Environmental Review: Experiences of the States in Brownfield Redevelopment

Abstract

Using author-collected data, this article examines state brownfield programs' activities in relation to liability abatement and financial cost reduction. The findings in this article show that states have very diverse mechanisms in place for the facilitation of the remediation and redevelopment of these properties—many of which have the potential for some serious unanticipated consequences.

Notes

Additional Reading

Adler, J.H. 1998. A New Environmental Federalism: Environmental Policymakers Are Increasingly Turning to the States for Solutions to Today's Environmental Problems. Forum for Applied Research and Public Policy 13(4):55–61.

Bartsch, C., E. Collaton, and E. Pepper. 1996. Coming Clean for Economic Development: A Resource Book on Environmental Cleanup and Economic Development Opportunities. Northeast-Midwest Institute, Washington, DC, 166 pp.

Dana, D.A. 2006. State Brownfields Programs as Laboratories of Democracy? NYU Environmental Law Journal 14(1):86–107.

Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DREC). 2004. Delaware Hazardous Substance Cleanup Act Mixed Funding and Brownfield Grant/Certification Application. DREC, Dover, DE, 7 pp. Available at http://www.dnrec.state.de.us/dnrec2000/Divisions/AWM/sirb/misc/bfapp.doc (accessed January 2, 2007).

Eisinger, C. 2001. Brownfields Legislation: Making the Grass Greener on the Other Side. Professional Geologist, November. Available at http://www.agiweb.org/gap/legis107/tpg_ce.html (accessed November 15, 2006).

Etsy, D.C. 1996. Revitalizing Environmental Federalism. Michigan Law Review 95(3):570–587.

Fesler, J.W., and D.F. Kettl. 1991. The politics of the administrative process. Chatham House, Chatham, NJ, 458 pp.

Fesler, J.W., and D.F. Kettl. 1996. The politics of the administrative process, 2nd edition. Chatham House, Chatham, NJ, 512 pp.

Florida Brownfield Redevelopment. 1997. Flor. Stat. 376.77.

Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). 2007. Brownfield Areas. DEP, Tallahassee, 11 pp. Available at http://www.dep.state.fl.us/waste/quick_topics/publications/wc/brownfields/processes/Areas.pdf (accessed March 2, 2007).

Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). 2007. District Offices. DEP, Tallahassee. Available at http://www.dep.state.fl.us/secretary/dist/default.htm (accessed March 2, 2007).

Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). 2007. Sites with Executed BSRAs. DEP, Tallahassee, 7 pp. Available at http://www.dep.state.fl.us/waste/quick_topics/publications/wc/brownfields/processes/Agreements.pdf (accessed March 2, 2007).

Higgs, R., and C.P. Close, eds. 2004. Re-Thinking Green Alternatives to Environmental Bureaucracy. Independent Institute, Oakland, CA, 467 pp.

Hodge, J.A. 1996. Protecting Owners and Prospective Owners of Contaminated Property from Environmental Liability. South Carolina Law Journal 5(1):1–32.

Indiana Finance Authority (IFA). 2006. About IFA. IFA, Indianapolis. Available at http://www.in.gov/ifa/2349.htm (accessed March 1, 2007).

International City/County Management Association (ICMA). 2007. Land Use Controls. ICMA, Washington, DC. Available at http://icma.org/main/topic.asp?tpid=17&stid=44&hsid=10 (accessed November 17, 2009).

Kettl, D.F. 1993. Sharing Power: Public Governance and Private Markets. Brookings Institution Press, Washington, DC, 232 pp.

Kettl, D.F., ed. 2002. Environmental Governance: A Report on the Next Generation of Environmental Policy. Brookings Institution Press, Washington, DC, 203 pp.

Layzer, J.A. 2006. The Environmental Case: Translating Values into Policy. CQ Press, Washington, DC, 529 pp.

Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development (DBED). n.d. Brownfields Tax Incentive. DBED, Baltimore. Available at http://www.choosemaryland.org/businessservices/taxincentives/brownfields.html (accessed January 2, 2007).

Melosi, M.V. 1981. Garbage in the Cities: Refuse, Reform, and the Environment: 1880–1980, volume 4. Texas A&M University Press, College Station, TX, 268 pp.

Meyer, P.B., and H.W. VanLandingham. 2000. Reclamation and Economic Regeneration of Brownfields. US Economic Development Administration, Washington, DC. 44 pp. Available at http://www.eda.gov/PDF/meyer.pdf (accessed November 17, 2009).

Meyer, P.B., and K. Yount. 2006. State Brownfield Insurance Programs, 2006. US Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC, 56 pp. Available at http://www.brownfieldsinsurance.org/en/Article.103.aspx (accessed November 17, 2009).

Moe, T. 1989. The Politics of Beaurocratic Structure. In Can the Government Govern? J. Chubb and P. Peterson, eds. Brookings Institution Press, Washington, DC, 267–330.

