WASHINGTON -- It will be easier for communities such as Front Royal to redevelop their Superfund sites under provisions of the Superfund reauthorization bill approved by a House Committee on Thursday, officials say.

The bill, which has been reviewed by two House committees, also retains a provision that may aid in the effort to transfer ownership of the Avtex Fibers plant to the Front Royal-Warren County Industrial Development Authority.

The Public Works and Transportation Committee drafted the version of the bill that will be sent to the full House.

It substantially changes the Superfund program and is aimed at allowing Superfund sites to be cleaned up and redeveloped, according to Karen Cleveland, assistant majority counsel for the committee.

"The goal is to energize cleanups and energize reuse rather than have (industries) go to new, what we call 'green,' sites," she said.

The bill also is designed to give the public more information about, and more of a say in, the cleanup and reuse of sites, she said.

There are provisions where an affected community can help determine future land use, how clean the sites are going to be," Ms. Cleveland said. "One of the mare goals is improving community involvement."

"There's going to be a lot more flexibility than there is in the existing law" for areas such as Front Royal that are striving to have Superfund sites redeveloped, said Jack Schenendorg, minority counsel for the committee.

One of the problems that has stalled a plan to give the Avtex plant site to the industrial authority has been a liability. Under current law, even later owners of a site are liable for the cost to clean up pollution found after the took ownership, even if they had nothing to do with pollution.

The bill includes a provision that lifts that liability on later owners if they do nothing to pollute sites.

The measure also includes $50 million for states to create offices to provide Superfund site information to people affected by the sites.

Community working groups would study health and land use issues and the EPA would give "substantial weight" to their recommendations, the bill says.

Technical assistance grants are expanded to allow localities to hire experts to review Superfund documents or set up health clinics. As amended on Wednesday, the bill increases that funding from $80 million to $100 million.

A goal of the bill is to "get abandoned sites back into productive use as quickly as possible for both environmental and economic redevelopment reasons," a summary of the measure says.

Another major overhaul of the Superfund program in the bill won't affect the Avtex site. That program is aimed at avoiding the kind of lengthy litigation that was needed to establish who is liable for paying for cleanups, similar to the long court battle that ensued over liability at the Front Royal plant.

"What we're fixing is that this program has resulted in far too much litigation and far too little cleanup," committee Chairman Norman Y. Mineta, D-Calif., said.

Millions have been spent in court fights over responsibility instead of eliminating pollution, he said.

The bill calls for liability to be determined by arbitration instead of litigation. It

also sets standards to ensure that responsible parties pay a fair share of the cost of cleanups.

Parties to the arbitration would be encouraged to participate, even though the arbitration is non-binding, because they would face full liability for any areas not covered

by settlements.

Fred Foster, a member of the nonprofit corporation that will manage the Avtex site when it's transferred to local control, said the bill is good news.

"I'm excited about it," he said in a telephone interview. "I think this will expedite it faster."

Foster said the Industrial Redevelopment Committee has been struggling for two years to have unpolluted parts of the site released, but has been frustrated by the EPA's lack of communication and lack of enthusiasm.

"Last September they did soil and water samples. We still don't know the results," he said.

The group also asked the, EPA a year ago to release the grassy area, a warehouse, several buildings and a railroad spur at the site, but the EPA has never responded.

Foster said provisions in the bill giving communities more voice in Superfund sites and requiring more public information will help with hose problems.

But one provision added to the bill Thursday will draw opposition, said Rep. E.G. "Bud"

Shuster, R-Pa.,the ranking minority member on the committee.

That amendment embraces Davis-Bacon Act provisions for paying prevailing wage levels for all work at Superfund sites, even those only partially funded by the federal government.

Shuster said he will oppose the bill When it reaches the House floor because that provision will add several billion dollars to the cost of cleaning up Superfund sites.

He said estimates of the cost of cleaning up current sites range from $40 billion to $300 billion.

A companion bill in the Senate will be considered by the Environment and Public Works Committee on Wednesday.