With the dramatic changes in industry and the economy over the past half-century, there are abandoned or under-used industrial sites in many cities and towns, and this has led to dramatic improvements in “brownfield remediation.”
The website aboutremediation.com says “Brownfields are abandoned, idle or underutilized industrial or commercial properties where expansion or redevelopment is complicated by real or perceived environmental contamination ….”
As a report for the Ontario Municipal Affairs and Housing ministry notes, “Despite the complexity of developing these properties, they are often in desirable and strategic locations – in the heart of urban communities, on scenic waterfronts, in or near downtowns. They have the advantage of having infrastructure in place and a variety of potential uses which can contribute to urban intensification, community revitalization, economic development and jobs, and/or new housing to take the pressure off greenfields. As a result, in Ontario, there has been growing interest among municipalities, owners, developers and environmentalists to find ways to clean up these sites and put them to new use." (Ontario Municipal Affairs and Housing, 2004)
“Brownfield remediation is a process in which contamination at brownfield sites is addressed so that the sites can be redeveloped,” to quote the website WiseGeek.com. “Because the environmental cleanup can be very complicated legally and environmentally, brownfield remediation often involves government agencies.”
In this regard, potential redevelopment on Port Hope’s Centre Pier has already cleared some important hurdles, due to legal agreements between the Municipality, the federal government, and the current leaseholder, Cameco. In the terms of these agreements, Cameco will be required to clean up the radiological contamination on the Pier Buildings before vacating the buildings. Atomic Energy Canada Ltd. and Port Hope Area Initiative are obligated to clean up the contamination on the land, both radiological and historic industrial, before the land is returned to the municipality. None of the cost of this clean-up will be borne by the Port Hope taxpayer.
This section of our website highlights a few of the many examples of successful brownfield remediation across Ontario and around the world.
| top |