The Detroit News
Light Rail Proposal Moves Forward

July 16, 2008 Plans for a light rail system in Detroit progressed this week when a regional planning group green-lighted the proposed development. Officials with the Southeast Michigan Council of Governments approved a Detroit Department of Transportation (DDOT) plan to construct and operate light rail service on Woodward Avenue between downtown and Eight Mile.

"This is an important step toward the establishment of a reliable rail transportation system that will assist Detroiters in getting to and from their destinations," Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick said in a statement. "This approval of DDOT's rail project will also multiply economical opportunities for business growth." Check out Detroit Light Rail for the rest of the story.

Largest Land Conservation in U.S. Sealed

When the ink finally dries on the largest conservation land purchase in the history of the United States - 320,000 Montana forest acres for $510 million - nearly nothing will have changed. And that, of course, is exactly the point.

The deal between Plum Creek Timber Co. and conservation buyers is designed to maintain the status quo; the real change would come if those western Montana acres were sold instead to real estate developers. Plum Creek lands to be purchased under the deal announced Monday include forests surrounding the Missoula Valley, on up the Swan and even into the Yaak, and all “are worth more as house lots than as board feet,” said Eric Love, regional director for conservation buyer Trust for Public Lands. “It just would be tragic to lose it all to backcountry sprawl.”

http://www.missoulian.com/articles/2008/07/01/news/local/news02.txt

Virginia Gov. Timothy Kaine Promotes New Transportation Plan

Last week, Virginia Gov. Timothy M. Kaine unveiled the Commonwealth's transportation plan he will present to the legislature. This is what he says it will do, and how it would be financed:

Goals

• Cut the highway maintenance deficit.
• Increase local road construction funding and restore support for construction projects statewide.
• Invest in targeted projects to reduce traffic congestion in Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads, the state's two most congested regions.
• Create a Transportation Change Fund to increase investment in transit, rail, and innovations that would reduce traffic congestion. (He offers the example of expanding ridesharing.)
• Provide incentives for cities and towns to take responsibility for their road construction programs.
• Create incentives for localities to use their land more efficiently by providing dedicated funding for transportation improvements in urban development areas.
• Clarifies local government flexibility to use secondary and urban road funding for transit projects.

Financing

• Increase the statewide motor vehicles sales tax from 3 percent to 4 percent. Do it with a one-half percent increase in January 2009 and another half-percent percent in July 2009.
• Dedicate all motor vehicle sales tax funds to maintenance.
• Increase the statewide annual vehicle registration fee by $10 and dedicate that extra money to maintenance.
• Increase the retail sales tax in Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads by 1 percent, except for food and medicine. In our region, the money would go to the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority.
• Increase the statewide grantor's tax by 25 cents, and put the money into the Transportation Change Fund.
• Lock it up: Any of these tax increases would expire if used for any purpose other than transportation.

Spotlight on easements

Grand jury probe should lead to tougher penalties for lawbreaking
Rocky Mountain News
Friday, June 20, 2008
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/jun/20/spotlight-on-easements/

Some real estate appraisers, property owners and land trusts have manipulated tax credits available from Colorado's conservation easement program in ways that seem downright criminal.
So we welcome Wednesday's decision by Attorney General John Suthers asking a statewide grand jury to look into the more questionable deals. An independent probe is essential.

A grand jury can subpoena witnesses and compel testimony; the AG would not have that authority for this investigation. Subpoena powers will help the grand jury unravel any scams.
The probe should publicly highlight the worst abuses. Exposing obvious loopholes should prod state lawmakers to close those gaps.

No single agency has direct oversight of easement credits, which have drained more than $274 million from state coffers since 2000. Articles in the Rocky have uncovered a host of dubious transactions, some involving what looks like excessive appraisals and multiple tax credits claimed from the same parcel of land.

For some people the temptation to game the system must have been irresistible. It was possible to collect millions in tax credits without drawing any attention. With little risk of getting caught, pushing the limits may have seemed a gamble worth taking.

