Guiding regional brownfield and land revitalization policies, crafting sustainability programs nation-wide, and reshaping the EPA´s grant application process, are all in a day´s work for the Brownfield and Land Revitalization arm of the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), led by Director David R. Lloyd.

David Lloyd at work

No stranger to the EPA, Lloyd has been an integral part of the agency since 1991, where he was Assistant General Counsel for the Claims and Property Law division. His office falls within the larger Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response (OWSER). Lloyd explains that his office has multiple roles. One is to help manage the national brownfield program. Second, his office is charged with setting national policy for brownfield grants and initiatives. Additionally, management of all resources for all regional brownfield programs falls under his domain. Over the last year, his office also took responsibility for managing land revitalization across OWSER, which has involved working to incorporate land revitalization into all cleanup programs. The overall goal of the land revitalization program is to coordinate with other offices to make sure the properties are revitalized and used in a productive way.

In 2006 and 2007, there was a marked increase in cleanup, with over 200,000 acres of contaminated land cleaned and insured by state and tribal programs across the country. Through his office´s hard work and dedication, long-term stewardship at sites across the country is now becoming a reality. Nowhere is this more evident than with the tribal program, which has seen the most growth. Lloyd´s office has seen a significant jump in the number of tribes requesting funding for cleanup. Tribal organizations are starting to build their own brownfield programs, many of which mimic some of the EPA´s programs.

Some of the biggest accomplishments of his division can be seen in the development of sustainability pilots, project funding, and grant funding for land revitalization.

Sustainability pilots allocate contract support for projects that emphasize sustainable reuse. This can include housing developments, parks, etc. that effectively manage water and decrease the amount of run-off. There will be one pilot in each region, which can be shared with other communities.

Project funding for land revitalization involves transferring money to a region for projects. Several projects deal with the generation of clean/green energy on formerly contaminated sites.

The grant funding process has undergone major revisions. The new structure has shortened the grant application process and has also given grantees more flexibility on how they use the money. Communities can now join together under one grant. Overall, the process can take about six to nine months from application to receipt of funds. Under Lloyd´s direction, an entire month has been shaved off of the process.

With a new administration pending, will the role of Lloyd´s office be changing? He responded by saying that he doesn´t anticipate big changes because the programs are working well and his office has performed well beyond expectations. He does, however, expect exciting developments to continue in the areas of sustainable redevelopment, the use of green building techniques, and the use of energy efficiency components in projects.