DRAFT 3-26-12
BROWNFIELDS REDEVELOPMENT
BACKGROUND
Why Brownfields Redevelopment?
Brownfields are underused or abandoned former industrial, commercial or residential
properties that have perceived or known contamination. In recent years, several Ohio
communities have become very successful with assessing, cleaning up and redeveloping
brownfields and many more communities are realizing the benefits of completing these
projects. Redevelopment of brownfields can be expensive and difficult, but several federal and
state grant funding programs have helped communities and their development partners address
these challenges for their highest priority sites. Concerns for potential liability associated with
former contaminated sites had been a major hindrance in the past, but as more brownfields
experts exist within communities; the legal, insurance and consulting fields, as well regulatory
agencies, brownfield redevelopments and their risks are better understood and mitigated.
While many of the easier brownfields or those with the best redevelopment potential have
already been addressed, thousands of brownfields remain. Proactive brownfield assessment
and cleanup programs must continue to exist and grow to continue to address these
environmental, land management, and economic development challenges that significantly
influence our state, regional and local economies.
Clean up and redevelopment of brownfields not only reclaims vacant properties for new uses,
but boosts the economy of the immediate community. It provides new jobs and can expand the
tax base for the local government. The U.S. EPA Brownfields Program funded a study on the
economic impact of brownfield revitalization grants on residential property values. The study
found that residential property values increased by 2 percent -3 percent, and caused an overall
property value increase in a one-mile radius by $0.5 million to $1.5 million in areas where grants
were implemented.
How does Brownfields Redevelopment relate to Balanced Growth?
When land in urban areas is not reused and redeveloped, , more land is developed in rural and
suburban areas, thus contributing to the loss of critical green space, agricultural lands, and to
the economic and population decline in existing urban areas. These losses, as well as the failure
to remediate contaminated properties that may leach contaminants into Ohio watersheds, play
a role in the water quality and the environmental conditions in our state.
How does Brownfields Redevelopment work in Ohio?
The Ohio legislature and Ohio EPA have attempted to address the brownfields problem by
enacting and implementing a program to encourage cleanup and reuse of brownfields sites. The
program allows the volunteer (owner, developer, municipality, etc.) that is doing the
remediation to clean up a property, under the supervision of an environmental professional
1
DRAFT 3-26-12
certified by the Ohio EPA. When the “certified professional” certifies that the site meets the
state’s standards for its intended future use, they will issue a “No Further Action” letter for Ohio
EPA review. The volunteer may also seek a “covenant not to sue” from Ohio EPA promising that
the state will not pursue legal action regarding the cleanup performed at the site.
This covenant provides state civil liability protection for the environmental cleanup but does not
protect the volunteer from liability from third parties, or the U.S. EPA. (Ohio EPA has negotiated
a process with U.S. EPA, known as the VAP MOA-Track, through which a volunteer may obtain
protection from the U.S. EPA as well by participating in a variation of the cleanup program that
requires direct supervision by Ohio EPA and includes opportunities for public participation in the
process.).
ISSUES
• There are several definitions of the term “brownfield.” According to the Small Business
Liability Relief and Brownfields Revitalization Act, “brownfield” means 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. According to McKinney’s
Environmental Science, brownfields are old, run-down, and abandoned parts of a city or town. A
Brownfield is commonly defined as an “abandoned, idled, or underutilized property where
redevelopment is in part inhibited by actual or perceived environmental contamination.”
• This lack of consistency makes it difficult for communities to identify sites and decide what to
do with them.
• There are many programs and initiatives at the federal, state, and local levels designed to
encourage the assessment and redevelopment of brownfields. Some initiatives address the
liability concerns and the financial costs associated with redevelopment of contaminated
properties. They provide methods and incentives for cleanup, such as cleanup standards based
on the planned end use, and some limited protection from future liability. Some initiatives focus
on providing funding for assessments and cleanups through loans, grants, tax abatement, and
other methods.
