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Contaminated Lands Environmental Action Network (CLEAN)

Brownfields Study Group

Successes

The Brownfields Study Group was created in 1998 at the direction of the governor and State Legislature, to evaluate Wisconsin's current brownfields initiatives and recommend changes, as well as propose additional incentives for the cleanup and reuse of brownfields, which are abandoned or underused properties with real or perceived contamination. Now in its tenth year of existence, the Study Group continues to build on its legacy of progress, which has included the following recommendations:

  • created the DNR Brownfields Site Assessment Grant Program; to date the SAG Program has awarded approximately $11 million to 180 communities to begin investigation and cleanup on more than 1,000 acres; these activities included 648 site assessments and investigations, the removal of more than 440 storage tanks, and the demolition of more than 450 structures and buildings;
  • created the DNR Brownfields Green Space and Public Facilities Grant Program, one of the only state programs in the nation helping communities clean up contaminated properties for public use; to date the Green Space Program has awarded nearly $2 million to 16 communities;
  • created the Wisconsin Brownfields Insurance Program (WBIP) and VPLE insurance program; only two other states in the country have similar programs, which enable developers, businesses, local governments and other parties involved in cleaning up contaminated properties to obtain insurance, helping them manage risks for unplanned expenses related to brownfields redevelopment;
  • helped establish the One Cleanup Program (OCP) Agreement between U.S. EPA Region 5 and the DNR; the OCP is the most comprehensive agreement of its kind in the country and will help expedite cleanups of contaminated properties across Wisconsin; and
  • numerous other changes to state liability and financial programs, which continue to help expedite the efficient cleanup and redevelopment of brownfields across the state, and maintain Wisconsin's status as one of the top brownfield programs in the nation.

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2008 Study Group

2008 General Meeting Information

July 18, 2008

March 26, 2008

2008 Meeting Notes

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2007 Study Group

2007 General Meeting Information

November 8, 2007

June 28, 2007

March 28, 2007

2007 Meeting Notes

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2006 Study Group

2006 General Meeting Information

June 22, 2006

Meeting Notes

Subcommittees

Financial/Big Picture Subgroup

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History

The Brownfields Study Group was created in 1998 at the direction of the governor and State Legislature, to evaluate Wisconsin's current brownfields initiatives and recommend changes, as well as propose additional incentives for the cleanup and resue of brownfields, which are abandoned or underused properties with real or perceived contamination.

Interest in cleaning up and redeveloping brownfields properties has become a major policy issue at the national, state and local levels. With the passage of the Land Recycling Law in 1994 and brownfields provisions in the 1997-99 biennial budget, Wisconsin continued it's efforts toward becoming a national leader in the area of brownfields cleanup and redevelopment. With the passage of the Land Recycling Law in 1994 and brownfields provisions in the 1997-99 biennial budget, Wisconsin continued it's efforts toward becoming a national leader in the area of brownfields cleanup and redevelopment.

Within the brownfields language of that 1997-99 budget, members of the Brownfields Study Group were asked to work with a number of parties with similar interests in brownfields, from a wide array of backgrounds.  The Study Group served as an overall coordinating body and policy development group, while brownfields issues were discussed at length in the smaller, issue-driven sub-groups, whose membership expanded beyond the formal membership of the Brownfields Study Group.  State staff were assigned to help facilitate these smaller issue groups and ensured that momentum was maintained on addressing those issues.

The Brownfields Study Group submitted its Final Report to the Joint Finance Committee of the State Legislature in December, 1998, and achieved its goal of providing the state with an effective package of brownfields incentives to further enhance the cleanup and reuse of these properties.  Many of these provisions were included in the 1999-2001 state budget (please see "Brownfields Initiatives in the 1999-2001 State Budget" for more information).

Thanks to the good work of the 1998 Study Group, the State Legislature requested the Study Group continue its efforts in 2000.  The Study Group met throughout the year and again presented a final report to the Legislature in November, 2000.  Both of these repors are available as links on this web page (please see "Study Group Reports" below).

Since that time, the Study Group has provided recommendations for every biennial budget session, and continues to meet and work on brownfield funding and policy initiatives in 2007, its ninth year of existence.

Study Group Reports

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Please contact Darsi Foss (608.267.6713), or Andrew Savagian (608.261.6422) if you have any questions about this group.

For more information on this specific page, contact:

Andrew Savagian
Last Revised: Wednesday August 20 2008