A Comparative Review of India and USA’s Approach to Brownfield Redevelopment

IJEP 43(4): 291-303 : Vol. 43 Issue. 4 (April 2023)

Nihal Singh Verma and Haimanti Banerji*

Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, Department of Architecture and Regional Planning, Kharagpur, West Bengal – 721 302, India

Abstract

Cities around world are experiencing pool of derelict and abandoned land. The remnant of industrial development is what we are calling brownfield. The term brownfield in India is less commonly used for such land. Our objective in this study is to understand and acknowledge the Indian effort for brownfield redevelopment and to look for the areas of improvisation. Brownfield redevelopment has been focus of research for western countries for more than two decades. American approach to managing brownfields is commonly referred to as best practice among researchers. In this review, we have used macro-comparative analysis to compare the Indian and USA frameworks of brownfield management. Comparison is categorized in broad heads of principle, definition, policy and institutional framework. The study has led us to a conclusion that the Indian framework is primitive and needs a robust approach. While comparing both cases the study has made some recommendations that can be adopted in India.

Keywords

Brownfield, Land contamination, Environmental policy, Urban regeneration

References

  1. Alker, S., et al. 2000. The definition of brownfield. J. Env. Planning Manage., 43(1):49-69. DOI: 10.1080/ 09640560010766.
  2. Ferber, U. and S. Tomerius. 2003. Strategies and approaches in Europe and the United States. In Private finance and economic development: City and regional investment. OECD Publishing. pp 125-158. DOI: 10.1787/9789264034860-en.
  3. Haninger, K., et al. 2017. The value of brownfield remediation. J. Assoc. Env. Resour. Eco., 4(1):197-241. DOI: 10.1086/689743.
  4. Chakraborty, J. and R. Nagaraj. 2020. Has India deindustrialised prematurely? A disaggregated analysis. Econ. Polit. Wkly. 55:40-47.
  5. Gharawi, M. A., T. A. Pardo and S. Guerrero. 2009. Issues and strategies for conducting cross-national e-government comparative research. International Conference on Theory and practice of electronic governance (ICEGOV 2009). Bogotá, Colombia. DOI: 10.1145/1693042.1693076.
  6. Adams, D., et al. 2010. Brownfield development: A comparison of North American and British approaches. Urban Studies. 47(1):75-104. DOI: 10.1177/0042098009346868.
  7. Otsuka, N. and H. Abe. 2008. Challenges for brownfield regeneration: A comparison of English and Japanese approaches. WIT Transactions Ecol. Env., 107:33-42. DOI: 10.2495/BF080041.
  8. Ching, L.K. 2014. Brownfields redevelopment framework – The US and Singapore. MSc. Thesis. National University of Singapore. Available at: https://www.scribd.com/document/334262112/Brownfields-Redevelopment-Frame work-Comparison-between-the-US-and-Singapore.
  9. Guglielmi, A. O. 2005. Recreating the western city in a post-industrialized world: European brownfield policy and an American comparison. Buffalo Law Review. 53(4):1273-1312.
  10. Zhao, X. 2019. Developing an appropriate contaminated land regime in China. In Developing an appropriate contaminated land regime in China: Lessons learned from the US and UK. DOI: 10.1007/978-3-662-59557-2.
  11. Small Business Liability Relief and Brownfields Revitalization Act. 2001. Pub. L. No. 107-118, 115 STAT. 2356. Available at: https://www.congress. gov/107/plaws/publ118/PLAW-107publ118.pdf.
  12. MoEF. 2012. Development of methodologies for national programme for rehabilitation of polluted sites in India. Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India. Available at: http://moef.gov.in/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Task.pdf.
