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IDEM > Publications & Forms > Fact Sheets > Brownfields Fact Sheet Brownfields Fact Sheet

What are brownfields?

  • Brownfields are parcels of real estate that are abandoned, inactive, or may not be operated at their appropriate use, which stakeholders hesitate to redevelop due to actual or potential environmental contamination. Brownfields can range in size from large factories to small gas stations. 
  • Stakeholders include individuals, organizations, groups, businesses, and communities who have a vested interest in brownfields redevelopment. The Indiana Brownfields Program often partners with these stakeholders, who provide time, money, and other resources toward brownfield redevelopment projects.
  • Types of reuse may include: industrial, commercial, residential, mixed, public, and greenspace (e.g., parks, trails, greenways).

What are the benefits of brownfields redevelopment?

  • Links economic vitality with environmental protection
  • Stimulates economy through investment and job creation
  • Returns abandoned or underutilized properties to tax roles
  • Improves community appearance
  • Fosters sustainable and livable communities
  • Encourages planned growth / discourages urban sprawl
  • Preserves greenspace and farmland

Why are brownfields a matter of concern?

  • Brownfields may pose a threat to human health and the environment or may be perceived to pose an environmental threat because they are often eyesores to a community.
  • Brownfields may have unsafe structures and buildings that can harm individuals or damage surrounding property.
  • Brownfields may have environmental liability issues.
  • Brownfields may have languished for several years, during which no property tax revenues were being paid or generated.

What is the Indiana Brownfields Program doing about brownfields?

  • The Program provides educational, financial, technical, and legal assistance to stakeholders involved in a brownfield redevelopment project.
  • The Program conducts and participates in conferences, workshops, community-specific meetings, and other educational sessions to inform stakeholders of assistance available for brownfields redevelopment.
  • The Program offers financial assistance for environmental site assessments and remediation through grants and low-interest loans to qualifying political subdivisions, including units of government.
  • The Program offers Comfort Letters and Site Status Letters to eligible entities to address environmental liability issues of past actions by previous owners to encourage brownfields redevelopment, but does not provide a release from liability.  
  • The Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM)'s Voluntary Remediation Program, in cooperation with the Brownfields Program, offers Certificates of Completion to ensure prospective purchasers that a site has been properly cleaned, and then offers Covenants Not to Sue as a release from certain liabilities to the State.  

What can I do to help redevelop brownfields?

  • Provide input for proposed brownfield redevelopment projects.
  • Promote brownfield sites when planning new parks; recreation, youth, and senior citizen centers; businesses; municipal buildings; and schools.
  • Support businesses that have redeveloped brownfields or plan to occupy brownfields.

Where can I get more information?

To learn more about brownfields or to request assistance, call the Indiana Brownfields Program at (317) 234-4293 or visit these Web sites on the Internet: