In 2003, Congress passed the Small Business Liability Relief and Brownfields Revitalization Act, Public Law 107-118 (Brownfield Amendments), to promote the redevelopment and beneficial reuse of brownfield sites in the U.S. Congress provided for liability protection for bona fide prospective purchasers, but provided that these properties may be subject to a windfall lien if there has been federal involvement (other than grants and loans) when the EPA’s response action has increased the property’s fair market value. According to current guidance, this lien will be capped by the amount of unrecovered response costs, not to exceed the increase in fair market value attributed to the response action by the government. This article discusses remaining appraisal issues.

Author: John A. Kilpatrick

Originally published in Environmental Transactions and Brownfields Committee Newsletter, Vol. 6, No. 1 (2004)

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