New York State moves towards brownfields initiative.

At last, New York State has taken a major step toward restoring thousands of contaminated properties to productive use.

As part of a plan to extend the Superfund program, Governor George Pataki recently proposed a prudent revision of clean-up standards that would enable redevelopers to remediate a site in accordance with risk-based standards for its intended use. A showing center with a completely paved parking lot, for example, would not require every last measure of contaminant removed, as would be the case if a housing development were planned.

This is of critical importance because removing the last 5 percent of soil contamination could be as costly as taking out the first 95 percent. Therefore, most commercial projects are economically unfeasible in the private sector in the absence of risk-based standards.

If the Governor has his way, New York will join the vast majority of states that already have taken similar steps to address the problem of contaminated sites, many of which are abandoned eyesores that rob communities of jobs, tax revenues and recreation amenities. Other states, New Jersey among them, have recognized that the Superfund program by itself is not getting the job done, and have enacted so-called "brownfields initiatives" so that private enterprise can pitch in.

Now is an excellent time for New York to move forward, because several factors have combined to facilitate brownfields investment. For one thing, the federal government has transferred jurisdiction of over 60 percent of brownfield sites to the state level, making the state initiatives possible.

In addition, useful new tools, such as environmental insurance and guaranteed maximum price contracts from environmental engineering firms, have been developed to adequately mitigate liability and cost-overrun risk.

At least five major firms now offer environmental insurance, and the competition has made the products extremely efficient. Engineering firms are vying intensely for consulting and clean-up contracts in the private sector, and many are ready to put their own credit on the line to get projects completed at a fixed cost.

These factors, combined with increasingly sophisticated technology and a wealth of accumulated experience, have removed much of the uncertainty formerly associated with brown fields projects.

Furthermore, the SEC and accounting profession rule-makers are putting new pressure on public corporations to divulge their brownfields exposure in financial statements and set aside reserves for a potential liability, prompting those companies to actively seek solutions to their brownfields problems.

As a consequence of all these trends, an energetic brownfields market has taken shape across the country, supported by strong industry leaders such as The Brookhill Group's brownfields affiliate, Brookhill Redevelopment LLC (formerly Dames & Moore/Brookhill).

Governor Pataki's plan deserves serious and immediate attention. A brownfields initiative in New York will create jobs, boost tax revenues, spruce up communities and open the way for exciting new projects. It's time to catch up with the rest of the nation.