FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Aug. 13, 2014
DEP HOSTS NORTHWEST FLORIDA BROWNFIELDS WORKSHOP
~Workshop provides
discussion forum for those interested in Brownfields information~
CHIPLEY – The Florida Department of Environmental Protection’s Northwest
District, in partnership with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the West
Florida and Apalachee Regional Planning Councils educated nearly 75 people during
the Second Annual Northwest Florida Brownfields Workshop today.
Private and public sector leaders with
practical experience participated in panel discussions on the technical aspects
of the Brownfields Program, as well as funding mechanisms and incentives. The workshop
also featured a case study of a local redevelopment project, as well as a bonus
grant writing session provided by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
"The Brownfields Program provides
incentives to revitalize communities and fosters economic development and job
creation,” said DEP Northwest District Director Shawn Hamilton. “Through
program incentives, our local communities can assess, cleanup and redevelop properties to
meet local needs. We have already seen many successes of the program in
Northwest Florida and I hope this workshop will help create even more success.”
The
Florida Brownfield Redevelopment Program facilitates redevelopment and job
creation by utilizing economic incentives to encourage the use of private
revenue to restore and redevelop sites, create new jobs, and boost the local
economy. This program empowers communities, local governments and other
stakeholders to work together to assess their end-use development needs and
determine a clean-up strategy that minimizes regulatory costs and maximizes
economic incentives while protecting individuals and the environment from site
pollutants.
To
make the program's incentives available to a community, a local government must
designate a Brownfield area by resolution. Local governments have designated
362 current Brownfield areas statewide. 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. In the last year, there have been 18
Brownfield Area Designations, 15 Brownfield Site Rehabilitation Agreements, 10
Site Rehabilitation Completion Orders issued and $6,645,689 in voluntary
cleanup tax credits for Brownfield sites.
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