Q: What is a brownfield?
A: The term applies to neglected industrial areas or commercial facilities where expansion or redevelopment of the site is hindered by actual or perceived environmental contamination. Abandoned commercial properties and idled industrial factories are an eye-sore for any community and when left unattended can accelerate a downhill economic slide for that particular neighborhood, not to mention the possible harmful environmental consequences for current and future residents. It can be especially difficult for a local community to initiate a sustainable clean-up effort and attract investment and redevelopment of these areas because potentially interested parties may fear that involvement with these sites could make them liable for cleaning up contamination they did not create. This leads us to situations where developers instead chase "greener pastures," pave over prime farmland and spawn suburban sprawl. From a public policy standpoint, it is clear to me that these so-called brownfields pose environmental and economic risks to an affected region's growth and vitality. That's why I support policies that are geared to turn these brownfields into more lucrative greenfields. I’m a co-sponsor of legislation to increase the amount of federal money available for clean up and to further encourage brownfields development by limiting the liability faced by potential land developers and purchasers, and as a member of the tax-writing Senate Finance Committee, I supported a tax incentive designed to spur the clean-up and redevelopment of urban and rural sites targeted for renewal. Enacted in 1997, the Environmental Protection Agency is working with the states as they implement this new federal tax incentive to promote efforts at the local level that will bring blighted areas back into productive use.
Q: How can the EPA help facilitate efforts to clean-up brownfields?
A: Working in partnership with stakeholders in a given community, the EPA's brownfields initiative seeks to bolster human and capital resources that will help prevent, assess, clean up and reuse a brownfield for the long-term benefit and safety of the entire community. In April, the EPA awarded $2.7 million to five Iowa communities under the Brownfields Economic Redevelopment Initiative. Cedar Rapids, Clinton, Davenport, Sioux City and Waterloo will use these federal dollars to pursue local clean-up and revitalization efforts on under-used, neglected properties identified within their communities. It is through the perseverence and vision shared by like-minded business and community leaders, investors, lenders, and neighborhood advocates from local communities that long-term strategies for safe, swift and sustainable redevelopment in abandoned areas can be achieved. Revitalizing under-used properties enhances a city's character, increases tax revenues, creates jobs, reduces health and environmental risks and preserves open space. For more information about brownfields and clean-up initiatives administered by the Environmental Protection Agency, go to www.epa.gov/brownfields.