•Brownfields are not being redeveloped at the rates necessary to maintain the economic and
environmental health of the region, in part because existing programs do not address many
important barriers to their redevelopment. For example, existing initiatives do not always
acknowledge that many potential brownfield redevelopers are seeking large sites on which to
develop industrial and commercial parks whereas most brownfields are located on small,
sometimes oddly configured sites. The programs do not address other reasons brownfields may
not be chosen for redevelopment, such as tax incentives in less developed areas, local crime
rates, convenience of the site to managers’ residences, etc.
• Existing programs have had difficulty matching potential users to appropriate sites.
2
DRAFT 3-26-12
• Citizen groups are sometimes reluctant to get involved. This is partly because there are at least
two strongly held views regarding the cleanup programs. First, some feel that the surrounding
neighborhood needs to encourage redevelopment of brownfields to improve the area for those
who live there. Others feel that the laws that encourage redevelopment by allowing cleanup at
risk based standards are less protective of public health. The tension between these positions
can lead to inaction.
• A stigma is attached to brownfields that may result in difficulty finding tenants, especially in
residential developments. Community involvement can mitigate stigma issues and assist with
effective property marketing strategies. In most cases, success is enhanced when carefully
orchestrated public outreach is implemented from the outset.
• Even when existing programs help lead to the redevelopment of a brownfield, there is some
concern about the ability of local governments to enforce the use associated with the cleanup
standard the site attained. Some question the actual and legal longevity of deed restrictions
because of potential difficulty with enforcement.
• For many reasons, including decentralization of redevelopment efforts, lack of definitional
clarity, and lack of funding, communities have not developed or maintained useable brownfields
inventories. For example, in Cuyahoga County, there is an inventory of contaminated lots which
is searchable for a number of specific brownfields characteristics but not for all brownfield sites
in an area.
• Despite the attempts by Ohio EPA and federal and local governments to create some comfort
for business and banks to get involved in redevelopment, many still fear the cleanup costs and
liability associated with getting involved in contaminated properties.
• A promise from the State of Ohio not to sue may not be adequate in negating lender and
developer concerns; advances in environmental insurance help curb the risk element and thus
makes such developments more attractive to lenders and developers; furthermore it is likely the
lower risk will equate to reduced financing costs.
RECOMMENDATIONS
• Establish inter-agency taskforces or designating lead agencies in order to streamline decision
making and coordinate the multiple regulatory issues connected with projects
• Improve systems for identification of sites and continue to expand inventories of sites and site
characteristics
• Use planning to identify areas and sites for redevelopment
• Facilitate the matching of sites to potential users
3
DRAFT 3-26-12
• Change statutes and programs to address the non-environmental barriers to brownfield
redevelopment that are not addressed in existing programs
• Educate the public, businesses, and redevelopers about the benefits and opportunities that lie
with existing programs
EXAMPLE REGULATIONS FOR GUIDANCE
We have found no model regulations specifically on brownfields redevelopment issues at the
local level. Most law and regulation in this area is at the state and federal level. More
information on brownfields issues in general and on state and federal brownfields
redevelopment initiatives may be obtained from the resources listed below.
RESOURCES
US EPA Brownfields and Land Revitalization, Website: http://www.epa.gov/brownfields
• EPA’s Brownfields Program is designed to empower states, communities, and other
stakeholders in economic redevelopment to work together in a timely manner to prevent,
assess, safely clean up, and sustainably reuse brownfields. Brownfields are real property, the
expansion, redevelopment, or reuse of which may be complicated by the presence or potential
presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or containment. Through this EPA program,
technical assistance, funding, information on laws and statutes and other resources are
provided. Grants are offered to leverage money for assessments, job training, clean up and
revitalization.
• Through its Brownfields Assessment, Cleanup & RLF Pilots/Grants, US EPA has funded many
projects in Ohio, including projects in Akron, Cleveland, Columbus, Dayton, Elyria, Fostoria,
Girard, Hamilton, Lancaster, Lima, Lincoln Heights, Mahoning County, Mansfield, Reading,
Sebring, Springfield, Toledo, and Youngstown. EPA includes in its “success stories” projects in
Cuyahoga County and Lima, Ohio.
