    [Senate Hearing 118-413]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]

                                                            S. Hrg. 118-413

                                BUSINESS MEETING

    =======================================================================

                                    MEETING

                                     of the

                                  COMMITTEE ON
                          ENVIRONMENT AND PUBLIC WORKS

                              UNITED STATES SENATE

                        ONE HUNDRED EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS

                                 FIRST SESSION
                                   __________

                               SEPTEMBER 27, 2023
                                   __________

      Printed for the use of the Committee on Environment and Public Works

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            Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.govinfo.gov

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                      U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE

    56-773                    WASHINGTON : 2025

                   COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENT AND PUBLIC WORKS

                        ONE HUNDRED EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS

                                 FIRST SESSION

                      THOMAS R. CARPER, Delaware, Chairman
              SHELLEY MOORE CAPITO, West Virginia, Ranking Member

    BENJAMIN L. CARDIN, Maryland         KEVIN CRAMER, North Dakota
    BERNARD SANDERS, Vermont             CYNTHIA M. LUMMIS, Wyoming
    SHELDON WHITEHOUSE, Rhode Island     MARKWAYNE MULLIN, Oklahoma
    JEFF MERKLEY, Oregon                 PETE RICKETTS, Nebraska
    EDWARD J. MARKEY, Massachusetts      JOHN BOOZMAN, Arkansas
    DEBBIE STABENOW, Michigan            ROGER WICKER, Mississippi
    MARK KELLY, Arizona                  DAN SULLIVAN, Alaska
    ALEX PADILLA, California             LINDSEY O. GRAHAM, South Carolina
    JOHN FETTERMAN, Pennsylvania

                   Courtney Taylor, Democratic Staff Director
                   Adam Tomlinson, Republican Staff Director

                                C O N T E N T S

                                  ----------
                                                                       Page

                               SEPTEMBER 27, 2023

                               OPENING STATEMENTS

    Carper, Hon. Thomas R., U.S. Senator from the State of Delaware..     1
    Capito, Hon. Shelley Moore, U.S. Senator from the State of
      Virginia.......................................................     2

                                  LEGISLATION

    The Sullivan Amendment to allow Indian Tribes in Alaska to be
      eligible for the Brownfields Revitalization Funding............     4
    The text of S. 654 to amend the Water Infrastructure Improvements
      for the Nation Act to reauthorize Delaware River Basin
      conservation programs, and for other purposes..................     8
    S. __, to amend the Comprehensive Environmental Response,
      Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 to reauthorize
      Brownsfield Revitalization Funding, and for other purposes.....    11
    S. __, to amend the Coastal Barrier Resources Act to make
      improvements to that Act, and for other purposes...............    17

                                BUSINESS MEETING

                                  ----------

                         WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2023

                                   U.S. Senate,
             Committee on Environment and Public Works,
                                                        Washington, DC.
        The committee met, pursuant to notice, at 9:49 a.m. in room
    406, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Hon. Thomas R. Carper
    (chairman of the committee) presiding.
        Present: Senators Carper, Capito, Whitehouse, Markey,
    Kelly, Padilla, Boozman, Wicker, Mullin, Ricketts.

              OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. THOMAS R. CARPER,
                U.S. SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF DELAWARE

