New York's revised cleanup rules for brownfields and Superfund sites took effect December 31, 2025
DEC adopted rewritten cleanup rules with no change from its proposal. They revise more than half of the soil cleanup objectives, define site cover requirements and drop the historic fill definition. DEC's materials read describe no transition rule for projects already in the program.
The Department of Environmental Conservation ("DEC") adopted revisions to 6 NYCRR Part 375, Environmental Remediation Programs, effective December 31, 2025, implementing 2015 and 2022 amendments to the Brownfield Cleanup Program ("BCP") under ECL Article 27, Title 14 and revising the State Superfund and Environmental Restoration Programs. The rule was first noticed in the State Register on February 14, 2024, revised on October 16, 2024 and noticed again on July 2, 2025. The rule changes how cleanups are scoped and documented at every program site, which is why it is covered after the adoption date.
6 NYCRR Part 375 (adopted and effective Dec. 31, 2025); ECL art. 27, tit. 14; 6 NYCRR §§ 375-1.9(e), 375-3.2(e), subpart 375-6