Brownfield regulation and development

<p><a href="/facts/Brownfield_land/E1su5meG">Brownfields</a> are defined by the <a href="/facts/United_States_Environmental_Protection_Agency/ghI985SI">Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)</a> as properties that are complicated by the potential presence of pollutants or otherwise hazardous substances. The pollutants such as <a href="/facts/Heavy_metals/Cblmy8qI">heavy metals</a>, polychlorinated biphenyls (<a href="/facts/Polychlorinated_biphenyl/R3sC5PEf">PCB</a>), poly- and per-fluoroalkyl substances (<a href="/facts/Per-_and_polyfluoroalkyl_substances/KcNTVbvS">PFAS</a>), and volatile organic compounds (<a href="/facts/Volatile_organic_compound/BFMlKwgt">VOCs</a>) contaminating these sites are typically due to commercial or industrial work that was previously done on the land. This includes locations such as abandoned gas stations, laundromats, factories, and mills. By a process called land revitalization, these once polluted sites can be remediated into locations that can be utilized by the public.
</p><p>Legislation regarding brownfields was enacted in the United States at the federal level beginning in the late 1900s with the <a href="/facts/Resource_Conservation_and_Recovery_Act/Q9xL0Nb8">Resource Conservation and Recovery Act</a>, initially only applying to locations with active hazardous waste. CERCLA, or <a href="/facts/Superfund/FFJJqmmu">Superfund</a>, passed in 1980, is one of the more influential programs in the redevelopment of these lands, and has since been amended to expand its impact. The Brownfield Revitalization and Environmental Restoration Act, passed by the Bush Administration in 2002, granted additional funding for clean-up. The European Union has both the <a href="/facts/European_Regional_Development_Fund/QblQsEql">European Regional Development Fund</a> and the <a href="/facts/Cohesion_Fund/slV2RF6g">Cohesion Fund</a> to aid in the remediation of these brownfield sites. Additionally, the EU has released seventeen <a href="/facts/Sustainable_Development_Goals/b7lVYvFN">Sustainable Development Goals</a> to encourage nations around the world to both prevent and reduce a variety of harmful practices that contribute to the creation of brownfields. "<a href="/facts/Polluter_pays_principle/JDbCrKoc">Polluter pays</a>" is a principle that has been introduced in many different countries, including the United Kingdom and China, assigning responsibility to the party that did the contamination. These measures have been taken to help reduce the impact of brownfield sites internationally.
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Brownfield regulation and development open-in-new

Brownfield regulation and development