        Senator Carper. Good morning, everyone. I want to call this
    business meeting to order. Thank you all for joining us.
        Today, we are going to be voting on three important pieces
    of legislation: the Brownfields Reauthorization Act of 2023,
    the Strengthening Coastal Communities Act of 2023, and the
    Delaware River Basin Conservation Act of 2023.
        Before we do that, I want to take a moment to briefly
    discuss each of these bills and recognize Senator Capito for
    any comments she would like to make.
        The first bill we are going to consider today is a very
    successful Brownfields program under the Comprehensive
    Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act,
    affectionately known as Superfund. Since it began in 1995, the
    EPA Brownfields Program has helped communities across our
    Nation cleanup contaminated lands.
        This program has been a remarkable success, breathing new
    life into distressed areas. In fact, just yesterday, EPA made
    $235 million in grants available to assess and cleanup polluted
    Brownfield sites across our Country, thanks to funding from the
    Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
        The Brownfields Reauthorization Act, which Senator Capito
    and I, along with our staff, have authored together, would
    reauthorize the program through 2029 and increase the funding
    for formula grants to States, to territories, and tribes. In
    addition, we made several additional changes to make the
    program more accessible to small, disadvantaged, and
    underserved communities.
        Next, we are going to consider the Strengthening Coastal
    Communities Act of 2023, which would codify new and updated
    maps under the Coastal Barrier Resources Act. This legislation
    will also help the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service modernize its
    implementation of the Coastal Barrier Resources Act.
        Since its enactment in 1982, spearheaded by my friend and
    predecessor in the U.S. House of Representatives, Congressman
    Tom Evans, the Coastal Barrier Resources Act has saved
    billions, that is billions, with a b, billions of taxpayer
    dollars and conserves sensitive habitat for humanity. It is a
    true win-win situation. I want to salute former Congressman
    Evans for his leadership all those years ago and thank Senator
    Graham for partnering with me on this important legislation.
        Finally, we are going to vote on the Delaware River Basin
    Conservation Reauthorization Act of 2023, which would
    reauthorize a successful, nonregulatory grant program that
    supports restoration activities in the Delaware River
    watershed. In addition to providing habitat for countless
    wildlife species, the Delaware River basin supplies water to
    more than 14 million people, including in major cities like
    Philadelphia, New York City, and Wilmington, Delaware. I want
    to thank Senator Capito and her staff for her support in
    advancing this legislation.
        With that, let me recognize our Ranking Member, Senator
    Capito, for any comments she would like to make. Senator
    Capito.

            OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. SHELLEY MOORE CAPITO,
             U.S. SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF WEST VIRGINIA

        Senator Capito. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and I think we are
    awaiting the arrival of two more of our members before our
    votes. Is that correct?
        Senator Carper. How many do we have? We need two more. We
    need 10 to start.
        Senator Capito. Two more. I will cease talking when the two
    more walk into the room.
        Senator Carper. Fair enough.
        Senator Capito. Anyway, thank you for calling this business
    meeting today. I am pleased to have the reauthorization of the
    Brownfields. It is important for my area, and I know for yours,
    as well.
        Senator Carper. Down to one.
        Senator Capito. We are down to one, Okay. If I keep
    talking, they will come right in.
        Thank you for being a great partner, again, and this time
    on bipartisan legislation to reauthorize Brownfields. You have
    described it; it is a valuable financing tool for local
    communities and private investors, facilitating economic
    development. It has been used very well in West Virginia. We
    have some new projects coming in on our old Brownfields
    projects.
        Since being authorized in 2002, it has become a resounding
    success story. The program has been, as I mentioned, a big
    benefit to West Virginia, $41 million being awarded to our
    State since 2005. Those have leveraged $1.6 billion in public
    and private investment, creating 5,400 jobs. That is
    significant.
        This committee stakeholder testimony detailing the aspects
    of the program, including George Carico, who is Director of the
    West Virginia Regional Brownfields Assistance Center at
    Marshall University, highlighted rigorous and complex
    applications, procedures that were sowing confusion. I think we
    heard that consistently. Rural communities often cannot afford
    grant writers and are unable to compete with their large, urban
    counterparts.
        Because this Brownfields bill is so great and because
    Senator Cardin just came into the room, I want to take 1 second
    to thank my staff, Member Jake Kennedy and your staff member,
    Brian Eiler, for their hard work on Brownfields. The other two
    bills are just as great, and so let us get on with our
    business. Thank you.
        Senator Carper. Senator Capito, thank you.
        Welcome, everybody. I see that we have a voting quorum
    present, so let us begin.
        First, I call up the Brownfields Reauthorization Act of
    2023. Does any Senator wish to offer amendment to this
    legislation?
        Senator Sullivan has an amendment that he was going to
    offer, in fact, two that I think he was going to offer. We were
    going to vote on the first, not the second. In his absence, I
    am going to call up the first amendment, nonetheless, and say
    that I am pleased to support Senator Sullivan's amendment
    number 1, which will ensure that Alaska Native Tribes have
    access to the Brownfields Program.
        [The text of the referenced amendment follows:]

