This week Gov. Rendell signed into law Senate Bill 84 (Greenleaf-R-Montgomery) protecting economic redevelopment agencies and their nonprofit corporations from environmental liability while they temporarily hold title to a property for the purpose of site rehabilitation and hazardous waste removal.

“Before a former industrial site is redeveloped, often rehabilitation must take place which includes the removal of hazardous materials,” said Sen. Greenleaf. “The local redevelopment agencies and their non-profit organizations may be held liable for damages resulting from the removal of hazardous waste. This lack of legal protection has delayed or prevented many worthwhile projects such as the redevelopment of industrial sites and brownfields both locally and across the Commonwealth.”

“Many of these sites are found in former industrial centers suffering from long term economic decline and would greatly benefit from redevelopment that would mobilize the local economy,” said the Senator. “The sites that contain hazardous waste like asbestos have become local fixtures threatening the environment and public health. My bill is going make it easier for these places to get cleaned up in a timelier manner.”

The legislation will not expand the scope of environmental liability protection in Pennsylvania, but will bring it in line with the way environmental remediation is being funded in the state and to make it clear that liability protection extends to any nonprofit corporation created and controlled by a redevelopment authority to carry out its statutory purpose.

The Redevelopment Authority of Montgomery County proposed this legislation to facilitate its remediation of brownfield properties. The legislation will protect redevelopment authorities which sometime only hold title to assist in obtaining State funds that may be used in the removal of contamination from brownfield sites.

Jerry Nugent, Executive Director of the Redevelopment Authority, said, “We would like to thank Senator Greenleaf for working with the redevelopment authority in getting this important legislation through the legislature and signed into law. It’s a step in the right direction for economic development in Pennsylvania.”