{
  "id": "RL30972",
  "type": "CRS Report",
  "typeId": "REPORTS",
  "number": "RL30972",
  "active": false,
  "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
  "versions": [
    {
      "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
      "id": 100402,
      "date": "2002-01-27",
      "retrieved": "2016-05-24T20:16:30.659941",
      "title": "The Brownfields Program Authorization: Cleanup of Contaminated Sites",
      "summary": "The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) defines brownfields as abandoned, idled, or\nunder-used\nindustrial and commercial facilities where expansion or redevelopment is complicated by real or\nperceived environmental contamination. The brownfields program was established administratively\nby EPA under the aegis of the Superfund program; without explicit authority for it in the law, it has\nbeen financed by the Superfund appropriation. The program provides financial and technical\nassistance to help communities restore less seriously contaminated sites that have the potential for\neconomic development. A combination of potential environmental, economic and social benefits\ngives this program broad support among governments, environmentalists, developers, and\ncommunities.\n  The program began in 1993 and has grown to include 398 brownfields assessment grants (most\nfor $200,000 over 2 years); 151 grants of up to $350,000 (up to $1 million beginning in FY2001)\nto establish revolving loan funds to help finance the actual cleanups; 47 job training grants; and 28\nBrownfields Showcase Communities where technical and financial assistance from 20 participating\nfederal agencies is being coordinated with state, local and non-governmental efforts.\n  EPA also addressed some liability and cleanup issues affecting brownfields by changing its\nhazardous waste site tracking system, and issuing guidance clarifying the situations where it will not\nbring enforcement actions against brownfield property owners.\n  FY1997 was the first year brownfields became a separate budgetary line item, at $37.7 million. \nFor FY2000 the appropriation was $91.7 million, in FY2001 the appropriation was $91.6 million,\nand in FY2002 it is $97.7 million\n  The 106th Congress extended the brownfields cleanup tax incentive to December 31, 2003, and\nexpanded it to make all brownfields certified by a state environmental agency eligible for the tax\nbreak. The provision allows the costs of redeveloping brownfields to be deducted in the current year\nrather than being capitalized over a period of years. The administration favors making the provision\npermanent.\n  Congress passed  H.R. 2869  on December 20, 2001, and the President signed it on\nJanuary 11 ( P.L. 107-118 ). The act provides statutory authority to the brownfields program,\nauthorizes funding at $250 million per year, and protects certain property owners from Superfund\nliability. Ten other bills have also been introduced.\n  This report provides background on the issue (including state voluntary cleanup programs),\nsurveys the Environmental Protection Agency's current program, and reviews congressional action,\nincluding a description of the new law. The report will be updated as events dictate. For additional\ninformation on legislative activity, see CRS Issue Brief IB10078,  Superfund and Brownfields\nin the\n107th Congress.",
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      "typeId": "REPORTS",
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