Minnesota Brownfields

Support the growth and wellness of all communities across the State of Minnesota with a contribution to Minnesota Brownfields! 

Founded in 2006, Minnesota Brownfields, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, provides an expansive offering of educational programs and services, in addition to facilitating an inclusive platform for discussion to assist with the identification of Brownfields redevelopment barriers and solutions. Minnesota Brownfields is committed to identifying solutions and promote equitable brownfield cleanup across the state, while fostering a collaborative community engagement process.

Purpose. Through educational forums and trainings, and by promoting communication and collaboration between interested parties (such as community groups, property owners, the government, consultants, and policy makers), Minnesota Brownfields assists to generate economic growth, strengthen communities, promote equitable brownfield cleanup, and enable sustainable land use and development.

Impact. Minnesota Brownfields helps to remove obstacles to redevelopment of Brownfield properties by aiding in the facilitation of the investigation, cleanup, and redevelopment process and assisting in identifying funding. Some of the ways it does this includes:  community education programs (Brownfields Basics); continuing educational training and programs (Brownfields Bootcamp); technical forums and seminars; public policy updates; public speaking events; and professional networking events that bring in various experts in the field as speakers to spread knowledge of the various steps of redevelopment. 

This grassroots effort has evolved into statewide collaborations between the public and private sectors that have positively impacted and strengthened communities across Minnesota.  As a leading educational resource, MN Brownfields empowers communities to work within existing policies and programs to make brownfield reuse more affordable, sustainable, and efficient.  

Brownfields Basics Program Overview 

Minnesota Brownfields has identified the need and is seeking to provide outreach and educational programming for Minnesota communities (both urban and rural) in regard to the many facets of brownfield mitigation and reuse. Areas across rural Minnesota are home to thousands of brownfields, yet many rural communities are not equipped with the resources to repurpose blighted land for the health and resilience of their community. Additionally, across Minnesota (but mostly urban concentration) 48% of identified brownfields are found in Environmental Justice Zones (EJZ).  Those same EJZ communities have an average of 2.8X more brownfields per person than non-Environmental Justice Zones.  Both rural and urban  communities face unique challenges, but the overwhelming commonality of both scenarios is that existing brownfields have economic, health, and environmental impacts all Minnesota.

We are proposing to launch our Brownfields Basics educational programming to offer basic education, technical resources, communication networks, and other tailored services. This program seeks to increase awareness, expand knowledge, address economic benefits, support environmental justice, and equitable living and health concerns across rural MN. 

Q: What is a Brownfield?
A: Any previous developed land which may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant.

Q: Do Brownfields exist just in big cities?
A: No. Every community and rural area in Minnesota has Brownfields.

Brownfield cleanup and redevelopment  works to build better communities!

Want more info?  Check us out at www.mnbrownfields.org and sign up for our newsletter.   Support Minnesota Brownfields by making a contribution and support us today.  Thank you!