Clearly, there are many benefits of redeveloping brownfields. However, there are also significant risks, and these must be carefully addressed so that brownfields become a positive element of a community rather than even more of a disaster.
Environmental cleanup of brownfields is frequently not sufficient to guarantee the public's health and safety. Brownfields are often marketed as being cheap sites to redevelop, and if the redeveloper is required to only bring the brownfield to a low industry cleanup standard, the brownfield could still be dangerous to the community. Even worse, community members may perceive the area as now being safe, unaware that the environmental cleanup was insufficient. High cleanup standards must be maintained, or the problems of brownfields will continue in a perpetual and dangerous cycle. Similarly, those responsible for the contamination must be held accountable, and liability standards must be strengthened and enforced.
As local and state regulation and enforcement standards vary (and resources are usually limited), federal assistance is essential to ensure a safe brownfield cleanup. For instance, in one case study example provided by the Sierra Club, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) failed to test a former mercury vapor lamp factory for mercury when the site was being converted into a residential space. The EPA later found dangerously high levels of mercury in the building, and residents were suffering from its effects. NJDEP maintained that it does not have the resources to thoroughly examine every site as may be necessary, and so situations such as this illuminate how important federal oversight can be. (See http://www.sierraclub.org/toxics/brownfields/hoboken.asp for the full case study.)
Funding for brownfield redevelopment is of course limited. The EPA distributes grants to communities as part of its brownfields program, and this money helps to fund environmental assessment of a site, cleanup, community outreach, education, and training. However, there are many more brownfields than there are grants, and funding must be increased if we wish to revitalize our communities. Steps are certainly being taken in the right direction; on June 15, 2004, the EPA announced a bloc of $75 million in grant money to redevelop brownfields around the country. Also, the government is but one possible source of funding; grants can also come from philanthropies, state lotteries, and taxes, fines, and surcharges on hazardous waste disposal and pollution. And, new legislation signed into law in 2002 (the Small Business Liability Relief and Brownfields Revitalization Act) seeks to incorporate EPA procedures into federal law in order to most efficiently redevelop brownfields; however, this legislation also releases some liability of the owner so that new industry can still be encouraged.
Much more information can be found on the Sierra Club's website, which features a long discussion of the merits and risks of brownfield development. Please visit http://www.sierraclub.org/toxics/brownfields/guidance.asp for more information. Also see http://www.sierraclub.org/toxics/brownfields/ for a general overview and links to several useful case studies.
Also visit the EPA's website, http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/index.html, for basic information on brownfields as well as detailed information about the EPA's brownfields initiatives and programs.
Environmental Justice
Most wealthy, suburban communities tend to not have contaminated industrial sites in the centers of their towns. Can you imagine all the fuss there would be if they did? Now picture a distressed inner city area. Abandoned, polluted lots, and crumbling factories abound. While this is clearly unfair, it is also the standard in this country, and the fight to fix this dichotomy is known as environmental justice.
The EPA defines environmental justice as the "fair treatment of people of all races, cultures, and incomes, regarding the development of environmental laws, regulations, and policies." In 1994, President Clinton signed Executive Order 12898, requiring the EPA to develop a strategy to pursue environmental justice, and Administrator Christie Whitman reaffirmed this commitment in 2001. However, enormous discrepancies persist across the country, and brownfields are a prime example of this disparity. Not only do low-income and minority communities have to suffer through the horrendous aesthetics of brownfields, but these communities experience a disproportionate degree of health risks.
With brownfield redevelopment, America has an opportunity to redress some of these grievances. Communities that are suffering the most from environmental hazards are often poor areas with many brownfields or other polluting sites. Redeveloping brownfields gives these communities an opportunity to turn an environmental hazard into an area that will benefit their community, through increased tax revenue, decreased crime, or new facilities. Because poor areas suffer disproportionately from brownfield pollution, they should also receive the most attention in brownfield redevelopment projects. Cleaning up brownfields is vital to the character of urban America, to improve the lives and health of low-income and minority populations.
