Getting Started
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Project StakeholdersFeedback
OverviewFeedback
The success of the revitalization effort is often a result of putting together an effective team of individuals with the capability to address all facets of the specific project. This team of individuals (assembled prior to development of a vision for site revitalization, site acquisition, potential site cleanup/construction, and the revitalization itself) should be able to work as a group, as well as independently, and therefore each needs to clearly picture and understand the ultimate vision of the project. Choosing a revitalization team is one of the most important phases of early planning. The team members will not only develop the idea into a working project, but also use their contacts and principles to guide the project to success or failure.
Potential StakeholdersFeedback
Team members whose roles are crucial in this process may include municipal officials, state government, policy specialists, community members, scientists, engineers, economic development organizations, and local business leaders. Community leaders and local government officials can help identify project permitting needs and regulations and help overcome any concerns or problems encountered. In addition, their connections with the local community can be helpful for site marketing, investment, and garnering community support. Their knowledge regarding site history and social implications (local politics and public reaction related to site activities) of potential contamination can also be helpful. State government officials and policy specialists knowledgeable of revitalization initiatives and legalities can help with financial planning, liability, cleanup criteria, and compliance with regulatory standards. Local business leaders, the Chamber of Commerce, and local economic revitalization agencies, paired with active community members, can offer advice on the town and regional needs and bring ideas to the table that may be overlooked or not considered by larger political representatives. Community involvement is an essential part of a successful project. The community can add creativity to the scope of the targeted project, as well as public support.
Involving stakeholders early in the process can assist in overcoming the obstacles to revitalization. States are often the lead regulatory agency for most cleanups through delegation of U.S. EPA’s role and/or state environmental laws and regulations. In case a to be revitalized site is found to be contaminated, it is wise to involve the appropriate state agency from the start. Enrollment of a site in a state's Voluntary Cleanup Program, for example, may be very helpful in receiving grant monies for revitalization. Early involvement can help avoid regulatory issues later. The roles of different stakeholders also can affect the course of the revitalization process. Regional Assistance Groups carry out active programs of research, technology, free training, and/or free assistance with hazardous waste and brownfields. Various stakeholder groups that could be considered, as needed, and their potential project roles are listed in the Stakeholders and Their Potential Roles Exhibit.
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Stakeholder
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Potential Role
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United States EPA
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EPA headquarters and regional staff work to coordinate efforts to identify and prioritize candidate sites for EPA funding. The Small Business Liability Relief and Brownfields Revitalization Act (Public Law 107-118; H.R. 2869) expands EPA's Brownfields Program, boosts funding for assessment and cleanup, enhances roles for State and Tribal response programs, and clarifies Superfund liability. A brownfield property is "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." Brownfields revitalization provides communities with the tools to reduce environmental and health risks, reuse abandoned properties, take advantage of existing infrastructure, create a robust tax base, attract new businesses and jobs, create new recreational areas, and reduce the pressure to develop open spaces. EPA works with states, tribes, or local governments or communities to move the reuse effort forward. One of EPA’s most important leadership roles is to ensure that reuse information is shared among all stakeholders. EPA, particularly at the regional level (see http://www.epa.gov/epahome/locate2.htm for information on EPA regions), may also serve as a project “catalyst,” coordinating the process from start to finish, from identifying a candidate site to working with communities on public education and outreach. EPA is a source for a wide variety of technical information and support relating to human health and the environment.
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Other Federal Agencies
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Numerous other federal agencies can be stakeholders in revitalization of potentially contaminated sites. These agencies include:
The roles of these agencies can vary from a source of grant funding to technical support for community relations or planning assistance. Check this website for additional resources: www.epa.gov/brownfields/partners/federal_partnerships.htm
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Resource Trustees
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Federal and state government are designated to act as trustee to determine impacts and compensation in the case of natural resource damages (often water resources).
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Regional Assistance Groups
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The following are national organizations that carry out active programs of research, technology, free training, and/or free assistance with hazardous waste and brownfields. Assistance may include review of technical documents such as Phase I and II site assessments, feasibility studies, clean-up proposals, etc.; providing summaries of these documents in layman's terms; assisting with writing and evaluating Requests for Proposals; organizing and facilitating community meetings; and planning and executing visioning and general brownfields workshops.
