[CPEO-BIF] Gov. Whitman's Remarks

[CPEO Moderator <cpeo@cpeo.org>]

I thought readers of the brownfields listserve might be interested in 
EPA Administrator Christie Whitman's remarks at the Partners for Smart
Growth conference last week.  A new brownfields-related initiative is
mentioned in the speech.  The remarks as prepared are pasted below.  She 
deviated very little from this text when she spoke...

Remarks prepared for Governor Christine Todd Whitman,
       Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,
                                 at the
                  Partners for Smart Growth Conference
                         San Diego, California

                            January 24, 2002

     It is a pleasure to be with you today. I am always happy to have
an excuse to come to San Diego. Especially this one- the chance to
speak about Smart Growth.

     I would like to begin by thanking the people who have given all of 
us this opportunity to expand the dialogue on Smart Growth. EPA has
several co-sponsors in this conference - many of whom have been
partnering with the EPA on various projects for years - and I would like 
to thank all of them for their dedication to environmental stewardship.

     I would also like to thank our hosts, the City and County of San
Diego for their hospitality. This is a beautiful city and everyone has 
done a fantastic job of welcoming this conference and I appreciate it. 
It shows that there are many people here in San Diego who understand the 
importance of Smart Growth, not just while this conference is in town, 
but all year long.

     Everyone here recognizes that Smart Growth makes sense for our
environment, our communities, and everyone who lives in them. It is my
pleasure this evening to emphasize that the Bush Administration, and
the EPA especially, understands the importance of Smart Growth as well 
and we are looking forward to working with each of you to achieve our 
common goals for smarter growth throughout the Nation.

     The environmental challenges we face in the 21st Century, in many 
ways, are entirely different than those we have dealt with in the past. 
While we used to spend so much time focusing on immediate problems, we 
now have the opportunity to plan for the future. Addressing new 
environmental challenges requires us to manage all of our resources 
better- economic, social, and environmental - and manage them for the 
long term.

     That is why Smart Growth is so important - it is critical to
economic growth, the development of healthy communities, and the
protection of our environment all at the same time. Smart Growth, the
ability to create a sustainable society where we can reach all of these 
goals simultaneously, really comes down to one thing: quality of life.

     We can grow our economy without sacrificing quality of life. We can 
preserve the environment for future generations without sacrificing our 
quality of life. And, we can live and work in healthy and convenient 
neighborhoods without sacrificing our quality of life. We can achieve 
all of these things by applying the principles of Smart Growth.

     Given what is at stake- our quality of life and that of our
children- it should come as no surprise that the public is hungry for
smart growth initiatives. Since 1998, voters across America have passed 
529 referenda supporting more than $19 billion in open space funding. 
Last year alone, voters approved $1.7 billion for parks and open space 
conservation on local and state ballots across the country. They are 
telling us: the time for action is now.

     I am so pleased that President Bush and the Congress understood
this urgency and decided to take action on a vital Smart Growth 
strategy, brownfields redevelopment. Two weeks ago, the President signed 
the Small Business Liability Relief and Brownfields Revitalization Act. 
Luckily, the principles of this bill are simpler than the name- turn 
abandoned properties into productive properties.

     This new legislation will enable EPA to help states and local
communities turn environmental eyesores into economic assets. Perhaps
more important, the bill has removed the minefields that re-developers
face when looking to reclaim and improve brownfields. By promoting more 
effective and efficient brownfields cleanup, we will relieve the
pressure to develop open space and make our urban communities attractive 
places to live and work.

     Our work to restore the hundreds of thousands of brownfields that
dot America's cities and towns is indicative of EPA's overall strategy
for Smart Growth- partnerships. Whether cleaning up brownfields or
developing a local smart growth plan, government does not have all of
the answers. We must rely on partnerships with everyone who has a stake 
in smarter growth in order to achieve our common goals.

     In the past, the federal government has worked with a command and
control style of mandate, regulate, and litigate. I believe that we can 
build a new approach, one that emphasizes a constructive relationship, a 
cooperative spirit, and a commitment to solutions that work. Just as we 
will look to state governments, local communities, and developers as 
partners in our fight to cleanup brownfields, EPA will look to 
partnerships with governments and tribes, corporations and small 
businesses, planners and preservationists to achieve smarter growth 
across the Nation.

     Beneath this principle of partnership, of course, is the basic
understanding that land use decisions are a local matter. EPA's Smart
Growth program can assist with these important decisions by providing
the tools necessary for success- regulatory flexibility, technical
support, and solid information; but ultimately only those closest to a 
problem can find the best solution.