US EPA Region 5, Website: http://www.epa.gov/R5Brownfields
• Includes contact information for officials involved in brownfields redevelopment throughout
the region, including both local and rural areas.
Ohio EPA Voluntary Action Program, Website:
http://web.epa.state.oh.us/derr/volunt/volunt.html
• This program was designed to provide a way to investigate possible contamination at a site,
clean it up if necessary under the supervision of a certified environmental professional, and
4
DRAFT 3-26-12
receive a promise from the State of Ohio that no more cleanup is needed. The promise, called a
“covenant not to sue,” protects the participant from liability to the State of Ohio, but it does not
protect against liability to third parties or US EPA. Ohio EPA has negotiated a Memorandum of
Agreement with US EPA to provide a process by which a participant may derive some protection
from federal liability by following a cleanup process overseen directly by Ohio EPA personnel
and includes opportunities for public review of and comment on documents regarding the site.
Clean Ohio Fund, Brownfield Revitalization Program, website:
http://clean.ohio.gov/BrownfieldRevitalization/
• The Clean Ohio Fund’s Brownfield Revitalization Program has two separate funds that help the
remediation of brownfields: the Clean Ohio Assistance Fund (COAF), and the Clean Ohio
Revitalization Fund (CORF). They are financial tools for former commercial or industrial facilities
which were developed to provide funding for brownfield clean up activities which are a key
component in brownfield redevelopment. Brownfield redevelopment allows a community to
reclaim and improve its lands, making previously developed property viable for new
development.
Ohio Brownfield Funding Chart
http://clean.ohio.gov/BrownfieldRevitalization/Documents/CommonBrownfieldFundingSourcesi
nOhioJune2011.pdf
Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, Division of Emergency and Remedial Response; Tel: 614644-2924; Web: http://www.epa.state.oh.us/derr/SABR/Brown/brown.html
Brownfields One Stop Shop (BOSS), Great Lakes Environmental Finance Center, Cleveland State
University; Tel: 330-528-3237; Web: www.glefc.org
SIDEBAR:
Cuyahoga County
• The Cuyahoga County Planning Commission developed its Brownfields GIS (Geographic
Information System) as a project through its Brownfields Pilot Demonstration project. The
system, begun in 1995 and updated in its current status as an internet application, was designed
to promote both economic development of industrial property and to provide information to
the public on the status of industrial and commercial sites. The site provides an array of
environmental data which may be useful in transaction screening analyses and Phase I
assessments. Economic factors and certain infrastructure attributes can also be screened
through radial searches featuring demographics, census blocks, travel time, roadways, utility,
and rail lines.
5
DRAFT 3-26-12
• The District One Public Works Integrating Committee (DOPWIC) oversees implementation of
the State Capital Improvement Program (Issue 2) in Cuyahoga County. In addition to providing
financing for capital infrastructure projects, the DOPWIC evaluates and selects brownfields
redevelopment projects for financial assistance.
Cuyahoga County Department of Development, Brownfield Division
http://www.development.cuyahogacounty.us/en-US/brownfield-redevelopment.aspx

The County has appropriated $17.2 million in Brownfield Redevelopment Funds for 25
projects. The Return on Investment, which is generated from income, property and sales
taxes, is projected to exceed $30 million

The County has provided Community Assessment Initiative funding to 45 projects

They offer multiple types of grants for commercial and industrial redevelopment, and
brownfield prevention and site expansion
Commercial development can be a successful reuse of brownfields sites. (photo: ODOD)
6
DRAFT 3-26-12
Jeffery Place, City of Columbus, a successful brownfields redevelopment project (photo: ODOD)
7
DRAFT 3-26-12
Penguin Cleaners_Lyndhurst, a successful brownfields redevelopment project. (photo: ODOD)
8