Brownfield Cleanup Program

Brownfield Cleanup Program
Name	Brownfield Cleanup Program
Established	1990s
Jurisdiction	United States
Administered by	United States Environmental Protection Agency; state agencies such as New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
Related legislation	Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act, Small Business Liability Relief and Brownfields Revitalization Act
Purpose	Remediation of contaminated properties for redevelopment

Brownfield Cleanup Program

The Brownfield Cleanup Program facilitates assessment, remediation, and redevelopment of contaminated properties by coordinating funding, technical guidance, and liability protections. It connects federal initiatives like the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act and the Small Business Liability Relief and Brownfields Revitalization Act with state programs such as the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and municipal planning efforts in cities like New York City and Chicago. The program engages stakeholders including private developers, non‑profit organizations such as the Trust for Public Land, and financial entities like the Environmental Protection Agencyʼs grant recipients.

Overview

The program addresses sites often subject to historical industrial activity, including former facilities of U.S. Steel, chemical works linked to DuPont, and former railroad yards associated with companies like the Pennsylvania Railroad. It interfaces with cleanup financing mechanisms from institutions such as the Export-Import Bank of the United States and community redevelopment initiatives tied to the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Key partners include municipal agencies in Los Angeles, Detroit, and Philadelphia and nonprofit intermediaries like the Local Initiatives Support Corporation.

Eligibility and Site Assessment

Eligible sites typically include properties impacted by hazardous substances from operations by corporations such as General Electric, ExxonMobil, and Shell Oil Company; abandoned sites formerly used by manufacturers like Bethlehem Steel and pesticide producers such as Monsanto. Site assessment protocols draw on methodologies from the United States Geological Survey, laboratory standards from the National Institute of Standards and Technology, and guidance from the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. Due diligence processes parallel practices used in transactions involving entities such as Goldman Sachs and BlackRock and incorporate environmental covenants seen in redevelopment projects like Battery Park City.

Cleanup Standards and Remediation Methods

Remediation approaches range from containment strategies used at Superfund sites tied to Love Canal and Times Beach, Missouri to innovative techniques employed in projects like the Atlantic Yards redevelopment. Methods include soil vapor intrusion mitigation technologies similar to those deployed in Woburn, Massachusetts cases involving industrial solvent contamination, in situ bioremediation influenced by research from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and University of California, Berkeley, and thermal desorption seen in projects managed by firms such as Bechtel and Jacobs Engineering Group. Standards reference criteria used by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and sampling protocols consistent with American Society for Testing and Materials practices.

Incentives, Funding, and Liability Protections

Financial incentives leverage tools from the Internal Revenue Service tax code, brownfield tax credits enacted by state legislatures including the New York State Assembly and the California State Legislature, and grants administered by the United States Environmental Protection Agency. Funding partnerships include philanthropic contributions from foundations like the Ford Foundation and investments by development firms such as Hines Interests Limited Partnership. Liability protections draw on provisions of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act and court precedents involving United States v. Bestfoods and Exxon Shipping Co. v. Baker, while insurance products involve underwriters such as AIG and Marsh & McLennan Companies.

Regulatory Framework and Administration

Administration integrates federal oversight from the United States Environmental Protection Agency with state regulatory bodies like the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency. Compliance reviews reference environmental statutes including the Clean Water Act and the Clean Air Act, and coordination occurs with planning agencies across municipalities such as the City of Boston and the City of Seattle. Legal and policy scholarship from institutions like Harvard Law School and Yale School of the Environment informs program guidelines, while court rulings from the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and the United States Supreme Court shape liability interpretations.

Environmental and Community Impacts

Redevelopment has produced outcomes comparable to revitalization projects in Roxbury, Boston, Pilsen, Chicago, and Greenpoint, Brooklyn, affecting housing projects associated with agencies like the New York City Housing Authority and transit-oriented development linked to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Community engagement practices mirror models used by advocacy groups such as Greenpeace USA and Sierra Club chapters and incorporate public health considerations addressed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Economic and environmental justice analyses reference scholarship from Columbia University and University of Michigan researchers and community-led campaigns exemplified by groups like WE ACT for Environmental Justice.

Category:Environmental remediation programs