Figuring out how to clean up a brownfield site and turn it into something positive is both exciting and complex. The 8 basic steps outlined here will help you understand the process from start to finish.
Contaminated sites often are cleaned up because a property owner, interested developer or municipality is looking to fill a specific need. For example, if the community needs senior housing and there is a brownfield site that would be appropriate for that use, the municipality might initiate the cleanup and redevelopment of that site.
How Can You Participate?
There are several ways that citizens can get involved in cleaning up brownfields in their community:
Initiate a Cleanup
If you've discovered a possible brownfield site and want to see it cleaned up and reused, contact your local officials and interested community groups. Encourage them to partner with you and others to help get the process moving.
Review and Monitor a Cleanup
If someone else (e.g. a Volunteer) has already expressed interest in a brownfield property and is applying to the Brownfield Cleanup Program for help with identifying and removing the contamination, there are still many things you can do: |
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Contact the developer and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation to let them know you are an interested citizen and would like to be on the Site Contact List to receive information such as fact sheets, meeting notices and public comment period information. |
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Check with your municipality to see that the developer has been given all information regarding any community vision for the property or any areas nearby. |
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Participate in every opportunity for public comment. |
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| Illustrations by Dan Baxter. |
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