State Brownfield Legislation

With the passage of SEA 360, the 1997 Indiana General Assembly adopted new concepts and changed others, hoping to encourage the redevelopment of contaminated sites. Often called the "brownfields bill," the legislation provides incentives for redevelopment through financial assistance and protection from liability under specified circumstances.

Supporters of the bill emphasized the benefits of encouraging private entities to invest in brownfields so they may be restored to productivity. The goals are to provide jobs and to restore tax revenues to areas needing them the most.

A person may request a local body to designate an area as a "brownfield revitalization zone." The applicant submits a statement of public benefits, which includes a description of the proposed remediation and redevelopment, an estimate of the number of jobs created or retained, and an estimate of the value of the project. The designating body may establish administrative fees and standards "reasonably related to accomplishing the purposes" of the new law. A public process is provided to assist in evaluating the benefits of creating the zone, applying a number of factors that must be satisfied. Among other requirements, the project must meet the criteria developed by IDEM and must be eligible to successfully obtain a certificate of completion under IDEM's Voluntary Remediation Program. An appeal process is provided for a person aggrieved by the designation, which is heard by a local judge.

Following designation as a brownfield revitalization zone, a person may apply for property tax deductions under terms specified in the legislation. The assessed valuation deductions may be granted for three, six, or ten years. The amount is calculated by the increase in valuation resulting from the project, multiplied by a percentage based on the deduction period and year of the deduction.

In addition to the tax deductions, financial assistance is available to political subdivisions from the new Environmental Remediation Revolving Loan Fund established under IC 13-19-5. The Fund is administered by the Indiana Development Finance Authority, which manages "all aspects of the program." Responsibilities include preparing and providing information, negotiating agreements and submitting them to the State Budget Agency for approval, reviewing proposed budgets to insure compliance with rules or nonrule policy documents, inspecting projects, and preparing annual reports to the Governor and the General Assembly.

Another important component of SEA 360 involves changes to Indiana's environmental liability scheme. In an effort to encourage redevelopment of property that may be abandoned or underused because of the fear of environmental liability, the General Assembly adopted a "fair share" or "proportionate share" liability concept in IC 13-30-9.

The purpose of the liability modification is to more fairly allocate cleanup costs among those who actually caused the contamination. The new law provides that persons who did not cause or contribute to the contamination are no longer jointly and severally liable to pay for the cleanup. Critics had questioned how the "orphan share" of contamination would be covered if the burden on innocent owners and operators was reduced. The philosophy of the legislation is that by replacing "retroactive" and "joint and several" liability under Indiana law with a system using equitable factors to define who did, and who did not, contribute to the contamination, more brownfields would be purchased for investment or development. The view is to more evenly distribute resources to include areas previously marred by environmental blight.¹¹⁵

Grand Calumet Area Partnership

In 1996, staff from different agencies and organizations met to think about ways to integrate multiple environmental planning efforts in the Grand Calumet area of Northwest Indiana. After one year of sorting through the initiatives the Grand Calumet Area Partnership was formed.

Partners share the long-term goal to clean and revitalize the environment of the Grand Calumet River. The Partnership is a voluntary effort and partners can change as the Partnership progresses toward the goal. The focus of the Partnership is the area in Lake County north of Interstate 80/94 to nearshore Lake Michigan and is bounded on the east by the Porter County border, and the Illinois border to the west.

One valuable tool that the Partnership uses is a matrix that identifies various initiatives and participants. The matrix is included in the chapter Governmental Coordination and Streamlining. The initiatives include all planning efforts within the geographic area. Members identified the agency or organization that leads an initiative, who participates, and who is an interested party. A glossary describes each effort and lists contact persons who lead the initiative.¹¹⁶ Contact Adriane Esparza, Executive Director of the East Chicago Waterway Management District, at 219-391-8535 for additional information.

