National Brownfields Coalition

National Brownfields Coalition
Name	National Brownfields Coalition
Type	Nonprofit coalition
Founded	1990s
Headquarters	Washington, D.C.
Region served	United States
Focus	Redevelopment, environmental remediation, community revitalization

Contents

National Brownfields Coalition

The National Brownfields Coalition is a U.S.-based nonprofit alliance formed to coordinate environmental remediation and urban redevelopment efforts among federal, state, and local stakeholders such as the Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, U.S. Department of Transportation, United States Congress, and municipal governments like City of Chicago and City of Detroit. It brings together advocates from organizations including the American Planning Association, National League of Cities, National Association of Counties, National Trust for Historic Preservation, and community groups such as Local Initiatives Support Corporation and Enterprise Community Partners to leverage programs like the Brownfields Program and policies shaped by laws including the Small Business Liability Relief and Brownfields Revitalization Act and congressional appropriations. The coalition engages public agencies, private developers, philanthropic foundations like the Ford Foundation, environmental justice organizations including Greenpeace USA advocates related to projects in areas such as Harlem and South Bronx.

History

The coalition emerged in the 1990s amid initiatives led by the Environmental Protection Agency, the United States Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, and the United States House Committee on Energy and Commerce to address vacant industrial sites in regions like the Rust Belt and Appalachia, collaborating with entities including the Revolving Loan Fund proponents, the National Conference of State Legislatures, and nonprofit networks such as Urban Land Institute. Early alliances formed with municipal actors from City of Philadelphia, City of Cleveland, and City of Pittsburgh to pursue funding linked to statutes like the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act reforms and grant programs championed by legislators such as Senator Barbara Boxer and Representative Sherwood Boehlert.

The coalition's stated mission aligns with advocacy seen in organizations like the Natural Resources Defense Council, aiming to promote site assessment, remediation, and redevelopment by coordinating among entities like the Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Department of Commerce, and the Economic Development Administration while advancing policies reflected in the Small Business Liability Relief and Brownfields Revitalization Act. Objectives include catalyzing investment similar to initiatives led by the Department of Housing and Urban Development and Community Development Financial Institutions Fund, supporting workforce development models promoted by the Department of Labor and Apprenticeship USA, and ensuring environmental justice priorities voiced by groups such as NAACP and United Church of Christ.

The coalition operates as a membership network combining municipal governments (e.g., City of Baltimore, City of St. Louis), state agencies like the California Department of Toxic Substances Control and New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, nonprofit partners such as The Nature Conservancy and Trust for Public Land, academic partners including University of California, Berkeley and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and private-sector participants from real estate firms akin to Related Companies and engineering consultancies like AECOM. Governance typically involves a board with representatives from organizations such as the National Governors Association, National Association of Development Organizations, and philanthropic trustees modeled after Kresge Foundation and Rockefeller Foundation.

Programs emulate federal and local efforts such as the EPA Brownfields Assessment Grant, EPA Cleanup Grant, and Revolving Loan Fund with technical assistance partnerships resembling collaborations between the Small Business Administration, Economic Development Administration, and community lenders like Local Initiatives Support Corporation. Initiatives include pilot projects in partnership with transit agencies such as Metropolitan Transportation Authority and Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority to integrate brownfield redevelopment with transit-oriented development programs also promoted by the Federal Transit Administration and Smart Growth America. The coalition sponsors capacity-building workshops alongside organizations like American Society of Civil Engineers, workforce pipelines with National Skills Coalition, and policy forums featuring legislators from United States Congress and agency leaders from the Environmental Protection Agency.

Funding streams mirror those used by programs of the Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and philanthropic grants from foundations including the Ford Foundation, Kresge Foundation, and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Public-private partnerships often involve developers comparable to Hines Interests Limited Partnership and financiers such as Bank of America Community Development Banking, while technical partnerships include firms like Tetra Tech and URS Corporation and research collaborations with universities such as Harvard University and University of Michigan.

The coalition has contributed to catalytic projects comparable to redevelopments in neighborhoods like Lower East Side, industrial corridors in cities such as Buffalo, New York and Cleveland, Ohio, and waterfront revitalizations akin to projects on the Hudson River and Anacostia River. Outcomes often intersect with programs by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, transit investments by the Federal Transit Administration, and brownfield-to-parks transformations championed by the Trust for Public Land and have been cited in legislative hearings before the United States Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works and policy analyses from think tanks like the Brookings Institution and Urban Institute.

Category:Environmental organizations based in the United States