Findings, declarations relative to contaminated real property

2. The Legislature finds that there are numerous properties that are underutilized or that have been abandoned and that are not being utilized for any commercial use because of contamination that exists at those properties; that abandoned contaminated properties harm society by causing a burden on municipal services while failing to contribute to the funding of those services; that a disproportionate percentage of these properties are located in older urban municipalities given the fact that these municipalities were once the center for industrial production; that the revitalization of these properties will not only bring tax ratables to the municipality and other local governments, but will result in job creation and foster urban redevelopment; that one of the central tenets of the State Development and Redevelopment Plan is to redevelop urban areas with existing utilities and infrastructure and that the use of these now abandoned or underutilized sites for commercial purposes will make a significant contribution toward implementing the plan; that the federal "Clean Air Act" encourages the reindustrialization of urban areas as this would provide jobs near where people live thus reducing harmful air pollutants emitted from automobiles needed to travel distances to places of employment; and that it is in the economic interest of the State and the municipalities in which abandoned or underutilized contaminated properties are located to encourage the remediation of these properties so that they can be reused or fully used for commercial, residential, or other productive purposes.

L.1995,c.413,s.2; amended 1997, c.278, s.21.