Focus sharpens on brownfield needs

(Dec. 12, 2007) As policymakers and interest groups search for ways to boost economic development, improve transportation and take the pressure off increasingly strapped municipal budgets in Connecticut, something that could help address all of these areas — brownfield redevelopment — is getting a much closer look.

As an older industrial state, Connecticut has hundreds, perhaps thousands of brownfield sites — abandoned mills, factories and other former industrial properties usually located in cities or near major transportation routes. They await redevelopment into new economic engines that can create jobs, generate tax revenues and help revitalize communities.

But over the past 10 years, only a handful of high-profile brownfield projects in Connecticut have received the substantial political and state financial support to get them cleaned up and redeveloped.

The state’s Brownfield Task Force, created in 2006, is working feverishly to identify why Connecticut is lagging behind many other states in getting these sites cleaned up and returned to productive use. And the business community, along with environmental and other organizations, are gearing up to help push for reform during the 2008 legislative session.

Through testimony from knowledgeable stakeholders from throughout the United States, the answer to the question “What does Connecticut need to do?” is coming into sharper focus for members of the task force.

Other states with the most successful brownfields programs have implemented, among other things, greater regulatory certainty regarding environmental cleanup requirements, increased liability protection for potential investors and supported environmental insurance programs aimed at brownfield redevelopment.

The Brownfields Task Force is expected to present its recommendations to the legislature by early February 2008. CBIA is working with all interested stakeholders to ensure a brownfields agenda moves forward during the next legislative session.

For more information, contact CBIA’s Eric Brown at 860-244-1926 or browne@cbia.com.