| A brownfield is defined as, under certain legal exclusions and additions, 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. |
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Announcements
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MDEQ-Tupelo Partnership Receives Phoenix Award
 The partnership between the City of Tupelo and the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) was be highlighted in November at the National Brownfield Conference in New Orleans when they received national recognition for their work on the redevelopment of contaminated property at the old fairgrounds in Tupelo. A regional Phoenix Award was presented to the Downtown Tupelo Main Street Association and MDEQ for their efforts to transform the area around a former dry cleaner into the popular downtown Fairpark District. The Phoenix Awards Institute recognizes groups that remediate and redevelop brownfield sites and represents the industry’s highest honor.
In 2000, during the acquisition of property that included the former Long’s Laundry, the City of Tupelo learned from environmental studies that the soil and groundwater beneath the site had been contaminated by chlorinated solvents. The project stalled until 2003, when the Downtown Tupelo Main Street Association applied for Targeted Brownfield Assessment assistance through MDEQ. “We were dead in the water until the brownfield folks at MDEQ came to us and helped. Up to that point, the city had spent close to $200,000 dollars in environmental studies with no clear end point in sight,” says Debbie Brangenberg, Director of Main Street. “Our goal with the Brownfields Program is to provide direction and clarity to the difficult task of redeveloping contaminated properties,” says Trey Hess, Brownfields Program Coordinator for MDEQ. “At the time, the city was paddling hard but having a difficulty navigating through the environmental and regulatory issues related to the site.”
With a clear understanding of the intended future use of the property and the city’s objectives for redevelopment, MDEQ was able to develop a strategy for the environmental assessment to be completed, for liability protection to be secured, and for the site to be redeveloped in a manner that was protective of human health and the environment. In 2004, demolition of the former dry cleaner began, and the transformation of the properties into “Fairpark” had begun. Liability protection was secured for the Tupelo Redevelopment Agency through a Brownfield Agreement with the Mississippi Commission on Environmental Quality in 2006, and the city saved approximately $87,000 in planning and assessment services provided by MDEQ to address the environmental conditions at the site.
Today, the Fairpark District includes the Renasant Center for Ideas, serving the community as a regionally-based business incubator; the Tupelo Automobile Museum; City Hall, serving as the centerpiece of Fairpark; City Park with its dancing fountain that attracts children and families from all over, and a variety of upscale retail and small businesses that blend modern amenities with the architectural character and scale of a traditional small city. |
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2009 NBA Big Deal Conference
Atlanta, GA March 23-24,2010 |
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| The National Brownfields Association's "The Big Deal" Conference will be held in Atlata this year, where the best minds in the industry will share experiences and answer your questions at 25 information-rich sessions on today’s most relevant land development, real estate and brownfield-related topics, including (1) Renewable Energy on Brownfields, the new frontier in sustainable development; (2) Government Resources; (3) Waterfront Redevelopment, where the next big wave of brownfield activity is expected to occur; (4) Bankruptcy Workouts, (5) Surplus Properties, (6) Water Supply Reuse, (7) Real Estate, Economic & Political Forecasts – gain the business advantage by getting advanced market knowledge. Register today! |
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MDEQ Brownfields Program Acknowledged by EPA Region 4 |
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| On March 27, 2008, in a letter to the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ), Region 4 of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) acknowledged that MDEQ has demonstrated that the Mississippi Brownfields Program meets the requirements of CERCLA Section 128(a) for a State Response Program. Under the existing federal brownfields law, Congress expressly provided a federal enforcement bar under CERCLA §106(a) or §107(a) to all landowners/developers who have enrolled their brownfield site into the State Response Program and who are successfully completing (or have completed) the state prescribed remedial actions. This bar on federal enforcement was Congress’ method of streamlining the administrative process, reducing delay, and providing landowners/developers the prerequisite regulatory clarity needed to undertake brownfields redevelopment. Under the existing federal brownfields law, Congress recognized the primacy of state brownfield clean-up programs to both determine clean-up standards for brownfields sites and confirm when those clean-up standards have been successfully achieved. With the issuance of this acknowledgement letter, the partnership between EPA and MDEQ is further strengthened allowing for greater clarity and less uncertainty in the assessment, cleanup, and reuse of sites moving through the Mississippi Brownfields Program. |
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| General Information | | Applications |
| Overview of brownfields and various programs and benefits | | Applications for parties interested in the Brownfields Program |
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| Useful Links and Information | | State Law & Regulations |
| Links that provide an overview of useful brownfield informations | | Mississippi State Laws and Regulations associated with Brownfields and Targeted Remediation Goals. |
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| | | Brownfield Incentives |
| | | Mississippi has a number of incentives for development and redevelopment: |
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| Contact Information |
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| For more information on brownfields, contact the staff of the Groundwater Assessment and Remediation Division at 601-961-5171. |
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Mailing Address |
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Web Address |
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Shipping Address |
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P.O. Box 2261
Jackson, MS 39225 |
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http://www.brownfields.ms |
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515 E. Amite Street
Jackson, MS 39201 |
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