During a recent House Energy and Commerce Environment Subcommittee hearing, Congressman August Pfluger of Texas’ 11th district highlighted the unique challenges rural communities face in redeveloping brownfield sites through the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Brownfields Program.
Rep. Pfluger stated that while redevelopment can have significant economic benefits for rural areas, limited local staff and technical expertise remain substantial obstacles. He emphasized the importance of federal support: “Rural communities like the ones I represent often lack the in-house expertise to navigate complex federal programs on their own,” said Rep. Pfluger. “That is why robust federal technical assistance and streamlined permitting are essential. I look forward to continuing these conversations to draft and champion legislation that will provide clarity and support to communities utilizing the Brownfields Program.”
The hearing included testimony from Gerald L. Pouncey Jr., Senior Counsel at Taft Stettinius & Hollister; David W. Robinson, Executive Vice President of Strategic Development at Aligned Data Centers; Mayor Alan Tomson of Davis, West Virginia; and Chris Wells, Executive Director of the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality.
During his questioning, Rep. Pfluger asked Mayor Tomson about practical barriers rural towns encounter when seeking EPA Brownfield Grants. Mayor Tomson responded: “Yes, sir, it’s a little bit of all of that. Resources are very important…From a technical standpoint, we also in rural communities don’t have the expertise to do the things we need to do for these grants, and that’s where we rely on the EPA’s technical assistance Brownfield Centers…and then also our partners at the state level…make a big difference…”
Rep Pfluger also questioned Chris Wells on how federal policy could better assist small rural communities with brownfield projects. Wells replied: “We serve in that role of helping people walk through the process, and adequately funding the components of the program that fund our work there is critical.”
Addressing private investment in brownfield sites, Rep. Pfluger asked David W. Robinson about conditions needed for successful redevelopment without undermining local priorities. Robinson said: “One point that I really wanted to make was that we do take community involvement…We often have community information sessions where we go into the community…and we share what our plans are…Many of our permits are local permits…We’ve not had to use any of those grant programs to date…”
When discussing costs related to permitting reforms, Mayor Tomson noted staffing cuts affecting technical assistance centers: “Well, I think especially when you look at the EPA technical assistance Brownfield Centers, they actually had a twenty percent staffing cut through the DOGE efforts, and that has hampered their ability to support local rural communities in some of the advice and technical assistance…”
August Pfluger has served as U.S Representative for Texas’ 11th District since 2021 after replacing Mike Conaway in Congress. He was elected after defeating Jon Mark Hogg by a large margin in 2020.
Pfluger was born in Houston in 1978 and currently resides in San Angelo.