I

104TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 1620

To authorize the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to

establish a pilot project providing loans to States to establish revolving

loan funds for the environmental cleanup of sites in distressed areas

that have the potential to attract private investment and create local

employment.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

MAY 11, 1995

Mr. REGULA (for himself, Mr. VISCLOSKY, Mr. TRAFICANT, Mr. LIPINSKI, Mr.

DOYLE, Mr. SERRANO, Mr. ACKERMAN, Mr. FOGLIETTA, Mr. KLINK, Ms.

PELOSI, Mr. LATOURETTE, Mr. ENGLISH of Pennsylvania, and Mr. MURTHA) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee

on Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on Transportation and

Infrastructure, 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 Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to establish a pilot project providing loans

to States to establish revolving loan funds for the environmental cleanup of sites in distressed areas that have

the potential to attract private investment and create

local employment.

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

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Brownfield Cleanup

3 and Redevelopment Revolving Loan Fund Pilot Project

4 Act of 1996’’.

5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

6 (a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds the following:

7 (1) Contaminated and underused or abandoned

8 industrial sites in distressed communities are, eco9 nomically, at a competitive disadvantage relative to

10 greenfield sites, as capital for their cleanup and re11 development may not be available.

12 (2) Contaminated and underused and aban13 doned industrial properties located in distressed

14 areas, owned by private, public, or nonprofit entities,

15 often with significant economic development poten16 tial once cleaned up, are unable to secure initial fi17 nancing for site remediation.

18 (3) Considerable public benefits can accrue

19 from such sites once cleaned up and brought back

20 to productive reuse, especially those devoted to in21 dustrial purposes that employ environmentally sound

22 practices.

23 (4) Voluntary cleanup programs spur private

24 sector cleanups when the property value is sufficient

25 and its location favorable enough to make the addi26 tional costs of cleanup economically feasible, but this
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1 approach does not resolve the problems facing prop2 erties with little or no value, common among sites lo3 cated in economically distressed areas.

4 (5) Because of their experience in administering

5 targeted loan assistance programs, States are in a

6 good position to use Federal funds to capitalize re7 volving loan funds to support local cleanup and rede8 velopment projects.

9 (b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this Act is to estab10 lish a pilot project to revitalize distressed communities by

11 providing loans for cleanup of certain industrial properties

12 that have the potential to attract private investment, fos13 ter clean manufacturing, and create jobs for local resi14 dents.

15 SEC. 3. PILOT PROJECT PROVIDING REVOLVING LOAN

16 FUND FOR CLEANUPS UNDER STATE VOL17 UNTARY CLEANUP PROGRAMS.

18 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF LOAN PROGRAM.—The Ad19 ministrator of the Environmental Protection Agency

20 (hereinafter in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Adminis21 trator’’) shall establish a pilot project to provide a capital22 ization loan to one or more States that submit applications

23 to the Administrator to establish or expand a State revolv24 ing loan fund for purposes of providing loans for voluntary

25 environmental cleanups of eligible facilities.
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1 (b) APPLICATION FOR LOAN.—An application for a

2 capitalization loan under this section shall be in such form

3 as the Administrator considers appropriate. At a mini4 mum, the application shall include each of the following:

5 (1) Evidence that the State is carrying out a

6 voluntary cleanup program for eligible facilities. The

7 Administrator shall ensure that the State voluntary

8 program provides, at a minium, adequate opportuni9 ties for public participation, sufficient technical as10 sistance, and oversight to ensure that cleanups com11 ply with Federal and State laws, and certification to

12 the owner and prospective purchaser that the clean13 up is complete.

14 (2) Evidence that the State will provide a

15 matching share of at least 20 percent of the costs

16 of such cleanup from either new or existing sources

17 of State funding.

