Statement
Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell
Environment and Public Works
Committee
March 8, 2001
Thank you Mr. Chairman.
As we know, Brownfields are
an ongoing concern in this country and specifically in my home state of
Colorado. So far, this program has
been very successful in its goal of revitalizing abandoned, idled, or
under-used industrial and commercial facilities.
While these areas pose a
low public health risk, they are often avoided by developers because of cleanup
costs and potential liability. This
designation has expanded as Superfund has, for the most part, already cleaned
up the worst hazardous waste sites in the nation.
The Brownfields program is
instrumental in achieving the goal of cleaning up these less-hazardous areas by
relieving the liability burdens on contiguous property owners, prospective
purchasers, and innocent landowners.
This is of increasing importance as cities expand into these former
industrial areas. My home state of
Colorado is home to Denver's Jefferson County, currently the third-largest
growing in the nation. It is vital that
we make these lands usable by reducing potential health-risks to our citizens.
In fact, the city of Denver
was recently named a Brownfield Showcase Community. These Brownfield Showcase Communities have three main goals:
1. To
promote environmental protection, economic redevelopment, and community
revitalization through the assessment, cleanup, and sustainable reuse of
Brownfields.
2. To link
Federal, State, local and non-governmental action supporting community efforts
to restore and reuse Brownfields.
3. To
develop national models demonstrating the positive results of public and
private collaboration addressing Brownfield challenges.
I look forward to working
with my colleague, Senator Levin, on this bill (S.1079), which addresses issues
affecting our nation's communities and seeks to aid their efforts to revamp
abandoned Brownfield sites by providing new incentives and needed reform to
expedite the process of mending these properties, especially since Denver has
an estimated 100 Brownfield sites.
Now that there is a new
administration and a fresh outlook on our environment and natural resources, I
look forward to working with all of the interested parties to form a consensus
on this issue.
It is of great importance
that we provide the necessary relief to the many cities faced with the cleanup
of Brownfields, and empower states to assist in shepherding the cleanup effort.
Thank you Mr. Chairman.