Turning brown green in New York.

• Position: Trends And Transitions

After a seven-year struggle, the New York Legislature passed the Superfund Refinancing and Brownfield Cleanup Act of 2003 signed by the governor Oct. 7.

In addition to providing $120 million in annual bond revenue to clean up hazardous waste sites, the legislation establishes a comprehensive Brownfield Cleanup Program.

Brownfields are typically abandoned commercial and industrial properties that contain some contamination that may affect their future productive use.

They are usually found in cities and inner ring suburbs, and rural areas also contain sites. Once cleaned up to acceptable environmental standards--the property's future use will determine the necessary level of remediation--brownfields can become viable economic development centers, attracting growth that may otherwise spill out onto the urban-rural fringe.

New York's legislation addresses the three main obstacles to large-scale brownfield cleanup and redevelopment activities in the states:

* Liability concerns of prospective property owners and developers.

* Insufficient financial incentives to make the necessary cleanup and redevelopment investments.

* Lack of specific requirements that allow sites to be cleaned up at different degrees based on future use.

The legislation had strong bipartisan support, with Assemblyman Thomas DiNapoli, a Democrat, and Senator Carl Marcellino, a Republican, shepherding the bills through the process.

DiNapoli, chair of the Assembly Environmental Conservation Committee, noted that the legislation will provide New York with "a new framework to remediate contaminated sites retaining the nation's most protective cleanup standards, while providing developers, municipalities and community-based organizations with a predictable process, financial incentives and liability relief.

"By cleaning up brownfield sites and refinancing the state's Superfund program, not only will environmental threats be removed from communities throughout the state, but local economies will also be...