Appendix A

Appendix A: Approach to the Study

In conducting its study, EPA recognized that other web sites, current or planned, contain or will include information about brownfields properties and other distressed properties that have potential reuse value. The study included meetings with potential buyers and sellers of brownfields properties, as well as other national and local brownfields stakeholders, to: (1) learn more about those web sites; (2) solicit ideas about and suggestions for ways in which the exchange could best serve their needs; and (3) identify potential opportunities to coordinate the exchange with other efforts to list brownfields properties.

National web sites that were reviewed and their affiliations or sponsoring entities are:

In addition to discussions with those organizations, EPA participated in discussions with other organizations that support the national Brownfields Program, as well as state agencies that are developing web sites that include information about brownfields properties. The purpose of the discussions was to obtain insight into the experiences of those organizations in establishing similar web sites and to determine the organizations' level of interest in supporting the development and operation of a national web site. The other organizations with which discussions were held include the Environmental Redevelopment Association and the National Association of State Development Agencies; the states with which discussion were held include Pennsylvania and New Jersey. EPA also chaired a special session at the national Brownfields 2000 conference in Atlantic City, New Jersey in October 2000 to discuss local, state, and national efforts to collect and disseminate information about brownfields properties. EPA used that opportunity to continue dialogue about the potential exchange with many of the organizations listed above, several state agencies, as well as others that participated in the session.

EPA also conducted discussions with federal "landholder" agencies to determine: (1) the status of efforts of those agencies to develop web sites that provide information about properties that are available for transfer or sale, (2) their experiences in developing web sites, and (3) potential opportunities to link their information to the exchange. EPA held discussions with staff of the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), and the General Services Administration (GSA). The most in-depth discussions were held with DoD staff involved in the Base Realignment and Closure Program (BRAC) Program because the BRAC Program and the Brownfields Program exhibit a number of similarities in the area of support for economic redevelopment. The discussions with DoE and GSA were limited and therefore are considered preliminary. (It should be noted that properties that are the responsibility of the three agencies identified above are not necessarily considered brownfields properties. In some cases, they are "excess" property, and their redevelopment may not be hampered by real or perceived environmental contamination.)