By Judy Sheahan
July 1, 2002

The Conference of Mayors Environmental Committee, chaired by Charlotte Mayor Patrick McCrory, met on Saturday, June 15, to discuss implementation of the new brownfields legislation, city partnerships with the Army Corps of Engineers, and water issues. In addition, the committee considered and adopted a series of environmental resolutions dealing with issues of clean air, clean water, and brownfields redevelopment.

Mayor McCrory congratulated all the Mayors for their hard work in assisting in the passage of brownfields legislation. After nine years of work," McCrory said, "I am pleased to report that we finally have brownfields legislation signed into law. He also made a pitch for all of the mayors to participate in the upcoming national Brownfields 2002 meeting, which will be held from November 13-15 in Charlotte.

Elizabeth (NJ) Mayor J. Christian Bollwage, co-chair of the Conference of Mayor's Brownfields Task Force, moderated a brownfields panel that consisted of Linda Garczynski of the Environmental Protection Agency, Irving Cohen of OENJ Cherokee Corporation and Roger Gerst of Reality Strategy Associates. The panelists highlighted how the new law will impact brownfields redevelopment from both the federal and private sector perspective. All were optimistic that with the changes in liability provisions and additional resources for assessments and cleanups, many more brownfield properties would be redeveloped.

Lieutenant General Robert B. Flowers, Commanding General of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, spoke about the Corps' work with local governments. Flowers acknowledged that while the Corps has played a critical role in the nation's development, he also acknowledged that the same development came at the expense of the environment. "Today, we are more aware of the consequences of our actions and we're taking steps to correct the mistakes of the past," Flowers said.

Flowers outlined the critical questions that the Corps was facing as they determined their future role in water resource policies including the future transportation use of waterways, recreational needs for lakes and rivers, determining if there is an adequate supply of drinking water, and balancing that needs between agricultural and ecosystem requirements. "There are challenges that lay ahead, which are complex and require innovative solutions," Flowers said, "developing synergistic solutions require us to engage in regional and national level dialogue to address water resource needs in a holistic manner." Flowers invited the mayors to provide input as the Corps developed their plan.

Trenton Mayor Douglas Palmer, co-chair of the Urban Water Council, discussed water and wastewater infrastructure issues. He urged all mayors to contact their congressional delegation and ask them to support H.R. 2207, the Private Activity Bond (PAB) legislation, which would amend the Internal Revenue Code to exclude water and wastewater infrastructure from the state volume cap for PABs. The Urban Water Council believes that by lifting this restriction, more private sector resources will be made available to assist in the costly maintenance and repair of water infrastructure.

Waco (TX) Mayor Linda Ethridge also briefed the committee on the issue of nonpoint source pollution from animal waste on water supplies and invited the mayors to attend a Water Supply and Drought Conference on September 6-7 in Waco.

The Environmental Committee considered and adopted the following resolutions, which were later adopted by the Conference of Mayors' full body. The resolutions included the following:

Clean Air and Utilities calls on the Administration to enforce existing regulations and Congress to pass new legislation to require older power plants to reduce all air emissions in order to substantially assist communities in their efforts to attain National Ambient Air Quality Standards.

Full Funding of the Small Business and Brownfields Redevelopment Act calls on Congress to fully fund the recently enacted "Small Business and Brownfields Redevelopment Act" and asks the Environmental Protection Agency to target a substantial portion of the funds directly to local governments.

Water Resources Development Act of 2002 calls on Congress to reauthorize the "Water Resources Development Act", which allows the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to assist local governments on water resources projects.

EDA and HUD Assistance to Redevelop Brownfields Sites encourages Congress to establish a brownfields redevelopment program at the Department of Housing and Urban Development that is not tied to the Section 108 program and the establishment of a brownfields redevelopment program at the Department of Commerce's Economic Development Administration.

Municipal and National Commitment to Reduce Greenhouse Gases calls on cities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by adopting policies that encourage energy conservation and a reduction in municipal energy use and also asks the federal government to provide resources and incentives to local governments for the implementation of greenhouse gas reduction measures.