October 13, 2008
By David Liscio/The Daily Item

The state’s so-called Brownsfields program, founded nine years ago to promote the redevelopment of environmentally contaminated property, is being streamlined to create incentives for investors.

State Attorney General Martha Coakley’s office has amended its Brownfields Covenant Program regulations in order to simplify the application process for future agreements and to create new incentives to redevelop abandoned or underutilized contaminated properties.

Several successful Brownsfields projects have been completed in Lynn. One site, a former industrial setting on Myrtle Street that was demolished, cleaned up and reused for housing construction, became a national model of success. Other contaminated Lynn properties, including defunct factories, have been transformed into usable property and returned to the tax rolls, which is one of the program’s key goals.

The Brownfields program promotes environmental cleanup and economic development by providing liability protections to individuals or companies with redevelopment projects on contaminated property, according to Coakley spokesperson Jill Butterworth.

The amended regulations were submitted to Secretary of State William Galvin’s office last week, Butterworth said.

“These changes will make the process for acquiring Brownfield Covenants more efficient, and will clarify for developers and communities alike how these tools can work to spur redevelopment,” said Attorney General Coakley.

The amended regulations, which become effective Oct. 17, include the following changes:

* Reduce the public comment period from 90 days to 45 days for applicants who did not cause or contribute to the contamination;

* Clarify public notice requirements, agreement criteria, and rights of affected third parties and public;

* Eliminate certain procedural barriers to Brownfields covenants for sites with the most difficult cleanups (those that may need “temporary solutions” under state cleanup requirements);

* Create a more user-friendly, streamlined, timely and predictable process.

“This year marks the 10th anniversary of the Brownfields Act, which provided the authority for the Brownfields Covenant Program and other vital tools for brownfields revitalization,” said Butterworth, noting the Brownfields Act was created to give incentives for developers to choose contaminated properties over clean ones, and revitalize urban centers and other areas.