[CPEO-BIF] New York State's Brownfields program "Ripe for Reform"

[Lenny Siegel <lsiegel@cpeo.org>]

News Release
Environmental Advocates of New York
March 19, 2015


170 Brownfield Cleanups Cost Taxpayers $1.4 Billion
Broken system ripe for reform in SFY2015-16 budget

Albany – New York’s Brownfield Cleanup Program is a broken system that has cost taxpayers $1.4 billion to clean up just 170 sites – an average payout of $8.2 million per site. Structural deficiencies within state law has left thousands of toxic brownfields off tax rolls, while taxpayers are instead footing a huge bill for projects that would have occurred regardless of the program’s existence. These costs are expected to balloon, as the state is liable for payouts totaling an additional $3.3 billion for projects currently in the system.

“Brownfields cleanup is crucial, particularly in a state with so many polluted sites holding back our communities,” said Peter Iwanowicz, executive director. “But the current program is out of control. It costs taxpayers too much and cleans up too little. While there are certainly pockets of success – like Erie County – these trends do not carry statewide. Taxpayers are footing the bill for an extraordinarily costly and broken system that is in desperate need of reform.”

For instance, since 2010, credits paid out for 17 development projects in Erie County totaled $15,562,827, for an average cost of $915,460. Comparatively, six Manhattan projects during that same period cost taxpayers $186,618,573 for an average cost of $31,103,096.

…

For the entire release and a link to the full report, see
http://www.eany.org/our-work/press-release/170-brownfield-cleanups-cost-taxpayers-14-billion

--

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




_______________________________________________
Brownfields mailing list
Brownfields@lists.cpeo.org
http://lists.cpeo.org/listinfo.cgi/brownfields-cpeo.org