OFFICE OF PLANNINGSTATE OF HAWAII

NElL ABERCROMBIEGOVERNOR

JESSE K. SOUKIDIRECTOR

OFFICE OF PLANNING

235 South Beretania Street, 6th Floor, Honolulu, Hawaii 96813Mailing Address: P.O. Box 2359, Honolulu, Hawaii 96804

Telephone:Fax:

Web:

(808) 587-2846(808) 587-2824

http:/Ihawaii.govldbedtlop/

Ref. No. P-13928

March 21, 2013

The Honorable Brian SchatzUnited State Senate722 Hart Senate Office BuildingWashington, D.C. 20510

Dear Senator Schatz:

I am writing to express my strong support for S. 491, the Brownfields Utilization,Investment, and Local Development (BUILD) Act of 2013, which would amend and reauthorizethe brownfields funding authority for federal brownfields grant programs.

The BUILD Act would help communities clean up and redevelop land that today sitscontaminated and abandoned. These sites, known as "brownfields," are in nearly everycommunity across the country.

In Hawaii, "[t]he state Department of Health has investigated more than 1,700 sites ofpotential contamination, nearly half of which merited further action," as reported by HawaiiBusiness Magazine, in an interview with the State Department of Health in 2011. See "ToxicWaste in Hawaii: How brownfields and contaminated sites affect development," HawaiiBusiness Magazine, June 2011, available at http://www.hawaiibusiness.com/Hawaii-Business/June-201 l/Toxic-Waste-in-Hawaii/. The Department of Health program that conductsthese investigations and oversees the State's brownfields program is largely funded by a U.S.Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) State Response Program grant, which is included forreauthorization under the BUILD Act.

Hawaii has benefitted directly from several brownfields grants under prior federalbrownfields authorization acts. U.S. EPA brownfields funds were instrumental in clearing theway for the development of the John A. Burns School of Medicine, Kakaako Waterfront Park,and the Hawaii Children's Discovery Center in Kakaako. U.S. EPA brownfields grant fundshave been the primary source of funds for the site investigation studies and site remediationactivities underway in conjunction with the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands' (DHHL) EastKapolei II master-planned community, which when complete will be home to almost 2,000households of DHHL beneficiaries.

Cleaning up brownfield sites is incredibly beneficial to both local economies and theenvironment. Every $1 of federal funds invested in brownfields redevelopment leverages $18 intotal investment, and redeveloping one acre of contaminated land creates an average of 10 jobs.

The Honorable Brian SchatzPage 2March 21, 2013

Cleanup and redevelopment can increase surrounding property values by as much as 15percent--and on Oahu, we have seen much higher increases in assessed values as a result ofbrownfields redevelopment. Redeveloping a one-acre brownfield site is also estimated toconserve 4.5 acres of undeveloped green space.

Brownfields redevelopment can be complicated and expensive; however, that is whycommunities need the BUILD Act. The Act would help communities overcome the initialhurdles to brownfield redevelopment and allow them to create lasting economic engines fordecades to come.

Brownfield redevelopment benefits communities and provides excellent return ontaxpayer investment, which is why I strongly urge you to support the BUILD Act of 2013.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

c: The Honorable Neil Abercrombie, GovernorMr. Alex Dodds, Smart Growth America

OFFICE OF PLANNINGSTATE OF HAWAII

NElL ABERCROMBIEGOVERNOR

JESSE K. SOUKIDIRECTOR

OFFICE OF PLANNING

235 South Beretania Street, 6th Floor, Honolulu, Hawaii 96813Mailing Address: P.O. Box 2359, Honolulu, Hawaii 96804

Telephone:Fax:

Web:

(808) 587-2846(808) 587-2824

http:llhawaii.gov/dbedtlop/

Ref. No. P-13928

March 21, 2013

The Honorable Mazie K. HironoUnited States SenateB-40E Dirksen Senate Office BuildingWashington, D.C. 20510

Dear Senator Hirono:

I am writing to express my strong support for S. 491, the Brownfields Utilization,Investment, and Local Development (BUILD) Act of 2013, which would amend and reauthorizethe brownfields funding authority for federal brownfields grant programs.

The BUILD Act would help communities clean up and redevelop land that today sitscontaminated and abandoned. These sites, known as "brownfields," are in nearly everycommunity across the country.

In Hawaii, "[t]he state Department of Health has investigated more than 1,700 sites ofpotential contamination, nearly half of which merited further action," as reported by HawaiiBusiness Magazine, in an interview with the State Department of Health in 2011. See "ToxicWaste in Hawaii: How brownfields and contaminated sites affect development," HawaiiBusiness Magazine, June 2011, available at http://www.hawaiibusiness.com/Hawaii-Business/June-201 I/Toxic-Waste-in-Hawaii/. The Department of Health program that conductsthese investigations and oversees the State's brownfields program is largely funded by a U.S.Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) State Response Program grant, which is included forreauthorization under the BUILD Act.

Hawaii has benefitted directly from several brownfields grants under prior federalbrownfields authorization acts. U.S. EPA brownfields funds were instrumental in clearing theway for the development of the John A. Burns School of Medicine, Kakaako Waterfront Park,and the Hawaii Children's Discovery Center in Kakaako. U.S. EPA brownfields grant fundshave been the primary source of funds for the site investigation studies and site remediationactivities underway in conjunction with the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands' (DHHL) EastKapolei II master-planned community, which when complete will be home to almost 2,000households of DHHL beneficiaries.

Cleaning up brownfield sites is incredibly beneficial to both local economies and theenvironment. Every $1 of federal funds invested in brownfields redevelopment leverages $18 intotal investment, and redeveloping one acre of contaminated land creates an average of 10 jobs.

The Honorable Mazie K. HironoPage 2March 21, 2013

Cleanup and redevelopment can increase surrounding property values by as much as 15percent--and on Oahu, we have seen much higher increases in assessed values as a result ofbrownfields redevelopment. Redeveloping a one-acre brownfield site is also estimated toconserve 4.5 acres of undeveloped green space.

Brownflelds redevelopment can be complicated and expensive; however, that is whycommunities need the BUILD Act. The Act would help communities overcome the initialhurdles to brownfield redevelopment and allow them to create lasting economic engines fordecades to come.

Brownfield redevelopment benefits communities and provides excellent return ontaxpayer investment, which is why I strongly urge you to support the BUILD Act of 2013.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

lyÿ

/Jesse Sould

c: The Honorable Neil Abercrombie, GovernorMr. Alex Dodds, Smart Growth America