University News
Brownfields Still Plague Rural Communities
February 7, 2001
Brownfields and other vacant properties remain a concern in many Illinois cities according to a recent study by the Illinois Institute for Rural affairs (IIRA) located at Western Illinois University in cooperation with the Office of Brownfields Assistance in the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency.
Brownfields typically are "industrial or commercial facilities that are abandoned or underutilized, in part, due to environmental contamination," according to the Environmental Protection Agency. These properties often are located in or near the downtown area resulting from an enterprise that has since closed.
"Certainly not all vacant properties are contaminated, but some may, because of prior use, have a possibility of contamination making them unattractive to new users," according to IIRA Director Norman Walzer who directed the project. "Most of the vacant and abandoned properties in the Illinois cities participating in this study involve former gasoline stations."
More than half of the mayors surveyed reported that vacant and abandoned properties had elicited complaints from residents but the great majority involved eyesores or nuisances rather than health and safety issues. Mayors also reported that insufficient funds are the largest obstacle faced in cleaning up the properties and making them ready for another use.
Environmentally contaminated vacant or abandoned sites require a remediation process before the property can be brought back into productive use. Mayors reported working with the Office of Brownfields Assistance within the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency on these issues.
For more information on this study, contact the IIRA at 309/298-2237 or via the web at www.IIRA.org.
Posted By: Darcie Shinberger (U-Communications@wiu.edu)
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