In early March, a group of legislators introduced the Brownfields Utilization, Investment, and Local Development (BUILD) Act of 2013. Although considerable federal sequestration cuts are set to occur with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Act would reauthorize the Brownfields Program at its current funding levels through FY 2016. At a time of "across the board" cuts, passage of this bill would make a significant commitment to the future of Brownfield redevelopment activities across the country.
Furthermore, introduction of the BUILD Act is a strong injection of confidence from bipartisan leaders in Washington that Brownfield redevelopment is a proven and worthwhile economic tool that gets results. With the political gridlock in Washington, the Act was both introduced and co-sponsored in a bipartisan fashion. It is worth noting that although passage appears promising, there are no guarantees that the Act will pass or maintain all of the current language.
Beyond the reauthorization of program funding, the bill would improve a number of outdated programmatic elements, provide enhanced tools and resources and intends to expedite the overall redevelopment process. The BUILD Act also takes into account the complex circumstances that often exist with larger and multi-faceted site projects. According to the bill summary, the following amendments have been introduced:
We encourage readers to take a look at the Congressional Overview for this bill (S.B. 491), providing both in-depth analysis and the full text.
Read more about the BUILD Act:
Subscribe to email alerts from the Envirologic Blog.
build act • brownfields • legislation