ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENT COMMITTEE

EXPANDING THE MISSION OF U.S. ARMY CORPS OF
ENGINEERS TO INCLUDE GREATER SITE ASSESSMENT
AND REMEDIATION WORK IN OUR NATION'S CITIES

WHEREAS, a recent report by the U.S. Conference of Mayors indicates that there are over 19,000 abandoned or underutilized properties covering more than 178,000 acres throughout America's cities; and

WHEREAS, these sites, commonly referred to as "brownfields" represent tremendous opportunities for improved economic growth within our cites; and

WHEREAS, these sites often go undeveloped only because of potential liability associated with actual or perceived environmental contamination and the lack of funds needed to perform environmental assessments and cleanup of these sites; and

WHEREAS, it has been demonstrated that modest investments in performing site assessments and cleanup when necessary at these sites removes these barriers to redevelopment and leads to substantial investment, creation of jobs, and increased tax revenue for cities; and

WHEREAS, federal and state programs to assist cities in this process are not sufficient to address the volume of sites throughout the country; and

WHEREAS, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is well equipped and trained to assist the nation's cities to make these sites attractive to investment and put them back into productive use; and

WHEREAS, there have been recent initiatives on both the part of the Administration and within the Congress to expand the Corps of Engineers mission to include remediation and restoration of brownfield sites,

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the U.S. Conference of Mayors strongly supports all efforts to create and fund Corps of Engineers efforts to conduct site assessments and remediation activities at brownfield sites throughout the country; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED , that these efforts include, but are not limited to, expanding the Corps role through the reauthoriztion of the Water Resources and Development law, inclusion of such provisions in brownfield legislation, and stand alone legislation to accomplish this important goal.