The RPC was awarded a $500,000 grant award in 2022 from the EPA to identify and assess known or potential sites contaminated with hazardous substances or petroleum. The goal of the program is to work with local communities on identifying, assessing, and redeveloping vacant or underutilized properties. There is no cost to property owners to participate in the assessment program.

Generally, sites that have a real or perceived environmental concern are eligible to participate. Public or private property may be eligible. The RPC Brownfields Advisory Committee will work with our consultant team and EPA regulatory agencies to confirm eligibility when selecting sites for assessment.

Phase I Site Assessments

Phase II Site Assessments (if applicable)

Redevelopment Planning Activities

Visioning and Community Engagement Meetings

There is no cost for participants in this program.

If you are interested in participating in the RPCGB Brownfields Redevelopment Program, please contact Jesslan Wilson, Director of Economic Development, at jwilson@rpcgb.org.

Upon acceptance of the site into the program, RPC staff will contact the applicant to schedule a site visit. An access agreement must also be signed by the current owner of the property after the site nomination process is complete. After an initial site visit by RPC, EPA, and the project consultant team, next steps for Phase I, Phase II, and redevelopment will be discussed.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) defines brownfields as “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.” These properties are often abandoned land and/or structures once utilized in the energy exploration, steel production, and manufacturing industries. Brownfields can also be former gasoline stations, dry cleaners, vehicle repair shops, foundries, rail yards, or even households.

A property may be initially identified as a brownfield based on real or perceived contamination. Prospective participants in the redevelopment process, including developers, financial lenders, and investors, may view properties where environmental contamination may have occurred as high risk. Properties where industrial activities have taken place that utilized chemicals or heavy metals are frequently seen as unpredictable development ventures. Consequently, brownfield properties are often avoided until an environmental assessment is conducted that clearly defines any environmental issues and remediation costs.

The remediation and reuse of these properties stimulates additional investment. Underutilized industrial and commercial properties have economic value to a community, and they can function as a catalyst for additional development. These properties typically have access to existing infrastructure (roads, sewer, etc.), reducing development costs. Redevelopment will remove the stigma of blight, increase property values, create job opportunities, and enhance the public and environmental health of the area while putting the properties back into productive use.  Redeveloping underutilized industrial and commercial properties can improve the social, economic, and physical health of a community. The process, however, can be complicated. Below are links to additional resources.