The Challenge of Brownfields Redevelopment. M. A. Silkowski and M. C. Schiavo, Capital Environmental, 1299 Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington, DC 20004
Many companies own old, idle, or abandoned real estate which once housed key facilities and operations. These sites are often in urban centers, in close proximity to waterfronts, railroads, major highways, and downtown areas. A site like this can be an entrepreneur’s dream, but contamination from past site operations -- and the liability that goes with it -- often renders these sites untouchable. This is the definition of the classic "brownfields" site: a property with strong redevelopment and reuse potential, but that is contaminated -- or perceived to be contaminated -- by historical operations. Redeveloping brownfields sites offers many benefits to site owners and surrounding community: cleanups happen faster; risks to site neighbors are ultimately reduced; jobs are created by the cleanup and redevelopment process, and by the ultimate reuse of the site; downtown areas can be revitalized thus stabilizing a city’s tax base; site owners can turn potentially huge liabilities into productive assets; and development of new land -- i.e., "greenfields" -- is avoided, slowing suburban sprawl. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, State environmental and economic development agencies, and State legislatures have recognized these benefits and are actively encouraging brownfields redevelopment. The purpose of this presentation is to provide an overview of State and Federal efforts in this arena, and to illustrate, from the consultant’s point-of-view, the complexities involved in implementing a successful brownfields project.