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8 Fordham Envtl. L.J. 389 (1996-1997)
Public Participation in Brownfield Remediation Systems: Putting the Community Back on the Zoning Map

handle is hein.journals/frdmev8 and id is 397 raw text is: PUBLIC PARTICIPATION IN BROWNFIELD REMEDIATION SYSTEMS: PUTTING THE COMMUNITY BACK ON THE (ZONING) MAP Patrick J. Skelley II* INTRODUCTION n recent years, many states have enacted voluntary remedia- tion, or brownfields, statutes to expedite hazardous waste cleanups, and restore dormant and underutilized lands to pro- ductive use. Voluntary remediation statutes have become increas- ingly popular due to the unintended effects of certain federal environmental statutes, particularly the Comprehensive Environ- mental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act' (CERCLA or Superfund). In response to the public-health hazards posed by properties contaminated with toxic wastes, Congress enacted CERCLA in 1980, intending to force polluters to pay for remediating hazardous waste sites. Although Superfund was de- signed to be the most expedient method of cleaning such sites, the polluter pays principle has in fact hindered remediation ef- forts due to protracted and costly litigation over who actually must fund the removal of contamination.2 One reason for this morass of lawsuits is CERCLA's broad definition of potentially re- sponsible party3 which encompasses almost every entity having a re- * University of Richmond, J.D. Class of 1997; State University of New York at Buffalo, 1992, M.A., 1994; B.A., cum laude, honors in philoso- phy, 1992, University of Pittsburgh. The author would like to thank Pro- fessor Joel B. Eisen for his continued guidance in writing this article, and the members of the Fordham Environmental Law Journal for their ever-helpful comments and insights. 1. 42 U.S.C. §§ 9601-9675 (1994). 2. See Douglas A. McWilliams, Environmental Justice and Industrial Redevelopment: Economics and Equality in Urban Revitalization, 21 ECOLOGY L.Q. 705, 726-32 (1994). 3. Under CERCLA, a potentially responsible party includes (1) the owner and operator of a vessel or a facility, (2) any person who at the time of disposal of any hazardous sub- stance owned or operated any facility at which such hazard- ous substances were disposed of, (3) any person who by con-

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