The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) recently revised the Brownfield Cleanup Program (BCP) Application that must be used for applications submitted after December 1, 2025.
The main changes require more in-depth details about the Project at the initial Application stage. The Application must now contain timelines for the project schedules, incorporating administrative and financial deadlines. Specifically, the applicants must provide a separate attachment with “complete and detailed information about the project (remedial and post-remediation development), including the purpose of the project [and] a full project schedule with all key milestones”. Moreover, the applicant must estimate the date the remedial program is to start, and the date the issuance of the Certificate of Completion is anticipated, as well as any interim or final funding deadlines with the corresponding BCP milestone. The purpose of the additional information is to compel applicants to submit more realistic timelines in “order to meet remedial work planning goals.”
The Application now requires details on how Green and Sustainable Remediation (“GSR”) and Climate Resilience principles will be evaluated and integrated throughout all remedial phases of the project, as well as a “Climate Screening / Climate Vulnerability Assessment”.
On the procedural side, NYSDEC recently clarified that there will be a separate public comment process for any draft work plans not submitted with the original Application. Minor changes were implemented to the electronic submission instructions for submissions by a site control Dropbox versus email. Finally, there have been amendments made to the application fee structure.
Those planning to apply to the Brownfield Cleanup Program after December 1, 2025 should ensure compliance with the new requirements, as NYSDEC has indicated it will reject applications submitted on the old forms.
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