President Clinton has signed into law legislation that will assist landowners with brownfields revitalization efforts. The law, part of the federal budget, allows owners of brownfields sites to expense their clean-up costs, as opposed to capitalizing them, until January 1, 2004. This tax deduction will free up $489 million in investment capital to be used on remediation efforts.
Brownfields are vacant, abandoned, or underutilized commercial and industrial properties where real or perceived environmental contamination challenges redevelopment or utilization. More than 400,000 contaminated tracts exist in the United States, often located in urban areas. The major hindrance in returning these properties to productive uses is the prohibitive clean-up cost faced by the landowner who, in most cases, has purchased a property polluted by a previous owner.
The Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) International believes that, unless the current Superfund law is reformed, brownfields legislation is necessary to help transform the contaminated urban sites into useable, economically self-sufficient properties. In addition to pushing for brownfields legislation and reform of Superfund, BOMA International is also encouraging Congress to address greater state and local government involvement in the Superfund process, as well as liability protection for property purchasers whose sites were polluted by a previous owner. For more information, contact BOMA International.
