Planning in Progress

By Kristen E. Humphrey, MLA, Local Assistance and Training Planner

In 2021 the City of Frederick was awarded a US EPA Community-Wide Assessment Grant from EPA Region III to conduct Phase I and II environmental site assessments (ESAs) of brownfield sites in the city (refer to EPA’s fact sheet, Assessing Brownfield Sites, for a definition and description of Phase I and II ESA processes).

The Frederick Department of Economic Development will soon issue an RFP seeking one or more qualified environmental professionals (QEPs) to perform up to six Phase I and II ESAs, initially on city-owned sites with optional assessments on private sites at the request of site owners. Additional grant activities will include developing a Quality Assurance Project Plan (QAPP), creating a communications strategy, and obtaining community input on the process. Kick-off for the effort began early this year and grant activities will be completed in 2024.

Frederick already has an impressive track record of brownfield reclamation and adaptive reuse of historic structures in and around Carroll Creek Park, a nearly two-mile-long linear park with walking paths, water features, an outdoor amphitheater, and public art that runs east-west through its historic downtown. The park includes a major flood control project, as it is designed to flood in the event of a major storm, and boasts more than 1.3 miles of box culverts designed to handle flood waters, quickly draining them away as storms recede.

The EPA grant poses a great opportunity for QEPs to be a part of the city’s on-going exciting brownfields re-development and downtown revitalization projects.

Be sure to check back for more information about the Community-Wide Assessment Grant, the RFP, and Frederick’s innovative brownfields rehabilitation efforts in an upcoming edition of Planning Practice Monthly!