NYSDEC has finally issued its long-awaited amendments to the Part 375 Regulations governing the state Brownfield Cleanup Program (BCP). The proposed revisions were published in today’s State Register and are available from the agency website.
The regulations reflect NYSDEC’s interpretation of the changes brought about by the 2015 BCP amendments. The agency actually developed the proposed rules several years ago but were held up by former Governor Cuomo’s office of Management and Budget for an extended period of time. While NYSDEC waited for the Governor’s office to approve the regulations, the agency implemented the policies reflected in the proposed rules. we will publish an analysis of the rules in the coming days.
The irony is that these revisions occur just before legislative efforts will begin to amend the BCP since the tax credits will be expiring at the end of 2022. So the proposed amendments may yet need to be revised during the comment period to reflect legislative amendments.