EPA offers Brownfield redevelopment incentives.

The EPA is offering incentives for developers willing to redevelop contaminated property in a "sustainable" manner (70 FR 20901). The Environmentally Responsible Redevelopment and Reuse Initiative, also known as ER3, offers developers who are redeveloping lightly to moderately contaminated brownfields liability relief if they agree to build energy-efficient buildings or create or restore a natural wildlife habitat on the site. Developers have historically avoided brownfields out of fear that they may be held liable for cleanup costs even if they did not cause the contamination. In 2002, Congress passed a law offering owners and purchasers of contaminated sites additional liability defenses if they agree to keep migrating pollution under control.

The ER3 initiative goes even further, however. It offers incentives to developers facing fines or penalties for noncompliance by allowing them to implement "green technologies" at the redevelopment of a nearby contaminated property in exchange for a penalty mitigation credit at the site where the developer is facing liability. More information on the program is available at www.epa.gov/oeca/cleanup/redevelop/er3/index.html.