Sandwiched between the Northeast and Southeast regions of the U.S. sits a six-state, single-district area known as the Mid-Atlantic. The Mid-Atlantic is defined by extensive shorelines, significant agricultural, forests and fishery sectors, historical settlement patterns along waterways and unique natural resources such as the Chesapeake Bay.

The Mid-Atlantic regional office of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is responsible for programs in Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia and the District of Columbia. Headquartered in Philadelphia, the region office has field operations and laboratories in Wheeling, W.Va., Annapolis and Ft. George G. Meade, Md., and Pittsburgh, Pa.

The regional office and its partner state pollution control agencies are responsible for regulating more than 21,000 air pollution sources; 12,000 water pollution sources; and 425 hazardous waste treatment, storage and disposal facilities. Together, the agencies are responsible for the investigation of 1,500 potential hazardous waste dump sites and the cleanup of 165 sites that have been included or proposed to be on the Superfund National Priorities List.

Destination: Wilmington, Del.
In the Mid-Atlantic region, good things come in small packages. To wit: Delaware represents the second smallest state in the U.S. after Rhode Island. Estimates from 2007 place the population of Delaware as being 45th in the nation (around 900,000), but sixth in population density, with more than 60% of the population in New Castle County.

With a boundary footprint of approximately 2,490 square miles, Delaware's industrial outputs include chemical products, automobiles, processed foods, paper products, and rubber and plastic products. The history of the state's economic and industrial development is closely tied to the impact of the Du Pont family, founder of E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Co., one of the world's largest chemical companies.

The size of Delaware belies the breadth and depth of opportunities that exist for land revitalization within the brownfield initiative realm and outgrowth of renewable resource adoption. Managed by the Delaware Dept. of Natural Resources and Environmental Control ( DNREC), division of Air & Waste Management's Site Investigation & Restoration Branch (SIRB), the Brownfield Program gives high priority to applicants in an effort to expedite the re-use and development of abandoned, vacant or under-utilized Brownfield sites that possess varying degrees of contamination.

In July 1995, legislation was sponsored to provide incentives to the business community to purchase, clean up and redevelop abandoned industrial and commercial sites. A senate bill amended Delaware's Hazardous Substance Cleanup Act to entice more parties to enter into voluntary agreements with DNREC for recycling brownfield sites. This eliminates liability concerns of prospective purchasers and developers who undertake the cleanup of contaminated properties with DNREC oversight and provides streamlined cleanup agreements geared to create greater flexibility to facilitate cleanup of sites. These sites are comprised not only those that were once owned or operated by Du Pont, but of a large number of tanneries and foundries that over the years were known for spreading contamination.

“We are a small state and do get a lot of personal service, it's a state-level dynamic, no regional offices to deal with or local/county red tape. We have always said we are here to get things done quickly and make decisions quickly,” said Kathy Stiller, Program Manager, Site Investigation and Restoration Branch, state of Delaware. “Private and public partnership is very high. We can make changes with a project as the project is in process. If there is a snag, someone can pick up the phone, document it and remediate it right away,” said Stiller.

Tightening the screws
The Brownfield Program was established in 2002 but really hit its stride in 2006. “Three years ago we made changes to the system,” said Stiller. “We put a legal agreement in place that has led to much swifter site completion. For project completion time, we cut it in half to where a project can be closed out in 13 months, on average.” So far in 2009, four more sites have already been revitalized within the Brownfield Program than were done during the entire 2008.

Delaware also hired an attorney for the first time, which helped streamline legal agreement documentation. The state developed a Conceptual Site Model and Site Summary (CSM-SS) document to provide a single document where all information about a project can easily be reviewed and used for decision making at any stage. This format is all inclusive and not all sections are applicable to all sites. “The CSM-SS is a dynamic document that is intended to be refined and updated as new information becomes available,” said Stiller. “At the initial stage of the development of this document, only information that is readily available and necessary for the Scoping Meeting for the investigation needs to be completed.”

One of Delaware's missions is to not only accomplish best-practices land revitalization shaped by the ongoing influence of renewable resources on these sites, but the state goes to great lengths to collaborate with organizations such as Habitat for Humanity, a nonprofit, ecumenical Christian housing organization with a goal to build simple, decent and affordable housing in partnership with people in need.

Stiller said the state's Challenge Program is another watershed effort in that it offers job opportunities to the poor and homeless. In the program, individuals between 18-21 years old are accepted into the Challenge Program, with the goal to earn a degree for a specific trade, such as carpentry.