Fanning faculty members have partnered with the Georgia Environmental Protection Division and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to assist Georgia communities and the private sector understand and more easily use federal and state incentives for brownfield redevelopment. In 2004 and 2005, the partnership conducted a series of regional workshops throughout Georgia to familiarize government and community leaders, as well as the general public, with new state incentives and ongoing federal programs available to help redevelop land contaminated by pollution—”brownfields.” Technical assistance on specific projects, speaking at conferences and workshops, and the creation of the Georgia Brownfields Academy have been the outgrowths of these initial statewide meetings.

The partnership regards brownfield redevelopment projects from an economic development perspective and considers brownfield projects as real estate transactions with one additional consideration—environmental contamination.

What is a brownfield? A brownfield describes a piece of commercial or industrial property that is contaminated (soil, water or both), and therefore more difficult to redevelop than greenspace or other uncontaminated sites. These properties are often in locations desirable for redevelopment, with infrastructure intact, but fears about liability for environmental contamination have created barriers to redevelopment. In Georgia, sites must have actual contamination to be eligible for brownfield incentives, while the perception of contamination is often sufficient to invoke federal incentives.

What incentives are available in Georgia? In Georgia, two types of incentives are available to PROSPECTIVE purchasers of brownfields: a limitation of liability and a tax incentive. If a person or entity has contributed to the contamination of a piece of property, or they have taken title to the property (even if they did not cause or contribute to contamination on the property), they are not eligible for Georgia brownfield incentives. Prospective purchasers must apply for the incentives prior to taking title to a piece of contaminated property. Both public and private entities may take advantage of the incentives, and the tax incentive (similar to a tax abatement) is fully transferable to later purchasers of the property.

What federal incentives are available? Grants are available for site assessment and cleanup in various forms. A significant difference between the state and federal incentives is that the federal grants are generally only available to governmental entities (states, regional governments, cities, counties, etc.)—not private parties. Not-for-profit organizations have a limited ability to apply for a remediation grant on property they have acquired. Similar to the Georgia incentives, the applicant cannot have caused or contributed to the contamination on the brownfield site. In the past, grants have been available for up to $200,000 per site for hazardous substances, and up to $200,000 per site for petroluem contamination.

What is the Georgia Brownfields Academy? The Georgia Brownfields Academy is an informal group of private and public sector individuals interested in brownfields redevelopment in the Georgia region. The group was initially organized for both educational and networking purposes and is open to anyone who is interested in furthering redevelopment opportunities for communities and individuals. The inaugural meeting was held in Macon in March of 2006 (agenda), a second meeting was held August 15, 2006 in Columbus (preliminary agenda), and the third was held at the Jekyll Island Convention Center September 24–25, 2007. The most recent Brownfields Academy was held 18 April 2008 at Enterprise Mills in Augusta.
Who can help if I have questions?

• Faculty members Courtney Tobin () and Mac Brown () are available to assist with any questions you may have about incentives, technical assistance, or the Georgia Brownfields Academy.
• The U.S. EPA website has a tremendous amount of information, including summaries of all past grant recipients, listed by state and project type, and information on applying for future grants.
• Madeleine Kellam is Georgia’s brownfields coordinator, and she and her staff would be happy to talk to you about the specifics of the state incentives. You can reach her at .

Take the Georgia Brownfields Academy e-survey Please tell us what elements of a statewide brownfields organization would be of value to you, and a good use of your time, and indicate whether you would like to be included on future e-mail announcements concerning this new organization.