Superfund program back in business

State restores money for cleanup efforts

The program now includes provisions for the cleanup of brownfields, the mostly abandoned, mostly urban properties that cannot be redeveloped until toxic contamination is corrected. Senate Environmental Conservation Committee Chairman Carl Marcellino estimated that there are at least 15,000 brownfields in New York state. Forty percent of the city of Buffalo may be regarded as brownfields.

Pataki said that by addressing brownfields, the environment will be improved, a health risk to nearby residents will be removed and opportunities for redevelopment and new jobs will be created. He said that beyond the health threat posed by brownfields, the abandoned sites also hurt the values of nearby properties.

Cleanup and reuse of brownfields will be encouraged by offering tax incentives to developers and limiting their legal liability under the new law.

State officials said up to $120 million a year will be available to the Superfund program, to be generated through state borrowing and industry fees. There are an estimated 800 sites on the Superfund list that need cleaning up, not counting brownfields.

Separately, a $33 million Oil Spill Program will be funded through industry fees.