On the agenda: contractors and C&D recyclers can both find opportunities at the Brownfields 2006 conference in Boston.

Sites designated as "brownfield" sites by the United States EPA can mark the start of a trail leading to opportunity for contractors and recyclers alike.

Although such sites are considered contaminated and in need of remediation, many have structures in need of demolition and many can also yield non-contaminated recyclable materials.

Contractors and recyclers curious enough to weigh the risks and rewards of getting involved at a brownfield site can find out more at a conference scheduled for Nov. 8-10, 2006, in Boston.

DOTTING THE MAP

The Boston Convention & Exhibit Center is hosting Brownfields 2006, an event co-sponsored by the U.S. EPA and the International City/County Management Association, which promises to cover several aspects of the brownfields redevelopment process.

For those just learning about the process, a definition can be a helpful place to start. The conferences organizers define a brownfield site as a "real property, the expansion, redevelopment, or reuse of which may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant or contaminant."

Such sites are numerous, according to Sven Erik Kaiser of the U.S. EPA. In a presentation at the National Demolition Association Convention earlier this year, Kaiser said some 50,000 such sites have been or are in the process of being developed, but that some 400,000 to 950,000 others await attention.

The good news is that there has been some money directed toward the situation. Some $7.5 billion has already been spent to convert abandoned brownfield sites into new industrial, commercial or residential developments, said Kaiser.

Kaiser remarked that although the word "demolition" does not appear in the federal 2002 Brownfields Act, demolition is "considered to be an intrinsic part of and inseparable from clean-up" in the brownfields sector.

"It is an area of the law that needs some work," he conceded. "There is no doubt it needs clarifying."

Because of the way the law reads, grants and funding often do not cover the demolition portions of a brownfields project.

Among those trying to correct this oversight is Robert Colangelo, founder and CEO of the National Brownfield Association (NBA), Chicago.

Colangelo says brownfield sites can be identified as "dilapidated, tired, underused or abandoned properties, some of which are highly contaminated."

Brownfield redevelopment has gained momentum thanks to the 2002 federal law as well as actions by the insurance and financing industries to meet the needs of such projects. Also helping, said Colangelo, is a "cultural change in government [from] enforcer to partner."

Barriers remain at properties highly contaminated with asbestos, PCBs or even lead-based paint, but Colangelo said contractors who can offer developers the full range of services including abatement, remediation and demolition are well positioned to be involved in the brownfields boom.

PACKED PROGRAM

The Brownfields 2006 event features a considerable number of sessions divided into 12 program tracks.

Among the sessions of interest to demolition contractors, especially those with hazardous materials remediation and abatement subsidiaries, are:

* The Real Life of Environmental Assessments: Extracting Business Value from Due Diligence 

* Better, Faster, Cheaper: Environmental Remediation Process Optimization 

* Muck and Truck: The Haz Waste Boys Evaluate Your Issues of Site Cleanups, Eco-Restoration and Romance Among the Wetlands

* Quantification, Valuation and Modeling Site Cleanup and Revitalization.

Recyclers and contracting firms with demolition subsidiaries will also find some pertinent sessions, including:

* Old Materials, New Life: Deconstruction and Waste Recycling Strategies

* Making a List and Checking it Twice: The Role of Brownfield Inventories.

In addition to breakout sessions such as the ones mentioned above, the event also features keynote speakers, workshops, walking tours and a "town hall" plenary session.

One keynote speaker is Harvard Business School professor, author and business strategist Michael E. Porter. Touted as "one of the foremost thinkers on business strategy, national and regional competitiveness, cluster-based economic development [and] innovation," Porter is an advisor to Fortune 500 corporations, governments and communities, according to biographical information available on the Brownfields 2006 Web site.

Also speaking is author Richard Russo, a 2002 Pulitzer Prize for Literature winner who often uses "once thriving industrial and mill towns" as the settings for his stories. His novel Empire Falls won the 2002 Pulitzer Prize for literature and was made into an HBO mini-series that earned Russo an Emmy for his screenplay.

Two different walking tours--one of Providence, R.I., the other of Boston's East Harbor area--are being offered on Sunday, Nov. 12, for a fee of $20. The following days, additional walking tours of the Boston Convention Center and an arts center located in a LEED-certified Green Building in Boston are also available.

Monday through Wednesday (Nov. 13-15), attendees can choose from several "mobile workshops" at renovated or in-progress sites in and around Boston.

The event's organizers expect "attendees [to] run the gamut from developers, finance specialists, community advocates and attorneys to real estate professionals, local and state government employees, academics, nonprofit organizations, and environmental engineers and consultants."

More information on the event can be found on the Web at www.Brownfields2006.org/.

Full Calendar

Contractors and recyclers who attend the Brownfields 2006 event but come away wanting to learn more may wish to keep in touch with the National Brownfield Association (NBA).

The Chicago-based group maintains a full schedule of education, training and other events, with a calendar updated at its Web site, www.brownfieldassociation.org.

The group is holding "Short Courses" on key topics in Chicago, Philadelphia and Frankfort, Ky., in September and October.

The NBA also has "Technical Assistance Training" programs for municipalities and their employees scheduled throughout the rest of 2006 and into 2007. Sessions in 12 different states plus Puerto Rico have been scheduled from late September through April of 2007.

Specific dates and contact information for the sessions can be found at the Web site.

The author is editor of Construction & Demolition Recycling and can be contacted at [e-mail].