Some Republicans see a lot of potential in the nation’s dilapidated industrial sites, as well as where EPA’s current efforts are falling short.
The House Energy and Commerce’s Environment Subcommittee will hold a hearing on whether EPA’s brownfields program should be reauthorized with technological infrastructure in mind — “especially in emerging industries like data centers, semiconductor manufacturing, and AI infrastructure,” full committee Chair Brett Guthrie (R-Ky.) and subcommittee Chair Morgan Griffith (R-Va.) said in a statement.
The brownfields program, which offers grants and technical assistance to community organizations looking to revitalize previously contaminated sites, has long enjoyed bipartisan support, in large part due to its emphasis on public-private partnerships.
Efforts in 2023 to formally reauthorize the program stalled over disagreements on if private, for-profit limited liability corporations should be eligible for brownfields grants.
