Press Releases

02/04/2025
Release-Based Cleanup Plan Poised to Transform Connecticut’s Blighted Properties and Spur Economic Growth
A Fresh Start
Today, Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) Commissioner Katie Dykes, and Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD) Commissioner Dan O’Keefe announced that the release-based cleanup regulations (RBCRs) have been submitted to the Connecticut General Assembly for review and approval. These regulations will streamline the remediation and redevelopment of blighted properties impacted by releases. Approval by the General Assembly’s Legislative Regulation Review Committee (LRRC) is the final step in the regulatory adoption process.
“We are thrilled to submit these transformative regulations to the General Assembly for review,” Commissioner Dykes said. “The Release-Based Cleanup regulations are the result of thousands of hours of work over the last four years by DEEP and DECD staff, along with industry experts on the Working Group. Once in effect, these regulations will remove long standing barriers to the redevelopment of polluted properties, driving better economic and environmental outcomes. We look forward to working with our legislative partners in the General Assembly to secure timely approval of this critical cleanup program.”
By providing a clear, predictable process for property owners and developers, the Release-Based cleanup program will cut down on expensive property sale and development delays and encourage new growth and investment across Connecticut. These process improvements will create jobs, help businesses grow, and strengthen tax revenues, making our state more competitive. At the same time, cleaning up pollution quickly and effectively protects our natural resources and public health. Through these measures, DEEP, DECD, and the Release-Based Regulations Working Group have worked to promote and secure economic success while ensuring our communities remain safe and healthy.
The proposed RBCRs are the result of an unprecedented stakeholder engagement process that began soon after Public Act 20-9 was signed by Governor Lamont and has now been underway for more than four years. DEEP and DECD have met monthly since December 2020 with a working group of legislative leaders, environmental transaction attorneys, Licensed Environmental Professionals, representatives of business and environmental advocacy groups, and other interested stakeholders. This working group created ten topical subcommittees and other smaller groups to consider important issues. These subgroups met dozens of times, supported by Department staff resources. The regulations are based on a regulatory framework outlined in the concept papers developed by the working group and its subcommittees.
“Adoption of these release-based regulations is a top priority for property owners, developers, businesses, cities, and towns seeking to clean up contaminated properties that are in desperate need of investment and reinvention. There is strong support for these regulations that will create jobs and spur new capital investment in our state, and I look forward to their adoption,” said Daniel O’Keefe, DECD Commissioner.
In 2020, the Connecticut General Assembly directed DEEP and DECD to work with a stakeholder-led working group to develop a new, release-based cleanup program to replace the Transfer Act, the state’s framework governing the cleanup of contaminated sites. Since the 1980s, more than 3,000 properties have entered into the Transfer Act program but less than 400 have been fully cleaned up. Timely adoption of the release-based approach will align Connecticut with the approach used in 48 other states, allowing for faster, owner-initiated cleanups that will address longstanding pollution and bring blighted properties back to productive reuse.
- Twitter: @CTDEEPNews
- Facebook: DEEP on Facebook
Contact
DEEP Communications
DEEP.communications@ct.gov
860-424-3110