Land Recycling Act of 1997

Summary: Land Recycling Act of 1997 - Prohibits, with exceptions, the President and any person other than a State from using authorities of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA) or the Solid Waste Disposal Act to commence an administrative or judicial action with respect to a release or threatened release at a facility that is, or has been, the subject of a voluntary response plan in a State that:  (1) certifies that it has enacted a program established to allow a person to respond voluntarily to the release or threatened release of hazardous substances at a facility; and (2) notifies the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency that a plan for voluntary response at a particular facility is being implemented under such program.  Authorizes the Administrator to gather information regarding facilities subject to a voluntary response program but only for purposes of determining whether a facility qualifies for listing on the National Priorities List.  Exempts facility remediation activities undertaken pursuant to a voluntary response plan from Federal permit requirements. 
(Sec. 3) Amends CERCLA, with respect to defenses to liability of an owner of after-acquired property, to deem a person to have made (under current law, "undertaken") appropriate inquiry into the property's previous ownership and uses if the person establishes that an environmental site assessment was conducted which meets specified requirements (compliance with an American Society for Testing and Materials standard or with standards issued by the Administrator) and the person fulfills certain responsibilities concerning information compilation. 
(Sec. 4) Absolves from liability for response actions bona fide prospective purchasers to the extent liability at a facility for a release or threat thereof is based solely on ownership or operation of a facility.  Gives a lien upon a facility to the United States for unrecovered response costs in any case in which there are such unrecovered costs for which the owner is not liable by reason of this Act and the facility's fair market value has increased above that which existed six months before the action was taken.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Land Recycling Act of 1997''.

SEC. 2. CLEANUPS PURSUANT TO STATE VOLUNTARY RESPONSE PROGRAM.

    (a) Prohibition on Enforcement.--Subject to subsection (c), neither 
the President nor any other person (other than a State) may use any 
authority of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, 
and Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9601 et seq.) or of the Solid 
Waste Disposal Act (42 U.S.C. 6901 et seq.) to commence an 
administrative or judicial action under either of those Acts with 
respect to any release or threatened release at a facility that is, or 
has been, the subject of a voluntary response plan in a State that 
meets the requirements of subsection (b).
    (b) State Requirements.--The prohibition in subsection (a) applies 
with respect to a facility in a State only if the State--
            (1) submits to the Administrator of the Environmental 
        Protection Agency a certification that the State has enacted 
        into law a voluntary response program and that the State has 
        committed the financial and personnel resources necessary to 
        carry out such program; and
            (2) notifies the Administrator that a voluntary response 
        plan is being implemented at the facility under that State 
        program after such implementation begins.
    (c) Limitation on Prohibition.--The prohibition in subsection (a) 
and the exemption under subsection (f) shall not apply with respect to 
a facility in a State if--
            (1) the facility is listed on the National Priorities List;
            (2) the facility is proposed for listing on the National 
        Priorities List, based on a determination by the Administrator 
        that the facility qualifies for listing pursuant to section 105 
        of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and 
        Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9605);
            (3) the facility is owned or operated by a department, 
        agency, or instrumentality of the United States; or
            (4) an administrative order on consent or judicial consent 
        decree requiring response action has been entered into by the 
        United States with respect to the facility under any of the 
        following laws:
                    (A) The Comprehensive Environmental Response, 
                Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9601 
                et seq.).
                    (B) The Solid Waste Disposal Act (42 U.S.C. 6901 et 
                seq.).
                    (C) The Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 
                U.S.C. 1251 et seq.).
                    (D) The Toxic Substances Control Act (15 U.S.C. 
                2601 et seq.).
                    (E) Title XIV of the Public Health Service Act 
                (commonly known as the Safe Drinking Water Act) (42 
                U.S.C. 300f et seq.)
    (d) Authority To Gather Information.--The Administrator may carry 
out investigations, monitoring, surveys, testing, or other information 
gathering authorized under section 104(b) of the Comprehensive 
Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (42 
U.S.C. 9604(b)) with respect to facilities that are subject to a State 
voluntary response program, but only for purposes of determining 
whether the facility qualifies for listing on the National Priorities 
List pursuant to section 105 of that Act.
    (e) Prior Actions.--Nothing in this section shall affect 
administrative or judicial action commenced prior to the date of 
enactment of this section.
    (f) Permits and Other Requirements.--No Federal permit or permit 
revision shall be required for remediation activities undertaken on a 
site subject to, or being addressed pursuant to, a voluntary response 
plan under a State voluntary response program if the plan and State 
program are in compliance with this section.
    (g) Definitions.--For purposes of this section:
            (1) Voluntary response program.--The term ``voluntary 
        response program'' means a program established by a State 
        specifically to allow a person to respond voluntarily to the 
        release or threatened release of hazardous substances at 
        facilities in the State.
            (2) Voluntary response plan.--The term ``voluntary response 
        plan'' means a plan for responding to the release or threatened 
        release of hazardous substances at a particular facility under 
        a State voluntary response program.

