§ 22a-133m — Urban sites remedial action program. Acquisition of sites. Remediation fund. Urban community sites.

Connecticut § 22a-133m

• Jurisdiction: Connecticut
• Title 22a: Environmental Protection
• Ch. 445: Hazardous Waste

Text

(a) An urban sites remedial action program is established to identify, evaluate, plan for and undertake the remediation of polluted real property. (b) The Commissioner of Economic and Community Development, in consultation with the Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection, shall establish the priority of sites for evaluation and remediation based upon the following factors: (1) The estimated cost of evaluating and remediating the site, if known; (2) the anticipated complexity of an evaluation of the site; (3) the estimated schedule for completing an evaluation; (4) the potential economic development benefits of the site to the state of Connecticut; (5) whether the site would not otherwise be remediated without the assistance of this program; and (6) any other factors which the commissioners deem relevant. No real property shall be eligible for evaluation or remediation under this section unless the Commissioner of Economic and Community Development finds that the state owns the site or otherwise has or obtains the power to approve the type of development which first occurs on the site after remediation. Except for any site proposed for acquisition under subsection (e) of this section, no real property shall be eligible for evaluation or remediation under this section unless the site is located in a distressed municipality, as defined in section 32-9p , or a targeted investment community, as defined in section 32-222 . For purposes of this section, “responsible party” means any person, as defined in section 22a-2 , who created a source of pollution on the site or an owner of the site during the investigation or remediation funded pursuant to this section. (c) The cost of evaluating and remediating sites pursuant to this section shall be paid from (1) funds authorized pursuant to subsection (a) of section 29 of special act 89-52, and (2) funds authorized for such evaluation or remediation pursuant to any other public or special act. (d) Whenever funds are used pursuant to this section for purposes of evaluating or remediating a polluted site, the Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection may seek reimbursement of the costs and expenses incurred by requesting the Attorney General to bring a civil action to recover such costs and expenses from any party responsible for such pollution provided no such action shall be brought separately from any action to recover costs and expenses incurred by the commissioner in pursuing action to contain, remove or mitigate any pollution on such site. The costs and expenses recovered may include but shall not be limited to (1) the actual cost of identifying, evaluating, planning for and undertaking the remediation of the site; (2) any administrative costs not exceeding ten per cent of the actual costs; (3) the costs of recovering the reimbursement; and (4) interest on the actual costs at a rate of ten per cent a year from the date such expenses were paid. The defendant in any civil action brought pursuant to this subsection shall have no cause of action or claim for contribution against any person with whom the commissioner has entered into a covenant not to sue pursuant to sections 22a-133aa and 22a-133bb with respect to pollution on or emanating from the property which is the subject of said civil action. (e) The Commissioner of Economic and Community Development, in consultation with the Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection, or a regional economic development entity using funds allocated under subsection (f) of this section, may acquire polluted commercial or industrial property for the purpose of remediation of the pollution and for the lease or sale of such property in order to promote business growth or expansion through the reuse or redevelopment of such property. Such acquisition may include, but not be limited to, condemnation of the property in accordance with the provisions of part I of chapter 835. For purposes of this subsection, the Commissioner of Economic and Community Development shall be exempt from all of the requirements of sections 22a-134 to 22a-134e , inclusive, section 4b-3 , and section 4b-21 . When acquiring polluted property under this subsection, the Commissioner of Economic and Community Development may accept on behalf of the state of Connecticut the liability, at the time of the acquisition, for all costs of remediation of the polluted property provided the transferor shall be liable for all costs in excess of fifteen million dollars and further provided the commissioner shall not accept any liability under federal law. The Commissioner of Economic and Community Development may enter into lease, sale, or other agreements for the use of the real property acquired pursuant to this subsection. All moneys received by the state pursuant to any such agreement shall be deposited into the Urban Site Remediation Fund established under subsection (f) of this section. (f) There is established an Urban Site Remediation Fund. The fund may contain any moneys required by law to be deposited in the fund and shall be held by the Treasurer separate and apart from all other moneys, funds and accounts. Any balance remaining in the fund at the end of any fiscal year shall be carried forward in the fund for the fiscal year next succeeding. The fund shall be used (1) by the Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection (A) for costs incurred in the assessment and remedial activities conducted at real property acquired pursuant to subsection (e) of this section, or (B) to reimburse the costs to obtain directors' and officers' liability and general liability insurance of (i) a municipal economic development agency or entity created or operating under chapter 130 or 132, or (ii) a nonprofit economic development corporation formed to promote the common good, general welfare and economic development of a municipality that is funded, either directly or through in-kind services, in part by a municipality, or a nonstock corporation or limited liability company controlled or established by a municipality, municipal economic development agency or entity created or operating under chapter 130 or 132; and (2) by the Commissioner of Economic and Community Development to pay any local property taxes on real property acquired pursuant to subsection (e) of this section and the costs of administering the program. The Commissioner of Economic and Community Development may allocate money from the fund to a regional economic development entity organized for the purpose of remediating contaminated real property. (g) The Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection shall conduct an assessment to evaluate the potential cost of remedial activities of any site proposed for acquisition under subsection (e) of this section prior to the transfer of the real property to the Commissioner of Economic and Community Development. The Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection, after transfer of the property to the Commissioner of Economic and Community Development, shall conduct remedial actions necessary to remediate the pollution at or on the site and shall certify to the Commissioner of Economic and Community Development that such actions have minimized and mitigated any threat to human health or the environment and have contained, removed or otherwise mitigated the effects of any pollution in the property. The Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection may use funds authorized pursuant to subsection (a) of section 29 of special act 89-52 and funds authorized for such purpose pursuant to any other public or special act for the purposes of this subsection. The Commissioner of Economic and Community Development shall adopt regulations, in accordance with the provisions of chapter 54, to carry out the provisions of this subsection and subsections (e) and (f) of this section. (h) The Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection and the Commissioner of Economic and Community Development shall jointly identify urban community sites known to have, or suspected to have, environmental contamination which, if remediated and developed, will improve the urban environment. The Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection and the Commissioner of Economic and Community Development shall jointly establish the priority of such sites for evaluation and remediation based upon the following factors: (1) The potential benefits of remediation to the environment; (2) the estimated cost of evaluating and remediating the site, if known; (3) the potential benefits to the local community of such site; (4) community support for remediation and redevelopment of such site; (5) the commitment from investors or the municipality to redevelop the site; and (6) any other factors which the commissioners deem relevant. No real property shall be eligible for evaluation and remediation under this subsection unless (A) the site is located in a distressed municipality, as defined in section 32-9p , a targeted investment community, as defined in section 32-222 , or an enterprise corridor zone, as defined in section 32-80 , or in such other municipality as the Commissioner of Economic and Community Development may designate, and (B) the site is not undergoing evaluation or remediation under subsections (a) to (g), inclusive, of this section.

