THE NEVADA BROWNSFIELDS PROGRAM
The Nevada State Purchasing Division, on behalf of the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection (NDEP), is requesting proposals from Certified Environmental Managers to provide consulting services to be performed under the Nevada Brownfields Program contract. Qualified small, minority, womens businesses, and other similar businesses are encouraged to submit proposals. On January 11, 2002, the President signed into law the Small Business Liability Relief and Brownfields Revitalization Act, which set forth various initiatives and provisions to aid in the identification, assessment, and remediation of properties where expansion, reuse, or redevelopment has been complicated due to the presence, or potential presence, of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant. These properties are hereafter referred to as brownfield sites or more generally brownfields. Under the Brownfields Revitalization Act, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has been empowered to provide grants to eligible entities through a national competitive process and also directly to States through dedicated State cleanup program enhancement funding. Funds from both of these grant processes may be used to conduct site-specific assessment and cleanup activities at eligible brownfield sites. The NDEP operates its Nevada Brownfields Program with dedicated federal funding through the state cleanup program enhancement capabilities of the Brownfields Revitalization Act. It is also anticipated that the NDEP may receive site-specific grant funds for projects where the State applies on behalf of an eligible entity as part of the national Brownfields grant competition. A significant portion of the federal funds received by the NDEP have been slated for use in site-specific environmental assessment and cleanup activities, for which the NDEP is seeking to contract qualified firms, which are certified in the State of Nevada to provide these services. The Nevada Brownfields Program operates under funds received through CERCLA Section 128, which is a dedicated source of enhancement funding for State cleanup programs. The Nevada Division of Environmental Protection receives approximately $750,000 per year through this source. This funding source and the level of funding is considered to be extremely stable. Of the total amount received, the Nevada Brownfields Program typically allots $300,000 per year for the performance of brownfield assessment and cleanup activities through the use of its contractors. This stable source of funding may be augmented by yearly competitive grants submitted by the NDEP to the US EPA on behalf of local communities lacking the resouces to compete for and administer a Federal Brownfields grant; this source of funding may add as much as $200,000 per year for additional assessment activities.