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States and Tribes
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States and Tribes are often the lead regulatory agency for cleanups through delegation of U.S. EPA’s role and/or state environmental laws and regulations. States and tribes can also lead site reuse efforts by serving as project catalysts and by coordinating and facilitating project activity. Early involvement can help avoid regulatory issues later. One of the roles for states and tribes is to attract developers to a particular site. Through tax incentive plans, regional development plans, strong reduction of urban expansion programs, and other initiatives, states and tribes send a strong message to developers and financial institutions that they are committed to revitalizing sites and maintaining uncontaminated property for other uses such as parks, greenspace, resources to support subsistance lifestyles, and a myriad of other uses. State government agencies that may serve as stakeholders in the revitalization of potentially contaminated sites include:
Click here or on the United States links icon at the top of the page for state specific resources. Check the following for additional state resources: Environmental Council of the States, Association of State and Territorial Solid Waste Management Officials, and State and Local Government on the net
The National Tribal Environmental Council,
the Tribal Environmental Organizations Guide, and the Tribal Law and Policy Institutes's Environmental website are excellent resources for information on tribal environmental policies.
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Local Government and Municipal Officials
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Local governments and communities also can play a critical leadership role in the revitalization process. Local governments and community leaders generally want to return abandoned or idle sites to productive use to increase tax revenues, stimulate the local economy, prevent or reduce urban blight, improve quality of life, and conserve valuable unused property. In many cases, local governments and communities may serve as the project catalyst by acting as an intermediary to the state government. In other instances, local governments and communities simply make sure that proposed site reuse plans meet the local government and the community’s current and future economic, social, or ecological needs.
In many cases, local governments maintain the day-to-day operations of revitalization projects and view specific projects within the scope of a community-wide plan. While roles may differ depending on the makeup of individual local governments, individual departments share certain common roles. The following local government departments typically play a role in revitalization:
State and Local Government on the net provides convenient one-stop access to the websites of thousands of state agencies and city and county governments.
University of Louisville Center for Environmental Policy and Management has developed a practice guide with helpful resources: Location, Location, Location: Brownfields Program Placement in Local Governments
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Community Leaders, Members/Citizen Stakeholders, Citizen groups, Non-profits
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Community leaders bring local residents to the table when planning for revitalization of potentially contaminated sites. This benefits the project in several ways:
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Developers
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Developers include purchasers, investors, revitalization companies, real estate investment trusts (REIT), traditional development companies, real estate brokers, end users, and nonprofit community revitalization corporations and municipalities. This group of stakeholders plays an active role in reuse projects. Often, private developers possess the financial resources and vision that prove to be the catalyst for many projects.
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Financial Institutions
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For projects requiring outside sources of funding, financing can often be obtained through financial institutions. Typically, financial institutions require an environmental assessment of the site and/or proof that proper investigation and remediation has been conducted.
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Lawyers
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Legal council is important for the evaluation and drafting of contracts, developer agreements, and property disposition agreements.
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Insurance Broker
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Insurance brokers help negotiate policies with insurance companies and identify environmental risks that should be covered along with their level of importance.
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Property Owners
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Property owners include sellers, corporations, privately held companies, institutional investors, real estate investment trusts (REITs), and government agencies, as well as municipal governments that own, manage, and transfer properties. Owners, at times, cautiously explore different strategies to expedite revitalization reuse options.
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Private Consultants, Architects, and Engineers
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Private consultants are often hired for specific revitalization tasks and have numerous capabilities that developers and local governments can utilize to revitalize potentially contaminated sites, including site assessment, site investigations, remediation, permitting, site planning, surveys, and title searches. Private consultants can include:
Information about selection of a consultant is available from the Brownfields and Land Revitalization Technology Support Center. Also see our tip on how to select a consultant.
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News Media
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News media can be a mechanism for the dissemination of information to the public and stakeholders.
