FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Aug. 12, 2014
FLORIDA BROWNFIELDS PROGRAM FACILITATES ECONOMIC GROWTH
~Annual report shows $107 million capital investment in 2013~
TALLAHASSEE – This week, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection
released its Florida Brownfield Redevelopment Program Annual Report for fiscal year 2013 -14, which
highlights job creation efforts and estimates new capital investment of $194 million
in calendar year 2013. The annual report is submitted to the Governor, Florida
Senate President and Florida Speaker of the House of Representatives.
The Florida Brownfield Redevelopment Program facilitates redevelopment and
job creation by empowering communities, local governments and other
stakeholders to work together to assess, clean up and reuse sites that may have
been previously impacted by pollutants. Brownfields are properties where
expansion, redevelopment or reuse may be complicated by the presence or
potential presence of environmental pollution.
Established in 1997, the Florida Brownfield Redevelopment
Program utilizes economic and regulatory incentives to encourage the use of
private revenue to restore and redevelop sites, create new jobs and boost the
local economy. Partners in the Florida Brownfield Redevelopment Program
include local governments, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity and Enterprise Florida, Inc.
"Florida's Brownfield Redevelopment Program continues to facilitate the
successful redevelopment of underutilized areas throughout the state,"
said Jorge Caspary, director of DEP's Division of Waste Management. "This
program not only makes it possible to mitigate contaminated sites, but also has created more than 10,000 jobs and stimulates the economy in the process."
Since inception of the program, 75 contaminated sites have been
cleaned up, more than 65,000 confirmed and projected direct and indirect jobs
have been created, and $2.5 billion in capital investment has been made in
designated brownfield areas. To make the program's incentives available to a
community, a local government must designate a brownfields area by resolution.
Local governments have designated 362 current brownfield areas statewide.
The annual report identifies the following accomplishments of the program
and benefits to Florida in the last fiscal year.
- Brownfield
Area Designations: 18
- Brownfield
Site Rehabilitation Agreements: 15
- Site
Rehabilitation Completion Orders: 10
- Voluntary
Cleanup Tax Credits for Brownfield Sites: 67, totaling $6,645,689
Projected Capital Investment
- Calendar
Year 2013: $194,593,470
- Calendar
Year 2014 (to date): $11,563,995
Projected New Direct and Indirect Jobs
- Calendar
Year 2013: 9,753
- Calendar
Year 2014 (to date): 703
The DEP’s Northwest District is hosting its Second Annual Northwest Florida Brownfield Workshop on August 13 at the Washington County Agricultural Center in Chipley. At the workshop, federal, state and local experts will gather to provide an opportunity for interested parties to learn more about brownfield redevelopment. Topics that will be discussed include updates to Florida brownfield laws, economic incentives, assessment funding and grants. For more information on the workshop, contact Brandy Smith at 850-595-0695 or brandy.m.smith@dep.state.fl.us.
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