State of the Great Lakes 2007 Brownfields Redevelopment Indicator #7006

State of the Great Lakes 2007

Brownfields Redevelopment

Indicator #7006

Overall Assessment

Status: Mixed
Trend: Improving

Rationale: Data from multiple sources are not consistent. Inventories of existing brownfields are not available
in Ontario, so it is difficult to determine a trend for the redevelopment of brownfields. Since more
sites are being redeveloped and/or are being planned, there is some trend of an improvement in
the Great Lakes basin, but it is not based on a quantitative assessment.

Lake-by-Lake Assessment

The data were not assessed on an individual lake basin scale.

Purpose

To assess the area of redeveloped brownfields

To evaluate over time the rate at which society remediates and reuses former developed sites that have been degraded or
abandoned

Ecosystem Objective

The goal of brownfields redevelopment is to remove threats of contamination associated with these properties and to bring them
back into productive use. Remediation and redevelopment of brownfields results in two types of ecosystem improvements:
Reduction or elimination of environmental risks from contamination associated with these properties
Reductions in pressure for open space conversion as previously developed properties are reused

State of the Ecosystem

Brownfields are abandoned, idled, or under-used industrial and commercial facilities where expansion, redevelopment or reuse
is complicated by real or perceived environmental contamination. In 1999, 21,178 brownfields sites were identified in the United
States, which was equivalent to approximately 33,010 hectares (81,568 acres) of land (The United States Conference of Mayors
2000). Although similar research does not exist for Canada, and no inventory exists for either contaminated or brownfields sites in
Ontario, it is estimated that approximately 50,000 to 100,000 brownfields sites may exist in Canada (Globe 2006).

All eight Great Lakes states, Ontario and Quebec have programs to promote remediation or clean-up and redevelopment of
brownfields sites. Several of the brownfields clean-up programs have been in place since the mid- to late 1980s, but establishment
of more comprehensive brownfields programs that focus on remediation and redevelopment has occurred during the 1990s. Today,
each of the Great Lakes states has a voluntary clean-up or environmental response program and there are over 5,000 municipalities
with some type of brownfields program in the U.S. (Globe 2006). These clean-up programs offer a range of risk-based, site-specific
background and health clean-up standards that are applied based on the specifics of the contaminated property and its intended
reuse.

In Quebec, the Revi-Sols program was established in 1998 and is aimed at assessing and cleaning urban contaminated sites for the
purpose of reuse. Through this program, it was possible to collect some data on the number of contaminated sites in Quebec as
it was compulsory for the land owner to report this information to complete the application for financing. Based on this program,
more than 7,000 sites are included in this inventory.

To encourage redevelopment, Ontario's environmental legislation provides general protection from environmental orders for
historic contamination to municipalities, creditors and others. Ontario Regulation 153/04, which came into effect on October 1,
2004, details the requirements that property owners must meet in order to file a record of site condition. Two technical documents
are referenced by this regulation, one providing applicable site condition standards, the other providing laboratory analytical
protocols for the analysis of soil, sediment and ground water. A Brownfields Environmental Site Registry offers property owners
the opportunity to complete an online record of site condition, and this information is then publicly accessible. This registry is
currently voluntary. As of October 2005, property owners are required to file a record of site condition before a property's use is

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changed from an industrial or commercial use to a more sensitive use, such as residential. A record of site condition ensures that
a property meets regulated site-assessment and clean-up standards that are appropriate for the new use (Ontario Ministry of the
Environment 2006).

The 2003 enactment of the New York State Brownfield Law has resulted in increased interest by private developers and
municipalities in the redevelopment of contaminated properties.

Efforts to track brownfields redevelopment are uneven among Great Lakes states and provinces. Not all jurisdictions track
brownfields activities, and methods vary where tracking does take place. States, provinces and municipalities track the amount of
funding assistance provided as well as the number of sites that have been redeveloped. They also track the number of applications
that have been received for brownfields redevelopment funding. These are indicators of the level of brownfields redevelopment
activity in general, but they do not necessarily reflect land renewal efforts (i.e., area of land redeveloped), the desired measure
for this indicator. Compiling state and provincial data to report a brownfields figure that represents the collective eight states
and two provinces is challenging. Several issues are prominent. First, state and provincial clean-up data reflect different types of
clean-ups, not all of which are "brownfields" (e.g., some include leaking underground storage tanks and others do not). Second,
some jurisdictions have more than one program, and not necessarily all relevant programs engage in such tracking. Third, program
figures do not include clean-ups that have not been part of a state or provincial clean-up program (e.g., local or private clean-ups).
Several states and provinces do track area of brownfields remediated, although no Great Lakes state or province tracks area of
brownfields redeveloped.

