Brownfields Initiative - Additional Department Assistance

The Community Development Zone Program is administered by the Wisconsin Department of Commerce and provides tax benefits to encourage private investment in targeted areas and to improve both the quality and quantity of employment opportunities. The CDZ Program can help those seeking to expand a business, start a new one, or relocate a current business to Wisconsin. There are two tax credits available and one can be used in relation to environmental cleanups.

Individuals and businesses who are willing to locate within the 20 Development Zones and certain projects in Connnunity Development Zones are eligible.

The Environmental Remediation Credit can be claimed for expenses incurred for environmental cleanups. Jobs credits can be claimed for the creation of new employment. Twenty-five percent (25 %) of all credits allocated to a business must be for creating full-time jobs.

Money available:

• A jobs credit of up to $8,000 for new full-time jobs being created and filled by members of target group.
• A jobs credit of up to $6,000 for new full-time jobs being created and filled by Wisconsin residents who are not members of target groups.
• The Environmental Remediation Credit is 50% of all remediation costs affected by environmental pollution and investigation of a brownfield.

See the Community Development Zone pages for more information.

The Enterprise Development Zone Program provides the same tax incentives as the Community Development Zone Program to new or expanding businesses whose projects will affect distressed areas. Enterprise Zones can exist for up to seven years. Commerce can vary zone benefits to encourage projects in areas of high distress. The Department can designate up to 50 zones.

Based on the economic impact of a proposed business project, the Department of Commerce can designate an Enterprise Development Zone, which is "site specific" and applies to only one business.

The tax incentive benefits can be used for the same activities as the Community Development Zone Program. The Environmental Remediation Credit can be claimed for environmental cleanup efforts.

The maximum amount of credits per zone is $3.0 million. Credits are available in the following amounts:

• A jobs credit of up to $8,000 for new full-time jobs being created and filled by members of target group.
• A jobs credit of up to $6,000 for new full-time jobs being created and filled by Wisconsin residents who are not members of target groups.
• The Environmental Remediation Credit is 50%.

See the Enterprise Development Zone pages for more information.

The PECFA program provides reimbursement funds for portions of cleanup costs associated with petroleum product storage systems (i.e. underground storage tanks, aboveground storage tanks and home heating oil systems). Petroleum products are defined as gasoline, gasoline-alcohol fuel blends, kerosene, fuel oil, burner oil, diesel fuel oil or used motor oil. The PECFA program is administered by the Wisconsin Department of Commerce (Commerce), Environmental and Regulatory Services (ERS) Division.

Municipalities and private parties are eligible if they own:

• commercial underground and aboveground tanks of 110 gallons or more
• farm and residential vehicle fuel tanks with tank capacity greater than 1,100 gallons
• home heating oil systems
• farm vehicle tanks with less than 1,100 gallon capacity, if the owner/operator:
  • owns a parcel of 35 or more acres of land devoted to agriculture
  • has an average agriculture income not less than $6,000
  • receives a letter from the DNR requiring remedial action
• public school district and technical college district heating oil tanks; and
• tanks located on trust land of an American Indian tribe.

In addition, Commerce has several requirements that must be met by tank owners, such as tank registration. Reimbursement cannot be provided for: costs incurred before August 1, 1987; tank removal costs after November 1, 1991; or tank system upgrades.

In general, eligible costs include the costs of investigating and cleaning up discharges from storage tanks; monitoring costs; compensation of third parties for damages caused by underground tank discharges; and other costs determined to be necessary. The costs of conducting a Phase I and II environmental assessment for a property transfer and to identify the responsible party (or parties) are not eligible for PECFA reimbursement.

The amount of money that can be reimbursed depends on several criteria, such as whether the tank is owned by a marketer or non-marketer of petroleum products, the tank is under or above ground, and when the costs have been incurred for cleanup. Deductibles range from 5% to 25% of eligible costs or from $2,500 to $10,000. There are also maximum reimbursement amounts per occurrence (area of contamination).