Public-Private Partnerships for Brownfield Cleanup and Development by Deb Lange

Deb Lange (second from left) is the Executive Director of the Steinbrenner Institute for Environmental Education and Research. The mission of the Steinbrenner Institute for Environmental Education and Research (SEER) is to help to change the ways the Carnegie Mellon University community and the world thinks and acts about the environment. She is also the Executive Director of the Brownfields Center at CMU. Lange provided an overview of public-private partnerships with regards to federal funding for brownfields cleanup and development. Lange defined brownfields from federal legislation as "…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…” and explained the benefits of cleaning up and developing them. Economic development on brownfields sites allows communities to benefit from land that was unused and potentially hazardous by creating taxable properties and jobs. Lange described the Environmental Protection Agency's Brownfields Program and briefly explained the monetary amounts and uses for the grant money available through it. The Brownfields Program offers four kinds of grants: Assessment Grants, Revolving Loan Fund Grants, Job Training Grants, and Cleanup Grants. Lange identified some recipients of Brownfields Program grants from the Pittsburgh region and noted that although federal money is available, success occurs at the local level. She also expressed the belief that local incentives are needed to attract private investors in brownfield redevelopment.