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Redevelopment Economics | |
CHP and Brownfields - Redevelopment Economics teaming with Pace University Energy and Climate Center and Northeast-Midwest Institute to analyze potential tie-ins
Redevelopment Economics part of Maul-Foster team, chosen by the Washington State Department of Ecology to re-energize and improve Washington's brownfields programs
Redevelopment Economics produces a Cost-Benefit Analysis for TIGER Infrastructure Improvements for Westport Waterfront
Redevelopment Economics retained by the City of Rochester to analyze the feasibility of using tax increment financing as the primary gap-closer for three redevelopment projects |
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Advocacy Alert - House Appropriations Committee Cuts $49 Million from EPA Brownfields Budget
The House Appropriations Committee cut the EPA Brownfields Program by $49 million relative to the President's FY 2011 budget. This action (announced here) is consistent with the the Republican Study Committee recommendations to cut most domestic programs to FY 2008 appropriations levels.
For the EPA Brownfields Program that would mean a budget of $166 million, $49 million lower than the President's budget and $34 million less than the Senate budget that was passed in November, 2010.
For the HUD BEDI and HUD 108 programs, the Republican Budget recommends elimination, along with the entire CDBG Program.
The National Brownfields Coalition has posted the members of the House appropriations Committee and urges interested parties to write letters in support of appropriations for these vital programs. The Coalition's FY 11 appropriations letters are also posted for EPA Brownfields and HUD Brownfields.
Coalition partner the National Association of Development Organizations is spearheading an effort to support funding for EDA programs which are also targeted for elimination.
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Brownfields Coalition Sets Out Ambitious Agenda for the 112th Congress
The National Brownfields Coalition has established its legislative objectives for the 112th Congress. The revamped Coalition (see this press release) will give top priority to Reauthorize the EPA Brownfields Program with changes to improve program effectiveness. A key Senate staffer for the Environment and Public Works Committee recently commented that a "Proposal to reauthorize the EPA Brownfields Program might be one of the few bills that can get bi-partisan support; so there will be a strong motivation to get it done."
- Support for appropriations for the EPA Brownfields Program, the HUD BEDI Program, HUD 108, and the HUD Sustainable Communities Intiiative;
- Renewal and improvement of the Remediation Tax Expensing Program;
- Exploring ways to create better tie-ins between brownfields redevelopment and other incentive programs, including New Markets Tax Credits, and renewable energy incentives.
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| Court Case Undercuts Brownfields Liability Protections |
This Holland and Knight (HK) newsletter reviews the recent decision in the case of Ashley II of Charleston, LLC vs. PCS Nitrogen, Inc. et al. The decision weakens Bona Fide Perspective Purchaser (BFPP) protections by establishing a high bar for meeting the eight criteria to establish the BFPP.
HK's Amy Edwards concludes that, "While Ashley II is binding case law only in the state of South Carolina, this decision is likely to have a significant chilling effect on future brownfields transactions throughout the country.... It is clear that there are many potential pitfalls in trying to qualify for the defense, and that other PRPs and the court will probe every potential weakness in the defense."
The court ruled against the purchaser/developer on three of the eight BFPP defenses:
- Whether All Disposals Occurred Before Taking Title;
- Whether the Purchaser Exercised Appropriate Care;
- Whether the Purchaser Was a Potentially Responsible Party or Affiliated With a Potentially Liable Party.
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Michigan Adopts Independent Cleanups
The Michigan legislature passed and the Governor signed sweeping brownfields reforms, including new authority for parties to perform independent cleanups and apply for an NFA/liability release. The liability release is only available for sites that have achieved residential cleanup standards. The State is required to review the NFA report in 150 days and, if the State fails to act within that prescribed timeframe, the NFA/Liability release is automatically granted. See this Warner Norcross Summary. For a complete legislative analysis, click here.
Michigan brownfields stakeholders had expressed frustration with the slow pace of the regulatory process, typified by moving-target cleanup requirements (see this commentary). The result was that ten reform bills were introduced and eventually linked together, resulting in six new statutes.
