One participant told the group he felt that brownfields are "something that for many is easier to ignore than to deal with." He, as did the group in general, does not believe that is an appropriate response. Another person expressed a sentiment that received general support from others in the session when he asked, "Why is it a brownfield in the first place? Why does it take so long to change? Brownfield assumes they are adopted by the public sector because they are orphaned. Why do we allow that to go on?"

Finally, another person suggested that the term brownfield itself is somewhat a problem in terms of galvanizing public response to the problem. "The term is a tricky one for many people not involved in the issue," he said. "It is one more governmental buzzword the public often doesn't relate to. We need to be mindful, if we are trying to get people mobilized, to use other terms."

In either case, participants did mention that the EPA and Rhode Island DEM are working on cleaning up underground storage tanks at the Riverside Mills site, and further remediations are scheduled in the upcoming months. Additionally, session participants told of past and future cleanup activities at the Lincoln Lace & Braid brownfield site. Also, one participant mentioned that the Buttonhole Golf Course was planned on the site of an old gravel pit where illegal dumping has occurred.

One person in the section said that she understood Rhode Island was "doing better" than other regions in addressing brownfields. On the other hand, another participant said that in North Providence he felt there has been little action on sites for a decade.

Members of the session agreed that an inventory of the brownfield sites in Providence is currently lacking. One participant informed the group that an inventory of brownfields in the Woonasquatucket River watershed revealed at least 50 sites.

This section ended with the moderator telling the group what is considered a brownfield. The moderator informed the group that the EPA considers a site a brownfield if it is an "abandoned, under-utilized industrial or commercial site with perceived or real contamination." The moderator said that definition prevented the EPA from considering old gas station sites as brownfields. Other jurisdictions and agencies have different definitions, she said.

One participant asked if Rhode Island has a revolving loan fund for brownfields and when he discovered there is not such a fund currently in existence he suggested one should be established. The group agreed with this suggestion. "Typically, they (loan funds) revolve around the use of brownfields that generate income and that is not always the best use," he said. "There is a need for greenspace and openspace, and they need to allow for that in the loan fund structure."

Another series of comments addressing the financial aspect of brownfield redevelopment began when one participant said, "We need to look at how to get banks more comfortable supporting loans for brownfield redevelopment." He suggested investigating incentives such as Community Redevelopment Act (CRA) credits. However, another session participant said the search needs to be extended beyond CRA credits as "Rhode Island banks have no problem meeting CRA obligations" and do not need to invest in brownfield redevelopment.

"We need some way to reduce their liability," one person said. "That may require legislation or public pressure." The group agreed there is a need to develop a method that allows banks and insurance companies to become more comfortable about financing brownfield redevelopment.

Another action plan suggested during the session was to find a way to "reduce the amount of time it takes to redevelop brownfields versus the time to develop greenfields," a person said. He suggested that all state agencies involved in brownfield redevelopment (e.g., RIDEM, RIEDC) should coordinate to create a "one stop shopping" facility. That way, "they can act as one instead of developers searching them all out."

A portion of the group's discussion focused on information strategies. A participant suggested there was a need to "promote and publicize the success stories of brownfield redevelopment." Building upon that idea, another person said a marketing strategy should be created in order to attract attention to developing brownfields in Providence.

Another participant suggested a potential use of brownfields. "We should focus attention on communicating the opportunity of brownfields on river edges to absorb rainwater runoff," he said. That would "easily justify the acquisition and development because lower future sewage costs help justify the costs." This participant also suggested that this approach would justify the cost of acquisition and development of vacant lots that are not brownfields. He suggested vacant lots should be purchased and used as botanical gardens and to absorb rainwater runoff.

"We have enough treatment capacity, the problem only arises when it rains a lot," he said. "The solution being presented to us at a cost of hundreds of millions of dollars is to dig deep interconnected tunnels to collect all rainwater and treat it all. Instead, if we simply reduce the amount of rainwater runoff that entered the system in the first place we'd save enough money to more than pay for the acquisition."

On another note, one person made the specific suggestion that the city of Providence should "use large abandoned buildings instead of building a new $60 million police headquarters." Specifically, he suggested using the former Louttit Laundry building on Cranston Street which, he said, the city virtually owns because of nonpayment of back taxes. This person agreed with the moderator's suggestion that this act should be part of a larger effort to adopt a philosophy "that doesn't exist to encourage municipalities in general to redevelop buildings already here."

Another suggestion from a group member was to "compare costs of redeveloping brownfields versus the cost of the New Cities proposal to see where we get the most economic bang for the buck." Other suggested uses for brownfields included an adult recreational center, affordable housing and artist workspaces.