Incentives
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Liability Assurances Available Only Through the VRP
Overview of the VRP and Available Incentives
NPR interview with SHWD employees about the VRP (reproduced with permission from NPR – MP3 format)
Liability assurances are agreements from the DEQ that cleanup goals for a piece of property (a "site") or a portion of a site that satisfy DEQ requirements are underway or have been completed. Liability assurances affect DEQ's ability to require additional cleanup at a site, and give site owners, operators, prospective purchasers, and land developers certainty about the extent of their responsibility for cleanup.
The VRP establishes three types of liability assurances:
- Covenants not to sue
- Certificates of completion
- No further action (NFA) letters
The liability assurance(s) issued depend on site-specific conditions, on the remedies implemented, and on the amount of certainty a Volunteer wants about the potential for DEQ to require additional cleanup in the future.
Brownfields Assistance for Local Governments
DEQ has developed an administrative process for managing sites that receive Brownfield Assistance (BA). BA will be provided by the state in the form of limited site work, such as assessments and/or cleanups of VRP-eligible sites.
Land Use Restrictions
Upon petition by the Volunteer, the local land use authority may grant a Use Control Areas (UCA) to limit the types of land use activities at a site. In general, a UCA must be in effect before DEQ can enter into a remedy agreement that includes cleanup levels based on restricted site uses (e.g., industrial cleanup levels) implemented through a UCA. For additional information on UCAs, refer to Fact Sheet 23.