Indeed, the penalties for illegally cashing in easements are little more than a slap on the wrist - low-level misdemeanors which carry modest fines and minimal jail time, if any.

To be sure, the grand jury might discover evidence of conspiracy, tax fraud or securities fraud - offenses that carry much stiffer penalties. And for months the IRS has conducted its own probe of easement deals that could violate federal tax laws.

If those wider offenses aren't prosecuted, don't count on stiff sentences for those who illegally manipulated easements. Another reason to welcome the grand jury's independence: Tax attorney Rodney Atherton, now under investigation by the Colorado Supreme Court for potential ethics violations related to the easement program, is likely to get a look.

A Rocky investigation of a land trust he organized found that Atherton got two open-space agreements on land he owned in Jefferson County and that these deals led to $360,000 in state tax credits for the attorney and his wife. Atherton may have attracted attention because the state Republican Party is a client of his law firm Zakhem Atherton. Suthers is Colorado's highest-ranking GOP official.

Michael Huttner of ProgressNowAction called for Suthers to recuse himself from the investigation, claiming Suthers had "a conflict of interest with one of his major contributors."
Atherton is hardly a "major contributor," since he did not give Suthers any money for his 2006 campaign. And while Atherton's law partner John Zakhem gave $900 to Suthers' campaign, Atherton did not join the firm until 2007. The most direct link Huttner can make is a contribution from Atherton to Gov. Bill Owens' 2002 re-election campaign.

Huttner's allegation is ludicrous. We have no reason to question Suthers' independence.
Besides, if Suthers wanted to protect Atherton, or any Republican, why wouldn't he take charge of the investigation, so he could cherry-pick who was scrutinized and who was left alone?
We trust the grand jury probe will be thorough, giving lawmakers plenty of ammunition to stiffen the penalties for looting public coffers and abusing a program meant to conserve valuable open space.

Jesse J. Richardson, Jr.
Associate Professor and Program Chair Urban Affairs and Planning
Virginia Tech

Forum on National Infrastructure Plan

From the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy:


In 2008, a new national plan for infrastructure is taking shape, responding to 21st century challenges including economic competitiveness, energy independence, and the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. At “Rebuilding and Renewing America: Toward a 21st Century Infrastructure Investment Plan” on May 9 in Washington D.C., members of Congress, representatives of state government, and civic, business, and labor leaders came together to share ideas on the ambitious task.

See full article here

Commuting costs and housing markets- S&P makes the connection

A link is below to an interesting paper from a Standard and Poors economist. It validates through changes in housing prices what planners have been saying for a long time: exurban, sprawl development is unsustainable. The author makes the case that the recent rise in gasoline prices and heating and cooling costs have made smaller homes closer to work, schools, and parks more desirable and economically stable than McMansions 2 hours from work. Nice to have it wrapped up with a bow from a credible source. Their conclusions:

During market downturns, home prices fall the least in the most desirable areas of a metropolitan region. As housing affordability improves, home buyers who were previously priced out of their preferred towns and neighborhoods will be able to purchase properties in these areas. So, even as overall sales volume drops, relatively stronger demand for housing will limit price declines in neighborhoods with shorter work commutes, better schools, and easier access to parks, recreation, and retail centers. Because of sharp increases in gasoline prices, living closer to work has become an even more important consideration in the location decisions of home buyers. When combined with large inventories of unsold housing on the edges of urban areas, this shift in preferences will mean that prices for homes in outlying neighborhoods will continue their more rapid decline and will be slower to rebound when housing markets finally start to recover.

