The Ohio House has introduced a bill that would provide a tax incentive to clean up contaminated properties. House Bill 10, if enacted, would provide an exemption from penalties as well as a tax credit to encourage companies to voluntarily remediate property.
Similar to other existing tax incentives, the bill encourages companies to remediate property under Ohio’s Voluntary
The Ohio Water Development Authority (OWDA) has long had a revolving loan fund to help finance brownfield clean up projects. However, the OWDA program has rarely been utilized because of two factors:
At this week’s Ohio Brownfield Conference, the State announced that they soon would be revamping the OWDA program to make it more attractive. The two major changes to be made are:
The biggest change is allowing responsible parties to be eligible for loans. Now companies have a new financing option if they want to address historical contamination on their property to eliminate liability risks. Companies can utilize the Ohio Voluntary Action Program (VAP) in performing their clean up.
Clean up under VAP is a far better option than clean up under traditional enforcement or regulatory programs like RCRA (hazardous waste regulatory program). VAP clean ups are:
The OWDA program may provided needed financing to companies wishing to take advantage of the VAP program.
We will need to see the details for the changes to the program once the State rolls them out. I was told that would occur in the next few weeks. However, these changes appear to make the OWDA Brownfield Loan Program much more attractive.
(See extended entry for the current program guidelines which will soon be changed)Continue Reading Ohio Revamps Brownfield Loan Program
U.S. EPA has released its fiscal year 2011 request for proposals (RFP) for brownfield assessment and clean up grants. There is a relatively short window of opportunity to file your application- the deadline is October 15, 2010.
[Click here for access to U.S. EPA’s RFP for the brownfield assessment, clean up and revolving
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Liability for pre-existing contamination acts as a strong deterrent to re-use of brownfield properties. Prospective purchasers simply do not want to expose themselves to potential liability especially when they had nothing to do with the contamination.
At the federal level, there has been an attempt to address liability exposure in order to provide prospective purchasers some level
I was interviewed for a story on the local NPR station in Cleveland about a Northeast Ohio company that nearly went bankrupt because of confusion over Ohio’s brownfield tax abatement law. The title of the story was "How a Poorly Worded Tax Rule Nearly Bankrupted Ohio’s Oldest Company." Listen to the whole story by clicking
Any business spending money on an environmental investigation or on clean up at property they own examine closely a federal tax incentive which is set to expire December 31, 2009. The incentive allows environmental clean up costs to be fully deductible in the year they are incurred, rather than having to be capitalized and spread over a
There has been much discussion regarding the use of Land Banks to assist in addressing the aftermath of the foreclosure crisis. Here is an excerpt from the Cleveland Plain Dealer discussing the County’s recently launched non-profit corporate land bank:
Formally launched by the county in April, the new, nonprofit land bank is the first of
On May 18, 2009 the Clean Ohio Council finalized new policies that will govern future rounds of the Clean Ohio Revitalization Fund (CORF). A major change has been incorporated into the policies that will impact developers, consultants and contractors who work on Clean Ohio projects. For the first time the Council has included conflict of
Hurry up and get your site in line by Monday March 30th with the State of Ohio for possible additional federal brownfield money to support your project. The State is only looking for "shovel ready" sites. This means the types of brownfield sites that may be able to secure the $200,000 federal brownfield stimulus money are limited.
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I have been following discussion regarding the green elements of the .jpg)
Presidents Stimulus Package, known as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. There is certainly a lot directed toward environmentally related projects, especially renewable energy development. Leading some to call these provisions the "Green New Deal."
What is the real story behind some of the spending that has been reported? You certainly can find information all across the web and on government sites that simply lists the amount of money in the bill and which program it has been directed. However, detail about what the money will really be used for can be hard to find.
Bottom line, some provisions are better than others. For instance, much of the money directed toward U.S. EPA will pay for existing projects. This includes prior grant applications, clean ups already under contract or projects previously selected for funding. So, for many of you expecting great new opportunities for EPA related projects, I don’t think the bill offers you that much. (with the exception of diesel engine related grants- see below).
The renewable energy side of the equation is a totally different story. There are continued and new tax incentives as well as new grant opportunities. There is a lot in the bill and it will literally pay to stay on top of what is available.
I. EPA Side- the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 specifically includes $7.22 billion for projects and programs administered by EPA.
Below is a description of the major areas of funding as well as an analysis of whether this funding presents new opportunities. EPA has established a web site page with helpful links that discuss the opportunities in the Stimulus Bill relative to the money designated for EPA.
Brownfields: There is over $100 million directed to U.S. EPA’s brownfield redevelopment program. I was intrigued regarding this new slug of money for it could present another great opportunity for clients outside of the Clean Ohio program. However, after asking for more details from U.S. EPA, I learned that this money is basically already spent. The U.S. EPA intends to use it for projects that requested funding back in 2008 but were not funded due to an over abundance of proposals. While its good news more projects are getting funded, I believe U.S. EPA could have even received better project proposals if they would have allowed for new applications.
Diesel Emission Retrofits Act (DERA): The Stimulus directed over $300 million in new money to fund the DERA program. DERA is the federal grant program that pays for diesel engine retrofits, repowers and replacements. Last years allocation was only $50 million for the entire country. So the Stimulus does provide real, new money for this program. U.S. EPA intends to spend the money quickly so watch U.S. EPA’s website and Recovery.gov to jump in with your project.
Underground Storage Tank (USTs) Cleanups: $200 million was provided to U.S. EPA’s Leaking Underground Storage Tanks (LUST) Program, EPA provides resources to states and territories for the oversight, enforcement and cleanup of petroleum releases from underground storage tanks (USTs). EPA estimates that every year 7,570 new releases occur which just adds to the sites that have not yet been completed. There could be as many as 116,000 sites requiring clean up actions in 2009. However, it appears the funding will be used to help pay for clean ups of abandoned tanks rather than create a new grant program. Here is additional detail from the from the Convenience Store News regarding the Stimulus package:
Other measures relevant to c-stores include a final approval of $200 million for the Leaking Underground Storage Tank (LUST) Trust Fund, which assists in the cleanup of abandoned gas stations, but will not pay for inspections or to assist state reimbursements programs.
Superfund Cleanups: $600 million was provided to U.S. EPA’s superfund program. However, these funds will be obligated mostly through existing contracts and Interagency Agreements. In 2009 there could be as many as 20 Superfund sites ready for construction, but not funded due to budget shortfalls. The Recovery funds will begin to address those sites, plus accelerate construction at many of 600 sites where work has been limited in the past by funding constraints.
Clean Water State Revolving Fund and Drinking Water State Revolving Fund: $4 billion for assistance to help communities with water quality and wastewater infrastructure needs and $2 billion for drinking water infrastructure needs. A portion of the funding will be targeted toward green infrastructure, water and energy efficiency and environmentally innovative projects. (guidance on the green infrastructure component)
Ohio EPA has begun soliciting projects for its Drinking Water and Wastewater Revolving Loan Programs. However, projects must already have been planned and reviewed by Ohio EPA for inclusion on project planning lists. For instance, drinking water projects must be on the Drinking Water Project Priority List (PPL).
II. Renewable Energy- the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 bill is anticipated to provide around $43 billion for renewable energy in the form of tax breaks and other incentives
The extended entry includes a summary of the renewable energy incentives and investment as assembled by the American Council on Renewable Energy (ACORE). (the link provides you a hard copy of the ACORE document- which does a great job of assembling the relevant information for renewable energy incentives- or see the extended entry for a summary).Continue Reading Green New Deal? Green Trinkets and Empty Packages in the Stimulus Bill