By Judy Sheahan
July 24, 2006

The Transportation and Infrastructure Committee on July 19, passed H.R. 5810, a bill which reauthorizes the Small Business Liability and Brownfields Redevelopment Act. Brownfields are properties whose redevelopment is hindered by either real or perceived contamination. Passage of the Brownfields bill was a top priority of the Conference of Mayors for many years. It was signed into law by President George W. Bush in 2002 and was set to expire at the end of this year.

The bill authorizes $200 million for the next six years for brownfield assessment and cleanup funds along with money for state programs to assist with their brownfield activities including state voluntary cleanup programs. The only major modification was the elimination of the petroleum set-aside program. Under the current law, a certain percentage of the appropriations had to be set-aside to cleanup sites that were contaminated by petroleum products. The new bill would still allow cleanup of these sites but on a competitive basis with other sites.

The Conference of Mayors has been participating in a brownfields coalition consisting of public and private sector brownfield practioners to examine ways to improve the bill. These findings were shared with the committee through meetings and written testimony. These recommendations included increased funding, increased flexibility in the use of brownfield funds, further clarification on liability provisions for innocent developers and landowners, streamlining the application process, targeted special assistance for special needs, and some other technical corrections.

The Committee, however, chose to pass the bill with only minor modifications. However, some members of the committee expressed interest in working on a more comprehensive bill. According to Hill staff, Representative John Duncan (TE), Chairman for the Water Resources and Environment subcommittee which has initial jurisdiction for brownfields issues, expressed a willingness to work with these members to possibly craft a more comprehensive bill during the August recess for potential hearings and markup in September.