July 8th - 2009

Everything you need to know about brownfield remediation is on a new Web site

Many of Ontario’s commercial REALTORS® recognize brownfield redevelopment offer business opportunities.

Many of Ontario’s commercial REALTORS® recognize brownfield redevelopment offer business opportunities. Brownfields are former industrial lands, now vacant or underused, but with potential for redevelopment. They are found in all municipalities in the province.

For a number of years REALTORS® have been calling on governments at all levels to provide the necessary tools to help the private sector rehabilitate under-used and environmentally impaired properties. Many of these properties are abandoned and provide no employment opportunities for the local community. To date, however, legislative and regulatory restrictions have prevented the redevelopment of many brownfield sites in Ontario. Specifically, uncertainties regarding legal liability have deterred many investors from developing brownfield sites.

In January 2007, the Government of Ontario introduced a suite of legislative reform proposals to facilitate brownfield redevelopment. The proposed amendments to Ontario Regulation 153/04 would implement reforms made to the Environmental Protection Act (EPA) and the Ontario Water Resources Act in 2007. It would also update the site condition standards to reflect current science and introduce a streamlined generic risk assessment for brownfields sites. It’s expected that when the ministry implements these new standards, there will be a lot of properties out there that are clean and meet the current standards that will be deemed contaminated properties.

OREA made a submission on Ontario Regulation 153/04 calling on the government to conduct an economic assessment on the impact of the proposed brownfield regulation on the real estate market. The Ministry of the Environment is currently seeking brownfield property developers interested in a joint study of the effect of the amendments, and the results of that study may impact the final draft of the proposed amendments.

In the meantime, municipal and provincial governments have started introducing programs to mitigate some of the barriers to brownfield redevelopment. For example, the Province of Ontario created the Office of the Brownfields Coordinator to take the lead in coordinating provincial action to encourage brownfield redevelopment. Until this point no single ministry had acknowledged brownfields as a top priority.

By bringing brownfield issues under a single authority, the office has been able to streamline existing brownfield processes, to remove barriers in finance, planning and the environment, and to build capacity and awareness among municipalities, the development community, environmental interests and lenders.

Learn more about brownfields
The Ontario Centre for Environmental Technology Advancement’s (OCETA) About Remediation web site is a valuable information resource on site remediation and brownfields redevelopment. OCETA collaborated with the Province of Ontario and the Canadian Petroleum Products Institute (CPPI) to create the Redevelopment Framework for Former Service Stations in the Province of Ontario. To make the Framework easily accessible to Ontario Municipalities, it has been developed as a feature on the About Remediation site and displayed in modular format. The Framework clarifies and streamlines the process of redeveloping a typical service station site in Ontario.

According to information on AboutRemediation.com, former service stations – the most common type of brownfield site in Ontario – often contain contaminated soil and are small in size. “The basic process for the remediation of former service stations and other hydrocarbon related facilities, is generally perceived as a relatively straight-forward activity and yet many sites still remain contaminated and undeveloped. One of the main challenges involved in redeveloping service stations is how to create value given that conventional cleanup methods for petroleum hydrocarbon contamination (e.g., "dig and dump") on service station sites can typically range in cost from $75,000 to $125,000 per hectare, while land values, especially in rural areas, can be as low as $25,000 per hectare. In many cases, more creative approaches and exit strategies for former service station sites are needed for successful redevelopment to occur.”

The Framework offers a step-by-step guide along with a number of specific tools including:

  • Framework Diagram: Key Elements of the Redevelopment Framework for Former Service Stations in the Province of Ontario
  • Guiding Principles and Best Practices
  • Screening Matrix for Property Use and Redevelopment Potential
  • Screening Matrix for Selection of Remediation Technologies and Risk Management
  • Guide to Implementing Remediation and Risk Management

For more information on brownfield development and to view the Framework, visit www.aboutREMEDIATION.com.

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For more information contact

Ontario Real Estate Association

Jean-Adrien Delicano

Manager, Media Relations

JeanAdrienD@orea.com

416-445-9910 ext. 246

Ontario Real Estate Association
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