New federal legislation to clean up industrial “brownfield”

New federal legislation to clean up industrial “brownfield” sites, mainly in cities, represents a big step forward, according to columnist Neal Peirce. “The biggest breakthrough isn’t the increased federal money (now up to $250 million a year) in the bill signed by the president January 11,” Peirce says. “Rather, it’s the new, crystal-clear national affirmation that recovering these brownfields are an important part of the country’s 21st century agenda.” There are 450,000 of these festering sites — from old rendering plants to closed gas stations — that are both eyesores and located on key sites, representing a big opportunity for urban redevelopment, he says. Ten years ago, the term brownfields was not even invented and these sites were shunned as liabilities. Now, there is growing recognition that not only are they economic development opportunities, but they can help to curb sprawl. For every brownfield acre developed, an estimated 4.5 acres of greenfields are saved, President Bush stated when signing the bill.