[CPEO-BIF] Senate bipartisan support for Brownfields program

[Lenny Siegel <lennysiegel@gmail.com>]

Recent Senate hearing shows strong bipartisan support for EPA  
Brownfields Program

Garett Ballard-Rosa
Smartgrowth America
October 24, 2011

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Brownfields Program has a  
proven track record of creating jobs while cleaning up some of the  
nation’s most polluted sites. A hearing in the Senate Environment and  
Public Works Committee last week illustrated that even in a  
contentious political climate, this track record has helped earn the  
program strong support from both Democrats and Republicans in the  
Senate.

Touting the success of the decade-old program – which provides  
funding and training to clean up contaminated sites across the  
country – Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) highlighted that “these  
cleanups have created more than 72,000 jobs and attracted more than  
$17 billion in private investment.” Describing how brownfield cleanup  
is often the catalyst for new investment in the community, Senator  
Lautenberg added that “once brownfields are rehabilitated, they often  
spark neighborhood revitalization, boost property values and make  
communities more attractive places to live, work and do business.”

In a show of bipartisan support, Senator James Inhofe (R-OK), Ranking  
Member of the Environmental and Public Works Committee, also praised  
the benefits of the program while offering suggestions about  
opportunities for improvement. In particular, Senator Inhofe drew  
attention to how brownfield redevelopment creates opportunities for  
local economic development and job creation by bringing vacant and  
stagnant properties back into meaningful use. The Senator from  
Oklahoma used an example from his home state to show how the  
Brownfields Program has been successful in increasing economic  
opportunities.


...

For the entire article, see
http://www.smartgrowthamerica.org/2011/10/24/recent-senate-hearing- 
shows-strong-bipartisan-support-for-epa-brownfields-program/

See also
http://www.c-span.org/Events/Senate-Environment-amp-Public-Works- 
Subcommittee-Joint-Hearing-on-Brownfields-Program/10737424906/
http://epw.senate.gov/public/index.cfm? 
FuseAction=Hearings.Hearing&Hearing_id=ff7033b9-802a-23ad-4644- 
ab413507d651

--

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



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