The site was the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. The introduction speech was delivered by Blake Jones, CEO of Namaste Solar, a Boulder, Colo.-based solar electricity company.

In February, Jones had the honor of introducing President Barack Obama as the new commander-in-chief prepared to sign the 2009 Economic Recovery bill. Before the introduction, Jones spoke to the audience about how his solar energy business had suffered mightily in 2008 as the economy went into a free fall, and that the economic stimulus plan had potential to reinvigorate his fortunes. Indeed, Jones has plenty to look forward to as the stimulus plan allocated $43 billion for energy programs.

Across corporate America, the economic stimulus plan carries wide-ranging ramifications—and questions as well: The most ubiquitous question circulating around, being, "Where's mine?"

Within the $757-billion stimulus package, the EPA Brownfields Program is expected to directly obtain $100 million in funding for assessment, cleanup, revitalization and sustainable reuse of contaminated properties. Taken on face value, this allocation might not seem like a king's ransom, but a closer look inside the plan reveals that several of the specific areas due to receive funding—Infrastructure, Housing and Energy—are ones to which brownfields are inextricably linked.

For instance, the economic stimulus plan dedicates $91.7 billion for Infrastructure initiatives, of which $6 billion is for clean and drinking water projects; $8.4 million for mass transit and $4.6 million for Army Corp of Engineers. Within the $41.2 billion dedicated to Energy, $11 billion is allocated for "smart electricity grid;" $6.4 billion for the cleanup of nuclear weapons production sites; $6.3 billion for energy-efficiency and clean-energy grants; $6 billion to subsidize loans for renewable energy and $4.5 billion to improve efficiency in federal buildings. Then, within the $9.5 billion for Housing, $2 billion is earmarked for redevelopment of foreclosed/abandoned homes.

Brownfields figure to touch these projects in some way, shape or form—but to what degree is the $64,000 question.

That's one wild card in the deck—the other is how the industry will prosper relating to three new agency appointments in the Obama administration: Lisa Jackson as EPA chief, and the creation of two new West Wing offices that will see Carol A. Browner, the former EPA chief in the Clinton administration, serving as the Energy and Climate chief and Nancy Sutley named as chief of the Council on Environmental Quality.

The appointments of Jackson, Browner and Sutley are expected to bring "a strong legacy of environmental advocacy—grounded in the political and market place arenas," said Charlie Bartsch, senior fellow with ICF International, Fairfax, Va. "This could prove to be a solid foundation for continuing and emerging site cleanup and revitalization strategies as the Obama administration moves forward in developing its energy and climate change policies," noted Bartsch, whose firm partners with government and commercial clients to deliver consulting services and technology solutions in several markets.

Bartsch said the fact that all three executives previously worked at EPA provides a built-in advantage because "all three have integrated revitalization concepts into their professional endeavors after their stints at EPA. They bring a deep and broad set of perspectives to the brownfield issue—Browner from the private sector, Jackson from New Jersey where she's been a long-time brownfield leader, and Sutley from both state and municipal levels in California. She has worked in several capacities, implementing a range of site cleanup and protection issues."

"The challenge—and opportunity—for brownfield practitioners now is to ensure that brownfield objectives and needs are linked to emerging ?hot' topics that these three administration leaders will tackle, including energy efficiency, green remediation and construction, and cap and trade, as advantageously as possible," said Bartsch.

How does the U.S. Brownfield office regard the new appointments? With encouragement, for starters, based on past trends. "Our office has received very strong support from our past administrators," noted David R. Lloyd, director, Office of Brownfields and Land Revitalization, Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response. "The program has continued to be a central part of EPA's environmental cleanup strategies, providing support to communities and State and Tribal Response programs. While we must continue to show positive results coming from the brownfields funding, I am hopeful, and anticipate that we will continue to have this type of support from Administrator Jackson, who was a strong proponent of brownfields clean up programs in her prior positions."

