FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 23, 2015
DEP'S SOUTH DISTRICT AND SOUTHWEST FLORIDA REGIONAL PLANNING COUNCIL HOST BROWNFIELD SYMPOSIUM
~Third annual event draws more than 80 participants~
FORT
MYERS – The Florida
Department of Environmental Protection’s South District, in partnership with
the Southwest Florida Regional
Planning Council, hosted the Third Annual Southwest Florida Brownfield Symposium
on Friday, March 20. The workshop touted the economic, legal and practical aspects of brownfield
redevelopment in Southwest Florida.
“The Third Annual Brownfield Symposium was
a great success—bringing local governments, EPA, DEP, environmental
consultants, environmental attorneys and local businesses together to foster brownfield partnerships to address contamination
cleanup and economic development,” said Jennifer Carpenter, assistant director
of DEP’s South District.
The Florida Brownfield Redevelopment Program focuses on contaminated site cleanup and economic redevelopment associated with brownfield sites. The program facilitates redevelopment and job creation by empowering communities, local governments and other stakeholders to work together to assess, cleanup and reuse sites previously impacted by pollutants. To make the program's incentives available to a community, a local government must designate a brownfield area by resolution. Local governments have designated 376 current brownfield areas statewide.
More than 80 participants heard from
local leaders with experience in cleanup, reinvesting in Brownfield properties,
and the protection of human health and the environment. Kim Walker, environmental administrator
and brownfield program manager discussed the department’s role in brownfield
redevelopment and cleanup.
Vendors
and sponsors of this event include Conestoga-Rovers and Associates, Cardno,
EnviroProbe Service, Inc., Biovation Environmental Services LLC, Engineering
and Scientific Investigation and PPM Consultants.
“The Third Annual Southwest Florida Brownfield
Symposium was a complete success thanks to the sponsors, participants and
supporting agencies,” said Jennifer Pellechio, deputy director, Southwest Florida Regional Planning Council. "The topic-driven educational symposium offered
expanded knowledge of how to leverage opportunities associated with
Brownfield. We can’t wait to co-host this again with DEP next year."
Since inception of the program in 1997, $2.7 billion in capital investment has been projected in designated brownfield areas and 75 contaminated sites have been cleaned up. More than 50,000 confirmed and projected direct and indirect jobs have been created. Through Aug. 1, 2014, 280 projected new direct jobs, 423 projected new indirect jobs and $11 million in projected new capital investment can be attributed to the program within the 2014 calendar year. To learn more about the Brownfield Redevelopment Program, click here.
DEP's Northwest District will be hosting its Third
Annual Brownfield Redevelopment Forum on June 11, 2015 in Callaway. For more information, click here.
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