Coalition of States, Local Governments and Real Estate Associations Are Pressing Congress to Reathorize Brownfield Programs

According to the BNA, a coalition of states, counties, communities, and organizations plans to submit to Congress by mid-May a comprehensive legislative proposal to reauthorize the federal brownfields program, an official from the U.S. Conference of Mayors. Judy Sheahan, the U.S. Conference of Mayors Assistant Executive Director, said coalition members have met with congressional aides and have been working for several months to develop legislative language. The draft legislation would increase funding both to run the program and provide cleanup grants; establish multi-purpose brownfields grants; address liability concerns; and help free for use "mothballed" properties where the owner is unreachable, unwilling to discuss a property transfer, or reluctant to improve site conditions. Authorization for the federal brownfields program under the Small Business Liability Relief and Brownfields Revitalization Act (P.L. 107-118) expired Sept. 30, 2006. That law authorized $250 million per year for the program, although Congress each year has appropriated less than that. In addition to the mayors, the coalition includes the National Association of Counties, the National Association of Local Government Environmental Officials, The Real Estate Roundtable, the National Association of Towns and Townships, and the National Association of Home Builders. Congressional aides speaking May 3 at NALGEP's Environmental Summit for Local Governments in Washington, D.C., said funding is the top brownfields issue and suggested this would be achieved in the near future through the appropriations process.