Congress

A Senate bill intended to encourage voluntary "Good Samaritan" cleanups of abandoned mining sites is drawing criticism from environmentalists who are concerned that the bill's first-time protections from the Clean Water Act (CWA), Superfund and other environmental laws could benefit industry parties that might otherwise face cleanup liability.

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.