Nevada Bureau of Corrective Actions (BCA). 2007. Nevada's Land Recycling Program. BCA, Carson City. Available at http://ndep.nv.gov/BCA/brownfld.htm (accessed March 3, 2007).

Nevada Bureau of Corrective Actions (BCA). 2007. Nevada Voluntary Cleanup Program: Quick Facts. BCA, Carson City. Available at http://ndep.nv.gov/BCA/vcpfctsht.pdf (accessed March 2, 2007).

Nevada Bureau of Corrective Actions (BCA). 2007. What Are NDEP's and EPA's Role in Brownfields Development in Nevada? BCA, Carson City. Available at http://ndep.nv.gov/BCA/brown6.htm (accessed November 17, 2009).

Nevada Bureau of Corrective Actions (BCA). 2009. BCA, Carson City, http://ndep.nv.gov/BCA/bca01.htm (accessed November 17, 2009).

New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). 2006. HDSRF Fact Sheet. DEP, Trenton. Available at http://www.state.nj.us/dep/srp/finance/hdsrf/factsheet.htm (accessed January 2, 2007).

Oates, W.E. 2001. A Reconsideration of Environmental Federalism. Discussion Paper 01–54. Resources for the Future, Washington, DC, 35 pp. Available at http://www.rff.org/documents/RFF-DP-01-54.pdf (accessed November 17, 2009).

Opp, S.M. 2005. Brownfields Redevelopment: Make It Possible! Center for Environmental Policy and Management, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY, 14 pp. Available at http://cepm.louisville.edu/Pubs_WPapers/practiceguides/PG10.pdf (accessed August 18, 2009).

O'Reilly, M., and R. Brink. 2006. Initial Risk-Based Screening of Potential Brownfield Development Sites. Soil and Sediment Contamination 15(5):463–470.

Revesz, R.L. 2000. Federalism and Regulation: Extrapolating from the analysis of Environmental Regulation in the United States. Journal of International Economic Law 3(2):219–233.

Ringquist, E. 1993. Environmental Protection at the State Level: Politics and Progress in Controlling Pollution. ME Sharpe, Armonk, NY, 256 pp.

Rosenbaum, W.A. 2005. Environmental Politics and Policy, 6th edition. CQ Press, Washington, DC.

Scheberle, D. 1997. Federalism and Environmental Policy: Trust and the Politics of Implementation. Georgetown University Press, Washington, DC, 207 pp.

Scheberle, D. 2005. The Evolving Matrix of Environmental Federalism and Intergovernmental Relationships. Publius 35(1):69–86.

Sheldon, I. 2006. Trade and Environmental Policy: A Race to the Bottom? Journal of Agricultural Economics 57(3):365–392.

Smith, K.B., A. Greenblatt, and J. Buntin. 2004. Governing States and Localities. CQ Press, Washington, DC, 558 pp.

United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA). 2006. Land Use and Institutional Controls. US EPA, Washington, DC. Available at http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/tools/tti_lucs.htm (accessed January 2, 2007).

United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA). 2007. About Performance Partnerships. US EPA, Washington, DC. Available at http://www.epa.gov/ocir/nepps/about.htm (accessed March 1, 2007).

United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA). 2007. National Environmental Performance Partnership System. US EPA, Washington, DC. Available at http://www.epa.gov/ocirpage/nepps/ (accessed March 2, 2007).

Walker, C., P. Boxall, C. Bartsch, E. Collaton, P.B. Meyer, and K. Yount. 1997. The Effects of Environmental Hazards and Regulation on Urban Redevelopment. US Department of Urban Development, Washington, DC, 107 pp. Available at http://www.huduser.org/rbc/pdf/Environmental_Regs_Hazards_and_Regs.pdf (accessed November 17, 2009).

Welborn, D.M. 1988. Conjoint Federalism and Environmental Regulation in the United States. Publius: The Journal of Federalism 18(1):27–44.

Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ). 2003. Fact Sheet #15: Liability Assurances. DEQ, Cheyenne, 3 pp. Available at http://deq.state.wy.us/volremedi/ (accessed March 12, 2007).

Yount, K.R., and P.B. Meyer. 1999. Project Scale and Private Sector Environmental Decision Making: Factors Affecting Investments in Small- and Large-Scale Brownfield Projects. Urban Ecosystems 3(2):179–193.

Notes

1. Important to note, but outside the scope of this article, is that many states have well-established cleanup and enforcement programs that work alongside the brownfield programs. These cleanup and enforcement programs will, depending on state law, require remediation activities at sites with certain types and levels of contamination.

2. This is a risk with any public program that offers market incentives to accomplish policy goals. Profit-maximizing developers will, by definition, select those properties with the most potential for profit.

3. The reward for holding a risky investment rather than a risk-free one (Investorwords, 2007).