Winning Back Lost Opportunity Using Eminent Domain
By Representative Eddie Bernice Johnson

The time has come to get serious about stimulating growth across our nation. And we can begin by recognizing, targeting and cleaning up the more than half-million brownfields across America that when left alone, only frustrate the plans and hopes of our communities and neighborhoods.

Brownfields represent lost economic opportunity in every place they exist. We must do all we can to restore these formerly occupied industrial sites into valuable land for our children, and our children’s children. That is why I have made breathing new economic life into our country’s communities one of my top priorities in the U.S. Congress.

Recently, I offered a bipartisan amendment to the Private Property Protection Rights Act of 2005 (HR 4128). The amendment allows for states and local governments to use their power of eminent domain to clean up brownfield sites for economic development purposes.

I introduced this amendment in light of the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision concerning eminent domain on private property (Kelo vs. City of New London). While I support the protection of private property from eminent domain abuses as outlined in HR 4128, the bill prohibited local governments that receive federal economic development funds from using eminent domain to target and redevelop brownfields.

Although eminent domain should not be the first option pursued when acquiring brownfields for redevelopment — judicious, responsible and warranted eminent domain serves as an invaluable tool to enable their cleanup. This amendment will allow communities the use of eminent domain to provide clear title on old industrial properties whose ownership has changed hands numerous times and often times without proper recording.

Unless we preserve community options for addressing brownfields, we risk losing the economic activity that redevelopment efforts afford. We must continue to promote rather than inhibit brownfield redevelopment.

Within my home district of Dallas, which was one of the first cities to be designated as a “Brownfields Showcase Community,” a federal investment of less than $2 million has leveraged more than $370 million in private investment, and created or helped retain close to 3,000 permanent full-time jobs.

Due to the continued need for programs like this nationwide, I also successfully authored an amendment to the 2006 Interior-Environment Appropriations bill that boosts funding by an additional $2 million for the EPA’s brownfield assessments and cleanups. This amendment also fully funds grants for states to administer voluntary cleanup programs.

In addition, during the 2006 Transportation, Treasury, HUD, Judiciary, District of Columbia Appropriations Act, I offered another bipartisan amendment that restores funding for the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD’s) Brownfields Economic Development Initiative Program (BEDI). Without this amendment, the legislation would have eliminated funding for BEDI.

The amendment increases grants available under HUD’s Community Development Fund by $24 million. The goal of BEDI is to return contaminated sites to productive uses with an emphasis on creating new jobs for lower-income residents in physically and economically distressed neighborhoods.

Brownfield development is essential to revitalizing cities nationwide. Brownfield redevelopment programs and the proper use of eminent domain in order to acquire brownfields for the purpose of cleanup are critical for our metropolitan areas to grow stronger and smarter. BFN

U.S. Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson is the Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment on the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. She represents Texas Congressional District 30.

Editor’s note: After this article was written, HR 4128 passed the House with the brownfield exemption amendment intact. At press time, SB 1313, a similar but narrower bill, was still in Senate committee. Funding for HUD’s BEDI program was also restored.

Read more on eminent domain:
International Council of Shopping Centers Fact Sheet
Is Might Right? (a pre-Kelo decision analysis from Brownfield News)
Public Use or Private Abuse? (a post-Kelo decision analysis from Brownfield News)