SS Credit 3: Brownfield Redevelopment
January 12th, 20101 Point: Intent
To rehabilitate damaged sites where development is complicated by environmental contamination and to reduce pressure on undeveloped land.
As we discussed in Sustainable Sites (SS) Credit 1: Site Selection, the USGBC encourages developers to concentrate new development projects in areas that have already been altered from their natural state and preserve existing Greenfields. Greenfields are sites where natural features have not been developed. SS Credit 3, Brownfield Redevelopment, ups the ante and urges developers to build on land that not only has been previously developed, but as a result of its past use is now contaminated. As defined by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Brownfields are 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. Cleaning up and reinvesting in these properties protects the environment, reduces blight, and takes development pressures off Greenfields and working lands.
The U.S. General Accounting Office estimates that there are more than 450,000 Brownfields in the U.S. amounting to estimates as high as 5 million acres! These numbers suggest that nearly every community in the U.S. contains a Brownfield site, for these communities redevelopment of such sites can improve community appearance and image, relieve associated health and environmental concerns, and produce a beneficial economic effect through increased property values and employment opportunities. Click Here to read an EPA primer on Brownfield Redevelopment. Such is the case in Charles Town, where the site of the new Academic Center was formerly utilized as a scrap heap. As rain fell on the site, water seeping through old machinery and metal products became inundated with soluble metal forms and petroleum based lubricants and compounds which were then transported into the soil and ultimately the groundwater underneath Charles Town. While the scrap has been removed the soil still contains contaminates which APUS had to find a way to control.
In order to facilitate the Brownfield redevelopment process a systematic approach is necessary for assessment and remediation of Brownfields.
APUS Academic Center Construction as of January 2, 2010
The most important aspects of the approach include (1) site characterization; (2) impact (or risk) assessment; and (3) the selection of an effective remedial action. As APUS worked through this process it was decided that the most effective means of remediation would be to cap the site with concrete and prevent further groundwater infiltration from the contaminated soil. With the redevelopment of this site APUS has prevented groundwater infiltration of contaminates contained within the soil. In pursuit of SS Credit 3 Brownfield Redevelopment, APUS has effectively contained a watershed threat and improved water quality conditions for the local community.
Image provided by OxBlue Construction Camera
External Links of Interest
The Brownfields and Land Revitalization Technology Support Center
