What's New | Articles & Press Releases
The Connecticut Transfer Act: The Beginning of the Sunset?
In the fall of 2020, the Connecticut General Assembly passed Public Act 20-9, which provided the means for replacing the Connecticut Transfer Act (the “Act”) with a release-based remediation program. The Act has long required sellers of businesses, and of commercial and industrial real property, to make disclosures about the environmental condition of such real property and, in certain cases, to agree to clean up contamination. The new release-based remediation program will take effect once the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection ("DEEP") adopts regulations, in concert with a Department of Economic and Community Development working group.
On December 29, 2023, DEEP circulated draft regulations for review and comment, and is in the process of considering the responses received from Connecticut stakeholders.
Pursuant to DEEP's current draft, investigation and remediation of historic contamination would now be tied to the discovery of a release of hazardous materials, instead of property or business transfers. Any person who created a release, maintains a release or otherwise obtains actual or constructive knowledge of a release will now follow a new process to determine what actions must be taken with respect to the release. Among other things, the draft regulations would require that such persons (1) adhere to specific reporting requirements, (2) characterize the nature and extent of each release (for purposes of tiering the release, depending on the potential for environmental harm), and, if remediation is necessary, (3) follow DEEP-provided cleanup standards, which, in some cases, require immediate action. Unlike the Act, the new regulations would apply to residential properties as well as industrial and commercial properties.
The proposed regulations are approximately 190 pages long and will change considerably as they go through the formal regulation adoption progress. The regulations will evolve as issues with the current drafts are resolved, so Connecticut property owners should note this progression as the beginning of the end of the Connecticut Transfer Act and be on the lookout for developments with DEEP’s proposed regulations.
On December 29, 2023, DEEP circulated draft regulations for review and comment, and is in the process of considering the responses received from Connecticut stakeholders.
Pursuant to DEEP's current draft, investigation and remediation of historic contamination would now be tied to the discovery of a release of hazardous materials, instead of property or business transfers. Any person who created a release, maintains a release or otherwise obtains actual or constructive knowledge of a release will now follow a new process to determine what actions must be taken with respect to the release. Among other things, the draft regulations would require that such persons (1) adhere to specific reporting requirements, (2) characterize the nature and extent of each release (for purposes of tiering the release, depending on the potential for environmental harm), and, if remediation is necessary, (3) follow DEEP-provided cleanup standards, which, in some cases, require immediate action. Unlike the Act, the new regulations would apply to residential properties as well as industrial and commercial properties.
The proposed regulations are approximately 190 pages long and will change considerably as they go through the formal regulation adoption progress. The regulations will evolve as issues with the current drafts are resolved, so Connecticut property owners should note this progression as the beginning of the end of the Connecticut Transfer Act and be on the lookout for developments with DEEP’s proposed regulations.
