I nterest in brownfield redevelopment has surged over the past decade, due in part to a combination of federal, state, and local programs aimed at reducing regulatory burdens and mitigating liability. Since these traditional cleanup approaches often can be inadequate or expensive, new technologies capable of mitigating the less tractable contaminants, lowering costs, or reducing treatment time, will spur interest in redeveloping many of the remaining brownfields.
Numerous obstacles exist to the use of innovative technologies.
New approaches, by definition, are unproven, are less familiar to regulatory or permitting authorities, and may take longer to receive the approvals and permits needed to begin cleanup. The effectiveness of cleanup technologies, moreover, tends to be quite site-specific, and new approaches often have not been tested or benchmarked in diverse enough conditions to give assurance of their success. Some innovative technologies, while effective, also may be more time-consuming than standard methods. Finally, the liability problems associated with Superfund have made the banking and financing community cautious of new approaches, though federal and state efforts to mitigate liability concerns have had significant, positive effects. Despite clearly defined needs for improved technologies, the obstacles facing any new technology are daunting.