How to Use It

Targeting brownfields for redevelopment can be a powerful tool for the overall revitalization of a community. It is also, however, a long-term project, often taking many years before a site is in use again.  The endeavor can also be expensive and requires a careful balancing of concerns about health, liability, and reuse.

Health: Brownfields contain a range of toxic substances, such as leaded gasoline, PCBs from electric transformers, and mercury from industrial processes.  Environmental health advocates are often concerned that in the rush to clean up and redevelop brownfields, the health and safety of future users and neighbors of the site will be compromised.  If a site is inadequately cleaned, future residents or workers on the site can be in more danger than if the site had been left empty.  In Hoboken, New Jersey, for example, a former mercury vapor lamp factory was converted to residential lofts without adequate clean-up. When mercury start oozing from the walls, all the residents had to be relocated and treated for elevated blood levels of mercury, an extremely potent neurotoxin.

Liability: Because environmental remediation is expensive, the question of who is responsible for paying has stalled many clean-ups.  The 1980 "superfund" law attempted to handle the complicated problem of determining who had caused contamination by making any owner of a site liable. The 1980 Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA or "Superfund") law attempted to handle the complicated problem of determining who had caused contamination by making any owner of a site liable for clean-up costs of "any release or threat of release of hazardous substances."  ] This action made developers and lenders extremely unwilling to work with potentially contaminated sites, and many say it caused many mildly contaminated sites to remain abandoned.  In reaction, many states have initiated voluntary clean-up programs, whereby landowners promise to clean a site in exchange for protection from liability. Supporters say it has allowed the clean-up of hundreds of long-abandoned sites. Environmental health organizers say this goes too far, both letting polluters off the hook and leaving communities with no leverage to challenge inadequate clean-ups or new pollution. 

Reuse: The ultimate goal for brownfields redevelopment is a return to productive use.  The kind of use should take into account the community's needs, the safety of the site, and economic feasibility.  In some cases the cost of clean-up is greater than the market value of the cleaned land and will creative financing efforts to redevelop.

Redeveloping brownfields in a sustainable way that accounts for health, liability, and reuse is a process that must incorporate the long-term vision of the community and address the current needs of residents without compromising the ability of future generations to do the same.  Every site is different; levels and kinds of pollutants, goals for reuse, and attitudes of the current owner all vary, so there is no "cookie-cutter" approach for clean-up and redevelopment.  This tool is a guide through the general process, the questions to ask and steps to consider. It is in no way a substitute for sound legal advice and consultation.

The Brownfields Redevelopment Process

The brownfields redevelopment process can be broken down into four major stages.  In stage 1, pre-development, consultants make initial assessments of the site's contamination and potential for reuse.  This stage  should include a community planning process.  In stage 2, a detailed plan for acquisition, remediation, and development is worked out, and regulatory agencies are brought in to approve the plans. In stage 3, the site is remediated and prepared for construction, and in stage 4 a new use is put into place.  At every stage except stage 4, work on clean-up and on new uses is proceeding simultaneously, and later stages can sometimes start before earlier stages are completed.

Stage 1: Testing and Pre-Development

In stage 1, a community developer organizes stakeholders, especially residents, and identifies a site, as many communities have multiple brownfields sites..With some predevelopment funding in hand, the group can work on three fronts: the phase I environmental assessment, locating and negotiating with the site's owner, and preliminary planning for reuse.   A more complete environmental assessment is carried out after gaining site access.

Organize residents. Brownfields redevelopment requires communication and collaboration among many stakeholders, including residents, other community members, city governments, landowners, environmental regulators, other government agencies, developers, investors, and consultants.  The earlier each of the stakeholders are involved, the more invested each will feel in the process.

Arguably the most important of these stakeholders are the residents closest to the site.  They are living with the problems of the brownfields, and will be living with the results of a redevelopment project.  Organizing residents to participate in the decision-making process should therefore always be the first step.  Consider providing training, organizing support, and other resources to make it possible for community members to make a meaningful contribution.

