1. What is a Brownfield? A brownfield is a property, the expansion, redevelopment, or reuse of which may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant.

2. EPA's Brownfields Program EPA's Brownfields Program is designed to empower states, communities, and other stakeholders in economic redevelopment to work together in a timely manner to prevent, assess, safely clean up, and sustainably reuse brownfields. It is estimated that there are more than 450,000 brownfields in the U.S. Cleaning up and reinvesting in these properties increases local tax bases, facilitates job growth, utilizes existing infrastructure, takes development pressures off of undeveloped, open land, and both improves and protects the environment.

3. How EPA Empowers Communities to Clean up and Reinvest in Brownfields Assessment Grants provides funding for brownfield inventories, planning, environmental assessments, and community outreach Cleanup Grants provides direct funding for cleanup activities at certain properties with planned greenspace, recreational, or other nonprofit uses Revolving Loan Fund Grants provides funding to capitalize loans that are used to clean up brownfields Job Training Grants to bring together community groups, job training organizations, educators, labor groups, investors, lenders, developers, and other affected parties to address the issue of providing environmental employment and training for residents in communities impacted by Brownfields

4. EPA Partner HUD and their Activities Brownfields redevelopment is the vehicle to unearth the development potential of our urban communities. It is also the means for metropolitan areas to grow smarter - recycling our Nation's land to promote continued economic growth while curtailing urban sprawl and cleaning up our environment. How HUD helps Redevelop and Remediate Brownfields Community Development Block Grants (CDBG) benefits low and moderate income persons prevents or eliminate slums or blight addresses conditions that present a serious and immediate threat to the health and safety of the community Section 108 Loan Guarantee Program Brownfields Economic Development Initiative (BEDI) Empowerment Zones (EZs) and Enterprise Communities (ECs) to build public-private partnerships for sustainable community development provides businesses tax incentives like tax-exempt bond financing, section 179 expensing, the work opportunity tax credit, and the welfare-to-work tax credit

5. West Palm Beach Brownfields

6. Web Links with Additional Information: http://www.brownfieldsconference.org/en/index.aspx http://epa.gov/brownfields/index.html http://www.hud.gov/offices/cpd/economicdevelopment/programs/bedi/bfieldfinance.cfm http://www.dep.state.fl.us/waste/categories/brownfields/default.htm http://www.floridabrownfields.org/