Q:
What
is a brownfield?
A: A brownfield is an abandoned, idled, or underused
property where expansion or redevelopment is complicated by the
presence or potential presence of contamination. Brownfields sites
include abandoned factories and other industrial facilities, gasoline
stations, oil storage facilities, dry cleaning stores and other
business that dealt with polluting substances. Economic activities
once thrived on these properties, but today, the availability of
greenfields, concerns with liability and the time and cost of cleanup,
and reluctance to invest in older urban areas make these sites difficult
to redevelop.
Q: What is a greenfield?
A: Greenfields are undeveloped lands such as farmlands,
woodlands, or fields located on the outskirts of urbanized areas.
Businesses often prefer to develop new facilities on greenfields
to avoid the real or perceived difficulties associated with brownfields
redevelopment.
Q: How many brownfields currently exist in the United
States?
A: It is difficult to estimate the total number of brownfields
in the U.S. The GAO estimates that there are as many as 425,000
brownfields throughout the U.S. Some estimates show that there are
5 million acres of abandoned industrial sites in our nation’s cities
– roughly the same amount of land occupied by 60 of our largest
cities.
Q: Why invest in brownfields?
A: Brownfields redevelopment can benefit both private
investors and the communities in which they are located. For the
private sector, brownfields redevelopment can mean new business
opportunities, the potential for profit on unused or under-utilized
properties, improved community and environmental stewardship, and
access to untapped urban markets. The retail purchasing power of
all central city residents is conservatively estimated at $665 billion.
Even households in the most economically distressed urban neighborhoods
possess $85 billion in annual retail purchasing power. Brownfields
redevelopment is critical to untapping these consumer markets.
The public sector can benefit from an increased number of employment
opportunities, increased local and state tax revenues, improvements
in the community’s quality of life, and a reduction in urban sprawl.
Q: What are some major impediments to brownfields redevelopment?
A: Cities encounter many impediments to redeveloping
brownfields.
- Lack of necessary funding for cleanup
- Concerns over liability
- The need for environmental assessments of the properties
- Uncertainty over cleanup standards
- Unfavorable neighborhood and market conditions
- Land assembly issues
- Reluctance to invest in distressed communities due to concerns
with urban socio-economic conditions
Q: What is the Federal government doing to help communities
with brownfields redevelopment?
A: In 1997, the Brownfields National Partnership Action
Agenda was announced. The Partnership brings together over 20 Federal
agencies (The Federal Brownfields Interagency Working Group) to
address brownfields cleanup and redevelopment issues in a more coordinated
approach and to link environmental protection with economic development
and community revitalization. The Interagency Working Group has:
- Designated 16 Showcase Communities to serve as models for cooperative
efforts to support local brownfields initiatives.
- Signed Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) to establish policies
and procedures between agencies and support projects of mutual
interest. HUD signed MOUs with the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
- Tapped redevelopment resources by integrating brownfields into
their planning processes, ensuring that brownfields cleanup and
redevelopment are eligible expense for their project funds.
- Offered technical assistance to communities in order to expedite
the cleanup and redevelopment of property.
Q: What resources does HUD have available to help communities
redevelop brownfields?
A: HUD is working with community organizations, the private
sector, local and State government and other federal agencies to
stimulate reinvestment in communities by restoring brownfields to
productive use.
HUD’s community development resources can help communities spur
reinvestment in these properties by leveraging private sector investment
and providing critical funding to help neighborhoods realize their
vision for the future.
Brownfields redevelopment can be financed by the following:
- Community Development Block Grants (CDBG)
- Section 108 Loan Guarantees
- Brownfields Economic Development Initiative (BEDI) grants
- Economic Development Initiative (EDI) grants
- Renewal Communities/Empowerment Zones/Enterprise Communities
Q: Are brownfields redevelopment activities eligible
for CDBG funds?
A: The Community Development Block Grant program is one
of the first tools that cities turn to when trying to revitalize
distressed communities. HUD awards CDBG funds directly to metropolitan
cities and urban counties (entitlement communities) or to States
for distribution to nonentitlement communities.
In 1998, Congress passed legislation as part of the HUD Appropriations
Act includes brownfields as an eligible CDBG activity:
For fiscal years 1998, 1999, and all fiscal years thereafter, States
and entitlement communities may use funds allocated under the community
development block grant program under title I of the Housing and
Community Development Act of 1974 for environmental cleanup and
economic development activities related to Brownfields projects
in conjunction with the appropriate environmental regulatory agencies,
as if such activities were eligible under section 105 (a) of such
Act.
Any activities undertaken using CDBG funds must meet one of the
program’s national objectives:
- Benefit low and moderate income persons.
- Prevent or eliminate slums or blight.
- Address conditions that present a serious and immediate threat
to the health and safety of the community.
Brownfields redevelopment activities must be incorporated into
local government priorities through the community’s Consolidated
Plan and annual action plan.
Q: Who is eligible to apply for Brownfields Economic
Development Initiative grants?
A: CDBG entitlement communities and non-entitlement communities
eligible to receive Section 108 loan guarantees.
Private companies are not eligible applicants for HUD’s EDI, BEDI
and Section 108 loan guarantee funds; however, cities awarded BEDI
grants and Section 108 loan guarantees may transfer these funds
to a non-profit or for-profit entities.
Q: What publications are available at HUD to assist communities
with brownfields redevelopment?
A: HUD has a number of publication on brownfields redevelopment.
These publications include The Effects of Environmental Hazards
and Regulation on Urban Redevelopment, Redeveloping Brownfields:
How States and Localities Use CDBG Funds, and Environmental
Insurance for Brownfields Redevelopment: A Feasibility Study.
To get copies of these reports and other information on brownfields
redevelopment, visit the HUD web site at www.hud.gov/bfields.html
or call HUD USER at (800) 245-2691.
Q: How do I find out more information about brownfields
redevelopment in my community or State?
A: To find information about your local community and State
efforts to redevelop brownfields, contact your local and State community
development and environmental protection agencies.