Pick a site.  Since brownfields are often clustered in a neighborhood, there may be several choices for redevelopment.  Consult with residents to see if there is a clear priority based on their experiences.  Some initial investigation to see which sites have the most serious environmental issues and which have the greatest potential for redevelopment can point a group in the right direction.  Priorities may differ based on whether a group's and/or residents' primary goal is removing a specific toxic threat or attracting a specific kind of economic development.

Explore predevelopment grants and loans.   Find preliminary funding sources for remediation and site purchase.  The EPA's Brownfields Economic Redevelopment Initiative provides funding for the initial stages of brownfields redevelopment. For more ideas, see the financing section.

• Review of historical records to determine past owners and previous uses of site. (For example, the site of an abandoned Magic Marker factory in Trenton, New Jersey, had previously been the location of a battery manufacturer, making it highly likely that the site contained lead, a component of many batteries.)
• Survey of site and an assessment of surrounding areas
• Interviews with owners and local government agencies
• Evaluation of site and producing a final report

Costs for conducting a Phase I assessment range from $2,500 to $5,000.  It is better to spend the money up front, during Phase I, than to deal with delays and costly legal matters at later phases. The American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) has guidelines that set minimum requirements for environmental assessments.

Get Site Access . To complete an environmental assessment of the site itself, stakeholders need to gain legal access to the site from the owner.  (A city records office will generally provide the owner's name and other pertinent information.)  Sometimes site access or control will necessitate a temporary measure-such  as an option or a lease-until  the group determines that it has the funding for clean-up and redevelopment.  Many owners, however, fear being held liable if serious contamination is found, and so may not be co-operative.

Begin Reuse Planning. If there is a community plan in place, refer to it, and engage stakeholders in determining the ideal use for the site. Community vision and input is crucial.  Residents will be ultimately affected by the redevelopment choices, which should address the community's most pressing needs, such as affordable housing or retail space. If there has been no recent community planning for the area, this would be a good time to initiate at least a moderate version, if possible.

Developers should also invest in a site marketing-feasibility study, which covers zoning, potential contamination, and rough cost estimates. With this information, the planning group can determine a development goal for the site.  Be creative about your options. For example, in community land trusts a nonprofit owns the land and residents own the homes on the land, making such trusts a reasonable goal for a brownfields site where housing is needed. During this preliminary site planning, initial decisions about structure can be made, including the number of stories and units that will be built.

Phase II Environmental Assessment. If Phase I indicates that the site might be contaminated, a Phase II site investigation is necessary.  This phase involves taking samples from air, water, and soil in order to determine the location, type, and amount of environmental contamination.  After analyzing the samples, the environmental consultant prepares a report that describes in detail the type and extent of the contamination and includes recommendations for clean-up alternatives.  The Phase II investigation is costly: depending on the expected level of contaminants, fees range from $10,000 to $50,000; the assessment takes approximately six to eight weeks to complete.

Phase III Evaluation and Remediation Options. This phase examines the potential risks of the contamination.  The amount of risk depends on many things:

• Type of contaminant
• Amount of contaminant
• Physical characteristics of the site and the location of the contaminant. For example, soil pollution on a site directly over an aquifer that contributes to drinking water is a very high risk.  Contamination in building walls that has not spread to the ground and can be easily removed would be a lower risk.
• Surrounding population.  High proportions of children, elderly, or people with weakened immune systems all make for higher risk.
• Future use of the site.  Lead contamination is a much higher risk, for example, if children are among future users of the site.

Taking all of these points into account, a remediation, or clean-up, plan is developed for the site.  The plan indicates allowable remaining concentrations of each contaminant. These numbers will also have to take into account federal and state laws on specific substances.  You may want to check whether local agencies also have jurisdiction, particularly if only small amounts of contamination are found.

