Findings of the Study

Section 2.0: Findings of the Study

The key findings of the research of other web sites and discussions with potential users of the exchange and staff of other federal agencies are discussed below.

Most individuals with experience in developing web sites are willing to share lessons learned, and those considering the development of web sites would like to identify opportunities to work with others to save time and money.
Most individuals and organizations that participated in the discussions supported the concept of a national web site and expressed the belief that local, state, and federal brownfields programs could benefit from such a web site; however, at the time the study was conducted, they were not able to make firm commitments to provide either information for the web site or operational resources.
Currently, national web sites contain minimal information about individual brownfields properties; the operators are exploring methods of obtaining additional information about such properties and keeping that information current.
Some states currently operate web sites dedicated to listing brownfields properties. Other states have web sites of environmentally impaired sites, in which brownfields properties are included as a subset. Appendix B to this report is a list of states that were contacted to determine whether they have collected or plan to collect information about brownfield properties and make that information available to the public.
The web site designs that several states have developed could serve as a basis for other entities developing similar web sites. Using those web sites could keep to a minimum the resources necessary to develop new web sites. It appears that the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania has the most comprehensive web site of brownfields properties in the nation. Second is the state of New Jersey, which has developed a comprehensive database to be used as the basis for a web site. Massachusetts also has a web site of brownfields information; however it includes only a limited number of sites. Appendix C to this report shows the items of information the three states are interested in collecting and the number of properties in their systems. Appendix C also includes a comparison of the items of information for each of the three states, to the items of information included in the optional web site design prepared by EPA.
There is a national database for properties potentially available for redevelopment under the DoD Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) program; however, the information in it may not be complete because local redevelopment authorities (LRA) have primary responsibility for managing the transfer of DoD properties at their level, and thus maintain information about their assigned properties. EPA held discussions with several LRAs that were developing web sites. Representatives of those LRAs indicated a willingness to continue discussions about the development of a national web site.
Emerging from the study were a number potential challenges to the development and operation of web sites providing information about brownfields. The challenges arise whether the effort is a local, regional, state, or national one. They are:

– There is no regulatory mandate or other significant motivating factor that encourages the development of comprehensive lists of brownfields properties. The most significant motivation appears to be at the city and state level where inventories of brownfields properties are helpful to establish a clearer picture of where such properties are located, to determine the status of cleanup efforts, and to track grants and other funds awarded to support redevelopment.

– Generally, government agencies do not appear to have the level of resources necessary to give priority to the development and operation of web sites that include information about brownfields properties. Similarly, it appears that private organizations and associations may not have the resources necessary for a major effort.

– Because they consider the "brownfields" designation negative, many property owners are reluctant to include their properties in lists of brownfields properties that will be available to the general public and to regulatory agencies.

– There may be legal ramifications associated with advertising or otherwise implying that a property is for sale merely because it appears on a list of brownfields properties. An agreement may be required between property owners and operators of web sites to verify the owners' desire to list the property and offer it for sale.

– Developers, realtors, and others who receive a fee for their role in property transactions could lose those fees if bypassed via public web sites; they may resist the use of such web sites.