

Montana Technological University (Montana Tech), a KSU TAB partner, is completing the development of a Critical Minerals Protocol for remining minerals in solid mining waste, and has contributed to a guidance document by the Interstate Technology Regularly Council that will be issued in January 2025. To learn more about the guidance document and other advancements in extraction and mineral processing technologies, please attend the Reuse of Solid Mining Waste webinar scheduled for February 13th at 1pm Eastern.

Follow your KSU TAB Team on LinkedIn and Facebook!

Visit our website at www.ksutab.org.