Brownfields law passes with Hilary amendments.

The U.S. Senate recently passed legislation that could make it easier to develop the nation's brownfields sites.

"For too long we've turned our backs on these blighted areas because of partisan politics," said Sen. Hillary Clinton, at a recent New York Building Congress luncheon. "I am very pleased that we were able to get through the Senate we hope we can get it through the House."

The U.S. House of Representatives will consider the legislation, which is supported by President George W. Bush and a broad array of private-sector groups such as the Real Estate Roundtable, U.S. Conference of Mayors and Trust for Public Land.

"If enacted, this legislation will go a long way toward removing the specter of Superfund liability from potential brownfields transactions and generate much needed economic investment in distressed communities," said Real Estate Roundtable chairman Nelson Rising, who testified on behalf of the bill.

Ron Bruder, chairman of the Brookhill Group, said he has developed brownfields across the country, but has not done any projects in New York City. In some locations, the economic incentive of completing a project is adequate to overcome costs associated with brownfields cleanup. For instance, he is currently doing a project in Sarasota, Fla., that requires a $3 million cleanup. In many other locations, however, absorbing cleanup costs makes a project economically unfeasible.

"The cleanup is expensive in Sarasota, but it's worth it," Bruder said. "I don't do any projects in New York because there's no legislation here. But if there were, I would. I'm a big proponent of this."

The bill was sponsored by Sens. Lincoln Chaffee, R-R.I., Robert Smith, R-N.H., Harry Reid, D-Nev., and Barbara Boxer, D-Calif.

If signed into law, the bill would ease real estate owners' and prospective purchasers' environmental cleanup liability under the 1980 Superfund law, including the liability that faces landowners whose properties become contaminated by pollution migrating from adjacent sites. It would also provide real estate owners with a greater sense of finality on voluntary brownfields cleanup projects approved by state authorities and would provide some financial incentives for the investigation and remediation of these sites.

Under current law, companies that own or acquire brownfields sites are potentially liable for the entire cost of remediating hazardous substances on sites, even if they were not responsible for the pollution. Clean-up can cost millions and result in developers walking away from polluted sites.

Bruder said many states have enacted brownfields laws with similar provisions, but the federal government has not.

"The federal government is easier to deal with and the money is easier to get," he said. "The state money is there but it's harder to get."

The legislation includes two amendments introduced by Clinton, including one that targets assistance for the clean-up of polluted sites to communities that are experiencing a higher than normal incidence of diseases like cancer, asthma or birth defects. The second empowers communities to make sure that potentially contaminated sites in their areas are not overlooked, Clinton said.

"Communities that are coping with high rates of disease should receive top priority when it comes to cleaning up contaminated brownfields sites," she said. "And as we struggle to understand the link between environmental and health problems, this legislation will help us to better identify these areas and explore the connection between health problems and exposure to toxins."