As always, the issue is complicated. While it is critical to protect the health and welfare of a community, it is also important to protect it financially. Therefore, in poor communities where both health and economy matter, efforts can be made to attract non-polluting new industry to brownfields in order to boost an area financially. However, these industries are often hard to attract, since they may be concerned about being held liable for prior pollution. Somehow, a balance must be struck between health and economics, both of which are very serious issues for poor America.
An important way in which environmental justice can be achieved is through community involvement and participation, and brownfield redevelopment presents many opportunities for this. Community members need to be involved in the redevelopment process from the very beginning, as they are the experts in the area's history and values and can best advocate for the health and safety of their community. Public notification, meetings, and opportunities for input are essential but not exclusively sufficient to guarantee public involvement. In order to be able to effectively advocate for their community, residents need full access to information regarding the site, and also be able to work with scientists, attorneys, and other professionals so that their voices will be heard and respected. Funding for brownfield redevelopment can allow for these relationships between the community and professional experts advocating on their behalf. Allowing community access to these professionals will empower the community, strengthen their knowledge base and confidence, and build respect. These positive effects will extend far beyond a specific brownfield project, and will strengthen the community for future actions and improvements.
The community should benefit more from the brownfield redevelopment than any outside group seeking to make a profit, and this priority should be kept clearly in mind when considering brownfield redevelopment.
For more information on the EPA's program on environmental justice, please visit the program website, http://www.epa.gov/oswer/ej/index.html.
Brownfields in Pennsylvania
The EPA's Brownfields Program is active across the state of Pennsylvania. In fact, Pennsylvania received over $2 million in June 2004 in EPA grants for six sites across the state; the funds will be used for community outreach, environmental assessment, cleanup, and site redevelopment. However, these grants will only reach a few of the many sites that require attention in Pennsylvania. Many other sites are funded by loans or organizations that support brownfield redevelopment, and each site in the state is different in its background, level of community interest and involvement, and funding source.
In Bucks County, the EPA is helping to support several brownfields. In 2004, the EPA gave $1,000,000 in a revolving loan fund grant to be shared among five communities in Lower Bucks (Bensalem Township, Bristol Township, Bristol Borough, Falls Township, and Morrisville Borough). Though the details of the redevelopment are still being negotiated, the money will help cleanup a series of brownfields along the Delaware River where industry once flourished and now its remains present a variety of hazards to the county.
In 2002, the EPA spent $150,000 to identify brownfields in Bucks County and assess them based on acquisition, cleanup, and redevelopment. Among the aims of this funding was the creation of a process by which municipal leaders could notify the Bucks County Redevelopment Authority of potential brownfields; conduction of record searches on brownfields; conduction of field inspections; identifying, assessing, and presenting high priority sites to a panel; and involving property owners and municipalities more inclusively in the process. These measures help to illuminate how important it is to involve several layers of government with varying levels of expertise and resources, as well as community members who are so personally affected by brownfields.
This funding is an example of ongoing work in Bucks County to identify and assess (through proper channels) brownfields and their potential redevelopment. For more information on the EPA's funding of brownfield redevelopment in Bucks County, please see http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/cities/bucks.htm.
For more information regarding EPA brownfield redevelopment elsewhere in Pennsylvania, please see http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/reg3.htm.
For Pennsylvania case studies, please visit The Brownfields Center at Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Pittsburgh at http://www.ce.cmu.edu/Brownfields/
More Links
Brownfield Golf - A site dedicated to redeveloping brownfields for recreational purposes, of which golf is an example
The Center for Brownfields Initiatives at the University of New Orleans - Includes a listing of brownfield sites around the country, an information source list, and some international brownfields information
The Brownfields and Land Revitalization Technology Support Center - An EPA page on investigation, cleanup methods and other technological information regarding brownfields
US Department on Housing and Urban Development, Brownfields Economic Development Initiative - An example of a government grant program designed to alleviate the troubles of communities plagued by many brownfields sites
General Services Administration, Brownfields Redevelopment Initiative - Another government program which identifies and redevelops brownfield sites. Website includes case studies and property mapping
