[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 196 (Friday, December 1, 2017)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1639-E1640]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 BROWNFIELDS ENHANCEMENT, ECONOMIC REDEVELOPMENT, AND REAUTHORIZATION 
                              ACT OF 2017

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                         HON. PETER A. DeFAZIO

                               of oregon

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, November 30, 2017

  Mr. DeFAZIO. Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record the following 
letter:

         The United States Conference of Mayors, National 
           Association of Counties, National League of Cities, and 
           National Association of Regional Councils,
                                                   March 28, 2017.
     Hon. Greg Walden,
     Chairman, Energy and Commerce Committee,
     House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
     Hon. Frank J, Pallone, Jr.,
     Ranking Member, Energy and Commerce Committee, House of 
         Representatives, Washington, DC.
     Hon. Bill Shuster,
     Chairman, Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, House 
         of Representatives, Washington, DC.
     Hon. Peter DeFazio,
     Ranking Member, Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, 
         House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
       Dear Chairman Walden, Ranking Member Pallone, Chairman 
     Shuster and Ranking Member DeFazio: On behalf of the nation's 
     mayors, cities, counties and regions, we strongly encourage 
     you to reauthorize and improve the U.S. Environmental 
     Protection Agency (EPA) Brownfields program, which is key for 
     both economic development and job creation In local 
     communities across the county.
       Since its creation, the EPA Brownfields program has 
     provided crucial assistance to local governments for 
     reclaiming hazardous, polluted and underutilized properties. 
     To date, there have been over 26,000 brownfields assessments 
     and 1,200 brownfields cleanups nationally, which has led to 
     over 123,000 jobs. Each of the $22 billion federal dollars 
     that has been invested since the program was established in 
     2002 has leveraged approximately $16 in other investments, 
     close to $400 billion in total.
       While many communities have benefited from brownfields 
     redevelopment efforts under this program, the U.S. Government 
     Accountability Office estimates there are between 400,000 and 
     600,000 remaining brownfields sites throughout the United 
     States. To build upon these past successes and assist in the 
     cleanup, reuse and redevelopment of remaining sites, some key 
     Improvements to the program are needed.


               Increase or maintain authorization amounts

       While we understand the fiscal challenges and constraints 
     faced by the U.S. Congress, we strongly encourage you to 
     authorize and fully fund the Brownfields program to at least 
     previously authorized levels. The Brownfields program has a 
     proven track record of leveraging additional investments, 
     creating new jobs, and redeveloping new properties, while 
     creating additional tax revenues.
       At current appropriation levels, EPA has had to turn away 
     many highly qualified applicants due to a lack of funding. 
     EPA estimates that for the past 5 years, over 1,700 requests 
     for viable projects were not awarded money because of limited 
     funding. EPA estimates that if they were able to provide 
     funding to those turned away applicants, an additional 50,000 
     jobs would have been created along with $12 billion of 
     leveraged funding.
       Additionally, President Trump has made reinvesting in 
     America and putting people back to work as key priorities for 
     his administration. In order to make this happen and to do so 
     quickly, Congress should utilize existing programs, and we 
     believe that the Brownfields program would be a strong 
     candidate for any type of reinvestment initiative. That is 
     why we urge Congress to increase or at least maintain the 
     current authorization levels for EPA's brownfields program.


  increase overall grant funding to allow communities to cleanup more 
                            difficult sites

       Although many brownfield sites have been redeveloped, what 
     remains are brownfield sites that are more difficult to 
     redevelop due to their level of contamination or marketplace 
     conditions. Communities would like the EPA program to be 
     expanded to address the clean up challenges at these more 
     complex sites.
       We suggest the following:
       Increase Cleanup Grant Amounts--Congress should recognize 
     the complexity of the cleanup process for larger or more 
     complicated sites by increasing the funding limit for cleanup 
     of a single site to $1 million. Under special circumstances, 
     EPA could waive the limit, up to $2 million per site.
       Establish Multi-Purpose Brownfields Grants--Congress should 
     allow local governments to have the option to apply for 
     multi-purpose grants that can be used for the full range of 
     brownfields-funded activities (assessment, cleanup, reuse 
     planning, etc.) on a community-wide basis. Applicants should 
     be required to demonstrate a plan and the capacity for using 
     this multi-purpose funding within a set timeline in order to 
     qualify for such funding.
       Allow Funding for Reasonable Administrative Costs for Local 
     Brownfields Programs--Congress should allow brownfields grant 
     recipients to use a small portion (10 percent) of their grant 
     to cover reasonable administrative costs such as rent, 
     utilities and other costs necessary to carry out a 
     brownfields project.

[[Page E1640]]

  



brownflelds liability concerns are a disincentive for local governments

       Local governments face enormous challenges in brownfields 
     redevelopment. One of the most significant challenges is the 
     potential liability for local governments, which creates a 
     disincentive to acquire contaminated property. We encourage 
     Congress to revise the Comprehensive Environmental Response, 
     Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERLA) to encourage 
     and protect local communities who choose to take ownership of 
     blighted properties for the purpose of brownfields 
     redevelopment where the local government had no role in 
     creating the contamination. These changes should include:
       Clarify Eligibility of Publicly-Owned Sites Acquired Before 
     2002--Congress should allow local governments to be eligible 
     for grant funding for properties that were acquired prior to 
     the January 11, 2002 enactment of the Brownfields 
     Revitalization Act--when there was no required standard for 
     ``all appropriate inquiries''--provided that the applicant 
     did not cause or contribute to the contamination and 
     performed ``appropriate care.'' For these sites, applicants 
     would not have to demonstrate that they performed all 
     appropriate inquiry.
       Remove Barriers to Local and State Governments in 
     Addressing Mothballed Sites--Congress should exempt local and 
     state governments from CERCLA liability if the government 
     unit (a) owns a brownfields property as defined by section 
     101(39); (b) did not cause or contribute to contamination on 
     the property; and (c) exercises due care with regard to any 
     known contamination at the site. We suggest language to amend 
     section 101(20)(D) that clarifies that properties acquired 
     through eminent domain qualify for the CERCLA exemption for 
     local governments involved in ``Involuntary Acquisitions.'' 
     Alternatively, we would suggest language that establishes a 
     simplified and clear exemption from CERCLA liability for 
     local governments that acquire brownfields sites.
       Eliminate Eligibility Barriers for Petroleum Brownfields 
     Sites--Grantees that seek to use assessment, cleanup or 
     multi-purpose grants on sites with petroleum contamination 
     should not be required to make the difficult demonstrations 
     that the site is ``low risk'' and that there is ``no viable 
     responsible party'' connected with the site. We recommend 
     replacing the ``No Viable Responsible Party'' language in 
     section 101(39)(D) with a prohibition on using funds to pay 
     for cleanup costs at a brownfields site for which the 
     recipient of the grant is potentially liable under the 
     petroleum statutes. This would parallel the language for non-
     petroleum brownfields sites.
       If you have any questions, please contact Judy Sheahan at 
     USCM, Carolyn Berndt at NLC, Julie Ufner at NACo, or Leslie 
     Wollack at NARC. Thank you for your consideration.
           Sincerely,
     Tom Cochran,
       CEO and Executive Director, The U.S. Conference of Mayors.
     Matthew D. Chase,
       Executive Director, National Association of Counties.
     Clarence E. Anthony,
       CEO and Executive Director, National League of Cities.
     Leslie Wollack,
       Executive Director, National Association of Regional 
     Councils.

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