What is a brownfields agreement?
The department will enter into an agreement with the developer that is in effect a covenant not-to-sue contingent on the developer making the site suitable for the reuse proposed. The brownfields agreement provides both the site-specific actions necessary to make the site suitable for reuse and the covenant not-to-sue once these actions are complete. A brownfields agreement is designed to break environmental liability barriers that hinder a developer’s ability to obtain project financing. The agreement specifies actions to be conducted by the developer that are based on making the site suitable for the use intended. These actions can be costed, and then a business decision can be made by the developer and lenders without uncertain liability. See question 6 for more details on the benefits of a brownfields agreement.
