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Delaware

Brownfields Marketplace

Agency Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control

The Delaware Brownfields Marketplace, maintained by the Remediation Section of the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC), lists brownfield sites in Delaware that are available for potential redevelopment. DNREC calls it an inventory of certified brownfields and possible brownfield properties, meant to help potential developers locate and research available properties. It describes the Marketplace on its online applications page as a map-based, searchable index of brownfield sites available for redevelopment.

In a Phase I ESA

ASTM E1527-21 lists state brownfields records among its standard sources; the general reading is on the Brownfields page. This handbook pairs DNREC's Certified Brownfields List, on the Brownfields Development Program page, with that record type, and not the Marketplace. DNREC says the Marketplace is not a regulatory device; it is a resource to assist with the marketing and possible redevelopment of sites. Four Delaware details shape how to read a listing.

  • A listing is not a finding of contamination. DNREC says listing on the Marketplace does not mean that a site is contaminated, and that owners are not admitting contamination simply by listing. Submitting a site means the owner believes the property may fit the state's definition of a brownfield.
  • The owner chooses to list. The service is free, but property owners must complete a Consent and Release form giving the state permission to post the property. So do not read a property's absence from the Marketplace as a statement about its condition.
  • Possible brownfields are listed too. The inventory holds possible brownfield properties as well as certified ones. If the state certifies a property as a brownfield, DNREC says it may become eligible for grant funding for investigation and cleanup, and for tax incentives. Check the Certified Brownfields List for a property's status.
  • Owners can change their entries. DNREC says owners wishing to add to or change property information in the Marketplace should contact the Brownfields program.

DNREC's answers also say the Marketplace contains enough details about each property to improve transparency of the site's characteristics, and that details from it can serve as a resource for anyone performing due diligence on a property.

Where to look a site up

Getting the file

The Marketplace pages do not give a records route of their own. DNREC's FOIA page says the Delaware Freedom of Information Act ensures public access to public records held by DNREC; the route is on the DNREC FOIA Requests page.

Sources

Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control pages, read October 13, 2026:

Maintained by Barrow. General reference only, not legal or professional advice. Barrow is not affiliated with any government agency, and neither Barrow nor the information as presented here is endorsed by any state or government agency. See how Barrow drafts the report