News on Statutory Fees

The Brownfields Property Reuse Act requires that the Program collect a $2,000 initial entrance fee plus a second fee sufficient to defray all costs to the state. However, since its inception, the Brownfields Program has always defrayed the expenses of the Program by using purely federal funds without cost to state. These federal funds have grown from $100,000 in 1999 to nearly $1,000,000 in recent years. Therefore, in the past the Program could grow in capacity and not have to pass on any fees to the prospective developer other than the initial statutory $2,000 entrance fee. However, as the federal funding growth has limits under federal brownfields legislation, these funds have leveled off. In the face of these leveled funds, the Brownfields Program continues to see growth in demand for its services beyond this federal funding capability. Obviously, the increasing interest in the Program is a very positive thing for brownfields redevelopment in the state. However, it also means that the Program can no longer defray all costs with the federal funds it receives.

The Program has always recognized that encouraging brownfields redevelopment means that it must maintain the capability to respond quickly and provide brownfields agreements within timeframes that help developers make time critical business decisions. To do this in face of increasing demand, the Program must once again hire additional staff. However, this time it must be without the likelihood of further federal brownfields funding increases on the horizon. To meet this challenge the Program must begin to recover more fees to defray costs of serving the increased demand. In effect we will be going from a 100 percent federally funded Program to a mostly federally funded Program that is supplemented by its statutory fees. DENR will be using these fees to hire additional staff to increase its capacity to serve developers' demand.

Therefore, prospective developers are hereby notified that, after July 1, 2006, the Program may begin to impose such fees on both existing and new projects.