Congress

House and Senate lawmakers are moving to exempt brownfields sites from pending legislation that would limit state and local governments' ability to take private property by eminent domain. Congress is pushing the legislation following the recent Supreme Court ruling upholding the governmental entities' eminent domain authority for economic development projects.

Lawmakers have rejected a controversial amendment to the agriculture spending bill, which EPA alleged would have jeopardized a pending enforcement agreement with animal feeding operations because it sought to exempt the industry from cleanup and reporting requirements under Superfund law.

A conference committee on the bill decided Oct. 26 not to include the amendment sponsored by Sen. Larry Craig (R-ID) after it prompted concerns from EPA, Democrats and environmental groups.

Defense Department (DOD) efforts to win exemptions for the military from a host of environmental requirements appear to have suffered a major setback after a key Senate panel failed to include the exemptions in the defense authorization bill for fiscal year 2006.

Key lawmakers may push to revisit controversial legislation enacted last year that expands the Energy Department's (DOE) authority to reclassify highly radioactive nuclear waste as less hazardous after a National Academy of Sciences (NAS) report said EPA should have additional regulatory oversight of DOE, environmental and congressional sources say.

The study, along with a related study the academy is conducting on nuclear waste management, could also complicate efforts by DOE to win expanded authority to reclassify the waste at other sites, the sources say.