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Brownfields and Land Revitalization Frequent Questions
- What is a brownfield?
- What is the Small Business Liability Relief and Brownfields Revitalization Act?
- What is the purpose of the Brownfields Program?
- Does EPA know how many brownfields exist in the United States?
- EPA is charged with protecting human health and the environment. How does the Brownfields Program fit within the Agency's mission?
Brownfields are generally considered to be abandoned or underutilized properties (especially industrial and commercial facilities) where redevelopment or expansion may be complicated by possible environmental contamination (real or perceived). However, a brownfield site, as defined by The Small Business Liability Relief and Brownfields Revitalization Act of January 11, 2002, is any "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."
2. What is The Small Business Liability Relief and Brownfields Revitalization Act?
On January 11, 2002, the President signed into law The Small Business Liability Relief and Brownfields Revitalization Act which provides relief for certain small businesses from liability under the Comprehension Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA or "Superfund"). It also amends CERCLA to limit liability concerns for certain private parties engaged in real estate transactions, promote the cleanup and reuse of brownfields, provide financial assistance for brownfields revitalization, enhance State response programs, and for other purposes.
3. What is the purpose of the Brownfields Program?
The purpose of the program is to remove environmental hazards from communities; relieve pressures to develop pristine open space and farmland (also called greenspace); and revitalize communities by creating jobs, and returning property to productive use and local tax rolls.
4. Does EPA know how many brownfields exist in the United States?
The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that between 500,000 and one million brownfields tarnish the landscapes of communities across America.
5. EPA is charged with protecting human health and the environment. How does the Brownfields Program fit within the Agency's mission?
The Program empowers States, communities, and other stakeholders to work together in a timely manner to prevent, inventory, assess, safely cleanup, and sustainably reuse brownfields. By minimizing the spread of contamination to ecosystems, and decreasing sprawl-related air, water and soil pollution, the Brownfields Program works to reduce human health risks and environmental contamination.