Agencies Were Successful in Providing Funds for Brownfield Activities

The 10 agencies in our review reported that they provided about $413 million —$272 million primarily through grants and $141 million in HUD loan guarantees in financial assistance for brownfield activities in fiscal years 1997 and 1998. EPA, HUD, and EDA within the Department of Commerce were responsible for $409 million, or 99 percent of this assistance. While HUD’s planned financial assistance through grants as stated in the Partnership Agenda was for $155 million, agency brownfield managers clarified that the agency could only commit to spend $25 million because it received this amount of appropriations for its new Brownfield Economic Development Initiative (BEDI) program. EDA grant recipients have reported that their communities are only using up to about 10 percent of their funds on actual cleanup. The administration reported that the agencies would provide a total of $469 million in financial assistance by implementing more than 100 brownfield action items and that this assistance was expected to result in the (1) leveraging of additional private investments in brownfields, (2) creation of new jobs, and (3) protection of greenfields. However, the administration cannot tell if the initiative is meeting the economic goals because most agencies are not tracking these results or collecting data specific to brownfields that would allow them to do so. Federal Agencies Have Completed Most of the Partnership’s Action Items

Officials of the 10 federal agencies in our review stated that their agencies had accomplished 63 of their 71 nonfinancial action items in the agenda, or about 89 percent. Also, most federal agencies generally do not have the comprehensive data necessary to determine the extent to which the economic benefits will be achieved, according to the EPA managers. HUD also tracks the number of jobs created under its Community Development Block Grant program. In addition, the agency clarified the extent to which it tracks the number of jobs created as a result of its grant programs. Scope and Methodology

To respond to our first and second objectives—to compare federal agencies’ planned financial investment for brownfields, as stated in the Partnership Agenda, to their actual obligations for brownfields in fiscal years 1997 and 1998, and to describe the purposes of these obligations—we used a structured data collection instrument to request and then review the fiscal year 1997 and 1998 brownfield-related obligations and activities of the following agencies: (1) the departments of Energy, Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, and Transportation, (2) the Economic Development, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric, and the General Services administrations, and (3) the Environmental Protection Agency. To respond to our third objective—to determine the extent to which agencies met the Partnership’s goals and objectives—we used a structured survey to obtain the brownfield managers’ perspectives on these issues.
Why GAO Did This Study

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on the status of 10 federal agencies' efforts to implement the Brownfield National Partnership Action Agenda, focusing on: (1) comparing federal agencies' planned financial assistance to brownfields, which are abandoned, idle, or underused industrial facilities, to their actual spending for brownfields in fiscal years (FY) 1997 and 1998; (2) describing the purposes of these obligations; and (3) determining the extent to which agencies met the Partnership's goals and objectives.

What GAO Found

GAO noted that: (1) during FY 1997 and FY 1998, the 10 federal agencies GAO examined reported that they provided about $413 million in assistance to brownfields, as compared to the Partnership's planned financial assistance of $469 million; (2) brownfield managers at the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) also told GAO that the agency may have provided more financial assistance for brownfields than it reported because it provided most of its financial assistance through its Community Development Block Grant program; (3) about one-half of the total assistance that agencies provided for grant programs was from new funds made available for brownfields; (4) the remainder represented funds that the agencies had traditionally been providing to low-income and depressed communities under their community and economic development grant programs, not new or reprogrammed funds for brownfields; (5) HUD, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Economic Development Administration were responsible for $409 million, or 99 percent of the assistance provided; (6) the three agencies used most of the funds to make grants and loan guarantees to communities; (7) the 10 federal agencies in GAO's review reported achieving better coordination and accomplishing their brownfield action items but do not have comprehensive data to determine the extent to which this will result in the expected economic benefits of jobs and private investment in brownfields; (8) the agencies reported that they increased their ongoing coordination as a result of the Partnership initiative, most noticeably through their showcase community projects; (9) the agencies also completed about 89 percent of their action items in the Partnership Agenda, such as revising policies that were barriers to brownfield redevelopment and providing communities more information about available assistance, predominantly as part of their ongoing programs; and (10) however, the extent to which the Partnership initiative is meeting the economic goals--creating new jobs, leveraging additional private investments in brownfields, and preserving greenfields--cannot be determined because most agencies are not tracking all of these outcomes or collecting data specific to brownfields that would allow them to do so.