Bay Restoration - Brownfields

<body> <ul> <li><a href="#whatare">What are Brownfields and how do they affect the Chesapeake Bay?</a></li> <li><a href="#cbp">What is the Chesapeake Bay Program doing?</a></li> <li><a href="#states">What are the states and the District of Columbia doing?</a></li> <li><a href="#epa">What is the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Brownfields Program doing?</a></li> </ul> <hr> <p><b><a name="whatare"></a><img src="../images/brownfields_beforeafter.jpg" width="259" height="230" align="right">What are Brownfields?</b></p> <p>Brownfields are abandoned, idled, or underused industrial and commercial facilities where expansion or redevelopment is complicated by real or perceived environmental contamination. Brownfields could be an old factory that has been vacant for a number of years, a gas station that closed down or a dry cleaners that went out of business on Main Street. However, they are also areas that can provide new housing and jobs, as well as shared open space and public access opportunities. <br> <br> <b>How do they effect the Chesapeake Bay?</b></p> <p>There are thousands of brownfields within the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Whether these sites are contaminated with toxic chemicals or benign vacant structures, they can be revitalized into a thriving community. Water quality improvements are achieved when a site is redeveloped with urban stormwater practices, forest buffers, public access points and restored habitat.</p> <hr> <p><b><a name="cbp"></a>What is the Chesapeake Bay Program doing?</b></p> <p><img src="../images/baybrownfield1.jpg" width="211" height="140" align="right">In the Chesapeake 2000 Agreement, the Chesapeake Bay Program commits to "strengthen brownfield redevelopment" and "rehabilitate and restore 1,050 brownfield sites to productive use" by 2010. The Brownfields Advisory Panel, a group comprised of community members, developers and state, city and local government officials, was convened in February 2001 to achieve the brownfield redevelopment and revitalization goals in the agreement. The panel created an implementation strategy outlining specific activities that the Bay Program can take to meet these goals.</p> <p>The panel identified four major areas for Chesapeake Bay Program involvement to meet the goals listed above: </p> <ul> <li> Provide education to stakeholders in the watershed</li> <li> Provide financial and technical assistance to partners</li> <li> Identify links between redevelopment and improving the Chesapeake Bay</li> <li>Determine incentives for incorporating other C2K goals in redevelopment </li> </ul> <p> For more information, please contact Ms. Kyle J. Zieba (<a href="mailto:zieba.kyle@epa.gov">zieba.kyle@epa.gov</a>) at 215-814-5420.</p> <p><b><a name="states"></a>What are the states and the District of Columbia doing?</b></p> <p>Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania and the District of Columbia all have brownfields programs in place to streamline the environmental cleanup process for sites. Developers and lenders are provided with liability relief and participants in the program are taught what will be required to bring the site to productive use. For more information on the brownfields program in your area, contact the following departments:</p> <ul> <li> <a href="http://www.deq.virginia.gov/brownfieldweb/" target="_top">Virginia Department of Environmental Quality</a> </li> <li> <a href="http://www.mde.state.md.us/environment/was/brownfields/index.html" target="_top">Maryland Department of the Environment</a> </li> <li> <a href="http://www.dep.state.pa.us/dep/deputate/airwaste/wm/landrecy/default.htm">Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection</a> </li> <li> District of Columbia, Angele White, DC Clean Lands Program Manager at <a href="mailto:awhite@dchealth.com">awhite@dchealth.com</a> or at (202) 535-1747</li> </ul> <p><b><a name="epa"></a>What is the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Brownfields Program doing?</b></p> <p>The EPA offers assistance to communities through the following programs:</p> <ul> <li> Assessment demonstration pilot programs to assess brownfields sites and to test cleanup and redevelopment models. Each program is funded up to $200,000 over two years.</li> <li> Job training pilot programs to provide training for residents of communities affected by brownfields to facilitate cleanup of brownfields sites and prepare trainees for future employment in the environmental field. Each program is funded up to $200,000 over two years.</li> <li> Cleanup revolving loan fund programs to capitalize loan funds to make loans for the environmental cleanup of brownfields. Each program is funded up to $500,000 over five years.</li> </ul> <p>These pilot programs are intended to provide EPA, states, tribes, municipalities, and communities with useful information and strategies as they promote a unified approach to site assessment, environmental cleanup and redevelopment. </p> <p>For more information, please contact the <a href="http://www.epa.gov/reg3hwmd/brownfld/hmpage1.htm" target="_top">EPA's Brownfields Program</a> or contact Brigid Lowery at <a href="mailto:lowery.bridgid@epa.gov">lowery.bridgid@epa.gov</a> or at 215-814-2780.</p> </body>