Virginia Urban Agriculture SummitLynchburg, VirginiaApril 15 & 16, 2014

J. Meade R. Anderson, CPG

Brownfields Program Manager

Virginia Department of Environmental Quality

j.meade.anderson@deq.virginia.gov

804-698-4179

Grow It Here…

Grow It Now…

Hold on…let’s give that some thought…

Thomas Jefferson’s Vegetable Garden

Victory Garden

During Word War I and World War II, Victory Gardens were planted on private residences and on public to reduce the pressure on the public food supply. At this point most city residences were not that far removed from “farm life” however over the ensuing 50 city gardens virtually disappeared.

But Then Farming Fell From Fashion

CommunityGardens

&Urban

Agriculture

Urban Garden

Today’s Urban Gardening revival provides urban dwellers increased access to fresher foods, promotes a stronger sense of community, and puts underused land into productive use as green space, pocket parks, and stormwater mitigation

Recycling Land – the only choice

At this point almost all land is “recycled”

Much has been used for hundreds of years

Some areas of the world have been under cultivation for thousands of years

There are many little “gifts” left by previous users of the land

And often we cannot see these “gifts”, some good like the proper nutrients, some bad, like metals and chemicals

And we are going to have to make “smarter” use of land in the future

History of the Toolbox Initial Guidance on Brownfields and Urban

Gardening was Developed by U.S. EPA, Region V. - Brownfields and Urban Agriculture – Interim Guidelines for Safe Gardening Practices (Summer 2011) http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/urbanag/pdf/bf_urban_ag.pdf

History of the Toolbox

The Brownfields Focus Group of ASTSWMO (Association of State and Territorial Waste Management Officers) was approached by a few U.S. EPA staff about creating a more detailed guidance that would also cover what states can provide in terms of technical assistance, grants, etc.

In October of 2012 ASTSWMO’s Brownfields Focus Group published Community Gardening on Brownfields Toolbox

http://www.astswmo.org/Pages/Policies_and_Publications/CERCLA_and_Brownfields.htm

Toolbox Organization

Introduction and Purpose of the Toolbox – designed for use by State and Local Community officials who have some level of experience with brownfield redevelopment as well as environmental consultants

Getting Started - commonly asked questions with links to answers within the Toolbox document

Utilizing an Urban Property for Gardening – discusses the importance of an AAI or Phase I Assessment if purchasing the property is part of the plan

Know your Property- how to conduct some of the Phase I type historical reviews easily and inexpensively. This section also talks about U.S. EPA Assessment Grants and State TBA services

Toolbox Organization

Sampling and other Considerations – what potential contaminants urban gardeners should be concerned about. What areas to sample or remediate prior to gardening. What areas to avoid gardening in if sampling/remediation is too costly of an option. Also contains information on direct contact with contaminated soils and uptake of contaminants into common vegetable plants.

Risk Management Practices – provides examples of different zoning and ordinances some cities have employed to ensure that urban gardening is done safely. Also provides information on alternative gardening approaches, such as soil augmentation and raised beds, which help ensure contaminants do not cause harm to gardeners or those who eat the fruits and vegetables.

Common Sense Practices – inexpensive and easy to implement practices, or items, such as properly washing vegetables/fruits and wearing dust masks, that will help ensure the safety of the gardeners and those who eat the fruits and vegetables.

Case Studies

Virginia’s Experience

Almost 10 years ago, the City of Lynchburg requested DEQ evaluate two properties, the Allen Morrison Site and the abandoned Schenkel Greenhouses, now Lynchburg Grows!

An inadequate assessment by others of the greenhouse property lead to tremendous concerns regarding the site conditions and the past use of pesticides, herbicides, and fungicides

DEQ’s contractor sampled soil at known locations for RECs and gridded the property, the greenhouses, and a background area then installed monitoring wells

Results indicated initial “bad” data was not reproducible and site contamination was easily manageable for reuse

Good Urban Ag Sites

What makes a good urban ag sites?

