Overview

Brownfields are areas of land, often underused or abandoned industrial sites, that cannot be used to their full potential due to real or perceived pollution hazards. Currently, the Environmental Protection Agency estimates that there are 450,000 brownfields in the United States (About Brownfields).

* Image retrieved from brgov.com

About

Brownfields tend to have a widely negative effect, with the presence of the undesirable property keeping property prices down, lowering a community's affluence, and encouraging urban sprawl. Common contaminants include Lead, asbestos, PCBs, and organic solvents, all of which can be highly toxic to humans. According to James Bower, the EPA's Midwest brownfields coordinator, the majority of brownfields do not actually pose any health threat; rather, contamination is merely perceived.

Some sites, however, are extensively contaminated, and cleanup is not always economically efficient. Leading environmental justice activist Robert Bullard suggests that cleanup does not need to be as strict if the property will be used for industry, but if former brownfields are used for residences or schools, cleanup standards should be extremely higher (Environmental Health Perspectives).

The Brownfields Cleanup and Redevelopment Program

Since 1995 (About Brownfields), the US Environmental Protection Agency has sponsored the Brownfields Cleanup and Redevelopment Program as a means of making the development and full use of brownfields possible (EPA Brownfields Home). Through the Brownfields Program, the EPA provides grants and resources for the proper cleanup of brownfields sites, a move which the EPA says has led to the creation of over 25,000 jobs since the program's inception (About Brownfields).

On January 11, 2001, the President signed into law the Small Business Liability Relief and Brownfields Revitalization Act. This act amended CERCLA to add additional regulations and stipulations concerning brownfields and Superfund sites (Summary of the Brownfields Revitalization Act). The Act gave additional funds to the EPA's Brownfields Program, allowing the program to designate money towards the assessment and cleanup of brownfields. From this law, grants are given to proposals based on a set ranking system. Loans also became available to assist in the brownfields cleanup and provide job training to local community members. Finally, the Act allows for exceptions from the Superfund law for certain property owners and prospective buyers of brownfields, and offers tax incentives to brownfield redevelopers (Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment). While the Brownfields Program had been in existence for over five years, the passage of this Act significantly expanded the scope and influence of the EPA's Brownfields Program (Summary of the Brownfields Revitalization Act).

Brownfields Redevelopment

The EPA provides a list of the traditional four-step process that is followed in a brownfields redevelopment:

• Pre-development - Pre-development focuses on "identifying and redefining" the goal of the brownfields redevelopment program. It is expected that developers will determine in detail the feasibility of the ideal result, and make appropriate compromises. This should include an assessment of the degree of pollution at the site, identification of likely funding, and protected access to the property. If the brownfield will be restored for commercial purposes, it is advisable to perform a market analysis of the area, to ensure that such development would be prosperous.

• Securing the Deal - Securing the deal involves purchasing the property, a potentially involved task when dealing with a brownfield. Contract negotiation is important, as the involved parties must decide whether the seller will be held responsible for certain aspects of remediation. Generally, it is at this point that a remediation plan is finalized, as the finalization of such a plan helps determine how the buyer(s) and seller(s) might divide remediation costs. It is in this step that all funding must be secured as well, as the purchase of the property marks the first financial investment into the redevelopment. Oftentimes, developers initially make use of debt or equity financing to ensure proper funding.

• Cleanup and Development - Once the brownfield has been purchased and all planning has been completed, the involved parties can proceed with the redevelopment of the property. All proposed land use and construction must be pre-approved, and progress should follow the remediation plan developed during the sale of the property. Cleanup will not be complete until a local, state, or federal regulatory closure is obtained for the site. To make the redevelopment process smoother and more efficient, developers should consider ways to combine the cleanup and construction processes, as many brownfields grants have done in the past. Once cleanup and construction are complete, the property may be sold or leased, depending on the initial plans of the developers. The redevelopment will be complete when the property is open for full use.

• Property Management - This step of redevelopment extends beyond the initial success of the property's reuse, and focuses on the sustainable long-term use of the property. The EPA notes that certain remedial steps will need long-term upkeep, such as groundwater pump and treatment systems. Additionally, the property may have use restrictions, which all future owners will need to be made aware of (Anatomy of Brownfields Redevelopment).

Brownfields Management System Database

The Brownfields Management System Database (BMS) is the EPA's official detailed database of the Brownfields Program. The BMS maintains information regarding current and former brownfields, and also highlights many of the program's noteworthy accomplishments. The database also provides statistical and detailed information on the use and progress of Brownfields grants, a valuable resource for grantees who want to research the most efficient and effective ways to reach their grant objectives. Much of this information is available to the public, further making it a useful tool for potential grant seekers (BMS Overview).

Current Events

• EPA Brownfields Newsfeed
  

• EPA EnviroMapper for brownfields - Search for brownfields grants by city, county, state, zip code, or congressional district

• Sign up for the brownfields listserve
  

• Starved for space and encouraged by government incentives, New Jersey developers begin to reevaluate profitability of restoring and building on brownfields. See full New York Times article.

External Links

• Applying for an EPA Brownfields Grant
  

• Search the Brownfields Management System Database
  

• The Center for Brownfields Initiatives at the University of New Orleans - Offers information and resources on international brownfields programs

• Grants and funding from the Brownfields Program
  

• Brownfields on Wikipedia
  

• Brownfields program at Northeast Midwest Institute
  

• National Brownfields Conference

References

Environews Forum. "Turning Brownfields Green Again". Environmental Health Perspectives 104 (4). (April 1996). pp. 371-372.

Environmental Protection Agency. Brownfields. BMS Overview. Updated 03/12/06. Accessed 07/11/07.

Environmental Protection Agency. Brownfields Cleanup and Redevelopment. About Brownfields. Updated 06/30/06. Accessed 07/11/07.

Environmental Protection Agency. Brownfields Cleanup and Redevelopment. EPA Brownfields Home. Updated 05/14/07. Accessed 06/30/07.

Environmental Protection Agency. Brownfields Cleanup and Redevelopment. Summary of the Brownfields Revitalization Act. Updated 10/23/06. Accessed 07/11/07.

Environmental Protection Agency. Brownfields Solutions Series. Anatomy of a Brownfields Redevelopment. Updated 10/06. Accessed 07/11/07.

Rohrman, Douglass. Laws of Nature. "How Brown was my Valley". Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment 1(6). (August, 2003). p. 34.