Environment DEC
From the July 2008 issue
Agreement on Brownfield Reform Announced
Governor David A. Paterson announced an agreement with legislative leaders to reform the state's Brownfield Cleanup Program (BCP) to better target incentives for the cleanup and redevelopment of contaminated sites. The legislation will:
Projects like this former carpet factory in Amsterdam would be eligible for double the tax incentives and bonuses for green building under the proposed reforms
- Provide more than double the current tax incentives for site cleanup, up to 50 percent of cleanup costs in some cases
- Limit redevelopment credits for non-manufacturing projects to $35 million or three times the cost of site cleanup, whichever is less.
- Limit redevelopment credits for manufacturing projects to $45 million or six times the cost of site remediation, whichever is less.
- Streamline administration of the Brownfield Opportunity Area Program.
Project applications that were received prior to July 1, 2007 and applications that were approved by the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) as of the date of the legislation's enactment will continue to be eligible for existing tax credits.
Need for Change
The current BCP has not achieved the desired redevelopment in struggling areas and has provided large windfalls for some projects that were not meeting the state's goals of ensuring environmental cleanup while spurring economic development. That situation caused Governor Paterson and the Legislature to pass a moratorium on the program, preventing the state from accepting or rejecting any more proposed projects. The moratorium ends July 23.
DEC Commissioner Pete Grannis said, "So far, not enough cleanup money has found its way into the urban core of our cities, where thousands of brownfield sites perpetuate blight, create public health risks and discourage needed investment. This agreement reforms the BCP to make it smarter, more effective and more accountable to taxpayers."