Remediation options depend on the hazards found and proposed site use.  They can include:

• Capping: covering contaminated soil with an impermeable surface, like blacktop.
• Removal/extraction: this usually means digging up the entire affected area and taking it to a hazardous waste landfill. There are some more sophisticated measures available, however.  Phytoremediation is a process by which certain plants pull heavy metals out of the soil and concentrate them in their stems and leaves for easy removal.
• Treatment: neutralizing or rendering contaminants harmless. For examples, see the Technology Tree.

Community input and education is extremely important at this point.  The community needs to be informed of potential benefits and risks arising from various reuse and remediation options.  Community members should be able to have a say in the final level of remediation chosen, and will be much more supportive if their fears and priorities are addressed ahead of time.

Stage 2: Complete Development Planning

Now that the sponsoring group knows the extent of the remediation needed and has done a feasibility study on the desired reuses, it can make a decision about whether it is possible to proceed.  This stage is about nailing down the details: site acquisition, relationships with regulatory agencies, financing, and architectural work.

Secure legal title and needed zoning variances.  This includes getting site control and meeting any planning requirements under a state's jurisdiction.  If the site is zoned for commercial use but the community needs more affordable housing, then the city or developer must seek permission to use the land in that manner.  Land use also depends on the remediation plan and the clean-up levels.

Determine regulatory requirements. First, determine which agency has oversight of the remediation. Regulatory agencies vary state by state.  The Northeast-Midwest Institute provides links for state agencies.  Local agencies, such as a public health agency, might also get involved.

Put together financing. As with most community development projects, most brownfields redevelopment requires multiple financing sources, usually a combination of private and public sources, such as grants and loans.

Develop formal site plan. Based on the environmental and remediation assessments, the developer and architect draft the site plan and architectural design.  Community groups can develop agreements with the city to ensure that they are informed of changes to the original design.

Plan in Community Benefits. If a private developer or company is going to become the owner/developer of the project, community representatives should insist on tangible accountability and community benefit measures.  Even if a nonprofit developer will be coordinating the process, making explicit agreements and goals is a good idea.  Community benefit plans can include local hiring goals for jobs during clean-up, construction, and final use; affordable housing targets; and transit-oriented development plans.  If a lower-level clean-up is being done, the community may also want to advocate for accountability measures-such as deed restriction-to  ensure that the land will never be used for a purpose for which it wasn't declared safe, and that contaminants supposedly being contained remain contained.

Stage 3:  Clean-up and Site Design

Clean-up. Once the developer meets the various regulatory requirements identified for clean-up and remediation, the clean-up process can begin.  When clean-up is completed, the developer needs to get approval from the proper oversight agencies.  Clean-up can take a long time, during which care should be taken to keep stakeholders actively involved and informed.

• Accept bids from architects, construction firms, business owners, and operators.
• Obtain the proper permits and receive clearance from the delegated regulatory agencies. Consider deed restrictions to keep the site from being used for things that its remediation level is not safe for. For example, if it was cleaned for industrial use and secured with a cap, it should never be used for housing without further remediation, and the cap should stay in place.
• Acquire legal title to the land.
• Finalize all financing. 
• The architects and developers finalize plans for the site. The stakeholders need to be a part of this process to ensure they are satisfied with the final plans.

Stage 4: Construction and Final Use

The final step in the brownfields redevelopment process involves putting a clean site back into productive use.  This looks much like any other infill project. 

• Construction .  Demolish preexisting building, if necessary. Prepare site, perhaps with containment of any remaining contamination in mind.  Construction can then proceed as normal.
• Marketing and Leasing/Sale . If the property will be used for commercial purposes, it should be leased or sold before completion of construction to secure financing. Before this step is completed, the sponsoring group should decide what business or individual will be responsible for the long-term operation of the site. The sponsoring group may own and operate the site, own it and lease it, or sell the site to a business owner.
• Stay involved .  Once a development is completed, the sponsoring group and organized stakeholders should not disband entirely.  They should maintain a relationship with the new owners or operators to ensure that community benefits agreements such as local hiring are being met, and to be sure that the site remains safe.