Information on area of
brownfields remediated from
Illinois, Minnesota, New York,
Ohio, Pennsylvania, Quebec
and Ontario indicate that, as
of August, 2002, a total of
13,413 hectares (33,143 acres)
had been remediated (Table
1). Available data from eight
Great Lakes states, Quebec and
Ontario indicate that almost
27,000 brownfields sites have
participated in brownfields
clean-up programs since
the mid-1990s, although the
degree of remediation varies
considerably. In Ontario,
brownfields redevelopment is
planned for 108 hectares (267
acres) of land between 2006
and 2008 forthe municipalities
that participated in this
assessment.

State/Province

Acres
remediated

Hectares
remediated

Time frame

Sites
remediated

Time frame

1,220

494

2004-2006

18,000

1994-2005

13,229

5354

2000-2006

1,097

1996-2002

4,204

1701

1994-2006

156

1996-2002

not tracked

5,539f

1995-2002

104

2006

32*

2006

7,047

2852

1998-2002

462

1998-2002

6,412

2595

1990-2001

899

1990-2001

2000-2002

235

2002-2005

741

300

1998-2002

309

1998-2005

Total

33,247

13,455

26,523

Table 1. Summary of acres remediated and number of sites remediated in the Great Lakes
basin states and the provinces of Ontario and Quebec, 1990 - 2006.

fReflects number of sites that have been subject to a baseline environmental assessment, but
not necessarily remediation

Total reflects number of sites that have been remediated and/or have received closure with the
use of Environmental Restrictive Covenants.

Source: Various state, municipal and provincial brownfields coordinators and city planners

Remediation is a necessary precursor to redevelopment. Remediation is often used interchangeably with "clean-up," though
brownfields remediation does not always involve removing or treating contaminants. Many remediation strategies utilize either
engineering or institutional controls (also known as exposure controls) or adaptive reuse techniques that are designed to limit
the spread of, or human exposure to, contaminants left in place. In many cases, the cost of treatment or removal of contaminants
would prohibit reuse of land. All Great Lakes states and provinces allow some contaminants to remain on site as long as the risks
of being exposed to those contaminants are eliminated or reduced to acceptable levels. Capping a site with clean soil or restricting
the use of groundwater are examples of these "exposure controls" and their use has been a major factor in advancing brownfields
redevelopment. Several jurisdictions keep track of the number and location of sites with exposure controls, but monitoring the
effectiveness of such controls occurs in only three out of the ten jurisdictions.

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Redevelopment is a criterion for eligibility under many state brownfields clean-up programs. Though there are inconsistent and
inadequate data on area of brownfields remediated and/or redeveloped, available data indicate that both brownfields clean-up and
redevelopment efforts have risen dramatically in the mid-1990s and steadily since 2000. The increase is due to risk-based clean-up
standards and the widespread use of state liability relief mechanisms that allow private parties to redevelop, buy or sell properties
without being liable for contamination they did not cause. Canadian law does not provide liability exemptions for new owners such
as those in the U.S. Small Business Liability Relief and Brownfields Revitalization Act (Globe 2006). Environmental liability is a
major barrier to successful brownfields redevelopment in Canada. Current owners do not want to sell brownfields sites for fear of
liability issues in the future, purchasers of land do not want to buy sites without some level of protection and municipalities assume
liability when they become site owners (City of Hamilton Planning and Development Department 2007). The Ontario Ministry
of Finance has proposed changes under Bill 130 (Municipal Statute Law Amendment Act, 2006) which would allow brownfields
to be advertised as "free" of any provincial crown liens if a municipality assumes ownership of a property with a failed tax sale.
Also, under certain circumstances, this new policy will allow for the removal of crown liens on brownfields properties at tax sale.
If passed, this change in legislation would reduce some of the issues related to civil and regulatory liabilities. One recommendation
is that once a property owner has met regulatory standards in the cleanup phase that they are not forced to meet stricter standards
in the future.

