(03-25-2022 10:06 AM)OptimisticOwl Wrote:  Either they left, or they were mothballed. I pick one, you pick the other. I have as much proof as you.

As for the Brownfields work, I presume your services are needed to guide the developers through the maze of regulations controlling these projects. Or do they just turn them loose to develop as they see fit? What advice can you sell if they are un-regulated?

I actually am not saying they have been mothballed - I’m asking what evidence you have that makes the statement you made true.

I’ve noticed that you’ve not responded with a single shred of evidence that rigs physically left the US - just a hunch.

Our services are needed to help guide them through regulations “controlling” their work. This is a program that these developers freely entered because it provides them the ability to have legal protection, tax reductions, and often purchase parcels in desirable locations at a lower price point than if the same site was not contaminated. The guidance is both physical (completing work tasks and designs) and desktop (regulatory navigation, reporting, etc.).

If Brownfields programs did not exist, you would likely see significantly less development in urban cores where historical industrial and commercial activities occurred, because few developers would be willing to take on the risk of owning contaminated land. Brownfields is a really beneficial program that produces a lot of wins - blighted sites are developed, developers save money, the public benefits from remedial activities.

If industry in general was unregulated, companies would be free to chase profit and pollute to their hearts content, passing the negative externalities on to those in their neighboring communities. We’ve made so much progress in regards to environmental stewardship that I can’t fathom the idea of not regulating how companies manage and dispose of hazardous waste, what chemicals they can emit, how they must handle spills and releases, how they must store hazardous waste, and so on.