Beginning in November 1993, the Clinton Administration has taken a series of actions to clean up and redevelop brownfields to return them to productive use in these communities:

Creating a national model: In November 1993, EPA Administrator Browner launched the Brownfields initiative with a $200,000 grant to Cleveland, Ohio for a pilot project with state and local officials to determine the best way to develop a national model for revitalizing these areas across the country. Since 1993, Cleveland has leveraged $4.5 million for environmental cleanup and improvements for the property. Several new businesses have located on the site, over 180 new jobs have been created and payroll tax base improvement alone has netted over $1 million for the local economy.

Removing the barriers to development: Since January 1995, the Administration has removed the legal obstacles to development of brownfields sites by taking more than 30,000 sites off the Superfund inventory. By taking these low-priority sites off the list, we relieve potential developers of unnecessary red tape, remove the stigma of contamination, and get the sites on track for redevelopment.

Providing seed money: The Administration has met and exceeded its original goal to provide Brownfields seed money across the country, with a total of 113 such grants of up to $200,000 each underway. A total of nearly $20 million has been awarded to date. The program brings together people who live near contaminated land, businesses that want to get land cleaned up, community leaders, investors, lenders and developers. Together, they seek ways to restore abandoned sites to new uses -- increasing property values, stimulating tax revenues, creating jobs and job training opportunities, and revitalizing inner-city neighborhoods.

Tax Incentive and Budget Commitments: President Clinton's FY 1998 balanced budget plan contains a targeted tax incentive to spur the private sector to clean up and redevelop brownfields in economically distressed rural and urban areas. This $2 billion tax incentive is expected to leverage $10 billion in private sector investment, helping to revitalize some 30,000 brownfields sites. Under the proposal, businesses would be able to expense the costs of cleaning up these properties in the year in which the costs are incurred, rather than capitalizing such costs of the life of the property. This tax proposal will provide significant financial incentives for the private sector to revitalize these areas.

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