12 January 2002
Source:
http://usinfo.state.gov/cgi-bin/washfile/display.pl?p=/products/washfile/latest&f=02011201.tlt&t=/products/washfile/newsitem.shtml
US Department of State
International Information Programs
Washington File
_________________________________
12 January 2002
(New law encourages reuse of abandoned manufacturing locations) (890) The new brownfields legislation, which President Bush signed during a visit to the Millennium Corporate Center in Pennsylvania on January 11, provides funding and liability protection to encourage the cleanup, restoration, and reuse of abandoned industrial sites. The President also proposed extension of tax incentives to further promote redevelopment and create jobs. The government estimates that an annual investment of $300 million in tax incentives could "leverage approximately $3.4 billion in private investment and return 8,000 brownfields to productive use." The White House fact sheet defines brownfields as "abandoned or underutilized industrial or commercial properties where redevelopment is hindered by possible environmental contamination and potential liability under for parties that purchase or operate these sites." The Environmental Protection Agency estimates between 500,000 and one million such brownfields exist in the United States. Today, some 40 states already have active brownfield restoration programs underway. The Millennium Corporate Center is the 1,000th site redeveloped under Pennsylvania's Land Recycling Program. The Center is built on the former site of the Schuylkill Iron Works. (Note: in the text one billion equals one thousand million) Following is the text of the White House statement: (begin fact sheet) Fact Sheet on Brownfields Office of the Press Secretary The White House January 11, 2002 President Signs Legislation to Clean Environment and Create Jobs Presidential Action President Bush today visited the Millennium Corporate Center in Conshohocken, Pennsylvania to sign bipartisan legislation that will encourage the cleanup and redevelopment of old industrial properties cleaning up our environment, creating new jobs and protecting small businesses from frivolous lawsuits. The President also announced that his fiscal year (FY) 03 budget [which begins October 2002] will double the funds available through the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in FY 02 -- from $98 million to $200 million -- to help states and communities around the country clean up and revitalize brownfields sites. This is an example of budgeting resources for programs that get results. The Presidents FY 03 budget also includes $25 million in funding for urban redevelopment and brownfields cleanup through the Department of Housing and Urban Development. And, the Presidents budget proposes to permanently extend the Brownfields Tax Incentive, which encourages the redevelopment of brownfields. According to government estimates, the $300 million annual investment in the Brownfields Tax Incentive will leverage approximately $3.4 billion in private investment and return 8,000 brownfields to productive use. Background on Presidential Action Brownfields are abandoned or underutilized industrial or commercial properties where redevelopment is hindered by possible environmental contamination and potential liability under Superfund for parties that purchase or operate these sites. The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that between 500,000 and one million brownfields tarnish the landscapes of communities across America, typically in urban areas. Spurring more effective and efficient cleanup and redevelopment of brownfields will: -- Remove environmental hazards from communities; -- Relieve pressure to develop pristine open space and farmland; and -- Revitalize communities by creating jobs and returning productive property to local tax rolls. Located 20 minutes from Philadelphia on the banks of the Schuylkill River, the Millennium Corporate Center is the 1,000th site redeveloped under Pennsylvania's Land Recycling Program. The Center is built on the former site of the Schuylkill Iron Works, and, when completed, it will be the centerpiece of a 40-acre, $115 million office, recreation and residential development. More than 500 people already work at the new development. Some 40 states have developed voluntary programs that are cleaning up hundreds of brownfield sites faster and more effectively, and with less litigation, than under the federal Superfund program. These programs set high cleanup standards and provide liability protection under state law for new owners and operators of brownfields sites. However, these state programs have been hindered by the lack of liability protection in federal law. Under Superfund, owners and operators of a contaminated property can be held liable for the cost of cleanup, regardless of whether they actually caused any of the contamination. This potential liability creates a strong incentive for businesses to avoid redeveloping brownfields. The U.S. Conference of Mayors, in its February 2000 brownfields survey, Recycling Americas Land, called for a national commitment to recycle the thousands of brownfields in Americas cities. They estimated that cleanup and redevelopment of brownfields could generate $2.4 billion in new tax revenues. The Small Business Liability Relief and Brownfields Revitalization Act reforms the major hindrance to brownfields cleanup -- the federal Superfund law. The bill provides liability protection for prospective purchasers, contiguous property owners, and innocent landowners and authorizes increased funding for state and local programs that assess and clean up brownfields. The legislation also provides common sense relief from Superfund liability for small business owners who sent waste or trash to waste sites, protecting innocent small businesses while ensuring that polluted sites continue to be cleaned up by those most responsible for the contamination. President Bush called for Superfund reform during his campaign, and worked to craft a bipartisan solution to the problem of contaminated and abandoned brownfields. Overcoming years of legislative gridlock on this common sense issue, Congress approved the bipartisan bill without opposition in December 2001. (end fact sheet) (Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)