The Numbers Don’t Tell the Story
By Kelly Novak

A brownfield redevelopment project is completed. It makes the headlines in the local papers. The stories concerning the project report on the most visible project elements — community support and involvement, the local champions, the federal and state funding received and the many environmental and economic benefits the redevelopment will bring.

But what is overlooked and left out of the news story is how the community worked with the state brownfield program. This is often the case — voluntary cleanup programs, letters of support and technical assistance are seldom mentioned in media coverage of brownfield projects.

Trying to Herd Cats
There is an abundance of anecdotal information concerning the impact state brownfield programs have imparted on assessments, cleanups and redevelopments across the nation. One hears them everywhere, when talking to private consultants, community leaders, project coordinators and others involved in brownfield revitalization.

However, there’s a sense that trying to accurately quantify the impact of state brownfield programs is like trying to herd cats. State programs vary and the services they render involve a great deal of interaction. They are also incremental and therefore best observed from a descriptive point of view rather than by a review of numbers alone.