Available property in which the risks can be mitigated

The typical logistics such as access, water, storage for equipment, etc

Typically corners of underutilized parks and unused city property

However everything from existing parking lots to landfill property have been used with the proper garden design and appropriate mitigation

Know Your Property

Qualitative

ASTM AAI – VAP Phase 1

Ask the neighbors

Check out Sanborn Maps

Aerial photos

Local libraries

Quantitative

Test soil for proper nutrients and for potential contamination

Sampling strategy will need to be developed and gardeners may need help interpreting the results

Regional Screening Levels provide a bar to measure soil chemical risks

Light Brown vs Dark Brown&

The Good Brown The conditions of previously used property (brownfields)

can vary greatly from heavily contaminated to little to no contamination.

We would urge people to avoid heavily contaminated sites for urban gardening projects or to develop the property with caution and knowledge of what is necessary to mitigate the contamination and decrease risks to users

However with the proper approach many sites will be acceptable

And the “good brown”…that would be fine compost added as a soil amendment or a layer

Soil Testing

#1 Goal - Determine average concentrations across site to evaluate safety of soil for gardening

Chemicals of concern: metals and PAHs are typical and common but there may be others

Used incremental sampling as the best approach to determine average concentrations in soil

The soil may be within acceptable ranges for COCs

However there may be some concerns, how much and what are solutions?

Mitigation or Cleanup or Good to Go?

Original top soil on site prior to gardening

Imported soil used for growing plants in rows and raised beds

Various gardening designs to raise above potential contamination

Don’t forget that pathways, walkways, parking areas, staging areas, etc are exposure points too.

Balancing the EconomicsBalancing the Risks

Samples were collected now what?

Compare data to the DEQ VRP Screening Tables or US EPA regional screening levels (RSLs)

Compare to the Background Data Set if available

Sample results are below these values

Happy Gardening!

Sample results are above these values

Research & understand exceedances

Develop a clean up plan, a mitigation plan, and/or a risk management plan

Commonsense: The Best Precaution

We’ve all faced the questions whether urban gardening is safe

Nearly all property has been used previously

People will garden regardless so its much better to educate and focus their energies

Almost any land can contain some contaminant whether anthropogenic or natural or pathogenic which could pose a degree of risk

So know the site risks & manage the site risks

Most plants do not uptake metals and this is not a large concern for growing

Wash all vegetables and fruit

Minimize incidental ingestion; keep your hands out of your mouth!

Sampling Approaches

Key is to develop a good incremental sampling/analysis

What are you trying to accomplish?

Develop approach that is appropriate for the site and goals

Random sample locations or grid

Discrete or composite samples

BUT make sure to mark locations in case resampling is necessary

Typical Results of Testing Arsenic – very typical as existing natural conditions have arsenic

often exceeding residential standards However arsenic may come from historic pesticide spraying of lead

arsenate sprays or other anthropogenic means

Lead - also very common Lead based paint – drip lines from old or previous structures

Airborne deposition from vehicle emissions

Lead arsenate sprays

PAHs - Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon - PAHs occur in oil, coal, and tar deposits, and are produced as byproducts of fuel burning (whether fossil fuel or biomass) benzo[a]pyrene – common and typically more toxic

Seen sediments from road or parking lot runoff

Mercury – by product of coal burning

CCA - Chromated Copper Arsenate - a chemical wood preservative containing chromium, copper and arsenic. CCA is used in pressure treated wood to protect wood from rotting due to insects and microbial agents

Analytical Costs & Tips

Sampling can be expensive so develop plans

Sample for nutrients also

Take sampling in steps

Extra samples can always be taken and then held incase there is a need to run additional samples

Unusual or unexpected sample results should be considered for resampling rather than speculation!

Lasagna and Vertical Gardens

Composting and Zoning

Composting means the process of biological decomposition of solid wastes under controlled conditions.

Compost means a humus-like organic material resulting from biological decomposition of solid waste.

Hoop House

Mansfield Frazier’s Chateau Hough

Bio Swales

The controversial urban yard fowl

Urban Agriculture

Now…Grow Here…!

And Use Commonsense &

Your tools and Knowledge!

J. Meade R. Anderson, CPGBrownfields Program Manager

Virginia Dept of Environmental Quality

j.meade.anderson@deq.virginia.gov

804-698-4179