Knowing Your Soil: Partnerships that Make Your Garden Stronger 1 Ted - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

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Ted Lanzano Brownfields Project Manager, EPA Region 8 Presented at the Western Brownfields Workshop

EPA Region 8

September 29, 2016

Knowing Your Soil: Partnerships that Make Your Garden Stronger

Denver Urban Gardens (DUG)

• DUG manages over 150 gardens throughout Denver.
• Production exceeds 540 tons of produce per year.
• The gardens beautify urban neighborhoods, improve soils,

strengthen communities and generate fresh produce for people who need it most.

• DUG supports the entire process of developing a community garden

including design, technical assistance, training and managing the produce.

DUG and EPA’s Partnership

• Through the Targeted Brownfields Assessment (TBA) program, EPA

tests DUG’s new or expanded gardens for contaminants.

• An EPA Toxicologist reviews results and provides an interpretation
• n the suitability of the site as a garden
• So far, all 16 properties that have been tested have received the

“green light” for gardening.

Targeted Brownfields Assessments (TBAs)

• EPA provides environmental assessment services free of

charge to communities through the TBA program.

• TBAs typically consist of Phase I and II assessments and

cleanup planning

• Assessments conducted by an EPA contractor.
• Ongoing application process
• Easy application and quick turnaround time
• Available nationwide
• States also provide TBAs

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Steps before gardening on a vacant lot

• Meet with the community garden group or school to

discuss project goals and data needs

• Identify previous uses
• Review future garden design
• Develop sampling and analysis plan
• Perform sampling, interpret

results, provide report and debrief to garden group

• Cleanup, if necessary
• Implement Best Management Practices
• Begin gardening!

Best Management Practices (BMPs)

• Top soil, compost and other soil amendments from certified

sources.

• Alternative methods that do not involve growing plants directly

in the ground such as raised beds, container gardening and greenhouses.

• Cover existing soil, walkways and other areas that did not

receive amendments with mulch and landscape fabric.

• Hedges and fencing to reduce road and other windblown

contamination.

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Incremental Sampling

• Type of sampling that provides a representative or average concentration of

the contaminant levels.

• Involves identifying a discrete area of a property called a “decision unit” and

taking composite samples within the decision unit at varying depths.

• Typical depth profiles for garden sites:
• 1‐2”
• 2‐6”
• 6‐12”
• 12‐18”
• Samples from each decision unit and depth are mixed and sent to lab.
• Cost effective
• Consistent and reproducible data

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Asia Pacific Development Center (APDC)

Scrap yard/ auto repair Former gas station Dry cleaner with known release Auto repair Heavy traffic

Asia Pacific Development Center (APDC)

• Phase II assessment tested for

volatile organic compounds (VOCs), semivolatile organic compounds (SVOCs), pesticides, petroleum, metals and soil pH.

• Results came back clean,

which helped facilitate a new garden.

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Triangle Park

• Contamination concerns from

former gas station, heavy traffic and unknown historic uses.

• The park had also become a

haven for drug deals and was featured on Drugs, Inc.

• Denver Parks and Recreation

closed Triangle Park and partnered with DUG and EPA to test the soil so it could be reused as a community garden.

Triangle Park

• Phase II assessment tested for

diesel and gas range organics (DRO/GRO), VOCs and metals.

• Results came back clean and

park construction began.

• Impressive transformation of

a former drug haven into a thriving community garden!

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Brownfields to food co‐ops, farmer’s markets and greenhouses

Burns Street Nutrition Center, Missoula, Montana

Community Garden Cautionary Tale? Sacramento, California

• Garden for over 30 years
• Tested, found lead, PAHs,

pesticides

• 1,900 yd3 soil, 24‐48 inches

removed

• $423,000 leveraged for

cleanup/ garden

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US EPA, Office of Brownfield and Land Revitalization

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Brownfields and Urban Ag web page

• Accessed from EPA’s main

Brownfields page: www.epa.gov/brownfields

• Urban Farm Business Plan Handbook
• Brownfields and Urban Agriculture:

Interim Guidelines for Safe Gardening Practices

• Excellent source of information from
• ther federal agencies, states and

non‐profits from around the country.

Thank you!

Feel free to contact me with questions

• Ted Lanzano
• (303) 312‐6596
• lanzano.ted@epa.gov

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EPA’s national urban garden coordinator:

• Ann Carroll
• (202) 566‐2748
• carroll.ann@epa.gov