Michigan reforms follow what may be a trend toward privatization of cleanup oversight, with New Jersey establishing a licensed site remediation professionals (LSRPs) program in 2009. A 2009 University of Washington report also recommended consideration of the LSRP model for the State of Washington. |
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California Redevelopment Agencies Fight Governor's Raid on Local Redevelopment Funding
The Governor's proposal to eliminate the funding mechanism for redevelopment authorities is being fraught by a Coalition of local governments, developers, and community groups. California's redevelopment agencies employ tax increment financing (the mechanism the Governor is proposing to divert to the state treasury) to produce an impressive array of brownfield success stories. Redevelopment authorities are also granted some unusually aggressive authorities under the Polanco Act. Under Polanco, the agencies have site access, cleanup, and cost recovery authority similar to that typically reserved for states. |
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Under Armour Buys Iconic Baltimore Soap Plant
In a move that might be hailed as validation of Richard Florida's theory that cool urban places are the key to attracting the "Creative Class," fast-growing and hip Under Armour chose to purchase and unify its headquarters at Baltimore's Tide Point. Tide Point is the redevelopment of the former Procter and Gamble soap factory on South Baltimore waterfront. Under Armor currently leases 125,000 sq ft of the 400,000 sq ft facility. See this article.
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Tightening Reporting and Disclosure Requirements to Address Legacy Brownfield Sites
In an article published in Sustainable Development Law and Policy, Larry Schnapf argues that CERCLA and similar state disclosure and reporting requirements tend to focus only on active spills and frequently fail to address legacy site contamination. One reason is that, "the reporting obligations are often expressed in terms of the discharge of a certain quantity of a chemical over a certain period of time such as 24 hours. This made a lot of sense when environmental management practices were still in their infancy and the principal problem was stopping ongoing discharges of hazardous substances."
Schnapf continues, "However, we now know that this approach allows many sellers of corporate property to keep the presence of contamination secret. If companies are not required to report legacy contamination, this creates a scenario where companies can shut down without addressing contamination, thereby creating new brownfield sites." |
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Green Jobs Strategies for Older Industrial Communities Presentation
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Is Secretary Donovan "Putting the UD Back in HUD?"
A Mini Staff Commentary
Secretary Donovan appeared on the cover of the current issue of American City magazine under the headline "Putting the UD Back in HUD." The Secretary's 2009 address to Urban Land Institute - the speech establishing the theme of "putting the UD back in HUD" - has been widely reported in various journals and blogs.
Brownfields advocates would be the first to applaud the joint HUD-EPA-DOT Sustainable Communities Partnership, as a strong step forward toward the Administration's new emphasis on "place based" development policies. Further, many brownfields practitioners would agree with Donovan's candid critique of his own agency, "Let's be honest--HUD has become the Department of Subsidized Housing, and that must change."
However, when it comes to the budget, Donovan's HUD keeps "zeroing" HUD 108 and the Brownfields Economic Development Initiative (BEDI), which are arguably two of the primary HUD incentives that are firmly in the rather small "UD" part of the HUD toolbox. According to 2009 letters from the mayors of Philadelphia, Tacoma, Cleveland, Cincinnati, and Baltimore, as well as from the Economic Development Director of Pittsburgh, it is BEDI and HUD 108 that "Allow cities to undertake more ambitious and transformative projects," as Cleveland's Mayor Jackson put it.
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Smart Growth - New Studies Document Economic Benefits, But the Reality Is...
"Growing Wealthier" - Center for Clean Air Policy report finds that smart growth principles can "improve the bottom line for businesses, households and governments by increasing property values, cutting fuel and infrastructure costs, creating jobs, enhancing public health and strengthening communities."
Maryland - A new Smart Growth Indicators report, funded by the Abell Foundation, concludes that in Maryland (the state that is most closely identified with starting the smart growth movement in 1997) much of the new development is exurban and "Three-fourths of the new single-family acres were developed outside of 'Priority Funding Areas.' " The 1997 Law was designed to encourage more concentrated development located within Priority Funding Areas.
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Cool Things Happen on Brownfield Sites
A regular feature of the newsletter - cataloging the creative and sustainable reuse stories that stimulate an expanded view of the possible: Send nominations for next month's list to ev@redevelopmenteconomics.com. |
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Evans Paull
Executive Director, National Brownfields Coalition, and Principal, Redevelopment Economics
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