Sec. 22a-133m. Urban sites remedial action program. Acquisition of sites. Remediation fund. Urban community sites.
Sec. 22a-133m. Urban sites remedial action program. Acquisition of sites. Remediation fund. Urban community sites. (a) An urban sites remedial action program
is established to identify, evaluate, plan for and undertake the remediation of polluted
real property.
(b) The Commissioner of Economic and Community Development, in consultation
with the Commissioner of Environmental Protection, shall establish the priority of sites
for evaluation and remediation based upon the following factors: (1) The estimated cost
of evaluating and remediating the site, if known; (2) the anticipated complexity of an
evaluation of the site; (3) the estimated schedule for completing an evaluation; (4) the
potential economic development benefits of the site to the state of Connecticut; (5)
whether the site would not otherwise be remediated without the assistance of this program; and (6) any other factors which the commissioners deem relevant. No real property
shall be eligible for evaluation or remediation under this section unless the Commissioner of Economic and Community Development finds that the state owns the site or
otherwise has or obtains the power to approve the type of development which first
occurs on the site after remediation. Except for any site proposed for acquisition under
subsection (e) of this section, no real property shall be eligible for evaluation or remediation under this section unless the site is located in a distressed municipality, as defined
in section 32-9p, or a targeted investment community, as defined in section 32-222. For
purposes of this section, "responsible party" means any person, as defined in section
22a-2, who created a source of pollution on the site or an owner of the site during the
investigation or remediation funded pursuant to this section.
(c) The cost of evaluating and remediating sites pursuant to this section shall be
paid from (1) funds authorized pursuant to subsection (a) of section 29 of special act
89-52 and (2) funds authorized for such evaluation or remediation pursuant to any other
public or special act.
(d) Whenever funds are used pursuant to this section for purposes of evaluating or
remediating a polluted site, the Commissioner of Environmental Protection may seek
reimbursement of the costs and expenses incurred by requesting the Attorney General
to bring a civil action to recover such costs and expenses from any party responsible
for such pollution provided no such action shall be brought separately from any action to
recover costs and expenses incurred by the commissioner in pursuing action to contain,
remove or mitigate any pollution on such site. The costs and expenses recovered may
include but shall not be limited to (1) the actual cost of identifying, evaluating, planning
for and undertaking the remediation of the site; (2) any administrative costs not exceeding ten per cent of the actual costs; (3) the costs of recovering the reimbursement,
and (4) interest on the actual costs at a rate of ten per cent a year from the date such
expenses were paid. The defendant in any civil action brought pursuant to this subsection
shall have no cause of action or claim for contribution against any person with whom
the commissioner has entered into a covenant not to sue pursuant to sections 22a-133aa
and 22a-133bb with respect to pollution on or emanating from the property which is the
subject of said civil action.
(e) The Commissioner of Economic and Community Development, in consultation
with the Commissioner of Environmental Protection, or a regional economic development entity using funds allocated under subsection (f) of this section, may acquire polluted commercial or industrial property for the purpose of remediation of the pollution
and for the lease or sale of such property in order to promote business growth or expansion through the reuse or redevelopment of such property. Such acquisition may include,
but not be limited to, condemnation of the property in accordance with the provisions
of part I of chapter 835. For purposes of this subsection, the Commissioner of Economic
and Community Development shall be exempt from all of the requirements of sections
22a-134 to 22a-134e, inclusive, section 4b-3, and section 4b-21. When acquiring polluted property under this subsection, the Commissioner of Economic and Community
Development may accept on behalf of the state of Connecticut the liability, at the time
of the acquisition, for all costs of remediation of the polluted property provided the
transferor shall be liable for all costs in excess of fifteen million dollars and further
provided the commissioner shall not accept any liability under federal law. The Commissioner of Economic and Community Development may enter into lease, sale, or other
agreements for the use of the real property acquired pursuant to this subsection. All
moneys received by the state pursuant to any such agreement shall be deposited into
the Urban Site Remediation Fund established under subsection (f) of this section.
(f) There is established an Urban Site Remediation Fund. The fund may contain
any moneys required by law to be deposited in the fund and shall be held by the Treasurer
separate and apart from all other moneys, funds and accounts. Any balance remaining
in the fund at the end of any fiscal year shall be carried forward in the fund for the fiscal
year next succeeding. The fund shall be used by the Commissioner of Environmental
Protection for costs incurred in the assessment and remedial activities conducted at real
property acquired pursuant to subsection (e) of this section, and by the Commissioner
of Economic and Community Development to pay any local property taxes on real
property acquired pursuant to subsection (e) of this section and the costs of administering
the program. The Commissioner of Economic and Community Development may allocate money from the fund to a regional economic development entity organized for the
purpose of remediating contaminated real property.
