By Judy Sheahan
November 17, 2003

Conference President Hempstead (NY) Mayor James A. Garner addressed over 4,000 participants at the Brownfields 2003 Conference held in Portland (OR) October 27. Garner was joined by Portland Mayor Vera Katz, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Acting Administrator Marianne Horinko, Lt. General Robert B. Flowers, Commander and Chief of Engineers for the Army Corps of Engineers, and Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Assistant Secretary Roy Bernardi.

Garner spoke about the important role that brownfields redevelopment plays in building a sustainable community, which is one of his priorities during his tenure as President of the Conference. He also said that investing in brownfields redevelopment is a good plan for economic recovery.

"Redeveloping brownfields is a fundamental principle in sustainable development," said Garner, "We cannot hope to achieve a sustainable community if we simply throw away land once it has been used."

"My fellow mayors and I believe that brownfields redevelopment is a win-win for everyone involved," Garner said. "Not only does Brownfields redevelopment improve the environment and make our neighborhoods more desirable places to live, there are real economic benefits associated with brownfields redevelopment through job creation and tax revenues."

Garner outlined the results of the fourth "Recycling America's Land" publication that reported 922 brownfields sites have been already redeveloped, totaling more than 10,000 acres with 731 sites currently being redeveloped, comprising over 9,000 acres.

Garner outlined actual tax revenues collected ($90 million in 45 cities) with the tax revenues potentially being $790 million to $1.9 billion. Also included were statistics on jobs created with 74 cities claiming that over 83,000 jobs have already been created due to brownfields redevelopment with 148 cities saying that more than half a million jobs could be created if their brownfields sites were redeveloped.

Garner also told participants that despite all of the good work in creating economic opportunities from brownfield projects, there was still an uphill battle to be faced. "Since 9-11 we have fought the rising tide of an economic downturn," Garner said, "cities across the nation are facing massive budget shortfalls as a result of a slow economy and if our metropolitan regions fail, so will our nation's economy."

"Investment in America must not only occur in stocks, bonds and mutual funds, but more importantly in abandoned economic sectors and infrastructure," Garner said.

"During this economic slowdown, it is important to look at where investments should be made to turn this economy around and create jobs," Garner said, "I think we can safely say that investing in brownfields redevelopment is a winner."

"We must continue to work to realize the full potential of brownfields redevelopment to ensure true sustainable development here in America," Garner said. "The preservation of open space and farmland is not only essential to protecting our domestic food supply, but also to ensure that idle properties are reused so as to realize economic growth."

Other plenary speakers echoed Garner's comments. HUD Assistant Secretary Bernardi outlined HUD's role in brownfields redevelopment that includes 120 communities who have utilized the Brownfields Economic Development Initiative (BEDI) and the role that Community Development Block Grant Program (CDBG) has played in redeveloping brownfields.

General Flowers and Acting Administrator Horinko signed a Memorandum of Understanding between the Army Corps of Engineers and the EPA on a new "Portfields" Project which will target ports that are also brownfields acknowledging the strong role that ports play in the U.S. economy.

Horinko who served as Acting EPA Administrator until Utah Governor Mike Leavitt was confirmed October 28, said that the brownfields program has been a model for other EPA programs. "By applying the Brownfields principles to all cleanup programs," Horinko said. "We link cleanup to public health and jobs — we marry cleanup with revitalization."