See link to article at: http://www2.standardandpoors.com/spf/pdf/index/052708_Housing_bubbles_collapse.pdf

Legislative Victory for Land Conservation

Legislative Victory for Land ConservationCongress Passes Conservation Tax Incentive for Family Farms and Ranches

Following similar action in the House, the Senate last night voted to overturn the President's veto of the Farm Bill. Despite an earlier procedural glitch, the final bill emerged as expected with our conservation tax incentive now enacted for two more years. After an arduous uphill battle and the prospect of defeat only a few weeks ago, our national coalition now has a hard-earned reason to celebrate. This puts back in place the incentive that had expired January 1st with the exact same terms, that is, raising the deduction for donated conservation easements form 30 to 50% of adjusted gross income—and 100% for farmers and ranchers—and extending the time period for using the deduction from 6 to 16 years.

For more information, please visit www.lta.org

Maryland: Global Warming Solutions Act

Smart Growth Measures Part of Strategy Endorsed in Maryland's Global Warming Solutions Act
Source: Baltimore Sun 1/30/2008

With 3,100 miles of shoreline making Maryland ''the fourth-most-vulnerable state to the effects of global warming,'' the lead sponsors of its Global Warming Solutions Act, Senate Environment Subcommittee Democratic Chairman Paul. G. Pinsky and House of Delegates Democratic Majority Leader Kumar Barve, urge the General Assembly ''to take real action on global warming'' this session and pass the act that would cut greenhouse gas emissions 25 percent by 2020 and 90 percent by 2050, through new statewide efficiency and resource-management programs, including Smart Growth measures.

''Why now? Because we can't continue to wait and debate,'' they write in a Baltimore Sun oped column, warning that delay would damage Maryland's economy and environment, particularly the Chesapeake Bay.

In contrast, they stress, ''the Global Warming Solutions Act would mean significant investment in renewable energy, energy efficiency and green buildings, creating 'green collar' jobs for Marylanders and saving taxpayers money in the long run, while reversing an environmentally destructive trend.''

With the White House failing to join international accords on climate change, ''(w)e no longer can wait for the federal government to act,'' they write. ''Even if voters elect a pro-environment president in November, there is still a long battle ahead in Congress.''

But if Maryland ''joins other states -- California, New Jersey and Hawaii -- that have adopted legislation to fight global warming,'' they point out, ''it can only hasten Congress, and the White House, to approve a national policy.''

Ohio: Clean Water Fund

Governor Strickland’s State of the State address called of $400 million for the Clean Ohio Fund.

$400 million for the Clean Ohio Fund, to advance efforts to reclaim brownfields
and other damaged lands and preserve farm land and open spaces.

http://www.dispatchpolitics.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2008/02/06/state.html?adsec=politics&sid=101

Video: Regionalism in Northeast Ohio

Interview and Slideshow on WCPN Radio regarding regionalism in Northeast Ohio

View Upload your own

Reference:

http://www.slideshare.net/efmorrison/w-c-p-n-regionalism-slides

City of Detroit Should Sell Under Utilized Small Parks

The Detroit City Council will be considering a proposal from the its Parks and Recreation Department to sell about 90 small city owed parks. The proposal seeks to condense and consolidate park space and resources in thriving areas. Recreation officials are endorsing it as a sensible way to look at needed downsizing, a way to reconcile surplus park space with the significant demographic shifts over the last half-century in Detroit, which has lost about a million people since 1950. If sold, the city estimates it can raise $8.1 million from selling the land. The cash strapped city would use the money earned from any sales to maintain and possibly expand parks in parts of the city that are more densely populated.

Is it worth it to do this? I think it is. Without question, parks do serve immensely important benefits and functions to urban/city life. Parks are set aside for people to enjoy--to relieve some of the stress of life. Normally, I would tend to agree with them that selling park land is a bad idea. But in the case of Detroit, I have to say that the city's recreation department proposal seems logical in terms of fiscal demands. By concentrating parks and recreation in neighborhoods that are more likely to utilize them makes sense to me. The city should take any funds made from land sales and reinvest in good or mediocre city parks and make them GREAT parks. I would rather have a dozen great parks than 100 crappy ones.

