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Where Are We Headed? The Mother of the Bride
Where Are We Headed?
Where do brownfields fit in with the priorities of ICMA and its members and how has this changed in the last decade? Local government managers are constantly tasked to do more with less. ICMA members are facilitating deals, as opposed to acquiring properties themselves, and are partnering with the private sector to finance projects. ICMA members have seen tremendous successes with brownfield cleanup and redevelopment and are constantly looking for new opportunities and new partners. However, there are so many competing demands on the managers’ time and attention that they need readily accessible resources and support focused specifically on how they can identify new brownfield opportunities and make them work for their communities. Brownfield issues have evolved dramatically over the past decade. In the early days of the federal and state brownfield programs, only select local government officials were willing to tread in these unfamiliar waters. However, the early successes of a handful of communities, coupled with flexible and supportive federal and state programs, have empowered the majority of local government leaders to embrace brownfields as an economic development and greenspace preservation tool. In addition, the ability of local government officials to share experiences and serve as resources to one another through peer matching programs and through the national brownfields conference has dramatically increased the speed of innovation at the local level. With the devastation of the Gulf Coast due to Hurricane Katrina, I believe that local governments throughout the region will demand information, resources and support to ensure the safe and sustainable redevelopment of brownfields. Nationally, brownfields will rise in importance in the coming years among local government managers. With development of open space going unchecked in many regions of the country, greenspace preservation will gain momentum and more local governments will be pushing new developments to brownfields. My hope is that community engagement, a critical aspect of all brownfield activities, remains on the forefront of local leaders’ agendas. BFN
The Mother of the Bride
Tell us something that people probably don’t know about you. I am a native Washingtonian, grew up in suburban Maryland and went to Georgetown University for college. How did you get started with EPA? I was working with the Social Security Administration right out of college, my mom was at EPA, and she told me that a position had opened up in the press office there. I went to work for Marlin Fitzwater, who later became the press spokesman for Presidents Reagan and Bush. How has government changed since you started? Thirty years ago, it was a white man’s world. Now we see many more women, minorities and disabled employees. It took far too long for us to get there. We need to do even more to appreciate this great melting pot. How did the EPA brownfields program get started? We were working on the Superfund administrative reforms in the early 1990s and one of the issues that came up was stigmatized property. It became clear that significant attention was needed by the agency. The states were doing some creative things with voluntary cleanup programs and the United States Conference of Mayors wrote a letter to then-Administrator Carol Browner about the need for action. Tim Fields, then Deputy Assistant Administrator of the Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response, talked to his boss, Elliott Laws, about dedicating resources to a brownfield initiative. Elliott gave it the green light and it took off from there. Did you think brownfields would grow so big? We knew brownfields were a growing issue, but I never expected it to get to this size. In the mid-1990s we held a series of public meetings around the country and 500 to 600 people showed up at each one. That was the tip-off that we were on to something. The real growth came when we engaged local governments and community members. They went to Congress and got the funding increased. How did the Brownfields Law of 2002 change things? The Brownfields Law raised the profile of the entire effort and legitimized what we had been running as a pilot initiative. It gave EPA clear authority, making the brownfields program tangible in a way that didn’t exist before. The program is now as permanent as anything else is in government. What can you say about the annual brownfields conference? The only thing to compare it to is a wedding with 5,000 guests. That’s why my staff has given me the nickname “Mother of the Bride.” As big as it has grown, I don’t think it has reached its limit yet. It can go further toward exploring successful redevelopment — sustainability issues, transportation and economic viability. Our country is guilty of being dominated by Baby Boomers that lack a multi-generational view of the world. In Europe and other parts of the world, some cities have been continuously viable since the Middle Ages. They really have a different perspective on sustainable community. If you were going to start EPA’s brownfields program again, would you do it differently? The program has developed one piece at a time, and I think that is a great thing. It has given us an opportunity to experiment with new ideas and provided stakeholders with a way to influence what happened. At midpoint, I may have reassessed things and pushed harder on sustainability. As a country, we’re evolving in this direction. Cities are repopulating with young and aging Boomers seeking the benefits of livable, walkable neighborhoods with cultural and entertainment options. Cities are seeing population increases for the first time in a generation. The program needs to follow that direction. Any retirement plans? Not really. I guess I’m afraid to make any. I’ll miss the people at EPA, the fun and sense of accomplishment. I’ll miss all the wonderful people I met across the country through the years. I sure won’t miss the crazy bureaucratic systems. Or the commute! Advice for the next generation of brownfields pioneers? Don’t be afraid to experiment, push boundaries, and try multiple things, even to fail. At least it means you tried something. BFN |
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© 2005 Environomics Communications. 5440 North Cumberland Ave. Chicago, Illinois 60656
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Brownfields have come a long way since the first national brownfields conference. Brownfield News asked Bob O’Neill, executive director of ICMA, to answer questions about where we have been and where we are going.
Linda Garczynski is retiring at the end of 2005 after logging almost 30 years with the federal government and more than 10 years at the helm of the EPA brownfields program. She stopped to reflect with Brownfield News about her career and brownfields.