RE: investment funds for brownfield reclamation

["Bruce Klafter" <bklafter@orrick.com>]

It's very hard to generalize about a subject like brownfields, but there
are certainly a number of cases where Federal or State Superfund sites have
been bought and sold with financing.  Conventional bank financing is hard
to come by, however, where the cleanup and liability issues at a site are
not "mature", i.e. well characterized, the subject of an enforceable order
and can be estimated.  

A key to making some of those transactions work are prospective purchaser
agreements (or covenants not to sue) issued either by EPA or by state
environmental agencies.  A "PPA" is a binding agreement that the new owner
(and successors) will not be liable for pre-existing contamination so long
as the conditions are not exacerbated.  The consideration for such an
agreement is usually an enhancement to the cleanup or some other form of
public benefit.  If you are looking for case studies, you might review the
lists of PPAs and search for more detail on those sites.

-----Original Message-----
From: peter strauss [mailto:pstrauss@igc.apc.org]
Sent: Monday, April 05, 1999 1:35 PM
To: cpeo-brownfields@igc.org
Subject: Re: investment funds for brownfield reclamation



While I do not have specific information concerning your question (e.g.,
lenders, insurance companies), I would suggest that a good start would
be looking at Netscape, which built its headquarters in Mountain View on
a Superfund site known as MEW.  Also, several years ago, EPA Region IX
conducted workshops at the Tucson International Airport Superfund site
with the intent to encourage development and stop a decline in property
values.  Craig Cooper was the RPM at the time and he may be a good
resource.

Peter Strauss  

Knochenmus, Talmon wrote:
> 
> I have heard from lenders that large financial institutions will not
> generally finance a former Superfund site, although they may do Brownfield
> sites.
> 
> My primary interest is in redevelopment of Superfund sites; I'm wondering
> if there are any tools used in Brownfields redevelopment that may be
> applicable to Superfund sites. Are there investment firms in the business
> of purchasing and redeveloping these sites? Are insurers willing to write
> policies for developers of current/former Superfund sites?
> 
> Any thoughts will be greatly appreciated.
> 
> Talmon Knochenmus
> 1530 Wilson Boulevard
> Arlington, Virginia 22209-2406
> 703.312.8692 W
> 703.351.6166 Fax
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Eugene P. Schmittgens, Jr. [mailto:EPS@ziercher.com]
> Sent: Friday, April 02, 1999 4:32 PM
> To: cpeo-brownfields@igc.org
> Subject: Re: investment funds for brownfield reclamation
> 
> I almost forgot a couple of other items re: investment in brownfields and
> liability.
> 
> First, in the US there are a number of companies that are in the business
> of purchasing and remediating environmentally distressed properties.  They
> are backed by huge investment firms.
> 
> Second, there are a number of insurance products available to insure
> against future liability.
> 
> I look forward to further discussions.