NAHB seeks meaningful brownfields legislation

In response to the House of Representatives' plans to consider Sen-ate-backed brownfields legislation (S. 350) during the week of Sept. 10, the National Association of Home Builders stated that the Senate legislation falls short where it could have succeeded most as a catalyst for private sector investment in brownfields cleanup.

"Brownfields reform is a key element of NAHB's overall smart growth, environmental and urban redevelopment agendas. But in order for development to occur on a meaningful scale to help bring affordable housing to our nation's cities, legislation must extend liability protection to petroleum-contaminated sites and protect potential builders and developers from federal liability," said NAHB President Bruce Smith, in an NAHB press release.

NAHB states that it believes a brownfields bill such as S. 350 that lacks liability protection for petroleum contamination will bring only modest reform, not meaningful reform.

"This is a step in the right direction, but one that will bring only incremental change," Smith said.

"We are very disappointed to see the House retreating from a proposal au-thored by Rep. Paul Gillmor, R-Ohio, that would have covered brownfields sites contaminated with petroleum. It is critical that Congress act quickly to readdress the petroleum liability issue if we are to achieve the goal of cleaning up all or even most of these sites," he added.

The General Accounting Office estimates that there are approximately 450,000 brownfields sites nationwide. Of those, the Environmental Protection Agency believes that as many as 200,000 sites contain abandoned underground storage tanks or have been contaminated by petroleum. By excluding sites with petroleum from liability consideration, S. 350 will prevent builders from cleaning up more sites.

"Federal brownfields legislation must cover petroleum sites, not ignore them," Smith said. "Many petroleum-contaminated sites present attractive development opportunities because they are located in urban areas or close-in suburbs within walking distance or close proximity to existing amenities, such as transportation systems, restaurants and shops. If Congress wants meaningful brownfields reform, then it needs to provide liability protection to those who wish to develop those sites."

Petroleum-contaminated sites are obvious candidates for redevelopment because of their prime locations and the well-known and cost-effective remediation technologies available for petroleum contaminants, according to NAHB. But the lack of enforcement protections for petroleum-contaminated sites severely limits the effectiveness of S. 350, which is why NAHB is supporting the Gillmor alternative.

"Any meaningful reform must also include protection from federal liability in cases where the developer has satisfied state brownfields cleanup requirements," Smith said.

Under current regulations, "when a developer remediates contamination at a brownfields site under a well-established, well-funded, stringent state brownfields program, the EPA still has the authority under federal environmental statutes to require additional remediation at any time in the future," Smith said.

"Although the EPA rarely steps in," he added, "the perceived threat of additional government intervention significantly deters development."

"NAHB fully recognizes the importance of EPA's enforcement role in ensuring adequate protection of public health and the environment," Smith said. "But NAHB also recognizes and supports the role of the states. Existing state brownfields programs must be the primary authority to investigate site contamination, establish cleanup standards sufficient to protect public health and the environment and determine when those clean-up standards have been achieved."

"For any federal legislative proposal to be successful, it must strike a balance between two important objectives: maintaining EPA's enforcement role and ensuring finality to prospective purchasers that have successfully completed a state brownfields program," Smith added.