Filed Under: Environmental Issues | Land Use | Land Use

Brownfields

Brownfields are abandoned or under-used industrial and commercial properties where real or perceived environmental contamination hinders the potential for redevelopment, but which are less tainted than state or federally designated Superfund sites. These sites are often located in low-income, urban areas. With the increased demand for development space, government and private industry are turning toward brownfields for potential land use.

Revitalizing urban brownfields is critical to Westchester's strategies for economic development. Their large size and ready access to transportation, public infrastructure, and large work force, combined with government financial incentives, should make brownfields attractive investments. Brownfields near the Long Island Sound and Hudson River shorelines are prime locations for tourism and recreation. However, serious barriers remain-among them, lack of uniform cleanup standards, risk of legal and financial exposure for past contamination, high cost of cleanup, lack of funding, and lack of regional planning.

The US Environmental Protection Agency manages the federal Brownfields Economic Redevelopment Initiative, a multifaceted program under CERCLA (the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act) that provides technical, legal, informational and direct assistance to those interested in redeveloping these sites. The federal Brownfields Initiative is designed to enable communities to prevent, assess, safely cleanup, and sustainably reuse brownfields.

The 1996 New York State Clean Water/Clean Air Bond Act allocated $200 million toward brownfield cleanup, known as the Environmental Restoration Project Fund. The first project to receive funding under the program was the Scenic Hudson Park at Irvington. Completed in June 2001, this 12-acre park was the result of a public-private partnership that rejuvenated a former lumberyard and warehouse area into riverfront parkland. Brownfield projects are also underway off the coast of New Rochelle, where a former military base on David's Island could be cleaned up for parkland, and in Yonkers.

As part of the 2003 law that reauthorized the State Superfund program, the State created a brownfield program that addresses the clean up and redevelopment of abandoned or underused properties whose contamination deters reuse. The law includes highly protective cleanup standards, limited liability relief for participants, strong public participation provisions, and special financial incentives for sites in areas targeted for redevelopment by municipalities or community organizations.