[CPEO-BIF] BUILD Act

Wed Jul 15 10:46:58 PDT 2015

Searching online for scheduled hearings on the Brownfields program I  
found a July 22 House hearing. It will be live streamed. See
http://transportation.house.gov/calendar/eventsingle.aspx?EventID=399204

Lenny

On Jul 15, 2015, at 10:24 AM, Lenny Siegel wrote:

> The bi-partisan BUILD Act, which would re-authorize and enhance the  
> legislative basis of U.S. EPA's Brownfields program, will soon be  
> the subject of a hearing before the Senate Environment and Public  
> Works Committee. This June 2 press release from Sen. Markey's  
> office describes the legislation:
>
> Markey, Inhofe lead Bipartisan Group of Senators in Introducing  
> Brownfields Reauthorization
>
> Tuesday, June 2, 2015
> WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), chairman of the  
> Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works (EPW), and Sen.  
> Edward Markey (D-Mass.), ranking member on the Superfund, Waste  
> Management, and Regulatory Oversight Subcommittee for EPW, led a  
> bipartisan group of Senators in introducing S. 1479,  the  
> Brownfields Utilization, Investment, and Local Development Act of  
> 2015 (BUILD Act).  Sens. Barbara Boxer (D-CA), ranking member of  
> the EPW Committee; Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), chairman of the Superfund,  
> Waste Management, and Regulatory Oversight Subcommittee, Cory  
> Booker (D-N.J.), and Mike Crapo (R-Id.) are original cosponsors of  
> the BUILD Act.
>
> The Brownfields program, which is administered by the U.S.  
> Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and enjoys strong bipartisan  
> support, provides grants and technical assistance to states, local  
> governments, tribes, and redevelopment agencies to support the  
> assessment, cleanup, and reuse of Brownfield sites.  Among other  
> things, the BUILD Act would provide funding for technical  
> assistance grants to small communities and rural areas, expand the  
> scope of eligible grant recipients to include non-profit community  
> groups, and authorize funding for multi-purpose grants to tackle  
> more complex sites.
>
> “When I became Chairman of the EPW committee, reauthorizing the  
> Brownfields program emerged as a key priority for our committee.  I  
> am proud to work together with my good friend, Senator Markey, and  
> other members of the EPW committee to improve the Brownfields  
> program,” said Inhofe. "While Senator Markey and I may not see eye- 
> to-eye on every environmental issue, the Brownfields program is  
> where we have found common ground to achieve real results in  
> cleaning up contaminated sites while also promoting economic  
> development across our states and in our local communities. The  
> BUILD Act will make several overdue improvements to the Brownfields  
> program that expired in 2006. Our bill directs EPA to provide  
> technical assistance grants to small communities, Indian tribes,  
> rural areas, and disadvantaged areas, and provides greater  
> certainty for long-term cleanups of more complex projects.  I  
> proudly stand with my colleagues in making a good EPA program even  
> better, and I look forward to moving this legislation through the  
> committee in the coming year."
>
> "Senator Inhofe and I might not agree on all green jobs creation,  
> but we’re both committed to improving Brownfields utilization, and  
> the BUILD Act is critical to cleaning up the decades of abuse our  
> lands have experienced at the hands of corporate polluters,” said  
> Markey. "Cleaning up Brownfield sites is a win-win for  
> Massachusetts and the country, helping to create jobs and spur  
> economic activity while revitalizing underutilized and polluted  
> lands. I look forward to working with Senator Inhofe and my  
> colleagues to ensure that these Brownfield sites will no longer be  
> part of the problem, but will be part of our economic solution.”
>
> “The BUILD Act is critical to ensuring that communities near  
> contaminated sites will be cleaned up and revitalized,” said Sen.  
> Boxer. “I look forward to working with my colleagues as we move  
> forward with this bipartisan legislation in the Senate."
>
> “A number of South Dakota communities have benefited from the  
> Brownfields program,” said Rounds. “Reauthorization of the program  
> will allow us to continue to clean up polluted areas so they are  
> once again safe for use.”
>