Legislative History

(P.A. 92-235, S. 3, 6; P.A. 93-428, S. 27, 29, 39; P.A. 95-183, S. 10; 95-250, S. 1; 95-334, S. 5, 13; P.A. 96-113, S. 13, 17; 96-166, S. 1, 2; 96-211, S. 1, 5, 6; P.A. 98-253, S. 3; P.A. 99-216, S. 5, 7; P.A. 03-218, S. 3, 4; P.A. 10-135, S. 1; P.A. 11-80, S. 1.) History: P.A. 93-428 authorized the commissioner to proceed with remediation of evaluated sites and deleted provision which had authorized selection for evaluation of no more than two sites per year and added Subsecs. (e), (f) and (g) re acquisition of sites and the remediation fund, effective July 1, 1993; P.A. 95-183 amended Subsec. (d) to limit the ability of defendants in cost recovery actions under this section to bring an action for contribution from parties with whom the commissioner has entered into a covenant not to sue; P.A. 95-250 and P.A. 96-211 replaced Commissioner and Department of Economic Development with Commissioner and Department of Economic and Community Development; P.A. 95-334 amended Subsec. (b) to exempt sites proposed for acquisition under Subsec. (e) from requirement that all sites under this section be located in distressed municipalities, effective July 13, 1995; P.A. 96-113 amended Subsec. (d) to include reference to Secs. 22a-133aa and 22a-133bb, governing covenants not to sue, effective May 24, 1996; P.A. 96-166 amended Subsec. (b) to make sites located in targeted investment communities eligible for evaluation or remediation, effective July 1, 1996; P.A. 98-253 added new Subsec. (h) re urban community sites; P.A. 99-216 amended Subsecs. (e) and (f) to authorize disbursement under the program to regional economic development entities organized to remediate contaminated real property, effective July 1, 1999; P.A. 03-218 amended Subsec. (a) by deleting “which is deemed vital to the economic development needs of the state”, amended Subsec. (b) by redesignating Subdiv. (5) as Subdiv. (6), adding new Subdiv. (5) re whether the site would not otherwise be remediated, deleting former Subpara. (B) re determination of the responsible party, and making conforming changes and amended Subsec. (h) by deleting former Subpara. (A) re determination of the responsible party, redesignating existing Subparas. (B) and (C) as Subparas. (A) and (B) and making technical changes, effective July 1, 2003; (Revisor's note: In 2007 two references in Subsec. (f) to “subsection (e) of this subsection” were changed editorially by the Revisors to “subsection (e) of this section”, for accuracy); P.A. 10-135 amended Subsec. (f) by designating existing use by Commissioner of Environmental Protection as Subdiv. (1)(A), adding Subdiv. (1)(B) re reimbursement of costs to obtain liability insurance and designating existing use by Commissioner of Economic and Community Development as Subdiv. (2); pursuant to P.A. 11-80, “Commissioner of Environmental Protection” was changed editorially by the Revisors to “Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection”, effective July 1, 2011.