Project Scope Once a QEP is selected, the project’s central focus will be to provide the City of Rockford with detailed Brownfields assessment reports for priority sites located in the three Brownfield Cluster areas or other locations throughout the community. The QEP will work directly with the City of Rockford’s Brownfields Redevelopment Specialist (BRS) Robert Wilhelmi, who will provide direction and oversight. Upon completion of these efforts, the City will take the necessary steps for further assessment and/or cleanup. The project tasks and assigned duties under this grant are as follows. Task 1: Programmatic Activities The City’s BRS will prepare and submit a project work plan, quarterly grant reports and ACRES property profiles, annual Federal Financial reports, and a final grant closeout report. The BRS will update the running brownfields inventory to reflect new sites and remove others due to completion of cleanup or redevelopment. The inventory is available to the public as a layer on the City’s open data site https://rockford-il.tolemi.com/. The BRS will work with the City Legal Department to use its brownfields prevention ordinances to induce owners of contaminated properties to assess and/or cleanup. The BRS will review and approve all contractor invoices for payment through the City’s Accounts Payable Department. Grant draws will be completed by the City’s Grants Accountant quarterly. Grant funded items in Task 1 include the City’s BRS attending two future National Brownfields Conferences. Task 2: Community Engagement The City’s BRS will maintain the City of Rockford’s Brownfields Revitalization website, generate social media updates, and present status updates at neighborhood and ward meetings. The BRS will work directly with the City’s Neighborhood Specialist to provide program updates and seek input at street-level to reach disconnected individuals. All community engagement will be completed as in-kind and not charged to the grant. Community engagement of residents and stakeholders in combination with the City’s brownfields inventory and Comprehensive Plan will be used to prioritize sites. Task 3: Eligibility Determinations and Phase I Environmental Site Assessments Once a site(s) has been prioritized, Eligibility Determinations (EDs) will be submitted to US EPA for Hazardous Substance sites and the Illinois EPA for Petroleum Sites. To preserve funding for valuable Phase I and II ESAs, the City’s BRS will prepare and submit all EDs. Once a site is deemed eligible, the City’s QEP will perform the Phase I ESA using grant funds, which will be prepared in accordance with the ASTM E1527-21 standard, demonstrating that the All Appropriate Inquiry has been met. The Phase I ESAs will identify Recognized Environmental Conditions (RECs) that warrant sampling through a Phase II ESA. Task 4: Phase II Environmental Site Assessments The procured QEP shall develop and maintain a US EPA approved Quality Assurance Project Plan (QAPP) that establishes standard operating procedures for media sampling and laboratory analysis. A QEP with an existing approved QAPP is preferred, as updating the existing QAPP will save on project time and budget. Once the QAPP is approved by US EPA, a Phase II ESA may be completed to sample soil, groundwater, soil gas, or building materials that were identified as RECs in the Phase I ESAs. A US EPA approved Health & Safety Plan (HASP) and a Sampling and Analysis Plan (SAP) must also be completed by the QEP and approved by US EPA before a Phase II ESA commences. The QAPP, HASP, SAPs, and Phase II ESAs will be completed using grant funds. Task 5: Cleanup Planning Phase II Sites with redevelopment potential will be enrolled in the Illinois EPA’s voluntary cleanup program, the Site Remediation Program (SRP). Once a site has been assessed per SRP protocol, a Remediation Objective Report and Remedial Action Plan (ROR/RAP) outlining the proposed cleanup methods and technologies will be developed and submitted by the QEP. For sites not requiring physical cleanup, a Remedial Action Completion Report (RACR) may be combined with the ROR/RAP signifying all cleanup standards are met. The SRP is a fee-based program, where the Illinois EPA charges at an hourly rate for regulatory report reviews and communications by an assigned project manager. ROR/RAP and SRP project management fees will be charged to the grant.
