Reclaiming contaminated business and industrial sites for reuse can result in the state preserving its natural areas while providing communities a renewed source of revenue, state and local officials said Tuesday. Land in important cities is sometimes a scarce commodity.
Waterfront property is even more so.
Without the Brownfield program, this land could have been lost to productive use. We now have an important state asset in the South Carolina Aquarium, a valuable environmental tool to educate our citizens about the importance of our regional environment and another opportunity for waters edge access for our residents and visitors. The Brownfield program provides liability protection for companies that want to develop an existing industrial site with real or perceived contamination. Bryant and Riley also were joined by Dr. Harris Pastides, dean of the Norman J. Arnold School of Public Health at the University of South Carolina, who spoke on the link between health and environment. Earth Day this year falls during Public Health Month in South Carolina.