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Shopping Centers Today -> June 2001
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BROWNFIELD BILL SEEN AS A VICTORY
By Dave Bodamer
The U.S. Senate has unanimously approved ICSC-backed legislation that would make it easier and less risky for developers to remediate and build on mildly contaminated sites.
The passage of Senate Bill 350 can be seen as a victory for both the environment and the growth-management process, said Alton R. "Tony” Brown III, president of the Pelican Group, Mobile, Ala., a retail real estate developer, and chairman of ICSC’s environmental subcommittee. "The bill addresses two major concerns of ICSC members. It balances liability issues for developers and property owners and it gives to the states greater autonomy in dealing with the brownfields clean-up process by limiting the ability of [the Environmental Protection Agency] to become involved in the process and to second guess the state’s decisions.”
Currently, if a developer discovers there is worse contamination than previously thought on one of these properties, which often are former industrial sites, it is liable for clean-up costs that can often exceed the value of the property itself.
Under current law, companies that own or acquire brownfield sites are potentially liable for the entire cost of remediating hazardous substances on those sites, even if the landowner had nothing to do with the pollution. This risk has dissuaded developers from redeveloping brownfield sites, which in many cities are waterfront properties that formerly housed industrial facilities. Sen. Lincoln Chafee (R-R.I.) was the chief sponsor of the bill, which was approved by the Senate in late April by a 99-0 vote.
Among other things, the bipartisan legislation would shield developers from liability for pre-existing contamination, which stems from the 1980 Superfund law, and provide $200 million a year in public funds to help developers pay clean-up costs. The bill would also ease liability in cases where a landowner’s site was contaminated by pollution migrating from adjacent sites. The bill would allow the EPA to intervene only when contaminants were released or could potentially be released that pose an imminent and substantial danger to the public or environment.
"Opening up more brownfields to redevelopment is clearly a major victory for both the environment and growth management as it puts back into daily life little and underused assets," Brown said.
Paul Gillmore (R-Ohio), chairman of the House Environment and Hazardous Materials Subcommittee, told several news organizations that he would introduce a House bill in May, but as of press time, no bill had been submitted. Several representatives expressed support for the measure during this year’s ICSC Congressional Contacts Meeting in March. ICSC members and staff have also met with legislators since the Senate bill’s passage to discuss a bill for the House. Any bill introduced to the House would probably mirror the Senate bill, said William Hoffman, manager of environmental issues for ICSC.
President Bush has pledged his support for the brownfields reform bill as has EPA Administrator Christine Todd Whitman.
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