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* Program seems to
be driven more by remedia-tion object-ives than by impetus for econ-omic
revital-ization.
*Has a well-finan-ced munici-pal BF
(environ-mental restoration) program ($200M), but requires very costly
cleanups.
*After publishing little public guidance on
its VCP for >6 yrs., DEC has now released a Draft Volun-tary Cleanup
Program Guide for public review and comment (May 29, 2002).
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Purpose
of VCP:
- Investigation of
eligible properties with known or perceived contamination
- Protection of
public health and the environment
- Accelerated cleanup
of eligible properties
- Provide
predict-ability and finality to the cleanup of eligible properties.
* Liability release
is particularly strong and unqualified for the innocent purchaser
(“Inculpable Person”).
*
Special
simplified procedures for obtaining a “No Further Require-ments letter”
where a brownfield site merely carries a perception of contamination, or
any contamination falls below applicable standards or risk thresholds.
*To save time and money,
MDE guidelines now allow for and encourage the use of field screening technology for site
assessment--e.g., immuno-assay field screening and X-Ray fluorescence
field screening (in conjunction with limited fixed labora-tory analysis).
*Will be doing more field screening with
gas chromat-ograph / mass-spectroscopy equipment to cut cost and time.
Wants to create a "backlog" of assessments.
* Has been the
“trend-setter” in “strong state-local partner-ship in urban
revitali-zation as an alternative to sprawl.” (Paull and Bartsch, 2001). |
* Has a pre-packa-ged
environ-mental insurance program under which the state pays 50% of the
cost of private
environmental
insurance.
* Uses Licensed
Site Profes-sionals to facilitate and accel-erate VCP clean-ups.
*Developing
innovative
U-CIP computerized
inventory system.
*Is proud of its Site Assessment Program in
which both municipalities and private parties participate. |
Key compon-ents:
-Causation-based
system for owner/ operators
-BEA provisions to
provide liability protection to new owner/ operators
-Due care provisions
to ensure that contaminated property is used safely
-Land-use based
cleanup stds.
* Elimination of
strict liability eliminates the reluctance of innocent owners to do site
testing. (IL has a similar causation-based liability scheme.) |
*Unique finality
provisions in liability releases provided to non-liable parties—i.e., no
re-opener for newly discovered contamination.
*Presumptive remedy
(allowing containment) for “historic fill”.
* Marketing database
and mapping system: Brownfield Site Marketing Inventory (BSMI),
I-Map;
operates as a brownfields Multiple Listing Service.
*Has developed an
extensive “Cookbook” of Technical Regulations on how to do a cleanup.
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* Program won Council
of State Government’s Innovation Award.
* Environ-mental
Guardian Trust – proposed program to privatize post-remediation
long-term stewardship of ICs and ECs.
*Plan to post on the web sites with ongoing
ICs and ECs.
* PA Site Finder
website.
* 4 cornerstones
of program: uniform cleanup stds., liability relief, standardized
reviews and time limits, and financial incentives.
*Cleanups completed
in 2001 = 181
*Cleanups in progress
= 423
* Cleanups completed
previously = 790
* 1,500 Notices of
Intent to Remediate (NIRs).
* Allows cleanup of
specific contaminants or partial site cleanups, avoiding the need for
time-consum-ing full-site character-izations. (IL has a similar
program.)
* Cleanups in
“Special Industrial Areas” are required only to avoid imminent health
threats. |