  13. POST. 1998. A brown and pleasant land. London, UK. Available at: https://researchbriefings.files. parliament. uk/documents/POST-PN-117/POST-PN-117.pdf.
  14. Franz, M., et al. 2008. Place-making and ‘green’ reuses of brownfields in the Ruhr. Tijdschr Voor Eco. Soc. Geogr., 99:316-328. Available at: http://web.mit.edu/people/spirn/Public/Granite%20 Garden%20Research/Plants/Franz %20et% 20al%202008%20Ruhr%20Forest.pdf.
  15. NRC. 2011. Sustainability and the U.S. EPA. National Research Council. The National Academies Press, Washington, DC. DOI: 10.17226/13152.
  16. BenDor, T. K., et al. 2011. The dynamics of brownfield redevelopment. Sustainability. 3(6): 914-936. DOI: 10.3390/su3060914.
  17. Ladzianska, Z., et al. 2019. The impact of participatory planning approach on the quality urban design of former riverbank brownfield sites. IOP Conference Series: Mater. Sci. Eng., 603(2). DOI: 10.1088/1757-899X/ 603/2/022003.
  18. Ravi Rajan, S. 2014. A history of environmental justice in India. Env. Justice. 7(5):117-121. DOI: 10.1089/env.2014.7501.
  19. Williams, G. and E. Mawdsley. 2006. Postcolonial environmental justice: Government and governance in India. Geoforum. 37(5):660-670. DOI: 10.1016/j.geoforum.2005.08.003.
  20. Kothari, R., et al. 2020. Assessment of Indian bioenergy policy for sustainable environment and its impact for rural India: Strategic implementation and challenges. Env. Tech. Innov., 20:101078. DOI: 10.1016/j.eti.2020.101078.
  21. Ahmad, T. and J.S. Chang. 2020. Lessons learned from the experience of Indian policies towards sustainable transport systems. Transportation Res. Procedia. 48(2019):2999-3018. DOI: 10.1016/j.trpro.2020.08.185.
  22. Priyadarshini, P. and P.C. Abhilash. 2020. Policy recommendations for enabling transition towards sustainable agriculture in India. Land Use Policy. 96(April):104718. DOI: 10.1016/j.landusepol. 2020.104718.
  23. AIR 1996 Supreme Court 2715::1996 AIR SCW 3399. Supreme Court of India. All India Reporter Pvt. Ltd., Nagpur.
  24. Wang, Y., et al. 2021. Public participation in environmental governance initiatives of chemical industrial parks. J. Cleaner Prod., 305:127092. DOI: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2021.127092.
  25. Parikh, M. 2017. Public participation in environmental decision making in India: A critique. IOSR J. Humanities Social Sci., 22(6):56-63. DOI: 10.9790/0837-2206125663.
  26. Swain, R. K., et al. 2017. Environmental disclosure practices in India: Evidence from top 50 companies of Bse. IOSR J. Business Manage., 19(9): 5-14. DOI: 10.9790/487X-1909050514.
  27. Transfer of Property Act. 1882. Section 55(1) in Central Government Act (India). Available at: https://indiankanoon.org/doc/688532/.
  28. Longo, A. and D. Campbell. 2017. The determinants of brownfields redevelopment in England. Env. Resour. Eco., 67(2):261-283. DOI: 10.1007/s10640-015-9985-y.
  29. Whitney, H. 2003. Cities and superfund: Encouraging brownfield redevelopment. Ecol. Law Quarterly. 30(1):59-112. DOI: 10.15779/Z381C3S.
  30. Hula, R. C. and R. Bromley-Trujillo. 2010. Cleaning-up the mess: Redevelopment of urban brownfields. Eco. Develop. Quarterly. 24(3):276-287. DOI: 10.1177/0891242410365711.
  31. Squires, G. and N. Hutchison. 2021. Barriers to affordable housing on brownfield sites. Land Use Policy. 102(December 2020):105276. DOI: 10.1016/j.landusepol.2020.105276.
  32. Whitman, I. L. 2006. Brownfield redevelopment by the private sector: Market driven decision making. In Brownfields III: Prevention, assessment, rehabilitation and development of brownfield sites. 1: 21-27. DOI: 10.2495/BF060031.
  33. Resource Conservation and Recovery Act . 1976. Pub. L. No. 94-580, 90 Stat. 2795. Available at: https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/STATUTE-90/pdf/STATUTE-90-Pg2795.pdf.
  34. Solid Waste Disposal Act. 1965. Pub. L. No. 89-272, 79 Stat. 997. Available at: https://www.gov info.gov/ content/pkg/STATUTE-79/pdf/STATUTE-79-Pg992-2.pdf.
