I 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3707 

To authorize the Secretary of the Interior, in consultation with the Groundwork USA national office, to provide grants to certain nonprofit organizations. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

OCTOBER 7, 2015 

Ms. TSONGAS introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committees on 

Natural Resources and Financial Services, for a period to be subsequently 

determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To authorize the Secretary of the Interior, in consultation 

with the Groundwork USA national office, to provide 

grants to certain nonprofit organizations. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Groundwork USA 

5 Trust Act of 2015’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds that— 


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1 (1) locally organized and controlled entities that 

2 are linked together through a national program of3 fice have the ability to lead cost-effective projects 

4 and programs that are responsive to community 

5 needs and essential to improving the local environ6 ment, economy, and quality of life; 

7 (2) local community involvement with how land 

8 is being used is an essential component to the eco9 nomic success of a neighborhood; 

10 (3) underutilized and neglected vacant lands 

11 significantly erode nearby property values and bur12 den municipal tax bases; 

13 (4) landscaping and maintenance, especially 

14 when local citizens are involved in the process, de15 creases negative stigma and generates civic pride, 

16 which in turn significantly reduces vandalism and il17 licit activities typically associated with idle lands; 

18 (5) cleaning, landscaping, and tree planting 

19 within vacant and abandoned land and brownfields 

20 adds economic value to a community through in21 creased occupancy rates, and improved sales appeal 

22 of nearby residential and commercial real estate; and 

23 (6) the transformation of idle lands and 

24 brownfields into cleaner, greener, community assets 


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1 has been exemplified by a network of federally 

2 backed Groundwork USA Trusts for over 8 years. 

3 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

4 In this Act: 

5 (1) BROWNFIELDS.—The term ‘‘brownfields’’ 

6 means real property, the expansion, redevelopment, 

7 or reuse of which may be complicated by the pres8 ence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, 

9 pollutant, or contaminant. 

10 (2) ELIGIBLE ORGANIZATION.—The term ‘‘eligi11 ble organization’’ means a— 

12 (A) nonprofit organization that applies for 

13 a grant award under section 4(b) to establish a 

14 Groundwork USA Trust; and 

15 (B) Groundwork USA Trust. 

16 (3) GROUNDWORK USA NATIONAL OFFICE.— 

17 The term ‘‘Groundwork USA national office’’ means 

18 the independent, nonprofit, environmental business 

19 incorporated under the laws of the State of New 

20 York, which overseas and creates a link between 

21 local Groundwork USA Trust offices. 

22 (4) GROUNDWORK USA TRUST.—The term 

23 ‘‘Groundwork USA Trust’’ means an independent, 

24 nonprofit, environmental organization that works 


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1 with communities to improve their environment, 

2 economy, and quality of life through local action. 

3 (5) NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION.—The term 

4 ‘‘nonprofit organization’’ means an organization that 

5 is described in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Rev6 enue Code of 1986 and is exempt from tax under 

7 section 501(a) of such Code. 

8 (6) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

9 the Secretary of the Interior. 

10 SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT OF GROUNDWORK USA TRUST 

11 PROGRAM. 

12 (a) AUTHORIZATION OF GRANT PROGRAM.—The 

13 Secretary, in consultation with the Groundwork USA na14 tional office, is authorized to award grants to eligible orga15 nizations. 

16 (b) APPLICATION.—An eligible organization desiring 

17 a grant under the program shall submit an application to 

18 the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and con19 taining such information as the Secretary, in consultation 

20 with the Groundwork USA national office, may require. 

21 SEC. 5. CRITERIA FOR SELECTION. 

22 Each grant award provided under section 4(a) shall 

23 be made on the basis of the quality of the application sub24 mitted, taking into consideration such factors as the fol25 lowing: 


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1 (1) The population and demographics of the 

2 community and the environmental, community, or 

3 economic development issues which an eligible entity 

4 could help address. 

5 (2) The level of experience with community and 

6 environmental improvement activities of an eligible 

7 organization and the role such organization will play 

8 in the implementation of Groundwork USA Trust 

9 activities. 

10 (3) The level in which the community or local 

11 government in which the eligible organization is 

12 based is a current or past recipient of funding or as13 sistance from the EPA Brownfields Program and 

14 demonstrated success in those efforts. 

15 (4) The level in which the eligible organization 

16 has partnered with the National Park Service and 

17 demonstrated success in those efforts. 

18 (5) The level of community interest and com19 mitment to learn about, evaluate, and partner with 

20 a Groundwork USA Trust. 

