My name is Javier Gonzales, and I am a County Commissioner from Santa Fe County, New Mexico.  I currently serve as President-Elect of the National Association of Counties. 

The National Association of Counties (NACo) is the only national organization representing counties in the United States.  Our membership is comprised of counties large and small, urban, suburban and rural.  County governments have the day-to-day responsibility for local land-use planning, environmental protection, economic growth and stability, and the general health and welfare of the citizens in our communities. 

Studies have estimated that there are hundreds of thousands of brownfields sites - sites containing low-level environmental contamination - in the Unites States.  They are in suburban and rural America, as well as in our inner cities.  The cleanup and revitalization of these sites presents a win-win scenario for states, counties, cities, and our citizens.  With the right tools, we can improve the health of our environment while creating opportunities for new economic development, as well as for parks and green space. 

By restoring brownfields sites to productive use, brownfields cleanup and revitalization helps address two major priorities of the nation's counties.  First, it facilitates the implementation of local smart growth plans by providing space for infill development, instead of pushing new development to outer-lying, previously undeveloped areas (green fields).  And in rural areas, such as parts of my home county of Santa Fe, directing development to these sites enables us to better protect agricultural lands and the character of small town America. 

Second, brownfields revitalization addresses a county priority by creating opportunities for housing development.  NACo believes that this country is facing an affordable housing crisis, and that the redevelopment of these sites can help clear the way for cost-effective residential development in areas with existing infrastructure. 

For these reasons, NACo strongly supports the enactment of responsible, effective and bipartisan brownfields legislation, in as speedy a manner as possible. 

Two weeks ago, NACo's Large Urban County Caucus, representing America's 100 largest counties, with over 48 percent of the U.S. population, conducted a legislative fly-in in which affordable housing and the need for brownfields legislation were the major topics of discussion with Congressional leadership in the House and Senate. 

In past years, as you may remember, we have urged the Congress to pass brownfields legislation only if it also contained a provision to codify the Environmental Protection Agency's Municipal Settlement  Policy under Superfund.  Although that legislative strategy has not succeeded, we still believe legislation to address municipal liability under Superfund is needed.  However, we now believe the time has come to enact stand-alone brownfields legislation in a timely manner, while Congress continues to grapple with Superfund reforms. 

In that light, I wish to thank the members of this committee for placing such a high priority on brownfields legislation.  NACo believes that federal brownfields legislation is needed to: 

• Shore up and refine the successful U.S. EPA brownfields characterization, assessment and remediation grants program;

• Extend eligibility to sites contaminated by petroleum or petroleum byproducts; and

• Further devolve the authority to oversee brownfields cleanups to the state and local level. 

With regard to the three bills before us today - the Senate-passed bill (S. 350), the Gillmor discussion draft of June 13, and the Democratic discussion draft of June 20 - first let me say that each of them has tremendous merit and, from the perspective of a county official, the bills certainly have more in common than they have differences. 

In particular, NACo supports the five-year, $200 million annual authorization for brownfields characterization, assessment and remediation grants to counties and other local governments contained in all three bills, as well as the provisions to extend eligibility for 25 percent of those funds to sites contaminated by petroleum or petroleum products.  This type of assistance has proven to jump-start the cleanup and revitalization of brownfields sites counties in across the country.  Adequate funding for these grant programs is of paramount importance to NACo. 

NACo also supports the liability clarifications for contiguous properties, prospective purchasers and innocent landowners contained in each bill.  These provisions help remove the chilling effect that currently serves as a disincentive to revitalize brownfields sites. 

With regard to S. 350: 

NACo offered its support for S. 350 as it was being considered by the Senate earlier this year.  Though we are encouraging the House to works its own will on brownfields legislation and to consider adjustments to S. 350, we believe the bill contains the major elements needed in brownfields legislation.  And we continue to recognize the careful, bipartisan balance struck in the Senate's passage of the bill.  Therefore, we are pleased that both the Gillmor discussion draft and Democratic discussion draft have used S. 350 as the foundation for a House brownfields bill. 

With regard to the Gillmor discussion draft, NACo identified three areas that we believe represent improvements to S. 350: 

• The first is the draft bill's approach to brownfields eligibility exclusions.  NACo supports a flexible program that extends brownfields eligibility to portions of sites at which Superfund, RCRA or other environmental response action is required, so long as the portion of the site eligible for brownfields assistance is not the subject of such requirements.  We believe that lesser contaminated portions of these sites should not unilaterally be excluded from eligibility, and that decisions to provide brownfields assistance at these sites should be made on a case-by-case basis. 

• Second, NACo endorses the notion of further devolving the authority and responsibility to oversee the cleanup and revitalization of brownfield sites to states and local governments - a concept contained in each of the three bills.  We support the state finality provisions contained in this draft bill, which outline the narrow circumstances where the federal safety net may be necessary and EPA should intervene; that is, when circumstances at the site "present an imminent and substantial endangerment to public health, welfare or the environment" and "the State will not take the necessary response actions in a timely manner."  Under such circumstances, NACo supports providing the EPA Administrator with the authority to take immediate action, as outlined in the bill. 

• Finally, NACo supports procedural streamlining of the permitting process for the cleanup of brownfields sites.  Simplifying the permitting process would provide for more timely and cost-effective cleanups, while not affecting compliance with the substantive requirements contained in current law.  We support the approach of requiring the EPA Administrator to promulgate such a regulation, and would look forward to working with the Administrator during the rulemaking process. 

With regard to the Democratic discussion draft, we support the following revisions to S. 350: 

• First, we support the addition of a brownfields worker training and safety program authorized at $20 million annually.  As proposed, the program would be used to support important programs to train and educate workers directly engaged in brownfields cleanup and redevelopment, including those conducting hazardous waste cleanups, as well as local government officials and the public. 

• Second, we support the inclusion of general minimum criteria that a state response program must meet before federal enforcement authority is restricted under the bill's finality provisions, such as are used in negotiating current Memoranda of Agreement between EPA and the states.  Such assurances would help balance the authority devolved to the states under this legislation, and we have supported these provisions in previous brownfields bills.  (We also support conditioning grants to the states on minimum criteria, as included in S. 350.) 

In summary, we commend the authors of all three bills being examined at today's hearing.  Each of them is built from the same strong foundation, and each has merit. 

Again, we are extremely encouraged by the Senate's bipartisan effort in support of S. 350.  NACo supports similar bipartisan efforts in seeking agreements from both sides of the aisle in attaining House passage, a smooth conference with the Senate and a final bill that can be signed by the President.  We want to work with Republicans and Democrats in this effort. 

Mr. Chairman, Mr. Pallone, on behalf of the National Association of Counties, I thank you for your leadership on this issue, and for inviting testimony from the county government perspective.  I would be pleased to answer any questions you may have.