Senate Hearing on the Brownfields Program 

Rare Bi-Partisan Support Evident  

Senators Frank R. Lautenberg (D-NJ) and James M. Inhofe (R-OK) opened the October 19 Senate hearing with rare bi-partisan agreement, both lauding the EPA Brownfields Program.  Senator Lautenberg chairs the Superfund and Environmental Health Sub-Committee and Senator Inhofe is the Ranking Member of the full Environment and Public Works Committee.  Both Senators support reauthorization of the EPA Program, with amendments.   

Testimony and video of the proceedings are available on the Committee website.   

Brownfields Coalition Presses Congress to Reauthorize    

Falstaff Brewery, New Orleans

Evans Paull, Executive Director of the National Brownfields Coalition cited transformative brownfields projects in Omaha, New Orleans, and Little Rock, maintaining that "It would be hard to overstate the importance of these critical resources...because it's not just about cleaning up and redeveloping X, Y, and Z site," said Paull. "It's also about enabling communities to re-position their economies, taking the failed industries of the past and retooling those sites to enable future growth and improved quality of life."  

Paull's testimony, available here, also cites the Coalition's 10-point platform for improving the program. 

Issues Raised at the Senate Brownfields Hearing      

Some testimony highlights:

• Senator Lautenberg's testimony supported greater use of funding to support renewable energy, broadened eligibility for non-profits, and multi-purpose grants.
• Senator Inhofe's statement called attention to liability issues that remain unresolved from the landmark 2002 authorizing legislation - he particularly cited that local governments are ineligible for some cleanup funds because the Law counts the local government as a PRP if the property was acquired before 2002.
• Mick Cornett, Mayor of Oklahoma City called for full funding, multi-purpose grants, higher grant ceilings, and clear eligibility of publicly-owned sites.
• Aaron Scheff, Idaho DEQ, raised issues relating to rural brownfields, the need for higher funding levels in the 128(a) state assistance program, and the need to eliminate the extra eligibility hurdles for petroleum sites.
• Marjorie Buckholtz, Environmental Consulting Solutions, supported broadened eligibility for nonprofits, and greater use of funds for renewable energy on brownfields sites.   
• Evans Paull, National Brownfields Coalition, cited the same issues raised by others, but also made several additional recommendations: a clarification of current law to give local governments greater comfort in acquiring contaminated land; a capacity building effort for disadvantaged and rural communities; and elimination of the administrative cost prohibition.