Property Owner Portal

Welcome to the Property Owner Portal! This page is designed to provide relevant information about the grant project, what it means for eligible East Side property owners, and to address any potential questions or concerns property owners may have. To navigate within this portal, we recommend

reading this introduction
reviewing the Fact Sheet for Property Owners tabs below
reviewing the image links in the order listed below, or select those that seem the most relevant to your needs, and
email us at mdp.brownfields@maryland.gov if you need more information or want to find out if your property is eligible for a free Environmental Site Assessment.

The fact sheets listed below cover the following topics: Brownfield Revitalization Incentive Program (BRIP) Tax Credit; descriptions of state and Baltimore County incentive areas that overlap with the project target area; facts sheets about the Maryland Department of Environment’s Voluntary Cleanup Program (VCP) and Technical Review Service (TRS); and testimonials from satisfied past participants of EPA’s community-wide assessment grants.

Property Owner FAQ

Will results of the ESAs be shared with MDE?

MDP will not share the results of any ESAs performed under this grant opportunity with MDE, unless the ESA findings show an imminent threat to public health and/or the environment.

Although MDP will not directly share the results of ESAs with MDE, and while there is no reporting requirement to disclose hazardous substances environmental sampling results to MDE (unless there may be an imminent and substantial endangerment to the public health or welfare or the environment)—note that new regulations require that when any evidence of a petroleum release is found during a due diligence property site assessment conducted in support of a property transaction or a loan refinancing then the person conducting the ESA and/or the owner (not MDP) of the property being assessed shall report the release to MDE per COMAR 26.10.08.01B (MDE Fact Sheet). More information about hazardous substances and petroleum releases is explained below under "What are the liabilities and cleanup requirements if a property is found to be contaminated?"

What is covered by this grant?

100% of your costs associated with an Environmental Site Assessment (ESA) (Phase I and, if warranted, Phase II) (as grant funds permit) for Baltimore County East Side brownfield property owners.
If interested, your application fees for the Maryland Voluntary Cleanup Program (VCP).
If interested, your consultation fees for the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) Technical Review Service (TRS).
Access to a list of qualified environmental consultants who can perform the ESAs.

What is an ESA?

An ESA will help identify the historical uses of the property, potential areas of environmental releases, and the existence of soil, surface water, and/or groundwater contamination (from petroleum, heavy metals, pesticides/herbicides, chlorinated solvents, etc.); as well as the presence in buildings of products such as asbestos containing materials (ACM), lead-based paint, or mold; and vapor intrusion concerns from the subsurface through the slab and into the building’s indoor air.
Many property owners in our region have benefited from free ESAs. See EPA Region 3’s brownfield success stories.

Who should consider an ESA?

Commercial and/or industrial property owners.
Property owners with concerns of present and/or historical uses.
Property owners whose property is underutilized or vacant and where redevelopment is hindered due to unknown/uninvestigated environmental concerns.
Potential buyers looking to purchase or lease a property.

Why Are ESAs important?

An ESA will determine whether contamination issues exist before you buy, sell, or plan to re-use property to help avoid unpleasant and costly surprises down the road.
An ESA reduces risk and potentially increases value.
Properties can bemore marketable with an ESA.
Most lenders require an ESA for commercial and industrial properties to protect the lender from investing in a property where the value may decrease due to potential environmental cleanup issues. ESA/environmental due diligence can be an important business decision for property owners since the ESA will be required for loans to prepare the property for redevelopment and without the ESA, lender financing may not be available.
Many grants and tax credits require an ESA.

What can happen if a buyer doesn’t get an ESA?

For buyers, the consequences of not getting an ESA before purchasing a property can be costly and time consuming. Without due diligence through All Appropriate Inquiry (AAI), the buyer could become responsible for costs associated with investigation, monitoring, and remediation of any existing environmental contamination at the property.

The value and potential uses of a property are not fully known unless there is an ESA.
Delaying an ESA and cleanup could end up costing more down the road since liability (without AAI) could rest entirely with the buyer.

What are the liabilities and cleanup requirements if a property is found to be contaminated?

Hazardous Substances. Maryland does not currently have any regulations requiring people to report the results of ESAs involving hazardous substances. There are federal reporting requirements for CERCLA (Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act)-quantity hazardous waste releases, which would be reportable to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), but these are generally catastrophic-level releases (e.g., a tanker spill or industrial release) that would not typically be an issue for smaller brownfield sites in Baltimore County.
Petroleum. Any evidence of a petroleum release must be reported to MDE (no minimum volume). Once a spill is reported, MDE evaluates the report and determines next steps. Who is required to do cleanup, if needed, depends on the specifics of the case. Typically, a new or potential new property owner does not have liability for additional assessment or remediation unless they contributed to the cause of the spill. Petroleum impacts should be reported to MDE’s Oil Control Program by calling 410-537-3442. If there are impacts that represent an imminent threat to human health and the environment, MDE would open a case and begin oversight. If there is no imminent threat, MDE requires the Phase II ESA report be sent for review (in accordance with MDE’s Unsolicited Phase II Report protocols). MDE would review the data and issue a Site Status Letter to summarize their review of the report and any MDE requirements. If an MDE review identifies issues requiring follow-up assessment or remediation, a case would be opened and MDE would outline requirements for follow-up actions by the responsible party.
Overall. MDE cannot ignore a situation (if brought to the department’s attention) that has the potential to harm human health.