Opponents are calling the plan short-sighted and wrong, pointing out that once gone, it's gone forever. Colleagues of mine have said to me with all the land available for redevelopment in Detroit, who is going to buy these parks, for what reason, and at what price? Also, it could encourage a developer who has the money to purchase the parks, and the time to wait for the opportunity for resale or development. Still not an optimal use for parkland. Some would likely argue that keeping and maintaining the pocket parks can be used in revitalizing neighborhoods and attracting new residents, small businesses, etc.

Granted, if given a choice between developing a greenfield vs. a gray-field, I would certainly prefer to redevelop the gray-field. No argument here. But, in the case of Detroit neighborhood resurgence, I think that the city needs to attract new neighborhood mixed-income dwellers from outside of the downtrodden neighborhoods. As well as outside of the city limits. Barely satisfactory/poorly maintained pocket parks are not enough to attract these people in order to bring up neighborhoods.

But I’m not letting the city off that easy though. It will take a lot more than selling off currently under-used parks to revitalize Detroit. Detroit still has to do a much better job in maintaining and investing in existing open spaces. They also need to spend more time and effort in planning for quality urban greenspace. Detroit should consider planning for permanent nature preserves, larger urban parks connected to other greenspaces, urban farming, and even restoring wetlands or daylighting some historical watercourses. Such uses would have practical benefits such as increasing property values in nearby neighborhoods and creating educational and tourism opportunities, and would greatly add to the quality of life in Detroit. Fix what’s broken. I’m referring to the parks as well as decisions made in city hall.

Reference:
NY Times
Detroit considers sale of City's small parks
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/29/us/29parks.html

A VISIT TO THE REAL WORLD OF THE KELO DECISION

Interesting blurb from NJ Lawyer

In Kelo v. City of New London, the U.S. Supreme Court said that if a government thought it was a good idea to condemn private property through eminent domain and hand it over to a private developer - if public officials thought that would forward the public purpose of economic development -well, the nine justices would defer to those local officials' informed judgment. That was in June 2005. So how are things going in New London,Conn, two and a half years later? According to reports in the New London Day, not so well. The private company chosen to redevelop the Fort Trumbull area, Corcoran Jennison, has missed several deadlines for securing financing and hasn't built a single one of the luxury apartments and townhouses that are supposed to begin to revivify the area. The city has given them another six-month extension to get their financing together. Meanwhile, the first condemnation notices for the homes and businesses that once stood in the neighborhood went out a full seven years ago. Oops! 12-20-07

Video: Human Footprint Urban Sprawl Deforestation

Urban Sprawl uses too much land and therefore harvest large quantities of forest. Human Footprints is a video that shows what kind of marks we left behind and how urban sprawl has a major role play in wasting our land. Music from Linkin Park - What I've done

Run time: 4 minutes

Reality Check Video: Land Use Planning Visioning

This is an 8 minute video about land use planning exercise that was conducted in Tampa Bay Florida. I attended a similar one that was conducted in Maryland last year. Its a visioning exercise that is becoming very popular around the country.



Reality Check is a one-day exercise designed to discuss, analyze and develop alternative growth scenarios for our rapidly growing region through 2050. Reality Check is designed to accomplish four tasks:

• Promote a region wide awareness of the level of growth that is coming
• Allocate projected housing and employment growth between and among jurisdictions
• Recognize the legitimate points of view of different stakeholders
• Lay the foundation for the development of a concrete list of next steps to assure quality growth to meet the region's needs over the coming decades.

Participants will work in teams of 8 to 10 per table, negotiating with each other to create a blueprint for the growth of the region based upon actual demographic, geographic and economic data assembled specifically for the event.

Community Land Trusts and Building Wealth

Source:
Anthony Flint
Lincoln Institute of Land Policy
At Lincoln House, December 2007 Issue

One of the big reasons Community Land Trusts are known for providing sustainable affordable housing is that the purchase of a home - exclusive of the land it sits on - cannot be treated as an ordinary real estate investment: deed restrictions prevent buyers from turning around and selling the home for a big profit. But that's also a potential downside, because a home is a great way for low- and moderate-income families to build wealth. Many housing advocates prefer reliance on subsidies to allow first-time buyers to benefit from the investment in a home in the traditional fashion.