(g) The Commissioner of Environmental Protection shall conduct an assessment to
evaluate the potential cost of remedial activities of any site proposed for acquisition
under subsection (e) of this section prior to the transfer of the real property to the Commissioner of Economic and Community Development. The Commissioner of Environmental Protection, after transfer of the property to the Commissioner of Economic and
Community Development, shall conduct remedial actions necessary to remediate the
pollution at or on the site and shall certify to the Commissioner of Economic and Community Development that such actions have minimized and mitigated any threat to human health or the environment and have contained, removed or otherwise mitigated the
effects of any pollution in the property. The Commissioner of Environmental Protection
may use funds authorized pursuant to subsection (a) of section 29 of special act 89-52
and funds authorized for such purpose pursuant to any other public or special act for
the purposes of this subsection. The Commissioner of Economic and Community Development shall adopt regulations, in accordance with the provisions of chapter 54, to carry
out the provisions of this subsection and subsections (e) and (f) of this section.
(h) The Commissioner of Environmental Protection and the Commissioner of Economic and Community Development shall jointly identify urban community sites
known to have, or suspected to have, environmental contamination which, if remediated
and developed, will improve the urban environment. The Commissioner of Environmental Protection and the Commissioner of Economic and Community Development shall
jointly establish the priority of such sites for evaluation and remediation based upon the
following factors: (1) The potential benefits of remediation to the environment; (2) the
estimated cost of evaluating and remediating the site, if known; (3) the potential benefits
to the local community of such site; (4) community support for remediation and redevelopment of such site; (5) the commitment from investors or the municipality to redevelop
the site; and (6) any other factors which the commissioners deem relevant. No real
property shall be eligible for evaluation and remediation under this subsection unless
(A) the site is located in a distressed municipality, as defined in section 32-9p, a targeted
investment community, as defined in section 32-222, or an enterprise corridor zone, as
defined in section 32-80, or in such other municipality as the Commissioner of Economic
and Community Development may designate, and (B) the site is not undergoing evaluation or remediation under subsections (a) to (g), inclusive, of this section.
(P.A. 92-235, S. 3, 6; P.A. 93-428, S. 27, 29, 39; P.A. 95-183, S. 10; 95-250, S. 1; 95-334, S. 5, 13; P.A. 96-113, S. 13,
17; 96-166, S. 1, 2; 96-211, S. 1, 5, 6; P.A. 98-253, S. 3; P.A. 99-216, S. 5, 7; P.A. 03-218, S. 3, 4.)
History: P.A. 93-428 authorized the commissioner to proceed with remediation of evaluated sites and deleted provision
which had authorized selection for evaluation of no more than two sites per year and added Subsecs. (e), (f) and (g) re
acquisition of sites and the remediation fund, effective July 1, 1993; P.A. 95-183 amended Subsec. (d) to limit the ability
of defendants in cost recovery actions under this section to bring an action for contribution from parties with whom the
commissioner has entered into a covenant not to sue; P.A. 95-250 and P.A. 96-211 replaced Commissioner and Department
of Economic Development with Commissioner and Department of Economic and Community Development; P.A. 95-334
amended Subsec. (b) to exempt sites proposed for acquisition under Subsec. (e) from requirement that all sites under this
section be located in distressed municipalities, effective July 13, 1995; P.A. 96-113 amended Subsec. (d) to include reference
to Secs. 22a-133aa and 22a-133bb, governing covenants not to sue, effective May 24, 1996; P.A. 96-166 amended Subsec.
(b) to make sites located in targeted investment communities eligible for evaluation or remediation, effective July 1, 1996;
P.A. 98-253 added new Subsec. (h) re urban community sites; P.A. 99-216 amended Subsecs. (e) and (f) to authorize
disbursement under the program to regional economic development entities organized to remediate contaminated real
property, effective July 1, 1999; P.A. 03-218 amended Subsec. (a) by deleting "which is deemed vital to the economic
development needs of the state", amended Subsec. (b) by redesignating Subdiv. (5) as Subdiv. (6), adding new Subdiv.
(5) re whether the site would not otherwise be remediated, deleting former Subpara. (B) re determination of the responsible
party, and making conforming changes and amended Subsec. (h) by deleting former Subpara. (A) re determination of the
responsible party, redesignating existing Subparas. (B) and (C) as Subparas. (A) and (B) and making technical changes,
effective July 1, 2003; (Revisor's note: In 2007 two references in Subsec. (f) to "subsection (e) of this subsection" were
changed editorially by the Revisors to "subsection (e) of this section", for accuracy).