September 1, 2004—To encourage the purchase, cleanup, reuse, and economic revitalization of property that may be environmentally contaminated, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently announced a proposed rule requiring potential owners to conduct certain inquiries into the previous ownership, uses, and environmental conditions of the land prior to purchase.
If the inquiries are performed properly and other reasonable steps undertaken, the purchasers can buy the land with assurance from EPA that they will not be subject to lawsuits under the Superfund hazardous waste cleanup law.
Although the current Superfund law provides some protection to “innocent” land purchasers who unknowingly buy contaminated property, the statutory language is ambiguous. EPA’s new proposal provides certainty for purchasers of potentially contaminated property and reduces yet another barrier to cleanup and redevelopment in local communities across the nation.
The Agency’s proposal will also apply to any person conducting a waste site characterization or assessment with funding from the federal Brownfields grant program, regardless of whether a purchase takes place.
EPA emphasizes that the failure to detect contamination prior to purchase does not exempt a landowner from the obligation to clean up newly discovered hazardous waste after the purchase.
Today’s proposal is part of an overall EPA initiative to revitalize land by restoring cleaned up waste sites for productive economic and greenspace use.
For more information on the proposed rule, visit EPA/Brownfields.
