토양환경보전법 책임체계의 새로운 방향: 브라운필드(Brownfields) 문제

Considering the draconian responsibility system of the Soil Environment Conservation Act, there is a possibility that the brownfields problem will become to reality in Korea as well. Then, what are the solutions to the brownfields problem? The resolutions are ostensibly quite simple: The cleanup, development and utilization of the brownfields. For this, the United States enacted the Small Business Liability Relief and Brownfields Revitalization Act in 2001. America’s management process and experiences related to the brownfields problem suggest many things to us. Some examples are the bona fide prospective purchasers exemption, the de micromis exemption and the municipal sold waste exemption, the clarification of standards and practices with regard to ‘all appropriate inquiry’, which is an important factor to decide due diligence, the effort to enhance predicting the cleanup costs through the soil environment assessment, the sharing of risk-bearing related with cleanup cost, the efficient financial and technological support for the research, assessment, remediation of polluted areas and the inducement to voluntary cleanup. It is important to positively prepare for the brownfields problem in order to attain smart growth of the city.