Why participate in MDE’s Voluntary Cleanup Program (VCP)?

Participation in the VCP reduces environmental cleanup liability (the financial responsibility for conducting investigation, monitoring, and remediation of environmental contaminants at a property) in two ways.

First, the VCP provides limited liability protections for responsible persons, the owner or operator of a site contaminated by a controlled hazardous substance. That is, responsible persons may still be held responsible for at least a portion of potentially needed future investigation, monitoring, and remediation of environmental contaminants at the property.
Second, the VCP provides complete liability protections for inculpable persons, “a person who, at the time of application for participation in the VCP, has no prior or current ownership interest in an eligible property and has not caused or contributed to contamination at the eligible property” (MDE’s “Facts About: Voluntary Cleanup Program Inculpable & Responsible Person Status”). That is, inculpable persons will not be held responsible for any potentially needed future investigation, monitoring, and remediation of environmental contaminants at the property.

MDE and EPA Region III share a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA), which decrees there will be no federal (i.e. EPA) interest in properties that complete MDE’s VCP; therefore, completion of the VCP process also provides federal liability protections, specifically, “[EPA] Region III agrees to consider that a site is of no federal interest under the Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) when a site in Maryland to which this Agreement applies, has been investigated or remediated in accordance with the practices and procedures of the Environment Article, and if the site is the subject of a no further requirements letter or Certificate of Completion which signifies the appropriate cleanup of a site in order to ready it for redevelopment, unless...[lists certain exceptions]” (MDE/EPA MOA webpage).

Assessment Phases

Phase I

An ESA starts with a site inspection, records review (these can include readily available online sources; Public Information Act [PIA]/Freedom of Information Act [FOIA] documents from local, state, and federal government agencies; and purchased environmental database search results, maps, and photographs), and interviews with persons with knowledge about the site.
An environmental consultant looks for visual evidence of actual or potential contamination.
Next, the consultant will use the site inspection, records review, and interviews to determine past and current activities conducted at the site and neighboring properties and ascertain whether there are any Recognized Environmental Conditions (RECs).

Phase II

If a Phase I ESA identifies RECs, then a Phase II ESA can be conducted to confirm whether there are environmental impacts at the property.
The Phase II ESA may include the collection of soil, air, and water samples and completion of laboratory analyses to determine specific contaminant levels.

Costs and Timing

A two-month window should provide sufficient time to complete a thorough ESA, depending on availability/responsiveness of records requests, laboratory turnaround times, etc.
The cost of a Phase I ESA can be between $3,000 to $5,000 for smaller properties.
The cost of a Phase II ESA can range from $7,000 to $60,000, depending on the size of the property and the extent of the environmental issues.
100% of the assessment costs will be covered by this grant (assuming total combined Phase I/Phase II ESA costs of up to $15,400).
If the ESA identifies onsite contamination, then depending on the liabilities and cleanup requirements, there could be a certain amount of additional costs for cleanup. There may be opportunities for those costs to be offset through grant funding. Also, state officials can provide technical assistance to facilitate the cleanup process.
Cleaning up and redeveloping a site can make a property owner eligible for significant tax credits, such as the Brownfields Revitalization Incentive Program (BRIP). For five years after cleanup, a site may qualify for a real property tax credit between 50% and 70% of the increased value of the site (in an Enterprise Zone, the tax credit may last for up to 10 years). The site must be owned by an inculpable person.

Privacy and Public Perception

The ESAs conducted under this grant opportunity will not be made directly available to the public through the actual grant implementation process; however, the ESAs will be discoverable through any PIA requests to MDE and/or FOIA requests to EPA. The ESAs will not be made publicly available through any MDP, MDE, or Baltimore County websites, but basic findings about participating sites will be listed on EPA’s “Cleanups in My Community” website.
As a business decision, property owners will need to weigh concerns about privacy and public perception against the benefits of pursuing ESAs, which are the only means available to redevelop a vacant or abandoned site and earn additional income from new uses.
Even without an ESA, there is the potential for community members to learn about site contamination. For example, a noticeable leak or spill may occur that reaches offsite property, or if a community member falls ill with a sickness associated with particular contaminants associated with the site.
Also, more businesses are adopting environmental stewardship, responsibility, and sustainability approaches as ways to both reduce their impact on the environment and develop an image/reputation as a socially responsible business. An ESA and any needed site cleanup can support this approach.

More details about the grant

Total funding for the EPA grant is $300,000, including:

$179,900 for Phase I and Phase II environmental site assessments; and
$109,500 for fees for participation in the state’s voluntary cleanup program and technical review service consultations.
$10,600 for developing a Request for Proposals to identify qualified environmental consultants to perform the Phase I and Phase II ESAs, and for public outreach—including community outreach materials/supplies and MDP staff attendance at the EPA National Brownfields Conferences.