DEC Commissioner Pete Grannis and Mayor Bloomberg discussing an environmental issue earlier this year. Photo credit: Spencer T Tucker, via www.nyc.gov

                                        
Earlier today, Mayor Bloomberg and New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Commissioner Pete Grannis signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) regarding the City’s new Local Brownfield Cleanup Program (LBCP).  Under the MOA, the City and DEC have agreed to work together to “promote and facilitate the cleanup and appropriate reuse of contaminated properties.”  The LBCP allows parties that want to redevelop contaminated property in New York City to clean up the property under the jurisdiction of the City’s Office of Environmental Remediation (OER) and receive liability releases from the City once cleanup is complete . OER will consider accepting sites into the LBCP  that have been determined by DEC to be ineligible for the State’s Brownfield Cleanup Program, which has stringent eligibility criteria.  The LBCP also provides grants for investigation and cleanup of sites that are enrolled in the program, with priority given to certain types of projects, including community redevelopment projects and affordable housing projects. (more…)

There is a new twist in the ongoing saga of whether to list the Gowanus Canal on the Environmental Protection Agency’s National Priorities List – a/k/a Superfund.  The City will be potentially liable for a portion of the clean up costs.

For those not entirely familiar with the recent history of the proposed redevelopment and proposed clean up, here is a quick recap: (more…)