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| Home > Policy Issues > Cleaning Up Brownfields > Bill Text |
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Bill TextThe U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) defines brownfields as “abandoned, idled, or underused industrial and commercial facilities where expansion or redevelopment is complicated by real or perceived environmental contamination.” Features of Good Brownfields LegislationA good brownfields bill will:
Solving the brownfields problem does not have an easy solution. Environmental groups differ on how to address this complex problem without causing additional damage in the future. According to the Sierra Club, “brownfields” programs could encourage the creation of new contaminated industrial sites by weakening cleanup standards, releasing responsible parties from liability, and easing the consequences of sloppy management. If you’re reading a current “brownfields” legislative proposal, one imagines a weed-grown, fenced tract left behind by the defunct gas station or steel fabricating plant of an unregulated yesterday. However, if passed, these laws will presumably be on the books for years, and nothing ensures that freshly contaminated sites won’t come into existence 5, 10, or 20 years hence precisely because the “brownfields” cleanup option will be available. The information below tracks brownfield legislation across the states. Please note that SERC does not endorse every aspect of each bill. Our goal is to provide a clearinghouse of information for you to consider as you address potential brownfield legislation in your state. In the Northeast-Midwest Institute’s latest “State of the States” survey, 47 states (all but North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wyoming) have some sort of brownfield program in place. These state programs vary in terms of comprehensiveness, incentives, level of state liability relief granted, and overall effectiveness. They regulate differently and emphasize different types of reuse, whether industrial, commercial, housing, or open space. Some states are well positioned to take advantage of federal legislative initiatives, while others are not. For more information on individual state brownfield remediation programs, read the Northeast-Midwest Institute’s report, “Brownfield Voluntary Cleanup Program Impacts: Reuse Benefits, State by State.” According to a report by the National Governor’s Association there is a compelling economic case for state spending on brownfields. They claim a dollar of state spending produces between 10 to 100 times more dollars in economic benefits. Government officials report that state brownfields programs have been very successful, but the new challenge is to improve performance through greater integration into state, regional, and local growth and land use planning as well as to ensure the environment and public health is protected over the long term. Five states with prominent brownfields programs are Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. Not all environmental groups fully support these state programs. For more information, read the National Governor’s Association’s report on brownfield redevelopment, “Where Do We Grow from Here? New Mission for Brownfields: Attacking Sprawl by Revitalizing Older Communities.” State Brownfields LegislationConnecticutIntroduced 2/8/02, HB 5096 would establish a brownfields program
for small municipalities and would establish and create an account
to be known as the “small municipalities contaminated properties
remediation account” to be used for loans to municipalities
with a population less than thirty thousand for remediation of sites
on the hazardous waste disposal site inventory. HawaiiSB 2713, introduced 1/23/02, seeks to establish a revolving fund
to provide low-interest loans for the cleanup of brownfield properties
in Hawaii. The revolving loan fund would make available to brownfields
project developers low-cost loans to clean up sites and reduce the
perceived risk of brownfields projects to lenders and insurers.
The revolving loan fund mechanism would provide potential borrowers
with flexibility to respond to market opportunities throughout the
year. It also would create an avenue for potential cleanup financing
for worthy projects that, while not important to state agencies,
are a priority to local communities. IllinoisHB 5958, introduced 2/11/02, would amend the Environmental Protection Act; would rename the Municipal Brpwnfields Redevelopment Grant Program to the Brownfields Redevelopment Grant Program; and, would provide that counties may apply for grants and loans under the Brownfields Redevelopment Grant Program and the Brownfields Redevelopment Loan Program. IndianaHB 1120, introduced 1/8/02, would establish brownfield remediation; powers of a solid waste management district; and elements that may be included in a district plan. MarylandSigned into law on 5/11/2000, SB 513 enhances the Brownfield Redevelopment Program by providing low-interest loans and grants to certain parties for site assessments. It also offers tax incentives to local jurisdictions to take part in the program. MassachusettsGovernor Cellucci signed the “Brownfields Act” into law on August 5, 1998, establishing new incentives to encourage parties to clean up and redevelop contaminated property in Massachusetts. The act provides liability relief and financial incentives to attract new resources for these properties, while requiring that the Commonwealth’s environmental standards are met. New JerseySB 476, introduced 1/8/02, seeks to establish a permanent Brownfields Redevelopment Grants Program to provide financial assistance to municipalities to enable them to acquire and clean up sites which are abandoned and underutilized. The intent of the program is to foster the redevelopment and assembly of sites which would continue to languish but for the provision of grants to municipalities. New YorkAB 9203, introduced 6/15/01, would create the Brownfields Site Assessment, Acquisition, and Remediation Assistance Program to provide, among other things, a brownfield site investigation local revolving loan fund account and a related administrative expenses trust fund account in order to stimulate the investigation of qualified brownfield sites through a decentralized lending program. OklahomaHB 1222, introduced 2/5/01, amends the provisions governing the
Oklahoma Quality Jobs Program Act to provide incentive funding to
businesses that meet certain criteria, which locate their principal
business activity within a Superfund site. Rhode IslandSB 2528, introduced 2/5/02, would provide a tax credit to developers of environmentally challenged properties. HB 7569, introduced 2/5/02, would provide a tax credit for remediation of brownfield properties and an additional credit if dredged material is beneficially reused as part of the remedy. The act would create an economic incentive for the remediation of brownfields. VermontHB 701, introduced 2/5/02, would create a Brownfields Revitalization Fund to be administered by the secretary of the agency of natural resources to aid applicants in the redevelopment of contaminated properties program with the characterization, assessment and remediation of sites. VirginiaThe Brownfield Restoration and Land Renewal Act (HB 463), which was signed into law on 4/2/02, seeks to mesh with provisions approved recently in the federal act. It creates a special, permanent, perpetual, and non-reverting fund to be known as the Brownfields Restoration and Economic Redevelopment Assistance Fund for the purposes of promoting the restoration and redevelopment of brownfield sites and to address environmental problems or obstacles to reuse so that these sites can be effectively marketed to new economic development prospects. The bill also makes grants and loans available to local governments to promote the restoration and redevelopment of brownfield sites and to address environmental problems or obstacles to reuse so that these sites can be effectively marketed to new economic development prospects. Federal Brownfields Legislation |
| This package was last updated on April 12, 2002. |
