For years, environmental liability laws on the state and federal levels have often inhibited voluntary cleanup of contaminated property. As a result, hundreds and hundreds of acres of otherwise prime industrial property sits idle today-victims of the disincentives to clean up land inherent in many of those environmental statutes. The situation is set to change, however, thanks to voluntary cleanup programs that encourage private parties to redevelop and reuse contaminated urban industrial sites-called "brownfields"-by minimizing environmental liability. In some instances, they also offer economic incentives to clean up. The purpose of these programs is to bring about urban industrial redevelopment while ensuring environmental protection. The U.S. EPA has launched a federal brownfield restoration project, but it's the slates that have really been at the forefront in this legislative issue. In fact, as of mid-1995, 20 states-or 40 percent-had enacted substantive brownfield restoration and voluntary cleanup laws, while a hand-ful of others were considering passing similar measures. (For a list of these states, see the box on page 98.)
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