Navigating the Inflation Reduction Act: Insights on Brownfield Energy Community Credits - Energy Law Insights
The Subcommittee on Environment of the United States House of Representatives Committee on Energy & Commerce held a March 11th hearing entitled: Maximizing Opportunities for Redeveloping Brownfields Sites: Assessing the...more
Senators Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va., Chair of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, and Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.) have reintroduced S. 347 as The Brownfields Reauthorization Act of 2025. According to an...more
The Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works (EPW) on Feb. 5, 2025, held a markup on the Brownfields Reauthorization Act of 2025 (S. 347), where the legislation was unanimously reported to the full Senate. To date,...more
At the conclusion of last year, the General Assembly passed the Township Omnibus Bill (also known as House Bill 315). Governor DeWine, with a few line-item vetoes, otherwise signed House Bil 315 into law at the beginning of...more
Both the North and South Carolina legislatures have recently adopted statutes affecting environmental issues in their respective states. This update highlights the most significant developments in North and South Carolina....more
On Friday, April 19, 2024, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) announced its final rule designating perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) as hazardous substances under the...more
On April 19, 2024, EPA issued its long-awaited Final Rule officially listing two key per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), or so-called “forever chemicals,” as “hazardous substances” under the Comprehensive...more
This week, Inside EPA (subscription required) ran a story indicating that EPA is trying to figure out how to juggle some increasingly expensive cleanups with shortfalls in Superfund tax revenue. The story notes that EPA is...more
On Jan. 2, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) rang in the new year by publishing a Proposed Rule updating the Ground Water Quality Standards (GWQS) for 65 of the 73 constituents currently regulated...more
Yesterday, I spoke with Sarah Mattalian, an Inside EPA reporter writing a story about the suggestion by an EPA official that EPA might require additional PFAS investigations and clean up at properties that had already been...more
While some developers are dragged reluctantly into redeveloping brownfields, others actively pursue these environmentally impacted properties in recognition of the advantages they can provide under the right circumstances....more
In August, Governor Healey signed the FY 2024 budget legislation extending for five years until January 1, 2029, the Brownfields Tax Credit that was set to expire at the end of 2023. Consequently, the redevelopment community...more
Today Governor Maura Healy signed legislation extending the eligibility deadlines for the Massachusetts Brownfields tax credits program by five years. The legislation had been included in the budget bill, which had recently...more
On July 20, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) sent a letter to Brownfield Cleanup Program (BCP) applicants, consultants, and attorneys that provides an update regarding 2023 Certificate of...more
We have been closely following the emerging details of the new biodiversity net gain (BNG) regime and the emerging market for off-site BNG which is expected to come into force for most planning applications in November 2023...more
This week a bill was introduced in the Alabama Legislature which would expand the state’s Brownfield Redevelopment and Voluntary Cleanup Program through the implementation of new features aimed to increase participation in...more
Tennessee’s new Brownfield legislation proposed by Governor Bill Lee provides significant incentives for acquisition of contaminated property. The legislation envisions three new areas of concentration for brownfield...more
The Phase I Environmental Site Assessment (“ESA”) is the quintessential environmental diligence tool for transactions involving real property. A Phase I ESA includes a site inspection and review of current and past uses and...more
For transactions in 2023 and going forward, parties who purchase property will want to be aware of an update applicable to Phase I reports. By final rule issued on December 15, 2022, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency...more
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is in the process of rulemaking to adopt a new national standard for Phase I environmental site assessments. While the EPA had hoped to adopt the new Phase I standard more...more
The exact number of brownfield sites in the United States is not known. Some sources estimate the number at more than 450,000, amounting to more than five million total acres of land. One report estimated that U.S. cities...more
When New York Governor Kathy Hochul executed the 2022-2023 State Budget, it included a 10-year extension to the State’s Brownfield Cleanup Program (“BCP” or “Program). The State’s voluntary, incentive-laced, BCP was set to...more
Mike Rolband was appointed Director of the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality in January 2022. Recently, Channing Martin, a partner in the Environment and Natural Resources Group at Williams Mullen, had the...more
The New York State Legislature has passed legislation that amends the NYS Brownfield Cleanup Program (BCP) and associated tax credit program and extends the program for another 10 years. The amendments extend the BCP, which...more