SEC. 3. INNOCENT LANDOWNERS.

    Section 107 of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, 
Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9607) is amended by 
adding at the end the following new subsection:
    ``(n) Innocent Landowners.--
            ``(1) Conduct of environmental assessment.-- A person who 
        has acquired real property shall have made all appropriate 
        inquiry within the meaning of subparagraph (B) of section 
        101(35) if he establishes that, within 180 days prior to the 
        time of acquisition, an environmental site assessment of the 
        real property was conducted which meets the requirements of 
        this subsection.
            ``(2) Definition of environmental site assessment.--For 
        purposes of this subsection, the term `environmental site 
        assessment' means an assessment conducted in accordance with 
        the standards set forth in the American Society for Testing and 
        Materials (ASTM) Standard E1527-94, titled `Standard Practice 
        for Environmental Site Assessments: Phase I Environmental Site 
        Assessment Process' or with alternative standards issued by 
        rule by the Administrator or promulgated or developed by others 
        and designated by rule by the Administrator. Before issuing or 
        designating alternative standards, the Administrator shall 
        first conduct a study of commercial and industrial practices 
        concerning environmental site assessments in the transfer of 
        real property in the United States. Any such standards issued 
        or designated by the Administrator shall also be deemed to 
        constitute commercially reasonable and generally accepted 
        standards and practices for purposes of this paragraph. In 
        issuing or designating any such standards, the Administrator 
        shall consider requirements governing each of the following:
                    ``(A) Interviews of owners, operators, and 
                occupants of the property to determine information 
                regarding the potential for contamination.
                    ``(B) Review of historical sources as necessary to 
                determine previous uses and occupancies of the property 
                since the property was first developed. For purposes of 
                this subclause, the term `historical sources' means any 
                of the following, if they are reasonably ascertainable: 
                recorded chain of title documents regarding the real 
                property, including all deeds, easements, leases, 
                restrictions, and covenants, aerial photographs, fire 
                insurance maps, property tax files, USGS 7.5 minutes 
                topographic maps, local street directories, building 
                department records, zoning/land use records, and any 
                other sources that identify past uses and occupancies 
                of the property.
                    ``(C) Determination of the existence of recorded 
                environmental cleanup liens against the real property 
                which have arisen pursuant to Federal, State, or local 
                statutes.
                    ``(D) Review of reasonably ascertainable Federal, 
                State, and local government records of sites or 
                facilities that are likely to cause or contribute to 
                contamination at the real property, including, as 
                appropriate, investigation reports for such sites or 
                facilities; records of activities likely to cause or 
                contribute to contamination at the real property, 
                including landfill and other disposal location records, 
                underground storage tank records, hazardous waste 
                handler and generator records and spill reporting 
                records; and such other reasonably ascertainable 
                Federal, State, and local government environmental 
                records which could reflect incidents or activities 
                which are likely to cause or contribute to 
                contamination at the real property.
                    ``(E) A visual site inspection of the real property 
                and all facilities and improvements on the real 
                property and a visual inspection of immediately 
                adjacent properties, including an investigation of any 
                hazardous substance use, storage, treatment, and 
                disposal practices on the property.
                    ``(F) Any specialized knowledge or experience on 
                the part of the defendant.
                    ``(G) The relationship of the purchase price to the 
                value of the property if uncontaminated.
                    ``(H) Commonly known or reasonably ascertainable 
                information about the property.
                    ``(I) The obviousness of the presence or likely 
                presence of contamination at the property, and the 
                ability to detect such contamination by appropriate 
                investigation.
        A record shall be considered to be `reasonably ascertainable' 
        for purposes of this paragraph if a copy or reasonable 
        facsimile of the record is publicly available by request 
        (within reasonable time and cost constraints) and the record is 
        practically reviewable.
            ``(3) Maintenance of information.--No presumption shall 
        arise under paragraph (1) unless the defendant has maintained a 
        compilation of the information reviewed and gathered in the 
        course of the environmental site assessment.
            ``(4) Definition of contamination.--For the purposes of 
        this subsection and section 101(35), the term `contamination' 
        means an existing release, a past release, or the material 
        threat of a release of a hazardous substance, other than de 
        minimis conditions that generally do not present a material 
        risk of harm to public health or welfare or the environment.''.
    (b) Cross Reference.--Section 101(35)(B) (42 U.S.C. 9601(35)(B)) is 
amended by inserting after ``all appropriate inquiry'' the following: 
``(as specified in section 107(n))''.

