You’d never know that this now-bucolic property on the banks of the Susquehanna River in Lancaster County with an occasional bald eagle soaring through had been a century-old abandoned site used for illegal dumping.

It took our EPA brownfields program to jump-start the cleanup and launch a promising future for this 25-acre riverside land.

So how did we do it? With a lot of help from our friends.(see link at http://www.epa.gov/reg3hwmd/bf-lr/newsletter/2007-Spring/Lorax.html)

We provided a brownfields grant in 2005 to assess the site and check its history. The thumbs-up results got people interested in managing the property, and leveraged a quarter million dollars for cleanup and redevelopment.

The Lancaster County Conservancy took it from there, buying the property with grand plans to make it a natural wonder for people, wildlife and migratory birds alike.

Are you aware of other properties that could use similar makeovers? Let us know.

An AOR is good. An AOC, not so much.

Presque Isle Bay, on the southern shore of Lake Erie, was once declared by Pennsylvania to be an AOC – an Area of Concern, indicating contamination.

But through major improvements to the local wastewater treatment system, a change in Bay-front use from industrial to commercial and recreational uses, and some good hard work by local environmental groups, Presque Isle Bay is now an AOR – an Area of Recovery. (click on picture for more info)

But the Bay is still not AOK.

There are lingering concerns about contaminated sediment and fish tumors. We’re following the work of researchers to monitor these issues, and we’ll report back to you.

If you’re interested in learning more about this initiative, contact us.

If your wastewater treatment plant is following the rules of what it can discharge into your local river, chances are there’s a good operator behind the controls.

And that’s important, because the river receiving the discharge could be the same one that’s supplying the water that’s treated and sent to your faucet.

I’ve found in visiting these plants and providing training, that a qualified operator can make a world of difference in the performance of a facility. In fact, I’d say that of the small treatment plants that are violating their permits, three quarters could be brought into compliance with better-trained operators.

It’s one thing to be certified to run a wastewater treatment plant. It’s another to actually run it efficiently. Operators need to know a good mix of biology, chemistry, math, computers, electricity and mechanics to do the job well. And a college degree is generally not required.

In my wastewater training program for interns at EPA, I’ve done road trips to various plants to give the new hires an appreciation for the role of operators. After these visits, the interns really got a good sense of what it means to run a well managed facility that stays in compliance with federal and state laws.

Are you familiar with how your local wastewater treatment plant operates? Here’s some general information available on EPA’s web site. http://www.epa.gov/ebtpages/watewastewater.html

About the author: Jim Kern works for the Water Protection Division in EPA Region 3. He recently won the region’s Instructor of the Year award for designing and delivering a program to educate regional employees on wastewater treatment.

Check out this 11-minute video highlighting innovative efforts by green builders in the City of Philadelphia who are helping to protect and restore environmental quality and beautify the city.

By installing cisterns, green roofs, porous pavers, solar panels, and Energy Star appliances, the builders are capturing rainwater, reducing stormwater runoff, and saving energy.

In the video, “Building Green: A Success Story in Philadelphia,” Howard Neukrug, director of Philadelphia Water Department’s Office of Watersheds, explains the importance of green stormwater infrastructure. The city is now offering incentives to builders and developers to use green techniques to help meet clean water and other environmental goals.

One of the main objectives is to slow down, spread out and soak in rainwater before it has a chance to surge into the sewer system and harm local waterways.

What do you think of the video? Let us know your thoughts.