Launched May 15, the initiative, which will be administered by the state's Empire State Development agency, the Department of Environmental Conservation and the Governor's Office of Regulatory Reform, will facilitate the redevelopment of unoccupied or under-utilized sites contaminated with a broad range of industrial wastes. To qualify for remediation, a site must have at least 25 acres of land (or 15 acres in certain heavily populated locales), have a nearby skilled labor force, water and sewer systems, as well as access to transportation. After treatment, business/commerce parks or industrial/distribution facilities will be erected on the properties.

The Environmental Conservation Law makes all owners of a site, past and present, responsible for cleaning it up. That is why developers avoid contaminated properties that are otherwise suitable for industrial purposes. The ReBuild program enables developers to proceed with a project without having to fund a costly remediation program.