(HARTFORD, CT) – Governor Ned Lamont, Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) Commissioner Katie Dykes, and Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD) Commissioner Daniel O’Keefe are applauding the vote today by the Connecticut General Assembly’s Legislative Regulation Review Committee to approve the adoption of Release-Based Cleanup Regulations.
These newly adopted regulations will streamline the remediation and redevelopment of blighted properties impacted by pollution from past industrial uses. They are the result of a four-year, legislatively authorized, stakeholder-driven process to overhaul the Transfer Act, the state’s framework governing the cleanup of contaminated sites. Almost 5,000 properties have entered into the Transfer Act program since the 1980s, however less than half have been remediated. Adoption of the release-based framework aligns Connecticut’s regulatory environment 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.
The regulations were developed by DEEP in collaboration with DECD and a stakeholder working group. Since December 2020, DEEP and DECD have met at least monthly with a working group of more than 50 environmental transaction attorneys, commercial real estate brokers, and licensed environmental professionals who work every day to remediate and redevelop polluted property in Connecticut. The resulting regulations will make it easier to clean up polluted sites, bringing thousands of properties back into productive reuse. Economists at DECD estimate that moving to a release-based system will have significant economic benefits, generating more than 2,100 new construction jobs, $3.78 billion in new GDP growth, and $115 million in new revenue for the state over the next five years alone.
“This is a gamechanger for Connecticut,” Governor Lamont said. “This new system truly is a win-win, resulting in faster environmental clean-ups and unlocking countless blighted properties that will go from being community hazards to being community assets.”
“Replacing the Transfer Act with a release-based framework is one of the most significant improvements to Connecticut environmental regulation in many years,” Commissioner Dykes said. “This milestone is the result of thousands of hours of work by DEEP and DECD staff, environmental professionals, industry stakeholders, and legislators. I’m thankful for Governor Lamont’s leadership on this issue, the partnership with legislative leadership, and the Legislative Regulation Review Committee for their careful consideration and approval of these regulations. I look forward to implementing this modern cleanup program and bring valuable properties back into productive reuse.”
“The move to release-based regulations is a long overdue reform that provides the predictability that businesses need, fueling new investment that will create thousands of construction jobs, generate millions in new tax revenue, and accelerate our efforts to build vibrancy in our cities and towns,” Commissioner O’Keefe said.
“Today’s adoption of the Release-Base Cleanup Regulations and the sunsetting of the outdated Transfer Act will exponentially drive economic development, as well as improve environmental outcomes in Connecticut,” State Senator Joan Hartley (D-Waterbury) said. “DECD estimates that the transition from the Transfer Act to the Release-Base model will create 2,100 new construction jobs, $3.78 billion in new GDP growth and $115 million in new revenue for the state in just the next five years. This would not have been possible but for the thousands of hours of hard work by the members of the Transfer Act working group and the leadership of DEEP and DECD. Thank you to all who got us here.”
“It has long been time to move past the Transfer Act and modernize how we respond to pollution being released in Connecticut,” State Representative John-Michael Parker (D-Durham, Madison), co-chair of the Environment Committee, said. “With the adoption of these regulations, we will expedite business transactions and help our environment – a win-win for Connecticut’s climate and economic development. Thank you to all my colleagues and collaborators who helped push this important change forward.”
The new release-based regulatory structure is anticipated to take effect in spring of 2026. DEEP and DECD look forward to spending time before then working with a wide variety of stakeholders in impacted industries and beyond to prepare the state for this important transition.
Timely completion of the Released-Based Clean Up Regulations is one of several goals DEEP is announcing as part of its new 20By26 initiative. That initiative set 20 goals to meet by the end of 2026 that improve the transparency, predictability, and efficiency of the DEEP regulatory process. Today’s legislative approval marks the completion of Goal 1.
Several other objectives from the 20By26 initiative are contained in legislation on environmental permitting that Governor Lamont proposed earlier this year. That legislation, House Bill 6868, was approved last month by the Environment Committee and is now pending further action by the House of Representatives.
To learn more about the Release-Based Clean Up Regulations, click here.
