Many areas across the country once used for industrial and commercial purposes have been abandoned - some are contaminated. Because lenders, investors, and developers fear involvement with these sites could make them liable for cleaning up contamination they did not create, they are more attracted to developing sites in pristine areas, called "greenfields." The result can be blighted areas rife with abandoned industrial facilities. These run-down areas, called "brownfields," create safety and health risks for residents, destroy civic pride, and provide ideal locations for illegal dumping.
The City, in cooperation with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ), has developed a brownfield redevelopment program designed to empower citizens and property owners to work together in a timely manner to prevent, assess, safely clean up, and sustainably reuse brownfields.