How Do You Clean Up a Brownfields Site?A Brief Overview
Your town has an old factory or truck stop that hasn't been in business since 1985.
The owners have disappeared and probably went out of business.
The place is gathering weeds, likely serving as a crash pad for local homeless and druggies, and is suspected or known to have environmental issues.
The neighborhood, maybe inner-city, has seen better days, but you are convinced that by cleaning up this particular site you could see a revival of the neighborhood and the community.
So what do you do? First, your town council, mayor, or whatever governing body exists, has to be on board.
Since much of what will happen has to be sponsored by a non-profit, municipal organization, getting the town fathers and mothers to drive this project is a must.
Second, the municipal corporation has to gain control of the site.
Whether through condemnation or eminent domain, or via whatever method exists in your state for claiming properties with unpaid taxes, one vital aspect is that the organization must have control over the site, which will allow entering and re-securing the facility, formal assessment (including evaluation of groundwater and soil), likely demolition, and final disposition, which is putting the site back into productive use.
Third, there must be a well-defined plan for the eventual re-use of the site.
In the best of situations, you will partner with a developer early on in the process and that company will assist in finding an appropriate use, and will locate other people and companies who will want to make use of the property.
In some cases, parks or similar greenspace will be the end use: this is also acceptable, since EPA and many state agencies accept a plan for a park as a good end use, but quite honestly, a plan that produces tax revenues and provides jobs from a derelict property will gain more attention.
Fourth, you must develop partnerships and relationships with the parties who will enable this project.
I mentioned a developer earlier; you also need a close relationship with the state environmental agency, since that agency will oversee the environmental work (at least the reports).
You will need consultants to do the environmental work, contractors for other physical work, lawyers to ensure that agreements are solid and do not expose the community to liability (and often, a town's attorney is just not up on all aspects of these rules), and your community's, county's and state's economic development people, who are dedicated to bringing business to the area.
The list can expand and contract, depending on specifics to the project, but all these folks will know, as will you, when you need to bring someone else in.
Fifth, you must find a source of funding.
If the municipal corporation controls the site, and if you have a re-development/re-use plan, the community can apply for both grant and loan funding through the state environmental agency, the state financial agency, or the US EPA: all have programs to assist in brownfields re-development.
Be aware, though, that projects funded through EPA (less so through state environmental agencies) will come with significant requirements that must be met to keep the grant money.
It is possible, though often not productive, to sue former owners or their estates or successors.
It is also possible, and sometimes quite productive, to track down old insurance policies on the site; specialized consulting firms will assist you in getting funds this way, if the policies can be located.
And finally, despite how unfair this may seem, remember that your project will be prioritized with all other applications for funding.
Every community that applies is certain their needs are paramount.
In order to make the top of the pile, you must have a good, even great plan, a developer with enthusiasm to make the project work, and community support.
And with all that you can change that weedy, contaminated, fenced eyesore to a tax generating, jobs generating, people friendly new part of your community!
The owners have disappeared and probably went out of business.
The place is gathering weeds, likely serving as a crash pad for local homeless and druggies, and is suspected or known to have environmental issues.
The neighborhood, maybe inner-city, has seen better days, but you are convinced that by cleaning up this particular site you could see a revival of the neighborhood and the community.
So what do you do? First, your town council, mayor, or whatever governing body exists, has to be on board.
Since much of what will happen has to be sponsored by a non-profit, municipal organization, getting the town fathers and mothers to drive this project is a must.
Second, the municipal corporation has to gain control of the site.
Whether through condemnation or eminent domain, or via whatever method exists in your state for claiming properties with unpaid taxes, one vital aspect is that the organization must have control over the site, which will allow entering and re-securing the facility, formal assessment (including evaluation of groundwater and soil), likely demolition, and final disposition, which is putting the site back into productive use.
Third, there must be a well-defined plan for the eventual re-use of the site.
In the best of situations, you will partner with a developer early on in the process and that company will assist in finding an appropriate use, and will locate other people and companies who will want to make use of the property.
In some cases, parks or similar greenspace will be the end use: this is also acceptable, since EPA and many state agencies accept a plan for a park as a good end use, but quite honestly, a plan that produces tax revenues and provides jobs from a derelict property will gain more attention.
Fourth, you must develop partnerships and relationships with the parties who will enable this project.
I mentioned a developer earlier; you also need a close relationship with the state environmental agency, since that agency will oversee the environmental work (at least the reports).
You will need consultants to do the environmental work, contractors for other physical work, lawyers to ensure that agreements are solid and do not expose the community to liability (and often, a town's attorney is just not up on all aspects of these rules), and your community's, county's and state's economic development people, who are dedicated to bringing business to the area.
The list can expand and contract, depending on specifics to the project, but all these folks will know, as will you, when you need to bring someone else in.
Fifth, you must find a source of funding.
If the municipal corporation controls the site, and if you have a re-development/re-use plan, the community can apply for both grant and loan funding through the state environmental agency, the state financial agency, or the US EPA: all have programs to assist in brownfields re-development.
Be aware, though, that projects funded through EPA (less so through state environmental agencies) will come with significant requirements that must be met to keep the grant money.
It is possible, though often not productive, to sue former owners or their estates or successors.
It is also possible, and sometimes quite productive, to track down old insurance policies on the site; specialized consulting firms will assist you in getting funds this way, if the policies can be located.
And finally, despite how unfair this may seem, remember that your project will be prioritized with all other applications for funding.
Every community that applies is certain their needs are paramount.
In order to make the top of the pile, you must have a good, even great plan, a developer with enthusiasm to make the project work, and community support.
And with all that you can change that weedy, contaminated, fenced eyesore to a tax generating, jobs generating, people friendly new part of your community!
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