ELIZABETH, NJ MAYOR CHRIS BOLLWAGE APPLAUDS PASSAGE OF BIPARTISAN BROWNFIELD REDEVELOPMENT BILL

WASHINGTON, DC, July 27, 2017 -- U.S. Conference of Mayors (USCM) Brownfields Task Force Chair Elizabeth (NJ) Mayor Christian J. Bollwage today released the following statement applauding passage of Brownfield Redevelopment legislation:

“On behalf of the nation's Mayors, I commend members of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee for passing a bipartisan Brownfields Redevelopment bill that would reauthorize the very successful Environmental Protection Agency's ​(EPA) Brownfields program.

“I also commend members of the House Energy and Commerce and Senate Environment and Public Works Committee for also moving Brownfields Reauthorization bills in a bipartisan manner. All of these bills will improve the EPA Brownfields program and help redevelop more properties and create more jobs throughout the United States.

“Several Mayors testified on behalf of the Conference of Mayors on this issue this year including myself, USCM Energy Chair New Bedford (MA) Mayor Jon Mitchell, and Schenectady (NY) Mayor Gary McCarthy.

“We thank Congress for inviting Mayors to testify and incorporating our suggestions to improve the bill including: increasing cleanup grant amounts, creating a multipurpose grant, and maintaining funding levels. 

“Brownfields are abandoned or underutilized properties whose redevelopment is hindered by real or perceived environmental contamination.  There are an estimated 400-600,000 sites like these throughout the United States, and redeveloping these locations has been a priority for the Conference of Mayors since the 1990s.

“Redeveloping brownfields cleans up properties, creates jobs, and recycles land back into productive use while preserving farms and greenfields. 

“According to EPA, since the inception of the program, the EPA Brownfields program has provided crucial assistance to local governments for reclaiming hazardous, polluted and underutilized properties. To date, there have been over 26,000 brownfields assessments and 1,200 brownfields cleanups nationally, which has led to over 123,000 jobs. Since this program was established in 2002, for each dollar spent, it is averaged $16 in other investments; in total, $22 billion federal dollars have been invested with $350 billion invested overall.

About The United States Conference of Mayors -- The U.S. Conference of Mayors is the official nonpartisan organization of cities with populations of 30,000 or more. There are nearly 1,400 such cities in the country today, and each city is represented in the Conference by its chief elected official, the mayor. Like us on Facebook at facebook.com/usmayors, or follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/usmayors.

Attachments:

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/a5d3c461-c2f3-4d16-952f-a5b947e64d97

Elena Temple
The U.S. Conference of Mayors
202-286-1100
[email protected]

Sara Durr
Durr Communications
202-215-1811
[email protected]