Perceived liability as a barrier to brownfields redevelopment

The fear of liability associated with contaminated properties has contributed to the existence of "brownfields" across the nation. Brownfields are contaminated, often abandoned, sites targeted for reuse or redevelopment. The study is about brownfield stakeholders' perception of liability, focusing on four research questions. To what extent are brownfield stakeholders concerned about potential environmental liability? To what extent are brownfield stakeholders concerned about potential liability in light of government policies and private mechanisms for managing liability risks? What market factors offset concerns of potential liability? To what extent are brownfield stakeholders concerned about potential liability in light of certain site specific characteristics?; The methods employed include questionnaires available to hundreds of professionals working on brownfields throughout the nation. The respondents are grouped into the following three categories and the data from each group is compared: (1) buyers, sellers, and investors; (2) attorneys, environmental consultants, and insurers; and (3) government agency representatives and researchers. The study includes key regulators' opinions as to stakeholders' concern about potential liability.; The findings of this study support recent studies that show the potential of being held liable for the cleanup is a significant barrier to brownfields redevelopment. Respondents consider liability to be the most significant barrier to brownfields redevelopment. They are concerned about uncertainties associated with future claims by private or third parties, future detection of previously undisclosed contamination, future enforcement of more stringent levels of cleanup, and future enforcement caused by changes in environmental laws, regulations, or technology. Respondents are very concerned about state environmental laws, Federal Superfund's strict, joint and several, and retroactive liability scheme, as well as Federal non-Superfund environmental laws. They are more concerned about liability on sites with future residential land use as opposed to others.; To protect themselves, stakeholders create separate entities for projects, seek legal advice, seek site closure letters and prospective purchaser agreements from agencies, purchase insurance policies, and enter into indemnity agreements.; Market factors that significantly offset concerns of potential liability include good financial viability of the project, good price for the property, prime location of the site, and no property land use restrictions.