WASHINGTON—Democratic and Republican leaders of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee today announced agreement on a bill to reauthorize the federal Superfund environmental clean-up program for another eight years.

At a Capitol Hill news conference, Rep. James L. Oberstar (Minn.), Ranking Democratic Member on the full committee, and Rep. Bob Borski (Pa.), ranking Democrat on the Subcommittee on Water Resources and the Environment, joined their Republican counterparts in making the announcement.

Oberstar said Superfund reforms put into place by the Environmental Protection Agency under the direction of Administrator Carol Browner have reduced the need for a comprehensive Superfund bill.

"In light of these administrative reforms, many of the Congressional proposals to change the Superfund program are no longer necessary," Oberstar said. However, Oberstar said the compromise bill writes many of these reforms into law and provides badly needed help to cities and other local bodies trying to redevelop underutilized or abandoned industrial sites known as "brownfields."

Oberstar also praised the bill for providing a measure of protection to small businesses and innocent parties who could be held liable for clean-up costs under existing law.

"This bill provides liability relief to small businesses—those with 75 or fewer employees and less than $3 million in revenues—as well as municipalities, innocent landowners, and prospective purchasers of contaminated property who exercised appropriate care," Oberstar told reporters.

Oberstar called the legislation "sound, defensible public policy."

Borski also highlighted the bill’s brownfields provisions.

"Older industrial cities such as Philadelphia are full of former manufacturing sites, sites that are ripe for Brownfield redevelopment under the Superfund program," Borski said. "This landmark bipartisan agreement will spur cleanups, jobs, and economic growth for our nation’s communities."

The bill comes before the full Transportation and Infrastructure Committee tomorrow (Thursday, August 5) and, if approved, will be sent on to the full House.