Environmental Services | Brownfields Services

The intent of the Brownfields legislation is to stimulate redevelopment of underutilized properties. Through federal and state funded programs, grant money is available to help facilitate redevelopment projects. Having a successful grant application requires unique insight into how EPA evaluates the grant application. Converse has unique staff who formerly worked at EPA and managed the EPA Brownfields program.

Performing the assessment requires experience in the ASTM Phase I and All Appropriate Inquiry process. Converse has personnel that are on the ASTM committee who helped develop the ASTM standard that was adopted to meet EPA requirements. We also have staff who have experience in community involvement and risk assessors who specialize in preparing risk assessment services.

Converse was completing Brownfields redevelopment before Brownfields redevelopment was defined. Since the mid 1990's, Converse has been working with State agencies to apply specific remediation standards to help clients stimulate redevelopment in underutilized areas. Even today, Brownfield redevelopment still occurs outside of the federal and State funding process.

Services that Converse can provide include:
• Grant Applications - We will complete your grant utilizing unique staff that have prior EPA experience evaluating the grants and developing the Brownfields program.
• Community Outreach - We will help you to build partnerships with the community and key stakeholder groups to help facilitate and speed redevelopment (community buy-in).
• Creative Reuse - Conduct reuse planning and ready Brownfields properties for redevelopment.
• Phase I Assessments - We will conduct the required due diligence environmental requirements per ASTM and AAI.
• Phase II Assessments - Based on the Phase I results, we can conduct Phase II activities as deemed necessary in the Phase I to evaluate the extent of impacts.
• Acquire Other Grants - We can help you to identify and leverage other resources available at the Federal (HUD, EDA, DOT) and State level to help your revitalization plans.
• Remediation Evaluation - We will evaluate the appropriate remedial approach, if remediation is deemed necessary.
• Risk-based Assessments and Risk-based Cleanup Levels - We conduct risk assessments as a way to identify appropriate clean up standards specific to your property, in lieu of default standards.
• Remedial Action Implementation - We will initiate remediation identified to be necessary.