By Judy Sheahan
November 7, 2011

Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett testified on October 19 before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee regarding the impact that the brownfields program has had on his community and the importance of reauthorizing the legislation. The hearing was chaired by Senator Frank Lautenberg (NJ) with Senator James Inhofe (OK) serving as Ranking Member. The hearing was notable for its bipartisan nature with both Democrat and Republican Senators praising the brownfields program and the brownfields redevelopment projects that have been accomplished in their communities.

“Brownfields redevelopment is such a win-win for everyone involved. It creates jobs, it cleans up the environment, and it’s pro-business and pro-community. The reauthorization of this law should be a priority for this Congress,” Cornett said.

Oklahoma City has many brownfield redevelopment projects including the Dowell Center, the First National Center, and the Skirvin Hotel, which served as one of the hotels used at the Conference of Mayors Annual Meeting in 2010.

“We’ve been very successful in utilizing many of the EPA programs including the Revolving Loan Fund program, assessment grants, and using EPA funds to provide technical assistance,” Cornett said. “These programs have all leveraged additional funding, created jobs, and made improvements in my community.”

Oklahoma City has received three Revolving Loan Fund Grants and other funding for a little more than $6 million, which, according to the mayor, leveraged about 4.5 dollars in private funds for every federal dollar spent.

Since 2006, the city has been awarded five $200,000 community-wide assessment grants for a total of $1 million and, according to the mayor, the city has performed about 60 Environmental Site Assessments to support urban redevelopment.

Inhofe praised the mayor and his predecessors for their outstanding work. “I wish I could take every Senator on this Committee to Oklahoma City to see the transformation that it has gone through,” Inhofe said.

The mayor also reported how the Brownfields Law has had a positive impact throughout the nation. In a U.S. Conference of Mayors’ survey, 84 percent of the cities said they have successfully redeveloped a brownfield site with 150 cities reporting that 2,100 sites have been redeveloped and 106 cities reporting that 187,000 jobs have been created.

Cornett said, “The Brownfields Law has a proven track record of leveraging investment, creating jobs, and improving the environment but there is more work to be done. The GAO [Government Accountability Office] estimates there are between 400-600 thousand brownfield sites in the U.S. with the challenge that communities face now is that many of the ‘easy’ brownfield sites have been developed and the economic conditions for both the public and private sector is difficult.”

“The Conference of Mayors in conjunction with the Brownfields Coalition would like to see some minor changes in the brownfields law that would result in additional redevelopment and economic growth,” Cornett said. The recommendations include:

• Full Funding of the Brownfields Program;

• Creation of a Multi-Purpose Grant;

• Increase Cleanup Grant Amounts to be $1 million and in special circumstances, $2 million; and

• Clarify Eligibility of Publicly-Owned Sites Acquired Before 2002.

Lautenberg and Inhofe are expected to introduce a bipartisan brownfields reauthorization bill.