21 (6) The number and level of opportunities to 

22 improve the local environment for conservation, 

23 recreation, and economic development, including: 

24 (A) The potential to facilitate the creation, 

25 improvement, and stewardship of parks, greenVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:37 Oct 09, 2015 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3707.IH H3707

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1 ways, open space, and nature reserves and in2 crease opportunities for recreation, conserva3 tion, food security, environmental education, 

4 and other environmental improvements in com5 munities impacted by brownfields. 

6 (B) The potential to stimulate economic 

7 and environmental rejuvenation of communities 

8 impacted by brownfield issues. 

9 (C) The potential to increase the capacity 

10 of communities with limited means to improve 

11 their environment, economy, and quality of life. 

12 (D) The potential to engage the local com13 munity in the planning and development of 

14 projects and programs to improve its local envi15 ronment, including the assessment, cleanup, 

16 and reuse of brownfield sites for parks, recre17 ation facilities, nature areas, gardens, trails, 

18 and other community benefits. 

19 (E) The potential to contribute to the use 

20 or reuse of existing infrastructure. 

21 (7) The ability to address the issue of 

22 brownfields in the community or target area, includ23 ing: 

24 (A) The potential to leverage or stimulate 

25 funds from other sources to support the assessVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:37 Oct 09, 2015 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3707.IH H3707

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1 ment and remediation of brownfields and their 

2 reuse for parks, recreation facilities, nature 

3 areas, and other community benefits. 

4 (B) The potential to engage the local com5 munity in the planning and implementation of 

6 projects and programs to assess, cleanup, and 

7 reuse brownfields for parks, recreation facilities, 

8 nature areas, and other community benefits. 

9 (C) The potential to help reduce the 

10 threats to human health and the local environ11 ment associated with the presence of hazardous 

12 substances, pollutants, or contaminants. 

13 (D) The potential to help address or facili14 tate the identification and reduction of threats 

15 to the health and welfare of populations at risk. 

16 SEC. 6. USE OF FUNDS. 

17 A grant award provided under the program may be 

18 used to— 

19 (1) provide training, research, and technical as20 sistance to individuals and organizations, as appro21 priate, to facilitate the inventory of brownfield sites, 

22 site assessments, remediation of brownfield sites, 

23 community involvement, or site preparation; 

24 (2) increase the capacity of communities to im25 prove and care for their local environment; 


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1 (3) reclaim vacant and derelict lands for con2 servation, recreation, and economic development; 

3 (4) clean up and care for neglected areas to sig4 nal community pride and rejuvenation; 

5 (5) return brownfields to economically produc6 tive use while restoring blighted landscapes with 

7 healthy environments; 

8 (6) integrate environmental education, food se9 curity, health and fitness, resource management, 

10 and job training; 

11 (7) encourage businesses, local governments, 

12 nonprofits, and communities to work together for 

13 sustainable environmental care and enhancement; 

14 (8) support businesses, local governments, non15 profits, and communities in efforts to improve their 

16 local environment; 

17 (9) raise the profile of urban environmental im18 provements as part of a comprehensive approach to 

19 smart growth strategies and rejuvenation of inner 

20 city communities; 

21 (10) acquire real property and buildings to re22 habilitate and improve upon for the local community 

23 and perform maintenance on such property and 

24 buildings, including mowing, irrigating, landscaping, 

25 painting, and providing structural repairs; 


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1 (11) expand operations and locations of offices 

2 to benefit a larger geographic area, and increase 

3 staff; 

4 (12) develop information systems and utilize 

5 such systems for community- and regional-based re6 search and data dissemination; and 

7 (13) develop programs that encourage regional 

8 and national partnering with other environmental or9 ganizations. 

10 SEC. 7. MAXIMUM GRANT AWARD. 

11 A grant award under the program shall not exceed 

12 $400,000 for any fiscal year. 

13 SEC. 8. LIMITATION ON ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS. 

14 The Secretary may reserve not more than 15 percent 

15 of the amount made available under this Act to carry out 

16 the program in a fiscal year for administrative costs, in17 cluding managing, administering, and assisting with tech18 nical support of operations for national and local Ground19 work USA offices. 

20 SEC. 9. ANNUAL REPORT. 

21 Each grant recipient shall submit to the Secretary 

22 and the national Groundwork USA national office an an23 nual report at such time, in such manner, and containing 

24 such information as the Secretary, in consultation with the 

25 Groundwork USA national office, may require. 


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1 SEC. 10. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

2 There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

3 the program $15,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2016 

4 through 2021. 

Æ 


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