Lloyd added that his office is presently "working closely with the EPA Grants Office and other EPA offices to ensure successful implementation of the administration's economic stimulus package."

New administrator of an existing agency. New executives of two new West Wing offices. New monies flowing through the pipeline thanks to a stimulus spending plan that's just "south" of a trillion dollars. There are plenty of X-factors hovering about as the new EPA settles in—factors that present both opportunities and challenges.

Four months prior to Inauguration Day, when the economic stimulus plan was just a twinkle in a new president's eye, editorial board members of Brownfield News & Sustainable Development met in Chicago to discuss what they anticipated in 2009 and beyond from a soon-to-be new administration.

The board members—all of them industry leaders across the spectrum of brownfields operations—said that with the federal EPA squeezed from a resources standpoint, the notion of outsourcing workflow to private contractors—for site remediation purposes, for example—was a real possibility. But the concern of site remediation executed outside the Agency, said one editorial board member, was posed in a question: "Would the (remediation) approach change (if outsourced)?"

At the session, the subject of the "de-evolution" of the Brownfield program was broached, where a greater level of authority could conceivably be passed from the state to the local level in order to combat tight resources at state agencies. Because of their virtual scale, it's not beyond the realm for the largest metropolises—first New York followed by Chicago and Los Angeles—to become the primary stewards of brownfield programs. This seems to be taking shape in New York City, but the question is, does this represent a trend or only an anomaly?

Yes, Blake Jones, CEO of Namaste Solar, has some hope to hang his hat on as he considers the mind-numbing economic recovery package and what it means for his firm and the solar-energy industry. Not unlike Mr. Jones, Brownfield stakeholders are proceeding with great anticipation about what this mega-spending bill will spell for their fortunes, too—with the new EPA serving as its catalyst.

A ?Green Dream Team'
President Obama's appointments of Lisa Jackson as EPA chief, Carol A. Browner, as Energy and Climate administrator, Nancy Sutley as head of the Council on Environmental Quality, and Nobel Prize recipient Steven Chu as Energy Secretary, has led to a new moniker for this eminent quartet: These new agency heads are being hailed as a "green dream team."

"These officials have shown they can get the job done," said Gene Karpinski, head of the League of Conservation Voters, an environmental group. Tom Kuhn, president of the Edison Electric Institute, a group representing electric companies, comments that Obama has mustered an "impressive team of experienced and capable leaders."

Browner, 52, is charged with coordinating environment and energy initiatives across the administration. Browner told reporters in December that the newly-crafted position would not change the roles or duties of the secretaries of Energy and Interior or the EPA administrator. "Every department retains all of its statutory responsibilities," Browner said. "These are offices and councils that bring together all of the authorities that rest in individual departments, creating more opportunity to do the kind of things that the president wants to do."

As head of the EPA during the Clinton administration, she won battles with other top officials to tighten air pollution limits and cut emissions from cars and trucks. When Browner took over the EPA in early 1993, she had garnered a reputation as being pragmatic in her approach to cleaning up the environment. Meeting with reporters at EPA headquarter in February 1993, Browner provided a glimpse of what was in store for environmental progress and reform. If past is prologue, these values are what many can expect from the new energy-climate change czar in the coming months and years.

Then as now, Browner has exhibited a strong desire to "change how we think about environmental protection. While a regulatory scheme will always be part of environmental protection, I would like to focus a greater part of our energies and resources on pollution prevention," she said at the time. "It's important to step back and look at why we have these environmental laws, look at the implementation, the permitting phase, the reauthorization phase. We have to look at our tools that can be brought to bear; market incentives—economic tools that create opportunities—that have not been thought about previously."

Regarding Superfund, Browner said at the time that almost anyone who has dealt with Superfund "would say that the program did not function as planned and that it's time we came back to the table to look at how we might do it differently. Here again, our knowledge changes on almost a daily basis when it comes to understanding how things interact with the environment... of the technology available, what the best technology is."