In 2005. the Government of Canada allocated
$150 million for brownfields remediation. Other
initiatives include the Sustainable Technologies
Canada Funding, and the Federal Contaminated
Sites Action Plan. Also, more financial tools for
brownfields redevelopment are available though
a Community Improvement Plan (CIP), which
allows municipalities to encourage brownfields
redevelopment by offering financial incentives. Other
grants and loans can be provided to supplement the
CIP including an exemption or a reduction in the cost
of fees associated with permits, parkland dedications
and zoning amendments. Tax incentives can also be
provided by municipalities to encourage the cleanup
of contaminated sites (Ontario Ministry of Municipal
Affairs and Housing, 2006).

Data also indicate that the majority of clean-ups in
the Great Lakes states and provinces are occurring
in older urbanized areas, many of which are located
on the shoreline of the Great Lakes and in the basin.
Based on the available information, the state of
brownfields redevelopment is mixed and improving.

Pressures

Laws and policies that encourage new development
to occur on undeveloped land instead of on urban
brownfields are significant and on-going pressures
against brownfield development can be expected to
continue. Programs to monitor, verify and enforce
effectiveness of exposure controls are in their
infancy, and the potential for human exposure
to contaminants may inhibit the redevelopment
of brownfields. Several Great Lakes states allow
brownfields redevelopment to proceed without
cleaning up contaminated groundwater as long as
no one is going to use or come into contact with
that water. However, where migrating groundwater

Figure 1. Redeveloped brownfields site, Spencer Creek, Hamilton,
Ontario.

Source: City of Hamilton

/WiMjl

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State of the Great Lakes 2007

plumes ultimately interface with surface waters, some surface water quality may continue to be at risk from brownfields
contamination even where brownfields have been remediated.

Management Implications

Programs to monitor and enforce exposure controls need to be fully developed and implemented. More research is needed to
determine the relationship between groundwater supplies and Great Lakes surface waters and their tributaries. Because brownfields
redevelopment results in both reduction or elimination of environmental risks from past contamination and reduction in pressure
for open space land conversion, data should be collected that will enable an evaluation of each of these activities. For every hectare
(2.5 acres) developed in a brownfields project, it can save an estimated minimum of 4.5 hectares (11 acres) of land from being
developed in an outlying area (National Roundtable on the Environment and the Economy 2003).

Ontario is expected to add 3.7 million more people to its population in the next 25 years with most of the growth occurring in the
Greater Golden Horseshoe (western end of Lake Ontario) (Ontario Ministry of Public Infrastructure Renewal 2006). Brownfields
redevelopment needs to be a part of the planning and development reform in order to address the issue of urban sprawl.

Funding and liability issues are obstacles for brownfields redevelopment and can hinder progress.

Comments from the author(s)

Great Lakes states and provinces have begun to track brownfields remediation and or redevelopment, but the data are generally
inconsistent or not available in ways that are helpful to assess progress toward meeting the terms of the Great Lakes Water Quality
Agreement. Though some jurisdictions have begun to implement web-based searchable applications for users to query the status
of brownfields sites, the data gathered are not necessary consistent, which presents challenges for assessing progress in the entire
basin. States and provinces should develop common tracking methods and work with local jurisdictions incorporating local data
to online databases that can be searched by: 1) area remediated; 2) mass of contamination removed or treated (i.e., not requiring
an exposure control); 3) type of treatment; 4) geographic location; 5) level of urbanization; and 6) type of reuse (i.e., commercial,
residential, open, none, etc.). A recent development in the province of Ontario is the designation of a Provincial Brownfields
Coordinator who will coordinate provincial brownfields activities and provide a single point of access on brownfields in Ontario.

Acknowledgments

Author:

Victoria Pebbles, Senior Project Manager, Transportation and Sustainable Development, Great Lakes Commission, Ann Arbor,
MI. vpebblest@glc.org, www.glc.org.

Updated by:

Stacey Cherwaty-Pergentile, A/Science Liaison Officer, Environment Canada, Burlington, ON. Stacey.Cherwaty@ec.gc.ca
Elizabeth Hinchey Malloy, Great Lakes Ecosystem Extension Specialist, Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant, Chicago, IL. Hinchey.
Elizabeth@epa.gov

Contributors: Personal communication with Great Lakes State Brownfields/Voluntary Cleanup Program Managers:

David E. Hess, Director, Land Recycling Program, Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection
Andrew Savagian, Outreach Specialist, Remediation and Redevelopment (RR) Program, Wisconsin Department of Natural
Resources

