State approves $7.25M for brownfield cleanup

Cara Matthews • Albany bureau

First published in the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, March 10, 2008

ALBANY — Groups that lobbied for the release of brownfield-cleanup money they said was stuck in "bureaucratic limbo" got their wish granted when the governor and legislative leaders signed a check for $7.25 million.

The money had been set aside for 50 approved projects around the state, including four in the Rochester region. But the funds could not be sent out until an agreement was signed by Gov. Eliot Spitzer, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, D-Manhattan, and Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno, R-Brunswick, Rensselaer County.

The funds will go toward research, planning, marketing studies and other initiatives as communities seek to have properties designated as Brownfield Opportunity Areas.

Receiving the designation is likely to help attract redevelopment interest because it demonstrates there is community support for doing so.

"If we are going to drive economic growth, protect the environment and revive our communities, we must continue to revitalize brownfield areas," Spitzer said in a statement.

The Brownfield Opportunity Area program was created in 2003, along with the state's Brownfield Cleanup Program, to help revitalize communities with blighted, contaminated properties. The Brownfield Cleanup Program provides oversight, liability protection and financial incentives to developers that voluntarily clean and redevelop sites.

"We are happy that the money's finally been released and that it can get into the communities' hands," said Mathy Stanislaus, co-director of New Partners for Community Revitalization, a nonprofit based in New York City.

A previous agreement signed by former Gov. George Pataki and legislative leaders provided $7.6 million for the beginning phases of about 50 projects.

Stanislaus said that there is at least $30 million more that was approved during Pataki's administration but hasn't been allocated. Additional funding was approved in the current budget, and the governor has proposed more in his 2008-09 budget recommendation, he said.

More than 100 communities with almost 8,000 separate brownfield sites have applied for grants since the Brownfield Opportunity Area program began.

However, the cleanup program has been criticized because a few large developers have received millions of dollars in tax credits. Developers are reimbursed between 10 percent and 22 percent of the total cost of cleanup and development of a site.