Charlie Bartsch

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REVITALIZING AMERICAS BROWNFIELDS
Federal Program Statutory Reauthorization
Brownfields 2006 Boston, MA
Paul Connor NALGEP

• Charlie Bartsch
• ICF Consulting

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BROWNFIELDS PROGRAM REAUTHORIZATION

• Goals for Program Changes
• Funding that better meets needs
• Make grants work better
• Address mothballed brownfield properties
• Define new brownfield priorities
• Authorize tax incentives

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WHATS PERCOLATING ON CAPITOL HILL?
BROWNFIELDS PROGRAM REAUTHORIZATION

• Brownfield reauthorization
• Program statute expired 9/30/06
• Brownfield FY 2007 appropriations
• EPA, HUD BEDI
• BEDI de-coupling
• Tax provisions
• Cleanup credits (Turner bill)
• Rehabilitation tax credit expansion
• Expensing extension

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BROWNFIELDS PROGRAM REAUTHORIZATION

• Goal - Funding that better meets needs
• Permit larger cleanup grant amounts
• Up to 1 million
• Authorize multi-purpose grants
• For assessment, cleanup, demolition, etc.
• Increase total program funding
• 350 million in FY2007
• Increasing to 600 million by FY2012

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BROWNFIELDS PROGRAM REAUTHORIZATION

• Goal - Make grants work better
• Clarify eligible remedial activities
• To include practical range of site clearance and
  preparation activities
• Make non-profits eligible for all grant types
• Grants for sites acquired before AAI
• AAI need not be demonstrated as long as applicant
  did not cause or contribute to contamination

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BROWNFIELDS PROGRAM REAUTHORIZATION

• Goal - Make grants work better
• Eliminate petroleum grant set-aside
• Eliminate responsible party, risk barriers to
  petroleum brownfields
• Applicants need not show site is low risk with
  no viable responsible party tied to it
• Reduce redundant EPA RLF approvals
• Review conducted by state VCP, should be
  recognized by MOA with EPA
• Allow reasonable administrative costs

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BROWNFIELDS PROGRAM REAUTHORIZATION

• Goal Address mothballed properties
• Promote state institutional control (IC) programs
  
• Required plan for IC monitoring/enforcing
• Authorize EPA matching grants for state
  environmental insurance programs
• 50 grants for sites addressed thru state VCP
• Allow CERCLA exemption for acquisition by
  innocent localities/states
• Did not cause or contribute to contamination

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BROWNFIELDS PROGRAM REAUTHORIZATION

• Goal Address mothballed properties
• Eliminate redundancy at PCB cleanups
• Bar TOSCA enforcement for PCB sites remediated
  thru state VCPs
• Allow RCRA relief to innocent parties
• Provide RCRA enforcement bar similar to CERCLA
  bar for sites thru state VCP
• Establish Aviall fix for voluntary cleanups
• Obtain contribution from RPs even if cleanup
  isnt prompted by CERCLA litigation or order
• Provide 3rd party cleanup protection to
  brownfield good samaritans
• CERCLA exemption for non-liable parties
  contributing to cleanup without taking title

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BROWNFIELDS PROGRAM REAUTHORIZATION

• Goal - Define new brownfield priorities
• Loan EPA staff to disadvantaged, small, and rural
  communities
• Capacity building thru IPAs
• Authorize bonus grants for sustainable reuse
• 100,000 green brownfield grants
• Establish interagency waterfront brownfields
  task force

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AUTHORIZE TAX INCENTIVES

• Brownfields Cleanup Tax Credits
• House Turner Bill / HR 4480
• Authorize 1billion in tax credits to states for
  re-allocation to localities
• Target criteria suggested
• Credits transferable/saleable to 3rd parties
• Credit up to 50 of demolition/cleanup costs

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AUTHORIZE TAX INCENTIVES

• Brownfields Expensing Tax Incentive
• Deduction for cleanup costs
• Allows new owners to recover costs in year
  cleanup occurred
• Only incentive targeted to private site owners
• Incentive expired on 12/31/2005
• One-year tax has been introduced (S 398 / HR 877)

• Extension originally introduced as S 398, HR 877
  limited extension in tax extenders package
• In limbo expired 12/31/05
• Congressional interest in
• further extension searching
• for a vehicle this year

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STATUS OF BROWNFIELDS PROPSALS
Waning Days of the 109th Congress
It could be an interesting lame duck session
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Thank-you!

• Charlie Bartsch
• ICF Consulting
• cbartsch_at_icfi.com
• 202.862.1135

Paul Connor NALGEP nalgep_at_spiegelmcd.com 202.638.6
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