Brownfields Program Turns Polluted Sites Into Economic Potential

September 2, 2014

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The Florida Brownfields Program facilitates redevelopment and job creation by empowering communities, local governments and other stakeholders to work together to assess, clean up and reuse sites that may have been previously impacted by pollutants. Brownfields are properties where expansion, redevelopment or reuse may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of environmental pollution.

Established in 1997, the Florida Brownfields Redevelopment Program utilizes economic and regulatory incentives to encourage the use of private revenue to restore and redevelop sites, create new jobs and boost the local economy. Partners in the Florida Brownfields Redevelopment Program include local governments, the Department of Environmental Protection, the Department of Economic Opportunity and Enterprise Florida, Inc.

In Escambia County, one of the largest Brownfields areas is the entire town limits of Century.

The former Alger-Sullivan Company lumber mill site on Front Street was first listed as an individual Brownfields site, and the designation was later expanded to the entire town.

From about 1900 until the late 1960’s, Alger Sullivan operated their lumber mill on the site. Various companies, including Wayne Dalton Corporation, manufactured wooded doors at the facility from about 1971 until 1992. As part of the manufacturing process, the wooden doors were dipped in pentachlorophenol wood preservative; the contamination of the property was associated with a release from the dipping tank.

Cleanup of groundwater and soils was conducted and a conditional closure was issued by DEP in 2009, indicating no further remediation of the property was necessary as long as the registered engineering and land use controls were maintained.

Other companies have expressed interest in the property after cleanup, but none have opened in the facility. A recent state report says a sale is under negotiation on the property, but the realtor that represents the property owner said the there are no offers pending on the property.

In late 2005, the Century Town Council took advantage of a state provision allowing them to expand the Brownfields designation to the entire town as an economic development tool.  The designation provides bonuses for job creation, loan guarantees, sales tax credits and other incentives for qualified businesses to locate in the town.

“Florida’s Brownfields Program continues to facilitate the successful redevelopment of underutilized areas throughout the state,” said Jorge Caspary, director of the Division of Waste Management. “This program not only makes it possible to mitigate contaminated sites, but also creates jobs and stimulates the economy in the process.”

Since inception of the program, 75 contaminated sites have been cleaned up, more than 65,000 confirmed and projected direct and indirect jobs have been created and $2.5 billion in capital investment has been made in designated brownfield areas, according to data released recently by the state. To make the program’s incentives available to a community, a local government must designate a brownfields area by resolution. Local governments have designated 362 current brownfield areas statewide.

Century is also an Enterprise Zone, providing qualifying businesses with various tax credits and incentives.

Pictured top: The former Alger-Sullivan Lumber Company Brownsfield site in Century. NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.

Comments

One Response to “Brownfields Program Turns Polluted Sites Into Economic Potential”

  1. jobs on September 2nd, 2014 7:39 pm

    LOOKS LIKE A GOOD PLACE FOR A RECYCLE CENTER.

Written by William Reynolds · Filed Under News