[Federal Register: April 22, 2005 (Volume 70, Number 77)]
[Notices]               
[Page 20901-20902]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr22ap05-61]                         

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-7902-6]

 
Opportunity for Organizations That Have Expertise in Sustainable 
Development and Sustainable Facilities To Cooperate With a New 
Initiative in EPA's Office of Site Remediation Enforcement

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice; announcement of initiative and request for statements 
of interest.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Site 
Remediation Enforcement (OSRE) within the Office of Enforcement and 
Compliance Assurance (OECA) is interested in cooperating with 
organizations with

[[Page 20902]]

expertise in sustainable development and sustainable facilities (e.g., 
non-profit organizations, universities, trade associations, 
organizations that practice sustainable development, etc.) in 
connection with its Environmentally Responsible Redevelopment and Reuse 
(ER3) initiative. Please note that EPA will not compensate cooperating 
organizations for their efforts in connection with this initiative.

DATES: Statements of interest are due by 5 p.m. e.s.t. on June 21, 
2005.

ADDRESSES: Please mail applications to Phil Page, Environmental 
Protection Agency, Office of Site Remediation Enforcement, Ariel Rios 
Building, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW., M/C 2273A, Washington, DC 20460. 
In the alternative, you may e-mail applications to page.phil@epa.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Phil Page, (202) 564-4211, or Erin 
Smith, (202) 564-2038, or go to http://www.epa.gov/compliance/cleanup/redevelop/er3
.


SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: ER3, a new initiative sponsored by OECA, has 
several components, one of which is developing working relationships 
with one or more interested organizations that have expertise in 
sustainable development.
    The purpose of ER3 is to encourage the reuse and redevelopment of 
contaminated and previously-contaminated property in an environmentally 
responsible manner, incorporating concepts such as green building 
design, construction and operation; ecological and greenspace 
enhancement; energy efficiency; the use of renewable energy sources; 
environmental management systems; storm water and wastewater 
management; pollution prevention; waste minimization and recycling; and 
healthy buildings. As part of the ER3 initiative, OSRE is willing to 
provide incentives, where necessary, to entities that plan to redevelop 
contaminated or formerly-contaminated property (e.g., communities, 
developers, or other organizations) to encourage these entities to 
incorporate sustainability concepts into their projects.
    To assist redevelopers with the logistics of integrating 
environmentally-superior redevelopment and reuse concepts into 
particular projects, OSRE is forming, in part through this notice, a 
network of governmental and non-governmental partners. The ER3 network 
partners will serve as a source of general information to redevelopers 
(for example, through information on a Web site). Further, an ER3 
network partner may provide services on a particular project for 
compensation if the redeveloper and ER3 network partner enter into a 
separate working agreement. EPA will not be a party to these 
agreements.
    Through this initiative, OSRE hopes to identify organizations with 
expertise consistent with the sustainable development concepts noted 
above, and collaborate with the selected organizations to establish one 
part of the ER3 network. Once OSRE has identified a variety of 
organizations, it will enter into a non-financial cooperation agreement 
with each organization that acknowledges both the organization's 
expertise in sustainability concepts and the working relationship 
between the organization and OSRE. The agreements will recognize 
expertise that may be valuable to reuse and redevelopment efforts in 
connection with the ER3 initiative. The agreements will not provide an 
endorsement of any particular ER3 partner's products and services, nor 
are they a vehicle for these entities to receive compensation of any 
type from the Agency. However, nothing in this process prohibits 
selected EPA partners from entering into private agreements for 
compensation with those entities engaged in the reuse or redevelopment 
process. Further, EPA may enter into separate financial transactions 
with cooperative partners to the extent consistent with applicable 
procurement and financial assistance regulations and policies governing 
competition. OSRE may, with the permission of the selected 
organizations, post links to the organizations' Web sites on EPA's ER3 
Web page to provide additional information and resources to entities 
that visit the ER3 site.
    Organizations that wish to participate in this initiative must send 
a statement of interest to the address listed below. The statement of 
interest must include: (1) A statement that identifies (a) the areas of 
expertise of the organization with respect to the concepts discussed 
above (green building design, construction and operation; ecological 
and greenspace enhancement; energy efficiency; the use of renewable 
energy sources; environmental management systems; storm water and 
wastewater management; pollution prevention; waste minimization and 
recycling; and healthy buildings); (b) the manner in which the 
organization can assist entities with incorporating sustainability 
concepts into the redevelopment and reuse of contaminated or formerly-
contaminated property; and (c) examples of relevant projects in which 
the organization has participated, along with the organization's role 
in the projects; (2) applicable brochures or similar information for 
the organization; and (3) contact information. OSRE will make its 
selections based upon the extent to which an organization can 
effectively cooperate with OSRE and private entities in many areas of 
sustainable development and sustainable facilities, geographic 
location, and experience with respect to contaminated properties and 
brownfield sites.

    Dated: April 18, 2005.
Susan E. Bromm,
Director, Office of Site Remediation Enforcement.
[FR Doc. 05-8126 Filed 4-21-05; 8:45 am]

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