"One of the problems that can happen [in developing environmental rules] is that rather than people coming and clearly stating what their goals are or what they think has to be done, everyone takes a position thinking they have to negotiate something away, and they want to have something at the end. It doesn't make for the best rule-making process. Hopefully, it's something we can try and change."

?EPA's Not A Job, It's A Calling'—Lisa Jackson
Apparently, there is no shortage of pragmatism to go around in the federal environmental-energy sector. Similar to Browner, Lisa Jackson has been described by both environmental and industry leaders as a pragmatist who listened to "both sides" during her two years as New Jersey's top environmental official. She helped the Garden State become one of the first to adopt limits on pollutants that cause global warming.

"She is a fantastic asset," said Jim Leonard of the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce, who was quoted in a recent news report. "She was able to bridge the gap between the environmental community and the employer community."

Jackson, the first African-American EPA chief, served for a short time in the agency's headquarters during the 1980s. "During my 21 years in public service, I have witnessed firsthand the dedication and professionalism of EPA's workforce," Jackson said during her appointment ceremony. "Thousands of committed, hard-working and talented employees for whom protecting the environment is a calling, not just a job, have made EPA a driving force in environmental protection since 1970."

During the appointment ceremony, Jackson said that EPA can meet the nation's environmental challenges "only if our employees are fully engaged partners in our shared mission. That's why I will make respect for the EPA workforce a bedrock principle of my tenure. I will look to you every day for ideas, advice and expertise. EPA should once again be the workplace of choice for veteran public servants and also talented young people beginning careers in environmental protection—just as it was for me when I first joined EPA shortly after graduate school."

"We must take special pains to connect with those who have been historically underrepresented in EPA decision making, including the disenfranchised in our cities and rural areas, communities of color, native Americans, people disproportionately impacted by pollution, and small businesses, cities and towns working to meet their environmental responsibilities. Like all Americans, they deserve an EPA with an open mind, a big heart and a willingness to listen," said Jackson.

Among the areas that will be "front-burner" priorities on Jackson's ambitious agenda include:
Reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Transition to a low-carbon economy while creating jobs and making the investment needed to emerge from the current recession and create a strong foundation for future growth.

Cleaning up hazardous-waste sites. EPA will strive to accelerate the pace of cleanup at the hundreds of contaminated sites across the country. "Turning these blighted properties into productive parcels and reducing threats to human health and the environment means jobs and an investment in our land, our communities and our people," said Jackson.

Protecting America's water. EPA will intensify work to restore and protect the quality of the nation's streams, rivers, lakes, bays, oceans and aquifers. The agency will make "robust use of our authority to restore threatened treasures such as the Great Lakes and the Chesapeake Bay, to address our neglected urban rivers, to strengthen drinking-water safety programs, and to reduce pollution from non-point and industrial dischargers," she said.

Jackson said EPA's strength "has always been our ability to adapt to the constantly changing face of environmental protection as our economy and society evolve and science teaches us more about how humans interact with and affect the natural world. Now, more than ever, EPA must be innovative and forward looking because the environmental challenges faced by Americans all across our country are unprecedented."

Nancy Sutley: Not To Be Underestimated
One of the most important things one needs to know about Nancy Sutley, the new chief of the Council on Environmental Quality, is this: "In California, the roadside is littered with people who underestimated the effectiveness of Nancy Sutley," said Warner Chabot, head of the California League of Conservation Voters, an environmental group.

Described by Chabot as "soft-spoken and modest but capable," Sutley led the effort to cut huge amounts of air pollution emitted by the Port of Los Angeles as the city's deputy mayor for energy and environment.

Prior to accepting the position, Sutley served as the Deputy Mayor for Energy and Environment for the City of Los Angeles, and was Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's appointment to the board of directors for the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California.

