[CPEO-BIF] Long Island Newsday: "Fix New York's brownfields laws"

[Lenny Siegel <lsiegel@cpeo.org>]

Fix New York's brownfields laws

by THE EDITORIAL BOARD
Long Island Newsday (NY)
June 24, 2014

New York is pockmarked with contaminated land. Long Island is no  
exception. What sets us apart from other parts of the state is our  
relative lack of success in cleansing these sites.

And the consequences of failure are worse here, because our toxic  
sites sit on top of the water we drink -- our aquifer.

That's why it's so disappointing that efforts to reform the much- 
criticized state brownfield cleanup program have failed -- at least  
for now. The State Legislature last week passed a 15-month extension  
of the program, now due to expire in 2015. Supporters say developers  
need to know tax credits will be available before they enter the  
program; credits are earned when cleanups are finished and the 2015  
deadline is too tight for many projects. But many credits have gone  
to projects, like luxury hotels and malls, that had more to do with  
economic development than cleaning toxic sites. Extension without  
reform just perpetuates the problem.


...

For the entire editorial, see
http://www.newsday.com/opinion/editorial-fix-new-york-s-brownfields- 
laws-1.8555339

--

Lenny Siegel
Executive Director, Center for Public Environmental Oversight
a project of the Pacific Studies Center
278-A Hope St., Mountain View, CA 94041
Voice: 650/961-8918 or 650/969-1545
Fax: 650/961-8918
<lsiegel@cpeo.org>
http://www.cpeo.org

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