> “As a mayor, I saw firsthand how the EPA’s Brownfields program  
> could benefit and help revitalize communities like Newark.” Sen.  
> Booker said. “I am proud to join this effort to expand the  
> eligibility and scope of the Brownfields program to support cleanup  
> and development efforts in more communities across New Jersey and  
> the country. This bipartisan legislation is critical to restoring  
> the estimated 450,000 brownfield sites nationwide to productive  
> uses and will contribute greatly to our nation’s public and  
> economic health.”
>
> “With the important assistance provided though the Brownfields  
> program, many communities throughout Idaho have successfully been  
> able to revitalize underutilized and contaminated sites, enabling  
> redevelopment for businesses, parks and residential areas,” said  
> Crapo.  “This legislation improves the already successful program  
> by increasing access for rural and small communities and providing  
> much-needed certainty for long-term projects.”
>
> Highlights of the BUILD Act:
>
> Authorizes up to $7,500 in technical assistance grants to eligible  
> entities in small communities, Indian tribes, rural areas, and  
> disadvantaged areas.
> Expands the eligibility for Brownfields grants for nonprofit  
> organizations to include certain nonprofit organizations, limited  
> liability corporations, limited partnerships, and community  
> development entities.
> Increases the funding limit for remediation grants to $500,000 for  
> each site, with some exceptions for higher funding, and authorizes  
> multi-purpose grants up to $950,000, which provide greater  
> certainty for long-term project financing.
> Allows certain government entities that do not qualify as a bona  
> fide prospective purchaser to be eligible to receive grants so long  
> as the government entity did not cause or contribute to a release  
> or threatened release of a hazardous substance at the property.
> Allows eligible entities to use up to 8 percent of their  
> Brownfields grant funding for administrative costs.
> Directs EPA in providing grants to give consideration to brownfield  
> sites located adjacent to federally designated floodplains.
> Requires EPA to establish a program to provide grants of up to  
> $500,000 to eligible entities and to capitalize a revolving loan  
> fund to locate clean energy projects at Brownfields sites.
> Reauthorizes the Brownfield program at the same authorized funding  
> level ($250 million per year) through fiscal year 2018.
> Background
>
> A similar version of the BUILD Act (S. 491) was introduced by Sens.  
> Lautenberg, Inhofe, Crapo and Udall in March 2013.  The EPW  
> Subcommittee on Superfund, Toxics and Environmental Health held a  
> hearing on the Brownfields program in July 2013, and the full  
> committee reported an amended version by voice vote on April 3,  
> 2014.  The BUILD Act introduced today reflects the amended version  
> adopted by the EPW Committee in the 113th Congress.
>
> On Jan. 11, 2002, the Small Business Liability Relief and  
> Brownfields Revitalization Act (PL 107-118) was enacted by  
> President George W. Bush.  The underlying bill (H.R. 2869) passed  
> the House under suspension of the rules and the Senate under  
> unanimous consent on Dec. 20, 2001.  Authorization for the  
> Brownfields program expired in 2006.
>
> For fiscal year 2015, Congress appropriated $189 million to EPA for  
> the Brownfields program.
>
>
> ###
>
>
>
> To view the original press release, go to
>
> http://www.markey.senate.gov/news/press-releases/markey-inhofe-lead- 
> bipartisan-group-of-senators-in-introducing-brownfields- 
> reauthorization
>
>
>
>
> --
>
> Lenny Siegel
> Executive Director, Center for Public Environmental Oversight
> a project of the Pacific Studies Center
> 278-A Hope St., Mountain View, CA 94041
> Voice: 650/961-8918 or 650/969-1545
> Fax: 650/961-8918
> <lsiegel at cpeo.org>
> http://www.cpeo.org
>
> _______________________________________________
> Brownfields mailing list
> Brownfields at lists.cpeo.org
> http://lists.cpeo.org/listinfo.cgi/brownfields-cpeo.org

--

Lenny Siegel
Executive Director, Center for Public Environmental Oversight
a project of the Pacific Studies Center
278-A Hope St., Mountain View, CA 94041
Voice: 650/961-8918 or 650/969-1545
Fax: 650/961-8918
<lsiegel at cpeo.org>
http://www.cpeo.org

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