Governor Andrew Cuomo unveiled his 2015-16 budget on January 21st. As anticipated, the budget contains sweeping reforms to the Brownfield Cleanup Program (BCP) in Part R of the Revenue Article VII Legislation. The BCP amendments are substantially similar to the changes proposed in 2014 which some tweaking around the margins. Click here for a copy of […]
Governor Cuomo Proposes BCP Reform: Déjà vu all over again? Read More »
We reported two weeks ago that the bill to extend the brownfield cleanup program (BCP) that had been passed back in June had finally been sent to the governor. The BCP tax credits are scheduled to expire at the end of 2015 and the legislation would have extended the tax credits to March 31, 2017 to give
Governor Cuomo Vetoes BCP Extension Bill Read More »
In a prior post, we discussed how the EB-5 visa immigrant investor program was becoming an important source of construction funding. Since then, the EB-5 immigrant investor program has continued to undergo explosive growth. The popularity of EB-5 is partially because traditional forms of project financing remains difficult to obtain. However, the EB-5 program is
EB-5 Program Can Provide Alternative Source of Funding for Brownfield Projects Read More »
The New York City Office of Environmental Remediation (OER) recently announced the creation of the NYC Affordable Housing Cleanup Fund (AHCF) to help remediate and support affordable housing projects in disadvantaged communities. Unlike the OER Brownfield Incentive Grants (BIG) program which are funded from appropriations, OER will be using $1.8MM in EPA Revolving Loan Fund
OER Launches NYC Affordable Housing Cleanup Fund Read More »
The NYC Office of Environmental Remediation just announced that it has a little over $100K to award for petroleum assessments this summer. The source of the grant money is the brownfield revolving loan fund that was awarded by EPA to OER under section 104(k) of CERCLA. The federally-funded grant may be used for phase 1 or
OER Grants Available for Petroleum Assessments But Need to Move Quickly Read More »
[Update: At a bill signing ceremony in Buffalo on June 24th, Governor Cuomo was quoted as saying he would sign the BCP extension] On June 20th, the NY State Senate approved legislation that would extend the expiration of the Brownfield Cleanup Program (BCP) to March 31, 2017. The same bill had been passed by the Assembly earlier
NY Legislature Passes Brownfield Extender Bill But Will It Matter? Read More »
After a little more than six months after ASTM issued its new E1527-13 Phase 1 standard practice, problems are emerging over the new definition Controlled Recognized Environmental Condition (CREC) definition. The difficulties are related to the definition itself and differences among state environmental programs. Before discussing the CREC problems, a little background might be helpful
Problems Emerge with New CREC Definition Read More »
When Mathy Stanislaus departed New York to take the helm of EPA’s Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response (OSWER), he told the New York brownfield community that one his primary goals was to reform the EPA Revolving Loan Fund (RLF) program so it could better support affordable housing on brownfield sites. Changing long-standing agency
EPA Modifies RLF Policy To Facilitate Affordable Housing Protects on Brownfields Read More »
With the tax credits for the New York State Brownfield Cleanup Program (BCP) scheduled to expire at the end of December 2015, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) has been inudated with applications. Indeed, according to informal betting pool among NYSDEC brownfield employees, the agency anticipates receiving 100 applications by July 1st –the
Is NYSDEC Already Using the Proposed “New” Definition of Brownfield Site? Read More »
Earlier this week, Governor Cuomo sent his sweeping BCP reforms to the State Legislature. Under the state Constitution, the Governor has 30 days to make technical amendments to his budget legislation without involving the legislature. Despite vociferous complaints by brownfield developers, environmental lawyers and affordable housing advocates about the severe curtailments to the categories of projects
NY Governor Sends Revised BCP Reform Bill to Legislature Read More »