Spokane’s Riverfront Park is a great example of how a community can benefit from a brownfield cleanup. Once the site of an 1800s rail yard, this 100-acre prize in the heart of the city is now safe for people to enjoy, thanks in part to technical assistance from Ecology.
“Brownfield” is a funny word, isn’t it? The first time you hear it, you might picture a muddy football field, or a stubbly wheat field after harvest. But brownfields are actually something different. They’re puzzling problems to solve with potential hazards to clean up. They're also a surprising way to bring jobs, affordable housing, and other valuable assets to communities.
The ultimate fixer upper
A brownfield is a property that’s been developed in the past, and is now vacant, abandoned, or underutilized. It may have environmental contamination, such as petroleum that leaked from an underground storage tank, or solvents from an old dry cleaner. Some brownfields may not have any contamination at all. In fact, “uncertainty” is one of their hallmarks: it’s why brownfields stay vacant, and developers stay away.
You’ve probably noticed these blighted properties before. They’re often overgrown with weeds and taking up valuable land—like closed gas stations, old landfills, crumbling lumber mills, former orchard lands, or abandoned industrial sites. Since many of Washington’s 14,400 contaminated sites could be considered brownfields, there’s probably one in your neighborhood, too.
Brownfields are the ultimate fixer uppers. If left languishing, they slam the door on hopes for more affordable housing, public services, businesses, and public spaces for people to gather.
Instead, new doors open for communities when we make brownfields safe for redevelopment, as it did for Bellingham’s The Millworks and Seattle’s Mount Baker Properties affordable housing, fire and rescue services in Kittitas Valley, Wenatchee’s public market, and Spokane’s Riverfront Park.
Ecology’s Brownfields Program opens doors so communities can bring valuable land assets to life.
Next week on May 20 & 21, community leaders will gather in Yakima for the 2-day brownfields conference to learn how they can turn blight into benefits. You’re welcome to register and join!
A bridge to resources
The Brownfields Team is a small group of site managers, environmental specialists, and planners across Washington. We connect people with three types of resources: brownfields funding, technical assistance, and education.
Resources can be game changers for communities that want to redevelop a brownfield, especially small and rural communities that may have few reserves.
To do this work, we partner with other brownfield experts at the EPA, Washington Dept. of Commerce, the Center for Creative Land Recycling, and other agencies such as the Pollution Liability Insurance Agency.
Together, we provide funding that helps pay for site assessments and investigations, and limited activities like removing a leaking underground storage tank or excavating contaminated soil. We provide technical assistance for funding recipients, so they understand what’s going on and can make decisions more confidently. The team also provides education and engagement strategies to help community leaders explore best reuse options with people who live nearby. This creates a healthy community dialogue, encouraging members of the community to be included in the conversation.
Our partners also include environmental consultants hired by the communities. This 4-page focus on hiring an environmental consultant helps communities find the right one for them. Our 8-page focus on real estate transactions is another good resource for anyone considering purchasing a contaminated property.
The Mayor of Palouse talks about how addressing a brownfield transformed his community
Who is eligible for brownfield resources?
Ecology’s brownfield funding comes from EPA and the Washington State Legislature and is primarily available to local governments, Tribes, and nonprofit organizations. We invest those dollars right back into communities that are turning brownfields into public assets. Even if someone isn’t eligible, we can usually direct them to other resources. The goal is to create healthier properties for all of Washington.
We provide technical assistance
Technical assistance means we're providing expert help to make sure the work is in compliance with Washington’s environmental cleanup law, the Model Toxics Control Act (MTCA). We also provide help on how best to use funding, making cleanup more efficient.
When individuals or organizations receive brownfields funding, Brownfield site managers are working directly with them. They are answering questions, solving puzzles, reviewing technical reports, and providing recommendations. They know MTCA and the harm contaminants such as petroleum, lead, and arsenic can cause. Brownfield site managers ensure the cleanup will protect people now and in the future.
But technical assistance isn’t just about contaminants. The team also helps folks navigate grant funding requirements and progress reports, and build “capital stacks” so they can leverage small dollars into bigger transformations.
Technical assistance builds confidence from the ground up and moves projects forward.
Top five reasons why it matters
A crumbling industrial site that’s circled by a chain link fence often prompts a negative reaction. It makes sense why communities want to turn brownfields into vibrant spaces to live, work, and play.
Here are some of our favorite reasons for redeveloping brownfields:
- Brownfield redevelopments protect human health and the environment, especially for communities overburdened by contamination.
- They spur jobs and local economies because the property can often generate revenue again.
- They reduce urban sprawl and promote efficient land use, since roads and utilities are usually in place even if they need updating.
- Brownfield redevelopments build community pride when perceived problems are transformed into community assets, and… [drum roll please]
- We don’t choose what those assets will be — communities do!
Interested in tackling a brownfield in your community? Here’s how!
-
Attend the state Washington Brownfields Conference in Yakima on May 20 & 21. Next week, community leaders and brownfield professionals are gathering for a 2-day conference to learn how to turn brownfields into benefits. Anyone is welcome to register and attend. We’ll have workshops, sessions, breakfast and lunch, a tour, and keynotes featuring Ecology Director Casey Sixkiller, Michelle Roos, Michael Echanove, Doug Willcox, and Sarah Sieloff. Hotel rooms available. Register for the May 20–21 conference.
-
Attend the National Brownfields Conference in Chicago August 5–8, 2025. More than 2,000 people will gather this summer for the world’s largest brownfields conference, with 180 educational sessions, mobile workshops, best practices, and inspirational speakers. Register for the August 5–8 conference.
-
Check out brownfield success stories and videos.
-
Talk to community leaders and watch for opportunities to share your voice.
-
Subscribe to our newsletter for funding opportunities, trainings and workshops (and to see what other communities are doing with their brownfields).
Brownfield. Funny word, seriously good investment in communities.
Brownfield redevelopments aren’t just cleanups. They’re smart investments in Washington’s communities, and create safe places where people can live, work, and play.
Are you ready to take on a brownfield? Contact us!