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The Team ApproachFeedback
There is no stronger underpinning to SMARTe than the basic assumption that multi-faceted project teams are required to be successful with a significant revitalization effort. Routine communication among a comprehensive project team is absolutely critical to success. Project teams should include expertise from the many disciplines associated with the project necessary to reach completion. These complex efforts will require support from professionals with backgrounds in property revitalization, environmental science and engineering, planning and zoning, financing and capital investment, insurance, design and construction, vested stakeholders, and of course members of the community.
Successful teams will be comprised of individuals focused on reaching the same goal, with a heavy emphasis on early inclusion and strong participation in the planning phase. The timeliness of decisions is essential to avoid delays. Clear delineation of project team member responsibilities and levels of authority are required to provide a structure under which the team may operate successfully. Consensus is required in the planning phase to prevent obstacles later in the process. Strong leadership is required to maintain order among the team members and to ensure that the project vision is maintained throughout the process.
A comprehensive project team can help avoid delays and costly mistakes, such as problems with community acceptance and surprise permit requirements. Project teams should be developed based on the needs of the individual site as every site is different. A brownfield project team may include the following:
- Municipal officials (planning, housing, economic development, or parks and recreation department, as appropriate)
- State government
- Policy specialists
- Developer
- Facilitator or mediator
- Engineers and scientists
- Architects
- Remedial alternative experts
- Risk assessors/Fate and Transport of contamination experts
- Environmental consultant
- Local business leaders
- Public sector financial representatives
- Community representatives/community members
- Private funding source representatives
Other possible additions to the team include insurance representatives, private lenders, property owners, municipal public relations expert, US EPA, and any additional regulators. This is not a comprehensive list; the actual project team should be developed based on the particular needs of the individual project.
The project team approach is used by many successful revitalization projects to maximize individual stakeholder efforts and minimize duplicative efforts. Projects that have successfully used the team approach demonstrate the following:
- Strong leadership to bring stakeholders together and create acceptance and momentum for the revitalization project
- Effective communication with stakeholder organizations and the public
- Commitment of human capital, public or private sector involvement, and consensus building
- Project or program goals and vision
Inevitably, at some point in the revitalization process, there are project difficulties. Strong catalysts, whether in the form of EPA officials, state officials, tribal leaders, local government officials, community leaders, or private citizens, can push the project along, remove barriers to progress, and help resolve disputes or issues that prevent completion of the project.
Project CoordinatorFeedback
Most, if not all, successful revitalization projects have project coordinators – versatile individuals who manage the daily activities of the project by working with all stakeholders. Project coordinators can be: chosen from within an existing local government department, an employee of the developer, or hired as a project consultant.
Having a project coordinator dedicated to working on projects and programs dealing specifically with revitalization of potentially contaminated sites provides three principal advantages:
- It provides a project with a clearly designated leader
- It opens communication lines by providing a single point of contact for all the stakeholders
- It helps ensure that project tasks will be moved forward in the required time frame
The project coordinator can also play an important role in identifying funding for the project. The project coordinator can contact associations that represent industry groups or other potential users of the type of property you are marketing. He/she may also contact venture capitalists to try to persuade them to invest in your idea. The utilization of a project coordinator, while not a requirement, can be a tremendous asset to any revitalization project team.
Regulatory AgenciesFeedback
Open lines of communication with the regulatory agencies responsible for the site promote effective planning and implementation of revitalization plans that should address regulatory compliance and enforcement issues. Identification of appropriate regulators is dependent on the issues at a site. Sites with potential environmental contamination issues have additional regulatory requirements to consider. The revitalization plan should incorporate the actions necessary to bring the property into compliance and/or resolve pending enforcement actions, if necessary. Discussions with regulators on basic regulations, compliance issues and enforcement actions should begin in the early stages of developing a revitalization plan. After developing an appropriate plan of action to address each issue, the revitalization team should enter into negotiations with the regulatory agency(ies) associated with each issue, presenting a plan of action and requesting the input and approval of the regulators.
Compliance issues that are commonly encountered during revitalization include permit transfer or closure, operational compliance associated with existing or historical activities, and operational compliance associated with planned activities under reuse.
