Brownfields redevelopment: A reality?

There have been numerous attempts to reform the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA), also known as Superfund, since its inception. The act originally promulgated $1.6 billion in funding to provide for the rapid cleanup of those sites designated as the most dangerous and placed on the National Priorities List (NPL). In 1986, Congress increased the amount of the Superfund to $8.5 billion and added another $5.1 billion in 1990. Overall, it is estimated that the total amount of money spent on the Superfund program is between 25 and 30 billion dollars. While current Superfund reform continues to unfold, Congress has promised to provide a more sensible approach to environmental cleanup, including the possible repeal of retroactive, strict and joint and several liability up to a fixed point in time. One thing is for certain, there is increased recognition that, despite good intentions, the federal Superfund law has been a dismal failure and a major deterrent to the redevelopment of industrial urban areas and contaminated properties. In need of a fix and with an obsessive desire to remove the stigma long associated with the Superfund program, the EPA will hang its hat on the Brownfields Initiative. This initiativemore » is intended to demonstrate ways to return contaminated, unproductive, abandoned urban sites to productive use and ensure that future development is accomplished in a sustainable, environmentally sound manager.« less