SEC. 4. BONA FIDE PROSPECTIVE PURCHASER LIABILITY.

    (a) Liability.--Section 107 of the Comprehensive Environmental 
Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9607) is 
amended by after subsection (n) the following new subsections:
    ``(o) Bona fide prospective purchaser.--(1) Notwithstanding 
paragraphs (1) through (4) of subsection (a), a person who does not 
impede the performance of a response action or natural resource 
restoration at a facility shall not be liable to the extent liability 
at such facility is based solely on paragraph (1) of subsection (a) for 
a release or threat of release from the facility, and the person is a 
bona fide prospective purchaser of the facility.
    ``(2) For purposes of this subsection, the term `bona fide 
prospective purchaser' means a person who acquires ownership of a 
facility after the date of enactment of this subsection, or a tenant of 
such a person, who can establish each of the following by a 
preponderance of the evidence:
            ``(A) All active disposal of hazardous substances at the 
        facility occurred before that person acquired the facility.
            ``(B) The person made all appropriate inquiry into the 
        previous ownership and uses of the facility and its real 
        property in accordance with generally accepted commercial and 
        customary standards and practices. Standards described in 
        section 107(n)(2) (relating to innocent landowners) shall 
        satisfy the requirements of this subparagraph. In the case of 
        property for residential or other similar use, purchased by a 
        nongovernmental or noncommercial entity, a site inspection and 
        title search that reveal no basis for further investigation 
        satisfy the requirements of this subparagraph.
            ``(C) The person provided all legally required notices with 
        respect to the discovery or release of any hazardous substances 
        at the facility.
            ``(D) The person exercised appropriate care with respect to 
        hazardous substances found at the facility by taking reasonable 
        steps to stop on-going releases, prevent threatened future 
        releases of hazardous substances, and prevent or limit human or 
        natural resource exposure to hazardous substances previously 
        released into the environment.
            ``(E) The person provides full cooperation, assistance, and 
        facility access to persons authorized to conduct response 
        actions at the facility, including the cooperation and access 
        necessary for the installation, integrity, operation, and 
        maintenance of any complete or partial response action at the 
        facility.
            ``(F) The person is not affiliated with any other person 
        liable for response costs at the facility, through any direct 
        or indirect familial relationship, or any contractual, 
        corporate, or financial relationship other than that created by 
        the instruments by which title to the facility is conveyed or 
        financed.''.
    ``(p) Prospective Purchaser and Windfall Lien.--(1) In any case in 
which there are unrecovered response costs at a facility for which an 
owner of the facility is not liable by reason of section 107(o), and 
the conditions described in paragraph (2) are met, the United States 
shall have a lien upon such facility for such unrecovered costs. Such 
lien--
            ``(A) shall not exceed the increase in fair market value of 
        the property attributable to the response action at the time of 
        a subsequent sale or other disposition of property;
            ``(B) shall arise at the time costs are first incurred by 
        the United States with respect to a response action at the 
        facility;
            ``(C) shall be subject to the requirements for notice and 
        validity established in paragraph (3) of subsection (l); and
            ``(D) shall continue until the earlier of satisfaction of 
        the lien or recovery of all response costs incurred at the 
        facility.
    ``(2) The conditions referred to in paragraph (1) are the 
following:
            ``(A) A response action for which there are unrecovered 
        costs is carried out at the facility.
            ``(B) Such response action increases the fair market value 
        of the facility above the fair market value of the facility 
        that existed within 6 months before the response action was 
        taken.
    ``(3) No lien under this section shall arise--
            ``(A) with respect to property for which the property owner 
        preceding the first bona fide prospective purchaser is not a 
        liable party or has resolved its liability under this Act, or
            ``(B) where an environmental assessment gives the bona fide 
        prospective purchaser no knowledge or reason to know of the 
        release of hazardous substances.''.