Air Force and GSA Deal With Contaminated Property
U.S. Department of the Air Force and General Services Administration
A diverse team of Air Force (AF) and GSA associates accomplished one of the most complicated real estate and environmental transactions, in record time, by never-before-utilized techniques, and captured and applied the lessons for future projects.
On February 27, 2006, the team conveyed to the St. Louis County Port Authority 39.1 acres of environmentally contaminated and formerly flooded Air Force property. The success of this project is evident in relationships forged between the two agencies, performance against difficult measures, relief to Federal operation, maintenance and environmental clean-up responsibilities, productive use of a brownfield with an initial investment of approximately $375 million in entertainment and retail economic development and approximately 3000 new jobs, clean up of contamination ahead of Government schedules, Government proceeds of $1.25 million, and development of a new approach as a model for future work.
The team implemented a customer focus previously foreign to both agencies. The myriad of environmental laws and regulations and real estate approaches left significant room for disagreement. Nevertheless, the agencies recognized their customers’ needs, the possibility of accomplishing the action in a wide variety of ways, and employed that focus in negotiations with EPA, Congressional Oversight Committees, and county and state officials.
The customer approach fostered an environment that yielded innovation.
- The team limited statutory warranties to future unknown environmental remediation and thereby shifted significant Federal liability further than any previous project.
- They diverted windfall profits from the county to the United States for future sales within 10 years, more than any previous case.
- The sale represented the first value-based disposal of Air Force non-BRAC property and used the first cooperative agreement with regulators.
- The approach also helped the team to meet the short deadline by focusing for the first time on the results that the customers needed, as opposed to how to achieve them. The team secured assurance that the county would be responsible for the Federal clean-up responsibilities by providing alternatives such as environmental insurance, bonding, and letters of credit, as well as open-ended requirements for state regulatory compliance, focusing on results instead of means.
The effectiveness and replicability of the project was apparent. The team documented the customer-focused approach and environmental innovations through after-action briefings and shared them at all levels, with agreement for application in future and continuing projects. Supported by quantitative analysis, the project greatly exceeded expectations specified in the PART disposal measures. It far surpassed the long-term outcome goal that proceeds of sale reach at least 118 percent of estimated fair market value. It also exceeded the annual outcome cycle time goal for disposal within 240 days.
For further information, contact:
Linda Perry, Project Manager
General Services Administration
Property Disposal Division
linda.perry@gsa.gov
