Liability Issues and Legal Assistance
Liability at a brownfield is typically the legal responsibility for costs of cleaning up property that is contaminated (or thought to be contaminated) by a past owner or operator. Liability is based on the type of contamination found at the site, either hazardous substances or petroleum. Liability can be both strict and joint and several, depending on the applicable law.
- Strict liability: owners or operators can be held liable for contamination even if they did not cause or contribute to it, or did not know about it at the time of purchase
- Joint and several liability: one responsible party, including an owner who never used hazardous substances at the site, could be held liable for the entirety of the cleanup, notwithstanding the existence of other responsible parties
Concerns about liability issues for lenders and prospective purchasers are among the main potential obstacles to brownfields redevelopment.
State Mechanisms for Minimizing and Managing Liability
- Statutory liability exemptions for political subdivisions, lenders, trustees, fiduciaries, innocent landowners, prospective purchasers and contiguous property owners
- Risk-Based Cleanup Standards
- Enforcement discretion policies
For more information about liability issues and legal assistance, please contact
Meredith Gramelspacher, Assistant Director of the Indiana Brownfields Program & General Counsel, at (317) 233-1430 or mgramels@ifa.in.gov.
Liability Clarification Letters (Comfort and Site Status Letters)
The Indiana Brownfields Program attempts to eliminate liability concerns for stakeholders at sites where either an enforcement discretion policy or an exemption from liability based in statute applies. It also addresses the potential for IDEM to require a cleanup based on comparing site conditions to objective, risk-based standards found in RISC. The Program addresses these issues in either a Comfort or Site Status Letter, which is made available under a nonrule policy document.
- Brownfields Comfort/Site Status Letter Nonrule Policy Document
- IDEM’s Property Containing Contaminated Aquifer nonrule policy document
- IDEM's Property Containing Contaminated Aquifer/UST nonrule policy document
- Brownfields Comfort/Site Status Letter Request Form
- Brownfields Comfort/Site Status Letter Request Form (Word)
Laws, Regulations, Policies
Although not a regulatory program, the Indiana Brownfields Program is authorized by statutes that allow for the provision of services and the distribution of financial assistance to communities for assessment and cleanup of brownfield properties. When providing assistance at brownfield sites, the Program must adhere to all existing laws, regulations and policies that relate to protection of human health and the environment and that apply to other IDEM remediation programs.
- Senate Enrolled Act No. 360, passed in 1997
- House Enrolled Act 1909, passed in 1999
- House Enrolled Act 1935, passed in 2001
- Senate Enrolled Act 273, passed in 2001
- Senate Bill 339, passed in 2001
- Senate Enrolled Act 170, passed in 2001
- Senate Enrolled Act 321, passed in 2001
- Federal Small Business Liability Relief and Brownfields Revitalization Act, passed 2001
- House Enrolled Act No. 1714, passed in 2003
- Senate Enrolled Act No. 207, passed in 2003
- Indiana Responsible Property Transfer Law
- Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA or Superfund) 42 U.S.C. s/s 9601 et seq. (1980)
- IDEM’s Risk Integrated System of Closure
- Indiana’s Environmental Rules and Statutes
- Definition of Statutory Owner of an Underground Storage Tank
- House Enrolled Act 1653, passed in 2005
- Senate Enrolled Act 578, passed in 2005
- House Enrolled Act 1033, passed in 2005
- House Enrolled Act 1192, passed in 2007
- 2007 Legislative Summary
Project Highlights
Two former gas stations at the intersection of 25th Street and Delaware Street in the Fall Creek Place residential area of Indianapolis have been redeveloped into live-work residences.
- Find a Brownfield in my community.
- Apply for financial assistance.
- Read applicable cleanup standards.
- Download public records.
- Research Brownfields issues.
- Contact Brownfields Program staff.
- Obtain a liability clarification.
- Submit a brownfield success story.
- Make a suggestion about the Program.
- Submit a Brownfields Program Project Survey.