Sites that are subject to existing enforcement actions require careful planning and patient negotiation strategies. The current regulatory climate promotes the success of good faith efforts to improve the condition and value of contaminated properties. Regulators overburdened with sites are often receptive to innovative and voluntary actions that will achieve their goals for cleanup and closure.
A summary of each state’s brownfields program can be found at EPA's Brownfields page
and links to State Agencies are available.
State and Tribal ProgramsFeedback
State and tribal response programs play a significant role in cleaning up brownfields. As Congress recognized in the legislative history of the Brownfields Law, the vast majority of contaminated sites across the nation will not be cleaned up by the Superfund program. Instead, most sites will be cleaned up under State authority.
The law authorizes EPA to provide up to $50 million in grants to states and tribes to establish or enhance their response programs. Generally, these response programs address the assessment, cleanup, and redevelopment of brownfields. To date EPA has awarded funds to all 50 states, over 50 tribes, the District of Columbia, the Virgin Islands, Guam, and the Northern Marianas.
This funding enables states and tribes to develop or enhance their response program's infrastructure and capabilities. For some recipients, the funding will provide an opportunity to create new response programs to address contaminated properties. States and tribes also can use the new funding to capitalize a revolving loan fund for cleanup, purchase environmental insurance, or develop other insurance mechanisms to provide financing for cleanup activities. In addition, the funds can be used to establish or maintain the statutorily required public record, to oversee cleanups, and to conduct site-specific activities. Community Involvement is an important requirement of State Voluntary Cleanup Programs, providing notice and opportunity for community involvement (requirements may vary by state).
Providing financial assistance to states and tribes increases their capacity to meet the brownfields cleanup and redevelopment challenges. It will also help to ensure that properties are cleaned up safely, according to state and tribal standards.
To assist communities in working with their state programs, EPA developed the “State Brownfields and Voluntary Response Program: An Update from the States.” The report is updated yearly and explores the evolving landscape of state environmental, financial, and technical programs, including the incentives designed to promote brownfields cleanup and redevelopment. This user-friendly tool looks at multiple components of state brownfields and voluntary response program(s), and provides a synopsis of each state’s response program(s) and contact information. Additionally, Appendix A provides a review of state program changes that resulted from the federal brownfields law and Appendix B provides a condensed state-by-state reference guide.
The current 2006 updated report can be found at State Brownfields and Voluntary Response Programs: An Update from the States February 2005, Publication Number: EPA-560-R-05-001.
The EPA Memorandum and Guidance: Transmittal of the “Guidance on Deferral of NPL Listing Determinations While States Oversee Response Actions”, August 1995, EPA 540-F-95-002, OSWER Directive No. 9375.6-11 provides a framework for Regions, States, and Federally-recognized Tribes to determine the most appropriate, effective, and efficient means to address more sites more quickly than EPA otherwise would address them.
Regulator NeedsFeedback
It is critical to effectively identify the regulatory issues with the potential to impact the revitalization project early in the process. The early identification of these issues will allow the team adequate time to determine what will be required to address each regulatory issue in a manner that will support the revitalization plan. Cooperatively working with regulators (including federal, state, regional, and local) as part of the project team and communicating project schedule and deadlines early-on may also expedite the process of identifying regulated aspects of the project.
The Interstate Technology and Regulatory Council (ITRC) has provided the following top ten items that regulators look for in a revitalization project; in no particular order:
- Assistance in identifying liable parties
- Communication of successes to demonstrate program viability
- Assistance in outreach efforts to local communities and organizations
- Partnerships with municipalities and other stakeholders
- Marketing of available properties for revitalization efforts to ensure that properties are being considered for revitalization by developers and other stakeholders
- Understanding of real estate obstacles and how to resolve those issues
- Ability to provide clear direction and regulatory assistance during cleanup and revitalization process
- Effective monitoring and enforcement programs for institutional controls
- Project funding to ensure that planning and cleanup timelines are met
- Assistance in facilitating acceptance among various state and federal regulatory agencies
The list is not comprehensive and items may shift in order based on individual project needs and requirements.