Pallone’s Bipartisan Brownfields Bill Passes in Omnibus

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 22, 2018

Legislation will help continue redevelopment of Contaminated Sites throughout

New Jersey

Washington, DC – Today, as part of the omnibus spending package, the House of Representatives passed legislation to reauthorize the Brownfields program authored by Congressman Frank Pallone, Jr. (NJ-06). Pallone led efforts to negotiate and pass the reauthorization legislation out of the Energy and Commerce Committee earlier this year, and to include the legislation in the omnibus spending bill.

The Brownfields reauthorization legislation will extend federal Brownfields funding through 2023 and make important reforms to the program. The bill improves the flexibility of the program, authorizing multi-purpose grants, raising the limits for grants per site, and removing some funding caps in current law. It also allows EPA to reserve as much as $1.5 million in brownfields funding each year to assist small communities, tribes, and rural or disadvantaged areas. Grants could be used for training, research, and technical assistance. Additionally, it would require the EPA to consider the potential for renewable energy production when ranking applications for brownfield grants, to incentivize green energy projects.

It will also provide special recognition for waterfront Brownfields sites. In November at the Woodbridge waterfront, Pallone called on Congress to pass brownfields reauthorization that support projects like the waterfront park. When completed the park will include approximately 30 acres of nature area with restored wetlands/uplands, more than 7,000 feet of walking trails circling the restored wetlands, 800 feet of boardwalk overlooking natural wetland areas, a viewing platform at the Raritan River, bird blinds for observing wildlife, educational signs, gathering spaces with seating, and bus parking.

“The Brownfields program has been an incredibly important tool for protecting public health and spurring economic growth in New Jersey and throughout the country,” said Pallone. “The Brownfields program is proof that having a strong economy and protecting the environment is not an ‘either-or’ issue. We can have both.”

The Brownfields program was created in 2002 by bipartisan legislation authored in the House by Pallone and the late Rep. Paul Gillmor of Ohio to assist communities with the cleanup of former industrial properties where redevelopment is complicated by the presence of environmental contamination. When the program was first authorized, there were an estimated 450,000 brownfields properties in the U.S. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), more than 59,000 brownfields sites have already been revitalized.

Since 2002, New Jersey has received over $34 million in Brownfields grants. The vast majority of these funds, approximately $29 million, were awarded for assessment and cleanup efforts. In his closing remarks, Congressman Pallone emphasized several projects in New Jersey that have benefited from the Brownfields program.

Pallone Helps Pass Bipartisan Brownfields Bill through House

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 30, 2017

Legislation will help continue redevelopment of Contaminated Sites throughout

New Jersey

Washington, DC – Today Congressman Frank Pallone, Jr. (NJ-06), led floor debate for House Democrats and helped pass the bipartisan Brownfields Enhancement, Economic Redevelopment, and Reauthorization Act of 2017 through the House Representatives. As the Ranking Member of the Energy and Commerce Committee, Pallone worked closely with his colleagues in a bipartisan fashion to advance the reauthorization legislation out of the committee earlier this year.

The Brownfields program was created in 2002 by bipartisan legislation authored in the House by Pallone and the late Rep. Paul Gillmor of Ohio to assist communities with the cleanup of former industrial properties where redevelopment is complicated by the presence of environmental contamination. When the program was first authorized, there were an estimated 450,000 brownfields properties in the U.S. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), more than 59,000 brownfields sites have already been revitalized.

The reauthorization legislation will extend the federal Brownfields fund through 2022 and make important reforms to the program. The bill improves the flexibility of the program, authorizing multi-purpose grants, raising the limits for grants per site, and removing some funding caps in current law. It also allows EPA to reserve as much as $1.5 million in brownfields funding each year to assist small communities, tribes, and rural or disadvantaged areas. Grants could be used for training, research, and technical assistance. Additionally, H.R. 3017 would require the EPA to consider the potential for renewable energy production when ranking applications for brownfield grants, to incentivize green energy projects.

“The Brownfields program has been an incredibly important tool for protecting public health and spurring economic growth in New Jersey and throughout the country,” Pallone said on the House Floor today. “The Brownfields program is proof that having a strong economy and protecting the environment is not an “either-or” issue. We can have both.”

Since 2002, New Jersey has received over $34 million in Brownfields grants. The vast majority of these funds, approximately $29 million, were awarded for assessment and cleanup efforts. In his closing remarks, Congressman Pallone emphasized several projects in New Jersey that have benefited from the Brownfields program:


"I’d like to close by talking about how important this program has been to our nation and my home state since its creation back in 2002. New Jersey has too many of these types of contaminated sites, and we need federal help to clean them up and redevelop them.