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        Senator Carper. Senator Capito, any comment?
        Senator Capito. I second that. I certainly am in agreement
    on that amendment for Senator Sullivan.
        Senator Carper. I now move that the committee adopt
    Sullivan Amendment Number 1. Is there a second?
        Senator Capito. Second.
        Senator Carper. Yes. All in favor, say aye.
        [Chorus of ayes.]
        Senator Carper. Opposed, say nay.
        [No audible response.]
        Senator Carper. The ayes have it. In the opinion of the
    Chair, the ayes have it. The amendment is adopted.
        Senator Sullivan had another amendment that we are going to
    continue to work on before we take the bill to the floor, so we
    look forward to doing that with him and his staff.
        Does any other Senator wish to offer another amendment to
    this legislation? Any others? Okay.
        As we have no further amendments, I move that the committee
    favorably report the Brownfields Reauthorization Act of 2023.
    Is there a second?
        Senator Capito. Second.
        Senator Carper. Moved and seconded. All in favor, say aye.
        [Chorus of ayes.]
        Senator Carper. All opposed, say nay.
        [No audible response.]
        Senator Carper. The ayes have it.
        We will now consider the Strengthening Coastal Communities
    Act of 2023. No Senator filed amendments to this legislation.
    We will report it by voice vote.
        I move that the committee favorably report the
    Strengthening Coastal Communities Act of 2023. Is there a
    second?
        Senator Capito. Second.
        Senator Carper. All in favor, say aye.
        [Chorus of ayes.]
        Senator Carper. All opposed, say nay.
        [No audible response.]
        Senator Carper. The ayes have it. In the opinion of the
    Chair, the ayes have it. The legislation is favorably reported.
    I note for the record that a quorum of the committee is
    present.
        Next, I call up S. 654, The Delaware River Basin
    Conservation Act of 2023. No Senators have filed amendments to
    this legislation. We will report it by voice vote.
        I move that the committee favorably report S. 654, the
    Delaware River Basin Conservation Act of 2023. Is there a
    second?
        Senator Capito. Second.
        Senator Carper. It has been moved and seconded. All in
    favor, say aye.
        [Chorus of ayes.]
        Senator Carper. All opposed, say nay.
        [No audible response.]
        Senator Carper. The ayes have it. I note for the record
    that a quorum of the committee is present.
        That concludes the committee's votes as part of today's
    business meeting. I thank everyone for their participation. I
    especially thank our Ranking Member.
        I will recognize any member who would like to speak on any
    of the matters that are before us that we have voted on. Thank
    you. Senator Capito, thank you. Anything else you want to say?
        Senator Capito. No, I am ready to move to the hearing.
        Senator Carper. All right.
        Senator Sullivan. Mr. Chairman, may I just say thank you to
    my colleagues for moving forward?
        Senator Carper. Sure, take another minute.
        Senator Sullivan. Those amendments, it is an issue that I
    have raised here many times, and you, actually, the Chairman
    has been a great supporter of some of the issues of
    contaminated Alaska Native lands they received as part of the
    Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act from the Federal
    Government, and then ended up, the lands were contaminated.
        We have been trying to deal with that in this committee in
    a bipartisan way for a number of years. I appreciate my
    colleagues' bipartisan support on my amendment number 1 that
    just passed by more than one vote, I am told. I am glad.
        [Laughter.]
        Senator Carper. It was a landslide.
        Senator Sullivan. I am glad that happened. We will continue
    to work together.
        Senator Capito. I think your amendments do better when you
    are not in the room.
        [Laughter.]
        Senator Sullivan. Yes, maybe. I am trying to dive into the
    implications of that statement from the Ranking Member, but I
    do not think they are good for me. Whatever.
        Senator Cardin. We are going to move to reconsider.
        [Laughter.]
        Senator Sullivan. I am not, and I know a good lawyer would
    normally just say, shut up, you won your amendment. We did have
    the EPA Administrator in Alaska in August, with whom we held a
    round table with a lot of our Native leaders on these topics,
    so this is important progress. I know the EPA has been
    supportive, so we will keep working on it.
        To my colleagues here, but Mr. Chairman, in particular, you
    and I have worked together on these issues a lot for my
    constituents, so I appreciate it, and thank you very much. I am
    glad it passed.
        Senator Carper. Yes. Our pleasure. You have a second
    amendment that we are going to continue to work on, and I think
    we will be successful on that one. We will certainly try.
        Senator Sullivan. Yes, sir. I know you know the EPA has
    come out in favor of that one too, so I think we can get
    through it as well. Thanks.
        [Whereupon, at 9:56 a.m., the committee proceeded to other
    business.]

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