Former industrial or commercial sites that have been left unused are typically referred to as brownfield sites, or simply, brownfields. Many communities have such properties that are abandoned, idle or underused. Despite public efforts to facilitate brownfields revitalization projects, the rate of remediation remains unexpectedly slow. Efforts to resolve this nationwide problem have included legislative liability relief, federal grants and loans to facilitate revitalization, and state and local government initiatives for economic development assistance, among others.
The slow process of brownfields revitalization suppresses economic growth for entire communities, and poses a substantial threat to human health and the environment. This research provides insight into the root causes of the slow rate of remediation.
This research looks into the overall understanding of the three different stakeholder groups (private, public, regulatory) as experts regarding the impact of costs and benefits associated with brownfield remediation projects when considering property owners as the fourth stakeholder group. The expert panel validates the notion that brownfield property owners are the primary decision-makers and it is their cost/benefit analyses that define and directly contribute to the rate of brownfield remediation projects.
This dissertation offers a conceptual model of a brownfield property owner’s decision-making process when deciding whether to remediate or not and identifies factors and sources of information influencing the property owners’ decision, including the importance and reliability of each.
An objective analysis of the data collected in this research suggests that property owners perceive zero net benefits exist to remediate, if their analysis focuses solely on the remediation--and not on the cost of the status quo of the existing contaminated property. It is also apparent that property owners use the least reliable sources of information when facing factors that have the most impact on their cost/benefit analyses. When decisions are made based on poor information, property owners may conclude that remediation is not beneficial and they may not take action to remediate
