Proposed amendments to the Brownfield Cleanup Program (BCP) regulations are available for public review and comment, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) announced today. The proposed regulations (6 NYCRR Part 375) implement statutory changes made in the 2015-16 Budget.

         This proposed rulemaking defines the terms “affordable housing project” and “underutilized” as part of the eligibility requirements for tangible property tax credits for brownfields in New York City.  The “affordable housing project” definition affects the amount of potentially available tax credits statewide.  The proposed rulemaking also amends the “brownfield site” definition in accordance with the recent statutory amendments.

            The 2015 amendments to the BCP law address the large differences in the potential state tax liability between upstate and downstate BCP sites. The primary driver for the regional imbalance within the BCP is the high development costs for some downstate projects, which have been reflected in excessive tangible property tax credits.  These regulations are expected to target projects in New York City to those areas with the most need. 

         DEC will hold a public hearing on the proposed regulations on July 29 at 1 p.m. Both verbal and written comments will be accepted at the hearing. The hearing will be held in the Second Floor Auditorium, at the New York City Department of Health, 1235 Worth Street, New York City. Seating is limited and attendees should register at http://www.dec.ny.gov/regulations/101908.html.

         The public is invited to submit written comments on the proposed regulations through August 5, 2015.  Written comments can be submitted by:

(1)  email to derweb@dec.ny.gov and please include “Comments on Proposed Part 375” in the subject line of the email; or

(2)  mail to Michael Ryan, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, Division of Environmental Remediation, 625 Broadway, Albany, New York 12233-7011. 

All documents and related information pertaining to the proposed rulemaking are available on DEC’s website at http://www.dec.ny.gov/regulations/101908.html. If you do not have internet access, please write to the address above or call (518) 402-9706.