Wednesday, March 19, 2025
After more than 20 years, have we made progress in addressing brownfield challenges?
The Government of Canada defines brownfields as “abandoned, idle or underutilized commercial or industrial properties [typically located in urban areas] where past actions have caused environmental contamination, but which still have potential for redevelopment or other economic opportunities.”
The federal government mandated the National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy (NRTEE), an independent policy advisory body, to raise awareness among Canadians and their governments about the challenges of sustainable development.
In 2003, the NRTEE released Cleaning Up the Past, Building the Future: A National Brownfield Redevelopment Strategy for Canada, which outlined 14 recommendations for implementation by both the private and public sectors.
Even 21 years after the recommendations made by the National Roundtable on the Environment and the Economy (NRTEE) and the work completed by many visionaries and champions across the property development space in Canada, the idea of brownfield redevelopment still invokes negative reactions by many. It is like someone dropped the equivalent of a four-letter word. Let’s call it a “B-Bomb!”
In November 2024, the Canadian Brownfields Network and Actual Media presented the 25th Anniversary of the Brownie Awards. This annual ceremony celebrates the hard work, vision, and, in many cases, the risks taken by the champions who overcome the ever-existent challenges that brownfield redevelopment brings.
The 25th Anniversary of the Brownie Awards gathered 300 brownfield practitioners on November 18, 2024 to recognize the efforts of outstanding project teams from across the country.
Overcoming challenges to brownfield redevelopment
Addressing the challenges are often where the best laid plans and intentions die. The challenges have not changed much since the 2003 NRTEE report. The biggest challenges include addressing the environmental contamination on-site and often off-site to other properties. As much of the low-hanging fruit of potential properties have been redeveloped, the financial implications of understanding, managing and/or removing the exposure risks for future site users (often in residential uses) can be the biggest challenge to overcome.
The “upside down” concept of the costs related to environmental liabilities being much higher than the property value is where municipal incentives were to assist getting these properties redeveloped. However, we have recently seen municipal incentives reduced or discontinued altogether.
Increased acceptance of risk assessment and employing risk management measures in some Canadian jurisdictions has improved the viability of some complex environmental contamination challenges. Furthermore, most jurisdictions have a risk assessment process included in the regulatory framework. However, many lending institutions are still hesitant to extend financing on properties with any contamination, whether it is accompanied with a risk assessment or not. This can vary between jurisdictions.
There have been innovative methods and products developed in the environmental remediation areas that should assist in managing the environmental liabilities challenge. Some of these method and products do not always decrease the cost of dealing with the environmental liabilities but can assist in reducing the overall long-term risks from potential exposures.
Risk assessments, in-situ remediation, innovative remediation techniques and AI are helping to address contamination, but lending institutions can be leery to accept new ideas.
Jurisdictional pressures vary across provinces
To go along with the population and geographic challenges, each province has it own rules and regulations on how the brownfield redevelopment vision can become a reality. Provinces such as British Columbia and Ontario have space limitations that should be encouraging municipal governments to look for brownfield redevelopment opportunities to assist with the housing issues being experienced.
Conversely, the prairie provinces where space is more forgiving for urban sprawl and much lower landfill tipping fees have not embraced Risk Assessment and innovative remedial methods and products to the same degree as other provinces. This also applies to acceptance by regulators and financial institutions.
The demand for space and overall cost to address challenges does drive the use of risk-based solutions and innovative methods. This has been observed for more than 20 years in the Ontario market — and has been amplified by the regulatory environment and lack of new landfill space for contaminated soil disposal in Ontario.
Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA) received a 2021 Brownie Award for its efforts on the Don Mouth Naturalization and Port Lands Flood Protection Project Treatment Technology Evaluation Program, completed in partnership with WATERFRONToronto and the City of Toronto. Credit: WATERFONToronto.
Education and tackling the red tape
Through events such as the annual Brownie Awards, numerous success stories are demonstrated and celebrated. The projects often illustrate a fine balance or sweet spot between elaborate visions and overcoming challenges with some financial return for taking the risks.
With further celebrating and publicizing the brownfield success stories, lessons can be learned and insights can be share to help another project succeed. Let’s aim for a snow-ball effect that brings more players to the table. Champions and visionaries are increasingly coming from diverse backgrounds and bringing outside perspectives and collaborations that can prove successful, especially with a municipal champion in the corner.
Attitudes around the stigma that comes with existing contamination are still prevalent in 2025. Again, this depends on jurisdiction and overall acceptance of risk-based solutions.
Working with the financial institutions to further educate those holding the funding powers to understand risk assessments and longer-term risk management measures is likely still needed in some jurisdictions where risk removal by “dig-and-dump” is the preferred solution.
In 2025, with all the innovative methods and products we have before us, does moving the contamination from one site to another still make sense? I would say no.
Red tape associated with proposed redevelopment plans for the brownfield site could be reduced. Rules, regulations, and local by-laws should promote the successful redevelopment of the underutilized assets that brownfields represent. Red-tape results in time and project costs that are difficult to overcome and can be the reason for project failure. To address this, there needs to be greater certainty around the approvals process to provide the developer some concrete time expectations so that carrying costs can be properly evaluated.
In terms of funding assistance, there is some movement to reducing or cutting municipal incentives such as tax-incentives or rebates. Often these funding enticements assist with the “upside-down” financing where present. There was previously a green municipal fund offered by the Federation of Canadian Municipalities that was understood to be overly onerous in receiving approval and getting a grant or even a loan. This option is now non-existent.
Next steps needed
So, with the movement to sustainable practices, life-cycle analyses, housing pressures, climate change, should we not revisit the 2003 NRTEE recommendations and get alignment with all three levels of Canadian government to ensure that Brownfields are the preferred choice for redevelopment in all jurisdictions? Is “brownfield” still a four-letter word? Unfortunately, yes. Changes have not come fast enough and there are many opportunities for brownfields if we can further reduce some of the jurisdictional challenges and educate the industry on the value of risk based solutions.
Grant Walsom, P.Eng. is a partner and principal engineer at Trace Associates Inc. He has been involved in brownfield redevelopment, contaminant management and excess soil over his 30-year career of consulting.
Note: For further coverage of brownfield issues and the Brownie Awards, check out the next digital edition of Environment Journal, available here.
Featured image: Getty Images