Sutley received a Master's degree in Public Policy from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and an undergraduate degree from Cornell University. She was an EPA official during the Clinton administration and served as special assistant to the EPA administrator in Washington. As head of the Council on Environmental Quality, Sutley will oversee a White House panel that advises President Obama on national and international environmental issues.

THE BROWNFIELD OFFICE—CONTINUING THE CONTINUITY
The Office of Brownfields and Land Revitalization in the EPA Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response (OSWER) is in the process of building some serious continuity in its office, as it begins its fourth year under current director David Lloyd.

Now, all the Office needs is to build some continuity with the agencies around it that are currently transitioning to new leadership, starting with The Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response, which sits above the U.S. Brownfield Office. At press time, a nominee had yet to be named for the Assistant Administrator, replacing former Administrator Susan Bodine (see sidebar article).

In the brownfield office, a new era began in December 2005 when Lloyd was appointed director, replacing the retiring Linda Garczynski. From 2002 to 2005, Lloyd served as the national director of EPA's facilities and real estate program. In this position, Lloyd oversaw the construction, alterations, leasing operations and maintenance of the Agency's 191 facilities nationwide, focusing on sustainable design and development. He also held the position of EPA's Assistant General Counsel for Claims and Property Law, and prior to that worked in private law practice in the areas of commercial real property and civil litigation.

In his position, Lloyd works closely with his Deputy Director Myra Blakely, who joined EPA in 1994 to assist in starting the Agency's Brownfields Initiative. Prior to her current position, Blakely served as Grants Management Team Leader for the office, including management of the assessment, revolving loan fund, cleanup and job training grants. Blakely's career prior to EPA focused on economic development with an emphasis on labor market needs, and has worked with all levels of government, non-profit organizations, educational institutions and the private sector.

As the Director and Deputy Director and their staff (see chart below) prepare to launch a working relationship with the new administrators across federal government, they will also work to quickly and prudently put the economic stimulus funds to work. These funds will be awarded through grants and other vehicles for assessment, cleanup, revolving loan funds, and job training, said Lloyd, and will be used to assess and clean up contaminated properties, resulting in the creation of jobs in communities across the country, he said.

Following are several questions that Director Lloyd fielded recently on a wide range of pertinent brownfields-related topics:

Q: Since assuming your position as director, what inroads have been made that stand out in your mind? Conversely, what specific areas still have significant work to be done?

A: The Office of Brownfields and Land Revitalization (OBLR) has marked real progress in four broad areas: First, we've successfully shifted resources and attention to the importance of reusing Brownfields sites in a sustainable way. We are funding sustainability pilots and land revitalization projects, all of which are described on our website, all aimed at educating and providing examples for communities, states and tribes across the country on methods and approaches for sustainable reuse of formerly contaminated sites.
Secondly, we have seen a real growth in the success of State and Tribal Response programs, which receive EPA funding. For example, just in 2006 and 2007, these programs report that they've addressed almost 19,000 sites, making over 250,000 acres of property available for productive reuse. Thirdly, OBLR's online data collection system (ACRES) has been very successful, and a growing percentage of the program's grantees now enter information directly regarding progress in cleaning and redeveloping their brownfield sites.
Finally, the program has continued to make its funding tools more flexible and effective. In 2008, the program significantly revamped the Brownfields grant guidelines to allow for greater flexibility between hazardous substance and petroleum assessment and remediation dollars. OBLR also, among other things, created "assessment coalition" grants allowing applicants to join together and apply for up to $1million in assessment funding. Going forward, we want to continue advancing on all of these fronts.

Q: Can you provide a few insights on the workings of your office, the invaluable individuals that function within your oversight and a cohesiveness that has formed over the past four years?

A: I have worked in other areas within EPA and in the private sector, and I have never worked with a staff that is so uniformly passionate about the mission of the office. These employees care deeply about protecting the environment and public health; about improving the environmental and economic health of communities and tribes; and about strengthening our country's State and Tribal Response programs, which serve as the sustainable backbone of brownfields cleanup and redevelopment. I can't really take credit for this inspiring enthusiasm. Myra Blakely and I just try to ensure that we are running the programs efficiently, and we do our best to support and praise the efforts of the excellent staff across the country.

