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ARTICLE · 14 JULY 2013

West Virginia Gets Serious About Liability Barriers To Brownfield Revitalization

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West Virginia is getting serious about brownfield revitalization in a way no Canadian jurisdiction has done.

CanadaEnvironment
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West Virginia is getting serious about brownfield revitalization in a way no Canadian jurisdiction has done. In April, they adopted a West Virginia Land Stewardship Corporation Act, to come into effect July 12, 2013. It will meaningfully address the key risks to brownfields revitalization: uncertainty, delay, and liability risks.

West Virginia is a poor state with a desperate need to reuse its brownfields and to create employment. The new Act (HB 2590) creates a special purpose nonprofit corporation, the West Virginia Land Stewardship Corporation, which can give much-needed certainty to developers of rehabilitated contaminated sites.

The corporation must establish a voluntary land stewardship program and a voluntary state certified sites program, and may establish a voluntary land bank program.

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