The EPA Brownsfield Program
A brownfield is a property, the expansion, redevelopment, or reuse of which may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant. It is estimated that there are more than 450,000 brownfields in the U.S.
Cleaning (or “remediating”) and reinvesting in brownfields properties increases local tax bases, facilitates job growth, utilizes existing infrastructure, takes development pressures off of undeveloped, open land, and both improves and protects the environment.
The EPA Brownfields Program began in 1993, when the EPA commissioned the Program pursuant to the general response authorities of CERCLA. The EPA maintains the “the Anatomy of Brownfields Redevelopment” guide, which is designed to instruct interested parties about the cleanup and redevelopment process.