WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee unanimously passed the Brownfields Reauthorization Act of 2025, legislation to reauthorize the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Brownfields program, and the Strategies to Eliminate Waste and Accelerate Recycling Development (STEWARD) Act, legislation to improve our nation’s recycling and composting systems. 

The Brownfields Reauthorization Act of 2025 was introduced by U.S. Senators Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Chairman of the EPW Committee, and Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.), and the STEWARD Act was introduced by Chairman Capito, and U.S. Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Ranking Member of the EPW Committee, and John Boozman (R-Ark.).

The Brownfields Reauthorization Act of 2025:

“Rural and underserved communities lack the resources needed to compete with larger entities, putting them in an unfair position. Our bill streamlines the application process to level the playing field. The legislation also modernizes the program's grant amounts to match current construction costs and project sizes, aligning them with the reality of doing business today,” Chairman Capito said.

“Cleaning up brownfield sites can be costly and burden our local communities,”Senator Blunt Rochester said. “The Brownfield Reauthorization Act will help us reduce environmental hazards, spur economic development, and support the health and safety of our people. I’m proud to lead this bill alongside Chair Capito, and I’m also honored to carry on the work previously championed by my predecessor, former Senator Carper. Delaware will benefit from this legislation, and I hope to see it signed into law.”

A one-pager of the legislation is available here.

The STEWARD Act:

“For too many Americans, recycling remains out of reach – either because facilities don’t exist in their communities or because the infrastructure to make recycling economically viable is not in place. The STEWARD Act aims to close these gaps by ensuring that recycling services are accessible to all communities. The bill also recognizes that, to solve a problem, you need to measure and understand it first. The data provisions in the STEWARD Act will empower decision-makers to track progress, identify areas for improvement, and make informed decisions that will drive real change in our nation’s recycling systems,” Chairman Capito said.

“We are living through a plastic pollution crisis: it’s accumulating in our food, in our water, and in our bodies, and it’s threatening people’s health,” Ranking Member Whitehouse said. “I’m proud to join Chairman Capito and Senator Boozman to lead the STEWARD Act, which is an essential preliminary step in reducing the amount of plastics seeping into our bodies and environment. Recycling is a stopgap in the rising flood of plastic waste, and I look forward to working with my colleagues—on both sides of the aisle—to tackle this issue on all fronts.”

“Strengthening our commitment to recycling in order to preserve the resources we are blessed with, as well as spur economic growth and encourage industry innovation, benefits all Americans,” Senator Boozman said. “I am proud to see the STEWARD Act advance with bipartisan support as we continue our efforts to encourage sustainable recycling infrastructure systems and practices.”

A one-pager of the legislation is available here.

BACKGROUND:

The Brownfields Reauthorization Act unanimously passed the EPW Committee last Congress in September 2023. The STEWARD Act is the combination of the Recycling Infrastructure and Accessibility Act of 2023 and the Recycling and Composting Accountability Act, which both unanimously passed the EPW Committee last Congress in April 2023 and passed the U.S. Senate by unanimous consent in March 2024.

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