Brownfield Issues In The 110th Congress

The Brownfields Act 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. The authorization expired on September 30, 2006. In the 109th Congress, 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), but went no further. The bill would have renewed the authorization through FY2012 at the current level of $200 million annually. It also would have reauthorized 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, and approximately 20 other agencies have programs or activities that foster cleanup and development. Because reauthorization was not enacted in the 109th Congress, it is likely to be an issue for the 110th. For more background 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.