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Comprehensive Brownfield Program, Superfund Refinancing
Tuesday, September 16, 2003
The New York State Senate today gave final legislative passage to legislation, sponsored by Senator Carl L. Marcellino (R-C, Syosset), that will refinance the state's hazardous waste Superfund and establish clear standards for the cleanup and revitalization of brownfields so that abandoned properties can be cleaned up and redeveloped for businesses and jobs.
"The goal of this bill is to remove roadblocks to redevelopment of abandoned, contaminated properties," Senate Majority Leader Joseph L. Bruno said. "The clear standards for cleanup established by this bill, combined with new incentives to cleanup these properties, will result in the revitalization of tens of thousands of brownfield sites throughout the state. The bill would provide economic incentives and liability relief that will encourage the creation of new businesses and new jobs. The bill will strengthen our economy, protect public health and improve our environment."
"New York State has always been a national leader in the environmental protection arena and today we have continued that tradition by passing comprehensive legislation creating a statutory program for the voluntary cleanup of brownfield sites that will remove contamination all across this State for years to come," said Senator Carl L. Marcellino (R-Syosset), Chairman of the Senate Environmental Conservation Committee.
Under the provisions of the bill, liability relief is provided to parties not responsible for the contamination at the site. The polluter would still be held responsible for the cleanup. However, businesses, municipalities, lenders and industrial development agencies that are involved in redevelopment of the site, but are not responsible for the contamination, would not be held liable for the cleanup of the original contamination.
"The prospect of lawsuits and being held responsible for cleaning up contamination you are not responsible for has resulted in brownfield sites being left abandoned for decades," Senator Bruno said. "The liability provision is critically important to generating interest in redeveloping these sites so they can once again be economically productive."
In addition to establishing cleanup standards, the bill (S.5702) creates a series of tax credits to facilitate the redevelopment of brownfield properties. The credits would include short and long term groundwater cleanup tax credits; a real property tax credit for remediation of property; and a hi-tech training credit for full-time employees employed on remediated sites. The more jobs that are created on the site, the larger the tax credits and incentives would be.
Additionally, the legislation would enhance the 1996 Clean Water/Clear Air Bond Act Municipal Brownfields Program by increasing the State's share of on-site cleanup costs from 75 percent to 90 percent and 100 percent of off-site costs. It also would allow municipalities to participate in the program while conducting site investigations, without exposing their communities to the liability that often comes with taking title to a contaminated property. In addition, the reforms allow municipalities to use federal or other State funds to pay their share of cleanup costs.
"This legislation will get these urban eyesores back on the tax rolls and make them community assets rather than letting them eat away at the heart of our cities, towns and villages like a cancer. By creating a Brownfield Cleanup Program and refinancing the State Superfund we will promote the physical, economic and social revitalization of our communities," Senator Marcellino added.
"This bill will help make thousands of sites in commercial areas viable for redevelopment, which will particularly beneficial for New York City where there are very few areas that can be developed for new business," Senator Bruno said.
SUPERFUND REFINANCING
The Superfund reform adds liability exemptions that are the same as in the Federal Superfund program. The legislation empowers municipalities and community groups to revitalize areas burdened with brownfields by providing assistance for comprehensive planning and site redevelopment.
The bill provides $120 million for investigation and remediation of hazardous waste and hazardous substance sites and state costs for remediating off-site contamination under the Voluntary Cleanup Program through the sale of bonds sold by the Environmental Facilities Corporation; $33 million in funding for the State�s Oil Spill Program; and
The State Superfund Program had been financed through the 1986 Environmental Quality Bond Act, resulting in more than 800 sites across the state being cleaned up or receiving remediation funding. Funds from the 1986 bond act were fully allocated as of March 31, 2001, leaving the State unable to start or complete cleanups at hundreds of sites known or suspected of being contaminated.
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