  35. Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act. 1980. Pub. L. No. 96-510, 94 STAT. 2767. Available at: https://www.govinfo. gov/content/pkg/STATUTE-94/pdf/STATUTE-94-Pg2767.pdf#page=1.
  36. Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act. 1986. Pub. No. 99-499, 100 STAT. 1613. Available at: https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/STATUTE-100/pdf/STATUTE-100-Pg1613.pdf.
  37. Gupta, S., et al. 2019. Environmental enforcement and compliance in developing countries: Evidence from India. World Develop., 117:313-327. doi: 10.1016/j.worlddev.2019. 02.001.
  38. Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act. 1974. Act No. 6 of 1974 (India). Available at: https://www.india code.nic.in/bitstream/123456789/1612/1/a1974-06.pdf#search=The%20Air%20(Prevention%20and%20Control %20of%20Pollution)%20Act.
  39. Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act. 1981. Act No. 14 of 1981 (India). Available at: https://www.indiacode.nic.in/bitstream/123456789/1389/1/a1981-14.pdf#search=4.10.Mines %20and%20Minerals%20(Development% 20and%20Regulation)%20Act.
  40. Environment (Protection) Act. 1986. Act No. 29 of 1986 (India). Available at: https://www.india code.nic.in/bitstream/123456789/4316/1/ep_act_1986.pdf.
  41. Public Liability Insurance Act. 1991. Act No. 6 of 1991 (India). Available at: https://www.indiacode.nic. in/bitstream/123456789/1960/1/A199106.pdf#search=The%20Public%20Liability%20Insurance%20Act.
  42. National Green Tribunal Act. 2010. Act No. 19 of 2010 (India). Available at: https://www.indiacode. nic.in/bitstream/123456789/2025/1/A2010-19.pdf.
  43. Peters, B. G. 2015. Policy capacity in public administration. Policy Soc., 34(3-4):219-228. DOI: 10.1016/j. polsoc.2015.09.005.
  44. USEPA. 2021. Our mission and what we do. Available at: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10. 1016/j.polsoc.2015.09.005?needAccess=true.
  45. USEPA. 2017. State brownfields and voluntary response programmes (issue EPA F-560-17-212). Available at: https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2017-12/documentsstate_brownfields_voluntary_response_programme _report_508_11-2017_web.pdf.
  46. MoEF. 2006. National Environment Policy 2006. Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India. Available at: http://moef.gov.in/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/introduction-nep2006e.pdf.
  47. MoEF. 2015. Guidance document for assessment and remediation of contaminated sites in India. Volume I – Methodologies and guidance. Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India. Available at: http://kodaimercury.org/backdoor/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Guidance-document-Volume-I-20150331.pdf.
  48. Ahmad, N., et al. 2018. Development of a standard brownfield definition, guidelines and evaluation index system for brownfield redevelopment in developing countries: The case of Pakistan. Sustain., 10(12):4347. DOI: 10.3390 /su1012 4347.
  49. Merrimannai, S. and D. Sargent. 2013. Beyond natural and economic impacts: A model for social impact assessment of brownfields development programmes and a case study of northeast Wilmington, Delaware. University of Delaware.
  50. Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion, Government of India. 2018. Lok Sabha unstarred question no. 5644. Available at: https://dipp.gov.in/sites/default/files/lu5644.pdf.
  51. MoEF. 2015. G.S.R. 582(E) (Notified on 24th July, 2015). Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India. Available at: https://cpcb. nic.indisplaypdf.php?id=aHdtZC9IV01fUnVs ZXNfMjAxNi5wZGY=.
  52. Sullivan, K. A. 2017. Brownfields remediation: Impact on local residential property tax revenue. J. Env. Assess. Policy Manage., 19(3):1750013. DOI: 10.1142/S1464333217500132.