Using the Transfer Act and Remedial Standard Regulations to Assist in Redeveloping Urban Areas

Written By: Paul Jacobi | Published: June 5, 2015

Using the Transfer Act and Remedial Standard Regulations  to Assist in Redeveloping Urban Areas

Environmental Laws, just like tax policy, can be a powerful force in bringing businesses and jobs back to the cities. This is particularly important in Connecticut where budgetary and fiscal concerns limit growth. Here are some ideas for change at the state regulatory and statutory levels that could prove effective:

1) Relax soil and groundwater standards in inner cities where the contamination will not impact health or the environment. Basically, limit standards to volatilization concerns as well as direct exposure issues in unpaved areas.

2) The Transfer Act is sometimes triggered by one-time cleanups of unused or discarded chemicals occurring prior to or in connection with a business or property conveyance. Some of the old abandoned inner-city factories are a mess. These areas, exempt such remedial efforts from triggering Transfer Act applicability.

3) Similarly, post-closing building materials abatement and tank removals should not trigger Transfer Act applicability.

4) Joining parcels to redevelop inner-city properties should not result in the combined parcel being subject to the Transfer Act.

The bottom line is that the Transfer Act and the Remediation Standard Regulations (RSR) can be used to encourage rather than discourage urban redevelopment. It can be a significant component of a larger policy aimed at breathing new life into many of our cities.