Offering Municipalities New Hope for Polluted Properties

Pullman & Comley has taken the lead in proposing innovative legislation to form a state-certified brownfield land bank that creates a valuable new tool for municipalities seeking to remediate and redevelop brownfield sites. Despite the great strides made by the state to reduce the barriers to brownfield remediation, a large number of municipalities have remained reluctant to acquire and redevelop brownfield sites, discouraged by internal challenges such as compliance with procurement and sale ordinances, uncertain costs, public safety concerns and political considerations. Additionally, many communities simply do not have the expertise to take on this task.

The new land bank legislation creates a viable remediation alternative for municipalities and adds another important tool to the state’s brownfield redevelopment tool box. It provides a certification process for qualified non-stock corporations to acquire, manage, clean up and reposition brownfield sites for redevelopment on behalf of municipalities. In many ways, this legislation is unique and will place Connecticut at the forefront of the brownfield land bank movement throughout the country.