My name is Mike Ford. I own a full service residential and commercial real estate company in Clark, New Jersey, and I have been a real estate broker for 25 years.
It is often said - and I agree - that REALTORS don't sell homes, we sell communities. The more than 730,00 members of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS, real estate professionals involved in all aspects of the real estate industry, are concerned and active members of our communities. We want clean air, clean water and clean soil. We want to see properties affected by historic pollution cleaned up and returned to the marketplace. We care about a healthy quality of life as well as a vibrant economy, and we are willing to do our part to maintain that important balance.
However, we also expect the same fairness, certainty and predictability from government regulators that our customers and business partners expect from us. In this respect, Superfund has clearly failed.
Superfund began with the laudable goal of cleaning up hazardous waste sites to protect human health and the environment. Progress has been achieved, and for that the EPA deserves credit. Unfortunately, progress has come at a high price. While serving as a mechanism for hazardous waste cleanup, Superfund has also served as an engine for massive litigation. Deep-pocket parties targeted by EPA have turned around and sued smaller parties. Many of these smaller parties - small business owners who did nothing more than dispose of common garbage, recyclers who tried to be environmentally-conscious, and innocent property owners who have not caused or contributed to hazardous waste contamination - have been drawn into years of costly litigation defending against the threat of huge cleanup liability.
As a first step, these parties should be provided with the maximum possible degree of liability relief so that resources can be targeted toward cleanup rather than litigation. When it comes to Superfund cleanup, we must ensure that the real polluters pay so that hazardous waste sites are returned to productive use as quickly as possible.
From the perspective of a taxpaying citizen, it is the right thing to do to ensure that Superfund is administered in a fair and effective manner. From the perspective of a businessman, it will provide the certainty needed in order to move forward in developing sites that are known or suspected to be contaminated.
As a second step, the federal government should recognize and support the hazardous waste cleanup efforts underway at the state level. In an effort to revitalize their urban centers, most of the states - including my home state of New Jersey - are creatively attacking the hazardous waste problem by providing incentives through voluntary cleanup programs.
One common incentive provided by these programs is liability relief. Typically, the state will provide some form of liability relief once it has approved a cleanup. In New Jersey, relief comes in the form of a "No Further Action" letter from the state DEP. Unfortunately, there is no guarantee that the federal EPA will not assert authority at a future date and require additional cleanup. Without the certainty of knowing that they are protected from federal as well as from state liability, property owners and developers are very reluctant to undertake development of a site which is or might be contaminated.
In New Jersey, we have our fair share of hazardous waste sites. However, I've seen what can be accomplished when local, state and federal government work together with private business interests to make something out of nothing. In my hometown of Clark, General Motors cleaned up a contaminated property and funded construction of a golf course. The local government runs the course and makes a healthy profit.
If these reforms are achieved, hazardous waste sites throughout the country will be returned to productive use, revitalizing communities by increasing the tax base, creating jobs, and rejuvenating neighborhoods. Otherwise they will remain barren, contributing to nothing but economic ruin.
S. 1090 presents a "win-win" opportunity for everyone by achieving cleanup of hazardous waste sites, encouraging property reuse and enhancing community growth. Now is the time for Congress to assert bi-partisan leadership and reinforce our nationwide effort to turn "brownfields" into "greenfields." The NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS supports S. 1090, and we encourage the 106th Congress to act now on Superfund reform.
Thank you again for the opportunity to present the views of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS. I am happy to answer any questions.