During the Friday Plenary session at the 69th Conference of Mayors Winter Meeting, Elizabeth (NJ) Mayor Chris Bollwage called upon Congress and the Administration to work with the nation's mayors to develop legislation and programs that would assist local governments and businesses to redevelop brownfield sites.

Brownfields are abandoned or underutilized properties whose redevelopment is hindered by real or perceived environmental contamination. The Government Accounting Office has estimated that there are between 400 to 600 thousand brownfield sites in the United States.

Bollwage, along with Buffalo Mayor Tony Masiello and Jackson (MS) Mayor Harvey Johnson, chair the Conference of Mayors' Brownfields Task Force. On behalf of the task force, Bollwage told meeting participants that although many initiatives have been created over the years at the local, state, and national level, they have not been enough to redevelop many brownfield properties. Referring to the Conference of Mayors' annual report on brownfields, Mayor Bollwage stated, "for three years we have done a national survey and every year the impediments remain the same - the need for additional monies to do environmental clean up and assessment and liability relief for innocent developers."

Bollwage called upon Congress to pass bipartisan brownfields legislation this year and encouraged them to build on the work that already had been started during the last session of Congress. Brownfields legislation had come close to passing during the 106th Congress with 67 Senators cosponsoring the bipartisan bill, S2700, "The Brownfields Revitalization and Environmental Restoration Act of 2000."

Mayor Bollwage also called upon the new Administration to work with the nation's mayors to discuss what is needed to redevelop these properties from eyesores into assets.

"President Bush has expressed his support for brownfields redevelopment at the Seattle annual meeting, during the debates, and through his Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy Josh Bolton who said that brownfields redevelopment would be a priority for the new administration," Bollwage stated.

Bollwage also expressed support for Bush's appointment of New Jersey Governor Christine Todd Whitman as Administrator of EPA. "During Ms. Whitman's years as Governor, her administration was nationally recognized as having an aggressive brownfields redevelopment program," Bollwage said.

"I believe we have a tremendous opportunity before us," stated Bollwage, "my co-chairs and I will be calling on you for your assistance as we push forward on this important issue."