BROWNFIELDS
A "brownfield” is a property that is unused, underutilized, unsalable, or unmortgageable due to environmental contamination.
NEW YORK STATE PROGRAM
The Brownfield Cleanup Program was created by 2003 amendments to the Environmental Conservation Law, which added Title 14 to ECL Article 27. Technical corrections were made in 2004. The law provides a process for voluntary cleanup of sites contaminated with hazardous waste or petroleum, rewarding the volunteer with a liability release and tax credits. For more information on the BCP:
BCP Fact Sheet prepared by Knauf Shaw LLP
BCP Page on the DEC Web Site
New York has also targeted redevelopment of brownfields by extensive funding through the Clean Air/Clean Water Bond Act of 1996, coupled with liability releases are available for municipal “environmental restoration projects,” pursuant to Title 5 of ECL Article 56.
FEDERAL PROGRAM
The Small Business Liability Relief and Brownfields Revitalization Act was added to CERCLA in 2002 to give liability relief to small businesses and to municipalities, and to encourage brownfield redevelopment by providing for new grant programs, giving relief to prospective purchasers, and limiting EPA enforcement authority over sites cleaned up in compliance with state brownfields programs. Details on the federal Brownfields program are available on the EPA web site.