A Shallow Fix: The Uniform Environmental Covenants Act Leaves Hard Brownfield Questions Unanswered

Abstract

Restoring abandoned urban properties to productive use is essential to curtail metropolitan sprawl. Uncertain liability regarding subsurface contamination at such sites, however, is often an obstacle to such restoration efforts. Current owners frequently avoid conducting soil and groundwater testing for fear that what they find may trigger an expensive cleanup. Yet without such investigation, it is often difficult to attract investment or financing because developers and banks fear potential cleanup costs as well.