Revitalizing Communities Through Redevelopment: County Brownfields Primer
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Charlotte Mitchell Duyshart
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Nearly two out of every three counties (64 percent) have an identified brownfield property. Cook County, Ill. alone has more than 600 properties, the most of any county with a brownfield site, with the median number of sites for brownfield counties reaching five properties. These sites are concentrated in rust-belt and other former industrial- heavy regions of the country. With more than 450,000 total estimated sites, brownfields impact every county to varying degrees.
Brownfield properties can come in many shapes and sizes. Often, they are thought of as large abandoned industrial complexes, but it is more common for brownfield sites to be smaller properties like former gas stations, dry cleaners or automotive repair garages. Brownfield sites can also be agricultural, residential, railroad sites, chemical manufacturing plants or public buildings.
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On December 17, the House Natural Resources Committee advanced the Endangered Species Act (ESA) Amendments Act of 2025 (H.R. 1897). The version passed by the committee adopted several changes from the initial bill and would address key county concerns by improving the implementation of the ESA. The legislation now awaits a floor vote before the whole U.S. House of Representatives.
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County Countdown – Dec. 1, 2025
Every other week, NACo's County Countdown reviews top federal policy advocacy items with an eye towards counties and the intergovernmental partnership.
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NACo issued the following statement in response to the passage of the Standardizing Permitting and Expediting Economic Development (SPEED) Act (H.R. 4776), which advanced out of the U.S. House Committee on Natural Resources on November 20.
House Natural Resources Committee advances Standardizing Permitting and Expediting Economic Development (SPEED) Act
On November 20, the U.S. House Committee on Natural Resources advanced the Standardizing Permitting and Expediting Economic Development (SPEED) Act (H.R. 4776), which would make important changes to streamline federal permitting and strengthen county involvement in decision-making by amending the National Environmental Policy Act. Counties support commonsense permitting reforms, and NACo secured provisions in the SPEED Act that would guarantee counties a seat at the table during federal environmental reviews.