Brownfield Resources - Useful Links

Note: we are still identifying resources for this page. If you can provide information, please contact the office.

Brownfield-specific Resources

Brownfield Roadmaps:  In 2016, CBN participated in the Federation of Canadian Municipalities’ Green Municipal Fund project to develop province-specific roadmaps on bringing brownfields back into productive use.  There is a roadmap for each province and territory in Canada, and they provide details on process, legislation and funding for brownfield redevelopment.  You can find general information and request a copy of the roadmap for your province at https://fcm.ca/en/resources/gmf/tool-roadmaps-redeveloping-brownfields.

Brownfields Assistance/Education for Municipalities:  Dealing with brownfields can be a daunting task, especially for smaller municipal governments.  To assist municipalities with this, the Federation of Canadian Municipalities has developed the Leadership in Brownfield Renewal (LiBRe) program.  The program’s website is at https://fcm.ca/en/programs/green-municipal-fund/leadership-in-brownfield-renewal-network, and you can find links to many helpful resources (case studies, guides and tools at https://fcm.ca/en/resources?f%5B0%5D=filter_by_topic%3ABrownfields.  These can be of use to members of the general public who want to participate in public consultations on brownfield redevelopment as well as to developers, municipalities and others.

One concern for municipalities is what to do with former gas stations. Especially in smaller communities, these properties may sit idle because the costs of remediation exceed the value of the redeveloped property. In a 2019 studio project, a planning class at Ryerson University developed a methodology that can be used by municipalities to prioritize sites based on their potential for beautification, interim use or redevelopment. This was done for the City of Cornwall (in eastern Ontario), but the principles can be applied by any municipality. The project summary and full report are available here.

Brownfield Success Stories: The Brownfield Research Lab has profiled a number of success stories written by students, including a number of recent Brownie Award winning projects. If you're looking for inspiration for brownfield reuse in your community, these cases are a good place to start. The link to the site is https://www.brownfieldsresearchlab.com/successstories/. It also showcases some award-winning projects from the US Environmental Protection Administration's Region 5 (Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois, Indiana and Ohio).

Atlantica Risk-Based Corrective Action (RBCA): Atlantic Risk-Based Corrective Action (Atlantic RBCA) is a process to assess and manage the remediation of sites impacted by petroleum hydrocarbons and other contaminants in Atlantic Canada. The implementation and maintenance of Atlantic RBCA is overseen by the Atlantic Partnership in Risk-Based Corrective Action Implementation (Atlantic PIRI). Since 1997, the Atlantic RBCA toolkit has  been used to successfully assess or remediate petroleum-impacted sites and facilitate regulatory file closures for more than 8,279 sites in the region, making these properties ready for brownfield redevelopment opportunities.

Brownfields in Ontario:
International

General Environmental Resources

Provincial Environmental Industries Associations

The environmental industries associations (EIAs) are provincial action groups representing, as the name suggests, environmental industries.  While they may work in brownfields, their focus is more general and includes things such as clean tech.

Newfoundland and Labrador: ExoNext

Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island: Environmental Services Association Maritimes (ESAM)

Quebec: Réseau Environnement

Ontario:  the Ontario Environment Industry Association (ONEIA)

Manitoba: the Manitoba Environmental Industries Association (MEIA)

Saskatchewan: the Saskatchewan Environmental Industry and Managers Association (SEIMA)

Alberta: the Environmental Services Association of Alberta (ESAA)

British Columbia: the BC Environmental Industry Association (BCEIA)

Nunavut:

Northwest Territories:

Yukon:

Publications

There are several environmental publications covering brownfields and other related subjects.

ReNew Canada Magazine:  ReNew publisher Actual Media is our partner in the Brownie Awards.  ReNew Canada is the only industry magazine that reaches across sectors, looking at the planning, financing, and regulation of all types of public sector infrastructure assets, and relating them to each other. In addition to the publishing of six magazine editions each year, ReNew Canada also produces industry events and roundtables, and provides daily updates on key industry news stories online at renewcanada.net.

Water Canada Magazine:  Water Canada serves the country’s water industry leaders with national news coverage, relevant case studies, and leading-edge ideas. Water Canada is also the producer of the annual Canadian Water Summit, Water’s Next awards, and the industry’s leading online news and information source at watercanada.net.

HazMat Management Magazine:  HazMat Management magazine covers the environmental compliance beat for Canadian industry and government. The publication offers timely articles and editorial analysis on every issue relevant to the environmental health and safety (EHS) manager, including the safe management of chemicals and industrial wastes, emergency preparedness, personal protection, transportation of dangerous goods, and contaminated site cleanup. Columns update readers on regulatory issues, engineered solutions, and cost-effective compliance with Canada's EHS laws and international standards. Visit http://hazmatmag.com/ for more information.

Environmental Science & Engineering Magazine (ES&E):  Environmental Science & Engineering Magazine (ES&E Magazine) has covered Canada’s water, wastewater and environmental sectors since 1988. ES&E Magazine is read by over 40,000 professionals and is a valued source for industry news, technology, regulations and case studies. Visit www.esemag.com to subscribe for free.

Government Brownfield/Contaminated Site Inventories

Government of Canada:  http://www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/fcsi-rscf/searchby-recherchepar-eng.aspx.  The Federal Contaminated Sites Inventory allows searching for contaminated sites (all known federal contaminated sites under the custodianship of departments, agencies and consolidated Crown corporations) by classification, contaminant, location and many other criteria.

Government of Ontario:  Ontario allows searching for Records of Site Condition (RSCs) using a number of criteria, including municipality.  RSCs filed between October 1, 2004 and June 30, 2011 can be searched at https://www.lrcsde.lrc.gov.on.ca/besrWebPublic/generalSearch and RSCs filed from July 1, 2011 can be searched at https://www.lrcsde.lrc.gov.on.ca/BFISWebPublic/pub/searchFiledRsc_search?request_locale=en.  Note that this is not a complete inventory of all brownfields; only those for which an RSC has been filed.

 

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