Brownfield program reforms near

ALBANY — New York state's program to clean up brownfields could receive new energy before the state Legislature ends its session next month.

Activists and local officials from around the state converged on Albany on Tuesday to push for a two-part fix to the program, known as Brownfield Opportunity Areas.

"We are here at a time when negotiations to fix the state brownfield program are getting under way," said Jody Kass, co-director of New Partners for Community Revitalization, an advocacy group for community development. "We want to remind lawmakers and state agency officials that just a few significant reforms will have a great impact on public health, community redevelopment and economic growth across the state."

NPCR and other brownfield reform proponents seek two improvements:

■ A 20-percent tax credit to give developers and businesses a strong incentive to locate on former brownfield sites.

■ Designation of a single agency, the state Department of State, to administer brownfield cleanup efforts.

"In an area where corporate profits are marginal, a 10-percent credit doesn't mean much," said David T. Button, Canton town supervisor. "But 20 percent will get the attention of developers and businesses. It will make a difference in communities like Canton. And a single administrative agency is important. Communities should not be trapped between the bureaucracies of two agencies."

Currently, both the state Department of Environmental Conservation and the Department of State share oversight of the Brownfield Opportunity Areas program.

Enacted in 2003, BOA allows municipalities and community groups to receive state grants to plan and investigate the remediation and redevelopment of brownfield sites. A brownfield is a tract of former industrial or commercial property contaminated by chemicals or other industrial waste.

Cleanup costs at such sites are often prohibitive and create cash-flow problems that prevent businesses from expanding and developers from building on brownfield sites.

Because of disagreements among the governor, the Senate and the Assembly over BOA tax credits during the budgetary process, the program was suspended for 90 days after the budget's enactment in early April. With the suspension set to expire in early July, progress is apparently in the works.

Gov. David A. Paterson has offered program bill 51, which includes a 10-percent tax credit, to address BOA reform. Assemblyman Robert K. Sweeney, D-Lindenhurst, recently introduced a bill, A.11107, with a 20-percent tax credit. Efforts also are under way in the Senate to amend BOA provisions in the Upstate Now legislation, which passed in late January, as well.

"If getting things done in Albany was easy, brownfield reform would have been done a long time ago," Mr. Button said. "But the finish line is in sight."

A resolution to the brownfield logjam could open the door to swift progress in redeveloping one such site in Canton, said Linda McQuinn, economic development director for the town and village of Canton.

SunFeather Soap Co., which has a manufacturing operation in Parishville, seeks to open a shop at an undisclosed site in the village. The shop would feature the company's products, plus a museum-like exhibit on historical soap packaging and promotional items, Ms. McQuinn said.

Grants under both the Restore New York program and the Local Waterfront Revitalization Plan have been secured for the project. But the lack of a viable BOA program to provide cleanup funds has stymied progress.

"You can't transfer property without a clean title, which means that the property must be environmentally sound," Mr. Button said. "This will be like dominoes — once (BOA legislation) tumbles, everything else will fall into place."