Click here or the image above to watch Ranking Member Capito’s questions.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Ranking Member of the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee, questioned witnesses about the Environmental Protections Agency’s (EPA) Brownfields program.
During the hearing, Ranking Member Capito discussed the Brownfields program and land revitalization with George Carico, director of the West Virginia Regional Brownfields Assistance Center at Marshall University, and other stakeholders.
HIGHLIGHTS:
ENSURING RURAL AREAS HAVE ADEQUATE SUPPORT FOR LAND REMEDIATION: “I'm going to start with you, Mr. Carico. Thank you for coming from the beautiful state of West Virginia. I think we've pretty much made the case here by everybody that rural areas, whether they're EJ [Environmental Justice] communities, or not characterized as such, need more capacity, need more help, and need maybe a different lens through which to look. I understand that you're allowed to have administrative costs of 5%. Is that correct? Is that an accurate figure? Should there be more or less? Does that reflect well on meeting the needs administratively?”
PROMOTING PARTNERSHIPS TO ADDRESS BROWNFIELD SITES’ NEEDS: “You’ve all talked about states that are active here and then also the private developers’ aspect of this. So, as you're looking at that…I know you've mentioned some tax issues that would be helpful, opening up to demolition, and we need to do demolition not just on Brownfield sites, but on urban areas and rural areas that just had these dilapidated, uncared for properties that…they're havens for ill use, and unsafe and unhealthy. So…how would you improve those and strengthen those partnerships…to make sure that we're maximizing all the benefits? And I am curious to know as well because I did work on the Opportunity Zone legislation with Senator Scott. Are you all using that…can you use that in this whole universe of Brownfields brownfield redevelopment? Has that been useful?”
DISCUSSING SITES THAT ARE ULTIMATELY NOT REMEDIATED OR DEVELOPED: “So we've talked about successful Brownfields applications and projects that you've worked on. Have you ever had a project where you looked at it for a Brownfield and you deemed that it would be not worth the effort or something that was premature?...If you have a site that has been decided that we're not going to go forward on...is it remediated or does it just sit there with the contaminants?...What happens to those sites?”
Click HERE to watch Ranking Member Capito’s questions.
Click HERE to watch Ranking Member Capito’s opening statement.
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