Brownfields in the 109th Congress

Publication Date: September 2006

Publisher: Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

Author(s):

Research Area: Environment

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Abstract:

The Brownfields Act, which authorizes the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to award grants for the assessment and cleanup of sites that pose a less serious threat to human health and the environment than sites addressed by the Superfund program, expires on September 30, 2006. A reauthorization bill, H.R. 5810, was reported from the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure on July 28, 2006 (H.Rept. 109-608, Part 1), and now awaits action by the House Energy and Commerce Committee. The bill would renew the authorization through FY2012 at the current level of $200 million annually. It also reauthorizes provisions that provide financial assistance for state and tribal cleanup programs at the current level of $50 million per year (for a total authorization of $250 million). Appropriations in the last four years have been between $165 million and $171 million. The Department of Housing and Urban Development also has a small Brownfields Program, which may be eliminated, and approximately 20 other agencies have programs or activities that foster cleanup and development.

For more information on the origins and development of the Brownfields Program, see CRS Report RL30972, The Brownfields Program Authorization: Cleanup of Contaminated Sites, and CRS Report 97-731, Superfund and the Brownfields Issue, both by Mark Reisch.