Q: You have career expertise in commercial real property transactions. Can you explain how this specialization serves you well in your current position?

A: My prior experience both in the federal government and the private real estate bar taught me important lessons about the dynamics of real estate transactions, and this experience contributed to my work in the Brownfields Program. The basic "needs" of a successful real estate development transaction at a contaminated site are: 1) an overall plan for reuse of the site that makes economic sense; 2) assessment and mitigation of risk; and 3) identifying and securing sufficient capital to fully assess, clean and redevelop the site. The Brownfields amendments to CERCLA, (the Brownfields law), and the Brownfields funding are potential tools to help address these needs.

Q: Two functions of the Brownfields office are providing enforcement discretion tools, and trying to ensure liability protection for private projects. How has the specter of increased project liability impacted your office's ability to carry that out?

A: The Brownfields law provides several liability protections that increased the pace of brownfields revitalization. In particular, the bona fide prospective purchaser provision increased developer comfort with brownfields projects. We work closely with our regional programs, the EPA Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance, and the EPA Office of General Counsel to offer assurances where needed to help move transactions along. For example, recently we jointly issued a document describing how the bona fide prospective purchaser protection applies to tenants. Our primary goal is to see brownfields sites cleaned, redeveloped, and put back into productive use.

Q: Developers can look to secure loans for projects or they can make a concerted effort to secure grants. Is there a methodology to assist developers to properly cover all their bases to navigate the finding challenges they face?

A: Federal and state funding for assessment and cleanup of brownfields typically only covers part of the funding needed. EPA Brownfields grants provide seed money for government and nonprofit entities to get projects started. There will almost always be a need for additional resources, so developers should partner with public and private sources to take advantage of opportunities that might be available for a project. OBLR is planning to work with our federal partners to do more outreach on this in 2009, particularly in light of the constricted credit markets.

Q: What is your take on green job development and how it might serve as a momentum-builder for the efforts in your office?

A: The EPA Brownfields Program, through its job training grant program, has been funding and promoting green job development for a number of years. Through 2008, EPA had funded 131 Brownfields Job Training grants totaling over $25 million—training over 4,000 individuals for green jobs, and reporting that more than 3,000 of these students obtained long-term employment in the environmental field, earning an average starting hourly wage of just under $14 per hour. In January 2009, we awarded an additional 13 job training grants in a total amount of $2.6 million and this will continue to be a vital component of the national Brownfields program. A great thing about this program is its direct tie to communities with EPA Brownfields grants. This link helps us to work with our grantees to ensure that local citizens are not only hired to clean and redevelop brownfields in their communities, but also provides long-term training and job development benefits.

Q: There has been talk about a "de-evolution" of brownfield oversight, where a growing number of local governments might ultimately assume a greater level of authority of brownfields programs. How do you see this shaking out in the future?

A: The EPA Brownfields program is centered on the critical oversight role of State and Tribal Response programs in moving brownfield cleanup and redevelopment forward. EPA supports the establishment and enhancement of these programs with funding of approximately $50 million each year, and sees the role of voluntary cleanup and response programs as essential in making the long-term clean up and redevelopment of these sites sustainable programmatically.

Q: How do you anticipate your office's working relationship with the new EPA administrator Lisa Jackson?

A: Since the inception of the EPA Brownfields Program, the Office of Brownfields and Land Revitalization has received very strong support from our past administrators. The program has continued to be a central part of EPA's environmental cleanup strategies, providing support to communities and State and Tribal response programs. While we must continue to show positive results coming from the Brownfields funding, I am hopeful and anticipate that we will continue to have this type of support from administrator Jackson, who was a strong proponent of brownfields clean up programs in her prior positions.