Lincoln Chafee: “Today I introduce the Brownfields Revitalization and Environmental Restoration Act of 2001. Together with Chairman Bob…”

“Today I introduce the Brownfields Revitalization and Environmental Restoration Act of 2001. Together with Chairman Bob Smith, Senators Harry Reid, and Barbara Boxer, and other members of the Environment and Public Works Committee, I am reintroducing the popular bipartisan legislation that I co-authored in the 106th Congress. That bill eventually amassed sixty-six co-sponsors and I look forward to the bill enjoying the same strong bipartisan support it did last year. As the chairman of the Senate Superfund Subcommittee, I have made brownfields reform my top environmental priority. As one of six former mayors in the Senate, I understand the environmental, economic, and social benefits that can be realized in our communities from revitalizing brownfields. Estimates show there to be between 450,000 and 600,000 brownfield sites in the United States. Why do we have so many of these abandoned sites? The shift away from an industrialized economy, the migration of land use from urban areas to suburban and rural areas, and our nation's strict liability contamination statutes have all contributed. By enacting this legislation, we can recycle our nation's contaminated land, reinvigorate our urban cores, stimulate economic development, revitalize blighted communities, abate environmental health risks, and reduce the pressure to develop pristine land.”