In a veto message dated December 29, 2014, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo vetoed legislation passed by both houses of New York’s legislature earlier this summer that would have extended New York’s very successful Brownfield Cleanup Program (BCP) through March 31, 2017. By vetoing this legislation, the December 31, 2015, sunset for the Program remains in place, jeopardizing brownfield projects already underway and assuring very few, if any, new BCP projects will be entered into the Program.

Governor Cuomo stated in his veto message that because the BCP extender was not included in this year’s budget (including a separate $100 million appropriation for New York’s Superfund program) and would have “an unplanned, direct impact on the current State fiscal plan,” he vetoed the bill.

The governor stated that he will again propose extending a reformed BCP in his 2015-2016 Executive Budget, thereby continuing his “unwavering commitment to this program and its goals.” Given that the legislature did not accept the governor’s prior reform proposals, it is concerning that New York’s most effective upstate economic development tool could disappear.

Click here for more information on Governor Cuomo’s veto decision.