For example, a former DuPont property on the waterfront in Carteret is being redeveloped to be a ferry terminal to carry commuters to New York City. That site is a great example of how a redeveloped Brownfield site can be beneficial for the community.

Asbury Park, another town in my district, received two substantial federal Brownfields grants last year. One of those grants is being used to assess eight contaminated sites and prepare two cleanup plans. The other grant is going to assessing and redeveloping sites around the train station and the downtown area that were contaminated with petroleum.

Just this week, I visited another brownfield site being redeveloped in my district, the Woodbridge Waterfront Park. When completed, the Waterfront Park will include approximately 30 acres of restored wetlands, walking trails, a boardwalk overlooking the wetlands, and a viewing platform at the Raritan River.

Federal funds through the Brownfields program helped make these projects happen.

The Brownfields program is proof that having a strong economy and protecting the environment is not an “either-or” issue. We can have both."

Pallone Unveils Comprehensive Infrastructure Package

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 11, 2017

LIFT America Act Invests in Infrastructure, Creates Jobs

& Protects Public Health and the Environment

Washington, D.C. – Today in Carteret, Congressman Frank Pallone, Jr. (NJ-06) unveiled legislation to invest in America’s infrastructure, create jobs and modernize our economy for the 21st century. Congressman Pallone’s bill provides for funding for a comprehensive 21st Century infrastructure package including key areas such as broadband, drinking water, healthcare, the electric grid, brownfield redevelopment and renewable energy. The Leading Infrastructure For Tomorrow’s America Act, or LIFT America Act, sets out five years of funding for essential infrastructure improvements, job growth, and greater protections for public health and the environment. Carteret Mayor Daniel Reiman, Kevin Duncan, Chair of the Middlesex County Building and Construction Trades Council and Doug O'Malley, Director of Environment New Jersey joined Congressman Pallone at the event.

“At a time when our nation’s infrastructure is either crumbling or in desperate need of modernization, it’s time we make real and significant investments for the future,” said Ranking Member Frank Pallone, Jr. (NJ-06). “The LIFT America Act is a blueprint for critical investments in our nation’s infrastructure that will also create jobs, protect public health, and the environment. I look forward to working with all of my colleagues to advance these key investments in American infrastructure.”

The LIFT America Act includes investments in several key areas including:

· $22.56 billion for drinking water infrastructure to protect public health and create jobs, including increased investment in drinking water State Revolving Funds and additional funding to replace lead service lines, address lead in school drinking water, and prepare for the impacts of climate change;
· $2.25 billion for Brownfields redevelopment to revitalize communities and create jobs by returning valuable land to productive use;
· Over $17 billion for energy infrastructure, including $4 billion for modern, secure, efficient, and resilient electric grid infrastructure, $9 billion for resilient and renewable energy supply including methane pipeline replacement, and more than $4 billion for energy efficiency efforts and smart communities;
· More than $3 billion for healthcare infrastructure, to re vive the successful Hill-Burton hospital infrastructure program, fund medical facility infrastructure in Indian Country, support state labs fighting Zika and other infectious diseases, and support community based health care infrastructure; and
· $40 billion for the deployment of secure and resilient broadband, to expand access for communities nationwide while protecting privacy and promoting security by design;

“Investing in our nation’s infrastructure makes sense for everyone. It will provide good jobs for the skilled men and women of the unions I am proud to represent. It will improve our local economies, and keep our nation competitive in an ever globalizing economy,” said President Bill Mullen of the NJ Building & Construction Trades Council. “We need to rebuild New Jersey’s bridges and roads, but there are also opportunities to build hospitals, improve our energy grid, and turn unused contaminated sites into vibrant parts of our communities. The LIFT America Act is a chance for our elected officials in Washington to come together and put Americans to work.”

“Fixing and expanding our infrastructure should be a no-brainer for Congress," said Doug O'Malley, director of Environment New Jersey. “From fixing lead pipes to strengthening our electric grid to weatherizing our schools, Rep. Pallone's LIFT Act provides a vision forward for how to strengthen our communities, our environment and economy. This should be a bipartisan push and we urge the full delegation to support this."

The LIFT America Act will invest in programs with proven records of job creation, including the drinking water State Revolving Fund and the Brownfields Redevelopment program. The legislation requires the use of American made iron and steel for drinking water projects and hospital construction and requires the payment of prevailing wages. The bill will also spur new high-paying technology jobs by supporting deployment of smart buildings, smart grid, and Smart Communities technology. The LIFT America Act also provides much-needed funding to repair and replace aging infrastructure that will have significant public health benefits, especially for children. The bill includes funding to get lead out of school drinking water, replace polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB)-laden lighting fixtures with safer and more energy efficient alternatives in schools, and reduce diesel emissions from school buses.