In May Smart Growth America’s National Brownfields Coalition hosted a breakfast at the 2013 Brownfields Conference that brought together more than 120 members and guests working on federal brownfields issues to meet, talk and learn from each other.
To open the event, Senator Jim Inhofe (R-OK) welcomed guests with a video message about the importance of brownfields redevelopment and its success across the country. Senator Inhofe is a lead sponsor of the BUILD Act, a bill in Congress that would help communities turn abandoned land back into vibrant spaces by reauthorizing the federal Brownfields program.
“I’m consistently ranked as the most conservative member of the Senate,” Senator Inhofe said in the address, “so it’s very rare that I have the opportunity to speak positively about any program that comes out of the EPA. But the Brownfields program is a conservative program. It leverages public finances with private investors to clean up contaminated areas that would otherwise be abandoned so they can redeveloped into something productive and profitable. And that’s why I’m proud to be a primary sponsor of the Brownfields Utilization, Investment, and Local Development (BUILD) Act of 2013.”
Later at the breakfast David Lloyd, the Director of EPA’s Office of Brownfields and Land Revitalization, welcomed attendees and highlighted the role of the Brownfields program in building partnerships between the EPA, local governments and the private sector. National Brownfields Coalition Executive Director Evans Paull summarized the BUILD Act’s provisions, and David Koch, National Manager of Terracon’s Brownfield and Public Sector Services group, and Ken Brown of the National Association of Local Government Environmental Professionals both discussed examples and highlighted the importance of the National Brownfields Coalition’s advocacy efforts. View the slides from the event >>
Thank you to those who joined us for this engaging event. To learn about events like this in the future, click here to join the National Brownfields Coalition mailing list. Interested in supporting our work on brownfields? Become a sponsor or make a donation today.