Lake Michigan Gaming Operations

A high-profile developments is the licensing and operation of lakeside gaming operations. Currently operational in Northwest Indiana are the Empress Casino in Hammond, the Trump Casino and the Majestic Star in Gary's Buffington Harbor, Showboat¹¹⁷ Mardi Gras Casino at Jeorse Park in East Chicago, and the Blue Chip Casino in Michigan City.¹¹⁸

Construction of gaming facility at Hammond Marina

One measure of the economic contribution of these gaming operations is the generation of tax revenues. An admission tax of $3 is placed on each person admitted to a gambling excursion on a Lake Michigan "riverboat."¹¹⁹ In addition, a tax is imposed on the adjusted gross receipts from gambling games at the rate of 20%.¹²⁰ One quarter of the tax collected is distributed to the city or county where the riverboat is docked.¹²¹ The local unit of government may use its distribution for "any legal or corporate purpose."¹²² The remaining three-quarters of the tax revenue is distributed to the state general fund.¹²³

Gaming boats at Buffington Harbor, Gary.

The National Gambling Impact Study Commission met in Chicago in May 1998 to receive public comment, both favorable and unfavorable, on the consequences of legalized gambling in the Midwest. The commission was created by Congress to study the rapid growth of legalized gambling in the United States. Speaking with regard to the Chicago meeting, Frank Fahrenkopf, President of the American Gaming Association, said, "The riverboat phenoma in the Midwest--in Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, and Indiana--is fundamentally new compared to, say, Nevada or Atlantic City, and this will give [the commission members] the opportunity to gain perspective on that issue."¹²⁴

Interstate Visitors Center

In October 1997, a ground-breaking ceremony was held for the Interstate Visitors Center to be located at the Kennedy Avenue exit from Interstate 80 and 94. The facility is an architectural representation of Lake County, including geographic and cultural symbols. Prominent among these are Lake Michigan, the Indiana Dunes, Lake County's industrial and agricultural heritage, and the Kankakee River. When completed, the facility will provide information for as many as 1,000 travelers daily. Studies have shown similar facilities provide as much as $6.5 million of economic impact to surrounding communities through increased visitor spending.¹²⁵

The Common Sense Initiative and the Bethlehem Steel Community Advisory Committee

The Common Sense Initiative (CSI) is an effort by EPA to strike a balance between efforts to protect the environment and to keep the economy growing. The CSI examines environmental requirements impacting six industries: automobile manufacturing, computers and electronics, iron and steel, printing, metal finishing, and petroleum refining. According to EPA these six industries "comprise over 11% of the U.S. Gross National Product, employ over four million people, and account for over 12% of the toxic releases reported by American industry."¹²⁶

A group of stakeholders has been established by EPA for each industry, or sector, in the CSI Program. The groups look for "opportunities to change complicated and in consistent environmental polices into comprehensive environmental strategies for the future." One goal is to avoid costly and time consuming adversarial processes later.

Two CSI Program Iron and Steel Sector pilot projects are underway in Northwest Indiana. The Northwest Indiana Brownfield Redevelopment Project underway in Gary, Hammond, and East Chicago is one of the CSI pilot projects. The other pilot is the establishment of a community advisory committee for the Bethlehem Steel Burns Harbor facility. The plant is working with the committee to improve the local community's ability to be involved in environmental decision-making. Communities surrounding the facility as well as key state agencies are being included in the project. Participants are working toward the development of a work plan to address several areas of mutual interest, including noise, dust, and odor. The process is being facilitated by union leaders and is assisting Bethlehem Steel in its goal to become the "corporate neighbor of choice."¹²⁷

A Blueprint for Brownfield Redevelopment

In 1998, the Great Lakes Brownfields Regional Advisory Group (BRAG), the working committee of the Council of Great Lakes Governors' Brownsfields Project, published A BLUEPRINT FOR BROWNFIELD REDEVELOPMENT. Included are case studies and a guide to brownfield cleanup and redevelopment in the Great Lakes Region from the eight Great Lakes states and Quebec. The publication provides a practical outline of brownfield redevelopment legislation and programs in each of the jurisdictions, together with technical contacts.¹²⁸

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