Brownfields Workshop OVERVIEW BROWNFIELDS GRANT PROCESS AUGUST, 2013 REGION 6 BROWNFIELDS.
Brownfields Overview
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Transcript of Brownfields Overview
Overview of Brownfields
October 25, 2015
Colette Santasieri, PhD
2015 NADO Annual Training ConferenceEye Sore to Eye Candy
What is a Brownfield?
“Real property, the expansion, redevelopment, or reuse of which may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant.” EPA
estimated 450,000 brownfields in the US
History of Brownfields18th Century – Industrial Revolution:
• Transitioned from predominantly agrarian and rural, to industrial and urban society
• machines, new chemical manufacturing, iron production, factory systems
wastes: buried, dumped,
discharged to waterways
industrial chemicals and wastes: sulfuric acid, soda ash, limes, dyes, wood pulp, animal byproducts
History of Brownfields
19th Century:• Urban populations grew; neighborhoods formed around industry
Wastes: wood preservatives, paints, solvents, coal tar, petroleum products
Still buried, dumped, and discharged to waterways
rendering plants, tanneries, metalworking shops, scrap yards,
ship building
20th Century:
• More chemical plants, petroleum refineries, and munitions industries• Synthetic materials: plastics, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and
pesticides (DDT)
History of Brownfields
More contamination
History of BrownfieldsMid- 1900’s:• Urban exodus; economic shift• industries, factories, warehouses, rail yards, and mills that were once
part of our nation's economic and historic fabric – obsolete, moved • Abandoned industrial sites; soil and water contamination
flaming pollution on the Ohio’s Cuyahoga River
History of Brownfields
1960s: the beginning of a national awakening to the environmental ills perpetrated by industrial America
Smog in many cities
Environmental regulatory framework• The National Environmental Policy Act of 1969• Clear Air Act of 1970• Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendments of 1972• Superfund or Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980• Small Business Liability Relief and Brownfields Revitalization Act ("the Brownfields Law"), 2002
Newer Brownfield Sites
Not just the industries of the 19th century…
How Do we Know it’s a Brownfield Site?
Is the site vacant or less productive than it used to be or should be?
Does the site have an industrial past?
Is there knowledge or a perception of environmental contamination?
Ask the Professional!
Why is this site a Brownfield?
Railroad ties (wood treating chemicals: such as Creosote)
Pesticides (to keep tracks clear of vegetation)
Arsenic-laced slag used as railroad bed fill
Brake Fluid / Hydraulic Fluid
PCBs in railroad transformers (used to power locomotives)
Spilled or leaked chemicals
Benefits of Brownfield Cleanup and Redevelopment
Returning contaminated, abandoned, underutilized eye sores to protective use
• Removes health and safety hazards
• Alleviates community fears and worries
• Improves environmental quality
• Removes eye sore; improves community appearances
• Increases property values
• Increases local tax base
• Creates jobs, housing, open space, commercial/retail
• Promotes infill development; reduces sprawl
Environmental, Societal, and Economic Benefits
Lardner’s Park Point / East Coast Greenway, Philadelphia, PA
Cynwyd Heritage Trail, Lower Merion, PA
Reuse Options: Recreation, Greenspace
FedEx Facility, Newark, NJ
Reuse Options: Commercial
Bronx Terminal Market, New York
Reuse Options: Residential
Alexan Cityview, Bayonne, NJ
Redevelopment Options: Mixed Use
Harrison Commons, Harrison, NJ
Reuse Options: Green Energy
Solar Farm, PSE&G, Trenton, NJ
Reuse Options: Public/Government
Camden ECDC School, NJ
Mercer County Criminal Courthouse, Trenton, NJ
Lynchburg, VA
Reuse Options: Urban Farming
Philadelphia, PA
Thank you