Brownfields Program
The City of Tallahassee continues to have one of the most successful brownfields programs in the state of Florida and the southeastern United States. Since 2008, the City of Tallahassee has received $2 million in federal Brownfields grant funding from the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Brownfields are properties where the presence or potential presence of environmental contamination hinders redevelopment or reuse. Assessing, cleaning up and reinvesting in these properties protects human health and the environment, reduces blight, promotes reuse of properties and takes development pressures off green spaces and working lands. The City's Environmental Policy and Energy Resources Department (EPER) is responsible for administering the grant funds, and guiding the assessment and cleanup activities.
The City has been fortunate to receive over $2M in federal brownfields grant funding since the late 1990s. The Florida Department of Environmental Protection has also supported the City's brownfields activities with benefits such as expedited project review and Voluntary Cleanup Tax Credits. These benefits and more are available to anyone who wishes to take advantage of the Brownfields Program.
What are Brownfields?
The U.S. EPA defines brownfields 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." (Section 101(39) of CERCLA)
The Brownfields Program is designed to empower states, communities, and other stakeholders in economic redevelopment to work together in a timely manner to prevent, assess, safely clean up, and sustainably reuse Brownfields sites. The program promotes the cleanup and redevelopment of brownfields sites through policies, laws, and initiatives that explore sector-based solutions, enhance environmental quality, spur economic development, and revitalize communities.
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