An interesting fact emerged, however, in the wide-ranging discussion of CLTs at Lincoln House Nov. 27, that cast new light on this seeming dichotomy. Some buyers in the Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative CLT in Roxbury, Mass. Have been able to save enough money on housing to afford a down payment and purchase of a market-rate house nearby in the community. "Those homes are being purchased as an investment," said John Barros, executive director of the Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative.

Although it may be counter-intuitive, John E. Davis, visiting fellow at the Lincoln Institute and partner in Burlington Associates in Community Development LLC in Vermont, said it was perfectly acceptable to have buyers in CLTs earn enough money to make such an investment - or turn their CLT home over to a son or daughter who may be a high-income professional who just wants to spend less on mortgage payments. "We're looking for permanently affordable housing, not permanently eligible applicants," Davis said.

There are an estimated 200 CLTs nationwide. A recent Lincoln Institute survey drew responses from 120 of them that provide nearly 7,000 units of rental or ownership housing. Davis said he believes there are probably about 10,000 units in CLTs today.

The Nov. 27 Lincoln Lecture, The National Status of Community Land Trusts with Local Examples: A Panel Discussion , was attended by more than 50 people, and featured Davis, Barros and Yesim Sungu-Eryilmaz, research associate at the Lincoln Institute in the Department of Economic and Community Development, and discussion moderated senior fellow Rosalind Greenstein.

Opponents vow to fight DEQ approval of UP sulfide mining permit

Disappointment over decision to allow dangerous mining linked with acid mine drainage leads groups to plan next steps

Community and environmental leaders united today in their opposition to the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality’s issuance of a permit for a dangerous sulfide mine on the Upper Peninsula’s Yellow Dog Plains.

Some opponents are now poised to legally challenge the flawed decision that would allow the mine to operate beneath a critical Lake Superior tributary.

The nickel mine would generate hundreds of thousands of tons of acid-leaching waste rock from underneath the Salmon Trout River near Marquette, putting the region’s water at risk, including Lake Superior.

"We are extremely disappointed that after all the work which went into crafting the law governing non-ferrous mining in Michigan that the DEQ has chosen to simply ignore key components of that law. They’ve granted Kennecott a permit which clearly doesn’t even meet the intent, let alone the letter of the law," stated Anne Woiwode, state director of the Sierra Club Michigan Chapter.

National Wildlife Federation attorney Michelle Halley said she and other opponents are currently considering a variety of administrative and court actions. “We need time to review the final permit conditions and will proceed after that,” she explained.

Opponents of the permit include: Huron Mountain Club, Keweenaw Bay Indian Community, Landowners Opposed to Sulfide Mining, Michigan Environmental Council, Michigan League of Conservation Voters, National Wildlife Federation, Sierra Club, Students Against Sulfide Mining, Yellow Dog Watershed Preserve, Save the Wild UP, and a host of other ad hoc groups throughout the region.

Less than two months after receiving more than 4,000 public comments, including a technical analysis that numbered more than 700 pages, the MDEQ upheld its preliminary decision to allow Kennecott Eagle Minerals Co. to blast a mine beneath a blue-ribbon trout stream.

“NWF and key allies that share our concerns are prepared to challenge these permits because they do not meet legal standards,” Halley said. “We cannot stand idly by while the DEQ permits fatally flawed projects.”

Halley questioned whether the MDEQ adequately considered the expert testimony that concluded the mine posed an unacceptable risk to the state’s water resources and the safety of mine workers.