     The cornerstone of this approach is the Smart Growth Network. There 
are more than 30 partners in the EPA's Smart Growth Network, including a 
wide variety of interests from the Local Government Commission to the 
National Association of Realtors, and from the Institute for 
Transportation Engineers to the Natural Resources Defense Council. 
Through this network, EPA provides targeted resources for smart growth, 
including sponsoring this conference.

     An excellent example of what good partnerships can produce is a new 
report titled "Getting to Smart Growth: 100 Policies for
Implementation." This Smart Growth Network report is available at the
SGN conference booth or on the website at  www.smartgrowth.org .  This 
is a publication that can serve as a road map for states or localities 
that recognize the need for smart growth, but are not yet sure how to 
achieve it. Providing ten policy options for each of ten Smart Growth 
principles, it is especially valuable because it will help communities 
turn smart growth ideas into action - actions that will get us closer to 
our goals for a sustainable society.

     This is just one way EPA is committed to helping local communities 
achieve smarter growth. EPA's Smart Growth program also works with 
communities to help them evaluate the environmental impact of future 
growth, assists metropolitan planning organizations to examine smart 
growth transportation options, and provides local governments with best 
practices and innovations for smart growth policy making.

     In addition to these ongoing projects, I am very pleased to be able 
to announce two new initiatives as part of EPA's Smart Growth program.

     The first includes key strategies for open space preservation to
help us build Smart Growth principles into the already successful
brownfields program. In the coming year, EPA will provide additional
grants and technical assistance to pilot communities that are
redeveloping brownfields in a manner that is consistent with their own
goals for smart growth. With hundreds of thousands of brownfields
needing attention across the country, it is clear that we will need to
prioritize. This is one way of doing that, and it will help communities 
achieve the goals they have set for Smart Growth in their area.

     The second initiative will help us ensure that smart growth success 
stories are shared with everyone. The best way to encourage more 
sensible development is to show people that smart growth is already 
working to improve the quality of life in the town or state next door. 
It relies on one of the most powerful tools we have for smart growth - 
"keeping up with the Jones'."

      That is why the EPA will establish a National Award for Smart
Growth Achievement. This annual award will recognize communities and
individual leaders who have demonstrated innovation and success in
applying smart growth principles, and I look forward to announcing the 
first five recipients next year.

     As you all know, Smart Growth is at a critical point. People all
over the country care about how and where their communities grow. This
effort is gathering momentum and we have to be prepared to use that
momentum to push further toward our goals. Despite significant progress, 
it is clear that we still have a long way to go. There is still too much 
growth that many would not call smart. Our future efforts must build 
upon the success of previous accomplishments and strive to answer 
challenges that still remain.

     These challenges , like Smart Growth itself, require us to balance 
competing interests and, I believe, move past commonly held assumptions. 
Open space, for instance, must be seen as an urban, suburban, and rural 
issue- for preserving park land within the confines of our cities is as 
important as saving farmland from unnecessary development.

     Brownfields, too, must be seen in this light, because a family
farm is as likely to house a brownfield as an abandoned gas station on a 
crowded street corner. We all must be looking for new and innovative 
ways to address these challenges, and several others in the coming 
years.

     I am proud of what we are doing, and what we will do to promote 
Smart Growth across the country.  Working together we can ensure that 
the local land-use planners have the information and tools to: save open 
space, save money on roads and sewers, keep homes affordable, and make 
our cities and town centers thrive.

     We are giving people the opportunity to make choices that will
improve their quality of life. Choices on transportation so they can
spend less time in the car and more time with their families. Choices
about where to live, or work, or shop. Choices about how they will use
the resources of today and how they will affect the environment of
tomorrow. Through smart growth, we are giving people the opportunity to 
live healthier and more prosperous lives, and to protect that same
chance for their children and grandchildren as well.

     I would like to thank all of you for your dedication to making
those choices available. I look forward to working with you in the
future to make sure that our country's growth is Smart Growth, and that 
our quality of life does not degrade that of future generations. Judging 
simply by the success of this conference, I am confident that we will 
make that happen.

     Thank you.

--------------------------------------------------------------
Tim Torma
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Office of Policy, Economics and Innovation (1808)
1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20460

email - torma.tim@epa.gov
ph - 202-260-5180
fax - 202-260-0174
--------------------------------------------------------------
Development, Community & Environment Division:
http://www.epa.gov/smartgrowth
A partner in the Smart Growth Network: http://www.smartgrowth.org