Redeveloping these sites has
historically been hindered by environmental liabilities
associated with the Comprehensive Environmental Response
Cleanup and Liability Act (CERCLA or “Superfund”).
Potential developers often are concerned about the
potential liability for cleanup costs and uncertainties over
the extent of possible contamination. The irony of this
situation is that the cost of redeveloping brownfields, is
often less than for similar green space. The biggest
challenge for local redevelopment efforts is finding the seed
money to address the uncertainties associated with
environmental issues.
To encourage the cleanup and
redevelopment of these potentially contaminated properties
across the country, Congress enacted the Small Business
Liability Relief and Brownfields Revitalization Act
(Brownfields Law) on January 11, 2002. The law provides
two major incentives for assisting state and local government
with revitalization efforts. First, the law offers
significant and well defined limitations on entities that
purchase or otherwise acquire brownfield properties (including
acquisition by escheat or other involuntary transfer for
governments). Second, the law also establishes a grant
program funded with a yearly pool of up to $250,000,000.
With the use of grant money, a
community can accelerate its process of assessing and cleaning
up these sites. With legal liability reduced and contaminant
issues defined, brownfield properties now become considerably
more desirable to prospective developers.
The Brownfields Law establishes
three types of grants that are available to assist state and
local governments, quasi governmental agencies, government
entities created by a state legislature, regional councils or
groups of local governments, and state sanctioned redevelopment
authorities:
• Assessment Grants: provide
funds for inventorying, characterizing, and assessing
brownfield properties and/or conducting and planning community
involvement activities. In 2004, applicants could apply
for up to $200,000 for sites contaminated by hazardous
substances (possibly mixed with petroleum) or for sites
contaminated by petroleum only. Applicants can seek a
waiver to request up to $350,000 per site.
The author is the department head for an
architectural and engineering firm in Roanoke, VA.
Author’s note: the time to submit EPA Brownfield Grant
applications for 2005 is quickly approaching. These
highly sought after funds can be an important community
building block for carrying out redevelopment activities.
If you seek funding through one or more of these grants, now is
the time to develop your strategy. Even if you are not
submitting an application for this round of grants it may be
time to beginning planning for next year.
magine this scenario:
closed factory; unused gas station; and abandoned junkyard.
Just about everyone can point to one of these eyesores in
their community. These so called “brownfield”
sites are potentially harmful to the environment, negatively
impact the local tax base, and are often symbols of lost jobs.
Most people consider these sites as blights to their
communities and to the Commonwealth. The US Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) is now offering its next round of
brownfield grants to communities in an effort to help protect
the environment and, just as important, to bring these sites
back into productive use.
The EPA defines a brownfield site as
“real property the expansion, redevelopment, or reuse of
which may be complicated by the presence or potential presence
of a hazardous substance, pollutant or contaminant.”
This intentionally broad definition can include large
manufacturing facilities or small corner gas stations. In
fact, even abandoned mining sites and drug labs can be
considered brownfields.
