Professor Jonathan Deason participated in the “Brownfields Showcase Community Research Summit: A New Era for Community Development,” held at the Hilton Hotel and Towers in Washington, D.C., on July 30- August 1, 2003. The Summit was sponsored by the National Association of Local Government Environmental Professionals (NALGEP).
In a plenary presentation at the conference, EPA Deputy Assistant Administrator Benjamin Grumbles cited the results of a recent EPA-sponsored research project on brownfields development entitled “Public Policies and Private Decisions Affecting the Redevelopment of Brownfields: An Analysis of Critical Factors, Relative Weights and Areal Differentials.” That project determined, among other things, that about 4.5 acres of undeveloped land would remain undeveloped for each acre of urban property that is redevelopment through the Brownfields Development program.
This same figure was quoted by President George Bush cited a in a January 11, 2002, speech accompanying his signing of H.R. 2869, the Small Business Liability Relief and Brownfields Revitalization Act.
NALGEP is an organization that brings together local environmental officials to network and share information on innovative environmental practices, conduct environmental policy projects, promote environmental training and education, and communicate the view of local environmental officials on national environmental issues. Founded in 1993 by a group of local officials, NALGEP is a national organization representing city and county environmental managers responsible for environmental compliance and the development and implementation of local environmental policy.