“The MDEQ has always said they would make the decision based on science and yet they have ignored the technical information submitted by leading mining industry experts,” she explained. “Technical analysis was submitted by people who specialize in groundwater, subsidence, air pollution and a myriad of other specialties and all pointed to egregious errors in the permit application. For the MDEQ to turn a blind eye indicates that something other than science is prevailing in Lansing,” Halley continued.

Speaking on behalf of the Huron Mountain Club, Paul Townsend questioned whether the MDEQ ever seriously considered the risks.

“On October 17, we filed comprehensive comments in opposition to the proposed permits, including reports of scientific and engineering consultants, all well-respected experts in their fields. The complete filing was more than 700 pages,” Townsend recalled.

“Now the DEQ has approved the mining permits. While disappointing, this is not surprising, given the past performance of DEQ. We are even more disappointed in Governor Granholm’s lack of leadership on this critical issue. Had the technical comments been properly evaluated, she and her DEQ would have found repeated instances where Kennecott had submitted false or incomplete information which experts believe show that this mine will cause significant environmental damage to the Upper Peninsula,” Townsend said.

Cynthia Pryor, executive director of the Yellow Dog Watershed Preserve, said she believes fear is what is motivating the state agency.

“Unfortunately, Kennecott is holding the State of Michigan hostage to the notion that they will sue them for takings if this mine is not permitted. Why else would our government - who is bound to protect us - sell our lands, our waters and our natural resources to this company from England, despite the will of the people and the scientific realities of the project?” Pryor asked.

Save the Wild UP, the grassroots group that has vocally opposed the project, believes the state has sold out the people of the Upper Peninsula.

“DEQ has made a charade of listening to the public. Governor Granholm seems willing to hold her nose and allow the inevitable nasty pollution of the U.P. and the Great Lakes,” said Dick Huey, co-founder of Save the Wild UP.

While the mining company gained MDEQ approval today, opponents say the project still has several hurdles to clear, including at least one federal permit required by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and permission from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources to utilize 120 acres of state lands for the mine’s surface facilities via a 40-year land lease. One week ago, Kennecott was notified by MDNR of seven areas of concern related to the company’s plans for the property after the mine’s closure.

Michigan DEQ Approves Kennecott Mine in Upper Peninsula

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEDecember 14, 2007
Contact: Robert McCann(517) 241-7397

DEQ Announces Decision on Kennecott Mine

The Department of Environmental Quality announced today its decision to approve a series of permits to the Kennecott Eagle Minerals Company to conduct mining operations at the proposed Eagle Project Mine near Marquette. The department’s decision follows a period of extensive review by the DEQ of public comments and supporting information to determine whether Kennecott’s proposal met the strict standards contained within Michigan’s air quality, groundwater, and mining laws. The DEQ is required to make its decision based solely on whether a proposal meets those standards.

“This has been one of the most thorough reviews of an application ever done by this agency,” said DEQ Director Steven E. Chester. “In the end, Kennecott’s proposal met the high standard set by Michigan’s environmental laws.”

This project is the first to be subject to Michigan's new Nonferrous Metallic Mineral Mining rules that were enacted in response to concerns over potential environmental impacts from mining of metallic sulfide ores. The rules, among the most stringent in the nation, were drafted and agreed to by a multi-stakeholder work group that included representatives from environmental, business, and mining organizations.

Director Chester noted that information received during the public comment period resulted in a number of changes to Kennecott’s permits to alleviate concerns that were expressed by the public and ensure that Michigan’s resources are protected.

“We have made every effort to address the public’s concerns within the limits of what the law allows,” said Director Chester. “We must now remain vigilant in ensuring that Kennecott complies with its permits and lives up to its end of the bargain in keeping Michigan’s environment safe.”

Examples of changes made to the permits during the public comment period include:

• Limiting the mining activities to elevations below 327.5 meters to address concerns about the stability of the mine. Mining will only be allowed above that level when approved in writing by the DEQ based on further field investigations and analysis to be conducted by Kennecott.


• Requiring annual certification that the rock stability is sufficient and providing for immediate work stoppage and notification to the DEQ if stability is questionable.