18 (3) A description of the State’s proposed revolv19 ing loan program and of the State’s capability to

20 manage the program. States may use interest in21 come or loan repayments (in an amount equal to not

22 more than 10 percent of their revolving loan fund

23 amount) for program administrative purposes. At a

24 minimum, the State’s revolving loan program shall—
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1 (A) provide loans to both public and pri2 vate parties conducting voluntary cleanups

3 under the State’s voluntary cleanup program

4 who are unable to secure loans from private

5 lending institutions or other means of financ6 ing;

7 (B) require that borrowers demonstrate

8 credit worthiness and the ability to carry out

9 the cleanup; and

10 (C) give priority to loans for the purpose

11 of cleaning up—

12 (i) facilities that are planned to be re13 used for industrial purposes that employ

14 environmentally sound practices; and

15 (ii) facilities that will generate jobs

16 for contractors whose principal place of

17 business is the political subdivision in

18 which the facility is located or for laborers

19 who reside in such political subdivisions.

20 (4) A statement that the State will begin repay21 ment of the loan within 5 years after receipt of the

22 loan, and evidence of the State’s ability to repay the

23 loan.
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1 (5) A statement that a loan from the revolving

2 loan fund will not be used to pay for any of the fol3 lowing:

4 (A) New construction.

5 (B) Environmental fines or penalties.

6 (C) Speculative assessments or speculative

7 rehabilitation at facilities with little or no po8 tential for economic development.

9 (6) Such other elements as the Administrator

10 considers appropriate.

11 (c) AMOUNT OF LOAN.—The Administrator shall de12 termine the distribution of funds among the eligible

13 States. The amount of a capitalization loan made by the

14 Administrator under this Act to a State may not exceed

15 15 percent of the amount available each year to all the

16 eligible States.

17 (d) AUTHORIZATION.—There are authorized to be ap18 propriated to the Administrator for purposes of making

19 capitalization loans to States under the pilot project estab20 lished by this section the sum of $5,000,000 for fiscal year

21 1996 and $7,500,000 for each of the fiscal years 1997

22 and 1998.
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1 SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.

2 For purposes of this Act the term ‘‘eligible facility’’

3 means a facility or property in a State that is determined

4 by the State to have environmental contamination that—

5 (1) could prevent the timely use, development,

6 or reuse of the facility or property; and

7 (2) is limited in scope and can be comprehen8 sively and readily evaluated.

9 Such term shall not include any of the following:

10 (A) A facility that is eligible for abatement ac11 tion under section 106 of the Comprehensive Envi12 ronmental Response, Compensation, and Liability

13 Act of 1980.

14 (B) A facility that, as of the date of the enact15 ment of this Act, is subject to Federal enforcement

16 action under the Comprehensive Environmental Re17 sponse, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (42

18 U.S.C. 9601 et seq.).

19 (C) A facility included, or proposed for inclu20 sion, on the National Priorities List or on the com21 prehensive environmental response, compensation,

22 and liability inventory system (‘‘CERCLIS’’) that

23 has been evaluated as high priority under the hazard

24 ranking system.

25 (D) A facility required to have a permit under

26 section 3005 of the Solid Waste Disposal Act that
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1 does not have a permit under that section and does

2 not qualify for authorization to operate in interim

3 status under subsection (e) of that section.

4 (E) A land disposal unit with respect to which

5 a closure notification under subtitle C of the Solid

6 Waste Disposal Act (42 U.S.C. 6921 et seq.) is sub7 mitted and closure requirements are specified in a

8 closure plan or permit.

9 (F) A facility subject to corrective action under

10 section 3004(u) or 3008(h) of the Solid Waste Dis11 posal Act (42 U.S.C. 5924(u) or 6928(h)) that is

12 evaluated as high priority under the Environmental

13 Protection Agency’s National Corrective Action Pri14 ority System as set forth in regulations under sub15 title C of the Solid Waste Disposal Act.

16 (G) A facility at which assistance for response

17 activities may be obtained pursuant to subtitle I of

18 the Solid Waste Disposal Act (42 U.S.C. 6991 et

19 seq.) from the Leaking Underground Storage Tank

20 Trust Fund established under section 9508 of the

21 Internal Revenue Code of 1986.

22 (H) A facility owned or operated by a depart23 ment, agency, or instrumentality of the United

24 States.

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