Illinois – July 31, 2003
The Weekly Roundup is published by SRA International, Inc., on behalf of the Land Renewal Network, a forum to address RCRA, CERCLA, and Brownfields policies. The following items are of interest this week:
Reception Date Changed! The Land Renewal Network reception that will be held at the 2003 RCRA National Meeting in Washington, DC has been moved to Wednesday, August 13. It will still be held from 6-8 p.m. at the Capitol View Restaurant in the Hyatt Regency Hotel on Capitol Hill. Details about the reception and information about the RCRA conference can be found below under “Upcoming Events.”
LAND RENEWAL (Brownfields, Superfund Redevelopment, USTfields)
EPA, CORPS ANNOUNCE FOUR NEW PILOT PROJECTS: As part of its Urban Rivers Restoration Initiative, EPA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) have announced four pilot projects to promote the cleanup and restoration of the following urban waterways: the Passaic River in New Jersey, the Gowanus Canal in New York, Fourche Creek in Arkansas, and City Creek in Utah. These projects, which double the number of pilots under this initiative, were selected through a competitive process for their plans to emphasize partnerships among many organizations; promote collaboration within the watershed among businesses and the nonprofit community; and advance pollution prevention, water quality improvements, restoration of wildlife habitat, and reuse. According to EPA, in partnership with state and local governments, tribal authorities, and private organizations, the projects are intended to focus on water quality improvement, the cleanup of contaminated sediments, and human and animal habitat restoration. Each pilot project will receive $50,000 from EPA and funding from the Corps. For more information on the Urban Rivers Restoration Initiative, visit Urban Rivers Restoration Initiative.
GENERAL
HOUSE PASSES FY 2004 SPENDING BILL FOR EPA: The FY 2004 appropriations bill (H.R. 2861) for VA, HUD, and Independent Agencies, which includes funding for EPA, was approved by the House on July 25. The final bill that was passed provides $8 billion for EPA in 2004, and included amendments increasing funding for EPA’s enforcement program by $5.4 million and the Leaking Underground Storage Tank Trust Fund by $7.3 million. Both amendments were passed by voice vote. The appropriations bill includes $3.6 billion for state and tribal assistance grants, including $1.2 billion for the clean water state revolving fund and $1.2 billion in program assistance grants. It also includes $93.5 million for brownfields assessment and revitalization grants, and funds the brownfields program at $171 million. The Superfund program would receive $1.3 billion under the bill, an increase of $10 million from FY 2003. The House declined, however, to fully fund the Superfund program at the Bush Administration’s FY 2004 budget request level, opting not to transfer $115 million in funding from a NASA project to the Superfund program. The bill authorizes $375 million more for EPA than the Administration’s FY 2004 budget request, although funding remains $74 million below FY 2003 levels.
HOUSE REPORT DIRECTS EPA TO ISSUE REGULATIONS: A House report (H.Rpt. 108-235) accompanying the appropriations bill that was approved July 25 (H.R. 2861, see story above), urges EPA to issue regulations related to recycling, the use of industrial materials as fuel, and sediment contamination by the end of FY 2004. The report, developed by the House Appropriations Committee, outlines congressional intent but is not legally binding. The Committee asks EPA to issue rules to clarify the application of discarded material in the recycling process and revise the agency’s definition of solid waste. It also directs EPA to promulgate a rule pertaining to contaminated sediments under the Great Lakes Legacy Act of 2002, which is funded at $50 million per year through 2007, and to issue a rule that would allow certain industrial materials to be used as fuel sources. The report includes a directive to ensure that the Agency’s Integrated Planning Model meets federal information quality standards, and requests that EPA not spend any funding on the agency’s Multi-Media, Multi-Receptor, Risk Assessment model, which examines hazardous waste concentrations to determine whether they are low enough to be exempt from RCRA, until the Science Advisory Board reviews the model in the next year. Other efforts that are encouraged by the Committee in the report include continued funding for children’s health and disease prevention research.
UPCOMING EVENTS
AUGUST 13TH LAND RENEWAL NETWORK RECEPTION: The Land Renewal Network’s reception at the Capitol View Restaurant in the Hyatt Regency Hotel on Capitol Hill has been moved to Wednesday, August, 13. The reception will be held from 6-8 p.m. Invited guests include Land Renewal Network industry and government members, and key EPA officials from the Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response. The reception will provide members the opportunity to meet and discuss the latest developments in waste management and land revitalization with government and industry, and to learn more about the Land Renewal Network and our activities. Appetizers will be served. Please contact Jim Snyder or Denise Chamberlain if you have any questions about the event at (717) 761-0554.
THE 2003 RCRA NATIONAL MEETING: PUTTING RESOURCE CONSERVATION INTO RCRA: This year’s meeting will focus on the Resource Conservation Challenge (RCC) and will be held in Washington, D.C., on August 12-15. The RCC now focuses on several different programs, including waste, water, air, pollution, prevention, pesticides, and compliance, and seeks to promote innovative methods to reduce waste and recover energy in order to protect human health and the environment. For more information on the RCC, visit: Resource Conservation Challenge. Additional information on the conference can be found at The 2003 RCRA National Meeting: Putting Resource Conservation into RCRA.
EIGHTH ANNUAL NATIONAL BROWNFIELDS CONFERENCE: Brownfields 2003: Growing a Greener America will be held in Portland, Oregon, October 27-29. This free conference is the official, EPA-co-sponsored conference on brownfields issues. Brownfields 2003 will feature educational sessions, exhibits, roundtable discussions, mobile workshops, and the latest news on brownfields cleanup and redevelopment. More information on the conference can be found at: Brownfields 2003.
PHOENIX AWARDS SEEK ADDITIONAL SPONSORS: New sponsors are being sought to support this year’s Phoenix Awards that will be presented at the Brownfields Conference 2003 in October. In order to accommodate an expanding program that now includes international partners and awards, additional sponsors are being sought to work with returning sponsors. The Phoenix Awards are the premier awards for achievement of excellence in brownfields redevelopment. Created in 1997, this prestigious award honors individuals and groups who are working to solve the critical environmental problem of transforming abandoned industrial areas into productive new uses. Additional information including contact information for interested sponsors can be found at The Phoenix Awards.
Illinois Environmental Protection Agency
Illinois Environmental Protection Agency Land Pollution Information