• A requirement for a filter system in the mine shaft ventilation stack that will result in a significant decrease in particulate matter emissions.


• A comprehensive fugitive dust plan.


• Setting maximum daily limits for all groundwater parameters, and increased monitoring requirements.

Kennecott must still acquire a surface use lease from the Department of Natural Resources for the project.

A list of all permit changes and supporting information can be found on the DEQ website at www.michigan.gov/deq, then click on Kennecott Eagle Project.

Maryland Launches New Website for Public Access to Comprehensive Plans

Maryland Department Of Planning

This new website is responsive to Governor O’Malley’s initiative to provide Marylanders open access to the workings of state government and the public process. Providing access to these plans, also known as master plans or master development plans, makes a somewhat complicated and often closed process more open to the general public. This site explains what comprehensive plans are, how they are adopted, the importance to Smart Growth and the role of the State in the process. Click here to visit the Site

To view the press release (11/13/07) click here

Standard Definitions for Smart Growth and Sustainable Develeopment?

From Stephen Kerlin's blog, Suburban Planning

Definitions of Smart Growth
Smart Growth has a number of varied meanings and regional modifications throughout the country. One definition cited on the Smart Growth America web site at http://www.smartgrowthamerica.org/whatissg.html defines smart growth “according to its outcomes —outcomes that mirror the basic values of most Americans. Smart growth is growth that helps to achieve these six goals: 1. Neighborhood Livability…2. Better Access, Less Traffic…3 Thriving Cities, Suburbs and Towns…4. Shared Benefits…5.Lower Costs, Lower Taxes…6. Keeping Open Space Open.”

For more visit his blog post:
Sustainability and Smart Growth

EPA Press Release: Agreement Will Ensure Clean Up Protections at Groveland, Mass. Superfund Site

Release date: 12/10/2007
Contact Information: David Deegan, (617) 918-1017

(Boston, Mass. – Dec. 10, 2007) – The U.S. EPA and the Dept. of Justice have reached a proposed settlement agreement with the Groveland Resources Corp. and Valley Manufacturing Products Co. to ensure funding for clean up measures taken at the 850-acre Groveland Wells Nos. 1 & 2 Superfund Site, located in Groveland, Mass.

Under the terms of the proposed agreement, the companies will pay 100 percent of the Net Sale or Net Lease Proceeds in the event their property on the site is sold or leased, to reimburse the United States for costs incurred at the site. The companies will also be required to impose certain deed restrictions or institutional controls on the site in order to ensure protections for public health and the environment remain in place following EPA’s cleanup actions at the site.

The Groveland Wells Site is located within a residential area in the southwestern part of the Town of Groveland, Mass. Valley Manufactured Products Co. manufactured screw products as well as metal and plastic parts from 1963 until 2001. The site is contaminated primarily with Trichloroethene (TCE) which was used to clean (degrease) finished parts. TCE was released into the ground from a variety of sources including, underground storage tanks, underground disposal systems and intentional dumping.

The Groveland site was added to EPA’s National Priority List in September 1983. EPA has been conducting cleanup actions at the site that address the contamination in the soil and groundwater.

The consent decree was lodged with the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts on Nov. 9, 2007, and published in the Federal Register on Nov. 23, 2007. The consent decree is subject to a 30-day public comment period and approval by federal court.

More information and how to comment:- Review the consent decree (usdoj.gov/enrd/Consent_Decrees.html)- EPA info on Groveland Wells Nos. 1 & 2 Superfund site (epa.gov/region1/superfund/sites/groveland )

Comments on the proposed settlement must be received no later than Dec. 23, 2007 and can be e-mailed to pubcomment-ees.enrd@usdoj.gov or written comments can be mailed to

Assistant Attorney General, Environment and Natural Resource Division
P.O. Box 7611
U.S. Department of Justice
Washington, DC 20044-7611
Ref. 90-11-2-338/1.