“Historically, brownfields have been managed exclusively by states,” says Andrea Kretchmer, chair of the board of directors of the Brownfield Partnership, in a statement. “It is great to see New York City become the first city to take an advanced leadership role in this important issue.”

In a client advisory last month, law firm Carter Ledyard & Milburn LLP noted that the OER had finalized regulations creating a new local brownfield cleanup program. “Owners of seriously contaminated and undeveloped sites may still want to take advantage of the state’s Brownfield Cleanup Program because of its extensive state tax credits,” wrote attorneys Christopher Rizzo and Coleen Fazio. “The state’s Brownfield Cleanup Program also offers stronger liability protection than the city’s program because such liability releases are specifically authorized by state statute. But the city and state are reportedly working on an agreement to provide some recognition of the program by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, which should honor the city’s liability releases.”