congress

Six members of Congress are taking a stand for better development. Ask your members to join them.

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In the next few days, Congress will set priorities for millions of dollars of funding for federal programs—including programs that support better neighborhood development.

This funding could helps towns across the country revitalize Main Streets, redevelop historic buildings, rebuild on abandoned land and more. But only if Congress hears from supporters like you.

Congress needs to hear your support for this work. Send a letter to your members today.

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Washington Update: With 2013 budget finalized, talks begin for 2014 funding levels

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Federal budget

Intense budget negotiations in Washington over the past few weeks have made little reference to funding for the federal Partnership for Sustainable Communities. But Congress is already discussing next year’s budget, and now is the time to weigh in on future spending.

On March 26, President Obama signed into law a final Fiscal Year 2013 spending package which retained the automatic $85 billion in spending cuts known as the sequester. Most federal agencies—including HUD, DOT and EPA—will have to make reductions in spending by the end of FY 2013 on September 30th, 2013.

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What the BUILD Act could build: Harrison Commons in New Jersey

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Harrison Commons in Harrison, NJ.

The redevelopment of Harrison, NJ’s waterfront from abandoned industrial buildings into a viable mixed-use development seemed inconceivable only a few years ago.

Strategically located along several rail lines, on the Passaic River and only a few miles from New York City, Harrison once boomed with factories and manufacturing in the first half of the 20th century. In 1912, President William Howard Taft nicknamed Harrison the “Beehive of Industry.”

The town still keeps Taft’s catchphrase as it’s motto, but much of the manufacturers that once called Harrison home have long since closed their doors, leaving behind abandoned factories and large swaths of vacant – and in some places contaminated, land.

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What could we do with an extra 4,570 square miles?

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In Santa Fe, New Mexico, the Railyards project turned an abandoned rail depot into a shopping, dining and event space destination.

In Tulsa, Oklahoma, the Mayo Hotel turned a deteriorating building into luxury accommodations and loft apartments in the heart of downtown.

These are just some of the ways cities have redeveloped brownfield sites — contaminated land which takes up an estimated 4,570 square miles in the United States.

Earlier this month four senators introduced a bill that would give communities crucial tools to clean up and reuse this land. Now we need your help to see this bill through.

Voice your support for the BUILD Act: send a message to your senators now.

The Brownfields Utilization, Investment, and Local Development (BUILD) Act of 2013 would help towns and cities across the country clean up brownfield sites and put them back into productive use.

Brownfields redevelopment creates great places on land that was once unusable, and the BUILD Act would give communities a crucial tool to reinvest in their neighborhoods.

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What the BUILD Act could build: The Santa Fe Railyard, New Mexico

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Railyard Park in Santa Fe, a former brownfield site. Image by Sacker Foto via Flickr.

“In New Mexico, we have a great history of turning brownfields around, like the Santa Fe Railyard.”

– Senator Tom Udall, NM

The Santa Fe Railyard in Santa Fe, NM has played an important role in the city’s history. With the help of the EPA’s brownfield program, the Railyard will be part of life in Santa Fe for years to come.

Built in 1880, the railroad connected New Mexico’s rugged desertscapes to the country’s westward expansion. The Railyard, a 50-acre depot located in the southwest corner of today’s downtown, became a hub of activity and a cultural center. But as interstate highway and air travel became popular, the once-proud Railyard began to fall into obsolescence and disrepair. By 1987, the Railyard was a blighted site in need of redevelopment, and contaminated from years of industrial use.

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Details of the Brownfields Utilization, Investment, and Local Development (BUILD) Act

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The Brownfields Utilization, Investment, and Local Development (BUILD) Act of 2013, introduced today by Senators Lautenberg, Inhofe, Udall and Crapo, would improve the way the federal government supports brownfields redevelopment in the United States. Here’s how.

The Act reauthorizes the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Brownfields Program, and improves the program’s ability to support local economic development. If passed, the bill would modernize and improve key elements of the program, and would provide additional tools and resources to communities working to redevelop brownfields. It makes a number of improvements recommended by the National Brownfields Coalition, which is comprised of a broad set of stakeholders, including local governments, developers, and community redevelopment organizations.

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A new bill in Congress is great news for America's neighborhoods

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Yards Park in Washington, DC was built on the site of a former brownfield. Photo via Flickr.

Cleaning up contaminated land benefits the environment and the economy, and a new bill introduced today in Congress would make it easier for towns and cities to do just that.

Senators Lautenberg (D-NJ), Inhofe (R-OK), Crapo (R-ID) and Udall (D-NM) introduced today the Brownfields Utilization, Investment, and Local Development (BUILD) Act of 2013. If passed, the bill will help communities across the country clean up contaminated and abandoned land and put it back into productive use.

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Speak out to renew the federal Brownfields Tax Incentive

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Developers working to clean-up and redevelop brownfields could soon lose a major federal aid – unless advocates work together to save it.

Originally signed into law in 1997 and extended through December 31, 2011, Section 198’s Brownfields Tax Incentive is a tax deduction intended to encourage the cleanup and revitalization of brownfield properties. Under the incentive environmental cleanup costs are fully deductible in the year incurred, rather than capitalized and spread over time. Improvements in 2006 expanded the Incentive to include petroleum cleanup.

The incentive is scheduled to expire at the end of the year, but there’s a chance to save it. The National Brownfields Coalition is asking Congress to extend the Incentive as part of the Family and Business Tax Cut Certainty Act of 2012, more commonly known as the “tax extenders” bill.

Join the call to make brownfields cleanup easier: send a letter to your members of Congress today.

The Incentive is already helping towns put contaminated land back in to productive reuse. In Milwaukee, Wisconsin, for example, the Incentive helped make possible the redevelopment of a former industrial site in the city’s historic Martin Luther King Drive Business Improvement District. The site is now home to new commercial and residential space, and has greatly added momentum to efforts within the Business Improvement District.

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Washington Update: FY 2012 funding extended into 2013, sequestration looms at the end of the year

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In anticipation of the upcoming election season, Congress has passed a continuing resolution (CR) to extend federal spending until March 27, 2013.

Leaders in both chambers have pushed for the passage a CR in order to avoid a government shutdown so close to the November election. Funding for the current federal programs, which was scheduled to expire at the end of September, will remain unchanged until March at which point Congress will revisit budget negotiations. The resolution passed the House with overwhelming support on September 13. The Senate deliberated the measure, and eventually passed the resolution, 62-30. President Obama signed the CR late last week.

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Senator Schumer calls on Congress to extend tax credits for brownfield redevelopment

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Senator Charles Schumer has called on Congress to extend the EPA’s Brownfields Tax Credit. Image via Flickr user ProPublica.

Just last week, the New York Times chronicled the difficulties of creating new development on former gas station sites. Now, New York Senator Charles Schumer is asking Congress to support property owners, municipalities and developers who want to clean up these difficult pieces of land and get them back into productive use.

“Scores of gas stations sit vacant and abandoned across upstate New York, acting as detriments to downtown development and potentially serious hazards to human environmental health,” Schumer was quoted by the Buffalo News. “Gas stations can look like small fixer-uppers above ground, but may have lots of problems beneath.”

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