Ron Smedley, Brownfield Redevelopment Coordinator, Michigan DEQ Remediation and Redevelopment
Gerald Stahnke, Project Leader, Voluntary Investigation and Cleanup Unit, Minnesota Pollution Control Agency
Susan Tynes Harrington, Indiana Brownfields Program, Indiana Finance Authority
Amy Yersavich, Manager, Voluntary Action Program, Ohio EPA

Personal communication with Provincial as well as Canadian municipalities within the Great Lakes basin including:

City of Barrie, Nancy Farrer, Policy Planner

City of Cornwall, Ken Bedford, Senior Planner

City of Hamilton, CarolynnReid, Brownfields Coordinator

City of Mississauga, Jeff Smylie, Environmental Engineer

City of Kingston, Joseph Davis, Manager, Brownfields and Initiatives

City of Kitchener, Terry Boutilier, Brownfields Coordinator

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City of London, Terry Grawey, Planning Division

City of Thunder Bay, Katherine Dugmore, Manager of Planning Division

City of Toronto, Glenn Walker, Economic Development Officer

City of Toronto Economic Development Corporation (TEDCO)

Province of Quebec, Michel Beaulieu

Sources

References Cited

City of Hamilton Planning and Development Department, 2007. Brownfields Redevelopment versus Greenfield Development,
http://www.mvhamilton.ca/NR/rdonlv res/AFlFEA4C-333C-440D-9E12-1738401841F5/0/PTPBrownfieldvsGreenfieldDevelopment.pdf.
last accessed 30 May 2007.

Globe 2006. Bureau of National Affairs, Inc., Washington, D.C., 27( 7):254-259.

Ontario Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing, 2006. Financial Tools for Brownfields Redevelopment, Available online at:
www.brownfields.ontario.ca.

Ontario Ministry of Public Infrastructure and Renewal, 2006. Places to Grow: Better Choices, Bright Futures - Growth Plan for
the Greater Golden Horseshoe.

Ontario Ministry of the Environment, 2006. Ontario's Brownfields Legislation Promotes Stronger, Healthier Communities -News
Release, www.ene.gov.on.ca/envision/news/2005/062201.htm. last accessed 11 October 2006.

National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy 2003. Cleaning Up the Past, Building the Future. A National
Brownfields Redevelopment Strategy for Canada., ISBN 1-894737-05-9, http://www.nrtee-trnee.ca/Publications/HTML/SOD
Brownfields-Strateev E.htm. last accessed 11 October 2006. [Editor's note: This publication is now available at,
http://www.nrtee-trnee.ca/en2/publications/brownf\eld-redevelopment-strate2v/Brownf\eld-Redevelopment-Strate2v-en2.htm.l

The United States Conference of Mayors, 2000. A National Report on Brownfields Redevelopment - Volume 3. Feb. 2000, pp.12.

Other Selected Resources

Association of Municipalities of Ontario Report on Brownfields Redevelopment 2006. What has been Achieved, What Remains
to be done, http://www.amo.on.ca/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Eventsl&Template=/CM/HTMLDisplav.cfm&ContentID=65396.
last accessed 11 October 2006.

Delcan, Golder Associates Ltd., and McCarthy - Tetrault. (1997) Urban Brownfields: Case Studies for Sustainable Economic
Development. The Canadian Example. Canada Mortgage and Housing, p. 1.

Ontario Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing, 2006a. Brownfields Redevelopment in Small Urban and Rural Municipalities.
Available online at: www.brownfields.ontario.ca [Editor's note: A PDF of the document is also available at,
http://www. mah. gov, on .caAssetFactorv. aspx?did=1511.1

Ontario Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing, 2006b Brownfields Ontario www.mah.gov.on.ca/userfiles/HTML/nts 1
3305 l.html. last accessed 11 October 2006. [Editor's note: If the link is inoperative, the Brownfields Ontario page can also be
found at, http://www.mah.20v. on.ca/Page220. aspx. 1

Ontario Ministry of Municipal Affairs andHousing, 2006c. Remarks fromHonourable JohnGerretsen, Associationof Municipalities
of Ontario Annual Conference, August 15,2006. www.mah.gov.ca/userfiles/HTML/nts_l_27611_l.html, last accessed 11 October
2006.

Stakeholders Urge Government to Limit Brownfields Liability, 2006. http://www.willmsshier.com/newsletters.asp?id=30. last
accessed 11 October 2006.

Last Updated

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