Brownfields Redevelopment Brownfields redevelopment refers to the reuse of abandoned, idled, or underused industrial and commercial sites where expansion or redevelopment is complicated by real or perceived environmental contamination. Public sector benefits include job creation, increased tax revenues, reduced urban sprawl, mitigation of health hazards, community and environmental stewardship, crime reduction, and prevention and elimination of blight. In the past, concerns regarding purchaser and lender liability for pollution stymied the redevelopment of many Brownfields sites. Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and equivalent State environmental regulators have taken steps to allay concerns about future liability, putting many of these sites back into productive use.
Regulatory reforms continue at both the state and federal level.
The National Governors Association's Center for Best Practices examines innovative state practices in brownfields redevelopment. The Institute for Research Management , a non-profit organization supported by EPA, conducts research on the processes needed to achieve integrated cleanup and reuse of contaminated properties. The Michigan Experience by Professor Richard C. Hula of Michigan State University includes a review of the key elements of Michigan's brownfields policy and recommendations as to how state and local officials can encourage the redivelopment of brownfield sites. Examples include historic building rehabilitation and reuse, water and sewer infrastructure enhancements, and construction of new publicly-owned facilities. In addition, EDA planning and technical assistance grants have been used for activities such as long-term redevelopment planning, market feasibility studies, geographic information system inventories of abandoned, idle, and underused properties, and economic assessments of brownfields parcels.