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By Weston Donehower |
There is no doubt that brownfield redevelopment and smart growth are key tools to revitalizing communities. The U.S. EPA’s brownfield and smart growth programs have been a catalyst to redeveloping properties in small and large localities alike. The U.S. EPA has given brownfield funding to more than 700 localities, leading to the assessment of more than 4,800 properties.
As highlighted in the report “Unlocking Brownfields: Keys to Community Revitalization” (by NALGEP and the Northeast Midwest Institute), local governments are connecting brownfields and smart growth to curb unmanaged growth and improve air and water quality.
In midtown Atlanta, for example, a 138-acre former steel mill near major transportation routes will become a mixed-use development. The smart growth project has not only cleaned up the site, but the use of an infill property will help improve air and water quality for metropolitan Atlanta.
In southeast Florida, the Eastward Ho! Brownfields partnership is focusing on the reuse of 2,100 brownfield sites to bring infill development, economic activity and protection to the Everglades’ ecosystem. Since more than two million people are expected to settle in the Eastward Ho! area over the next 15 to 20 years, this strategy is critical to manage growth while ensuring the health of the environment and economic vitality of the region.
Nevertheless, more can be done at the federal level to help local governments clean up brownfields. First, the current administration and Congress have failed to fully fund programs authorized under the Brownfields Revitalization Act of 2001.
Second, while that Act has stimulated local government involvement in brownfields, it (1) did not extend any new liability protections for sites acquired by localities prior to passage of the law and (2) did not clarify the meaning of the “local government involuntary action” protections from Superfund liability.
As many as one million brownfield properties may exist nationwide, so there is still much work to do. Local governments are integral to all brownfield and smart growth efforts. Hundreds of localities have started brownfield programs and are reinvesting in their communities while leveraging state, federal, non-profit and private sector partners to get the job done.
Brownfield redevelopment and smart growth are partner components to community revitalization. BFN
Weston Donehower is an attorney for the law firm of Spiegel & McDiarmid and for NALGEP (National Association of Local Government Environmental Professionals) in Washington, D.C.
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