Congress Revisits Brownfields Legislation

Washington, D.C. — After being blocked in the last Congresss because of a deal between Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott and Idaho's Senator Michael Crapo, a piece of brownfields legislation with bipartisan support now is back on the table. Designed to protect developers building on brownfields from future lawsuits, the legislation "provides finality for state cleanups that does not exist today while allowing the federal government the specific opportunity to come back if the situation requires it," Senator Bob Smith, R-N.H., chairman of the Senate Environment Committee, told the Associated Press.