II

107TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 1079

To amend the Public Works and Economic Development Act of 1965 to

provide assistance to communities for the redevelopment of brownfield sites.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

JUNE 21, 2001

Mr. LEVIN (for himself, Mr. JEFFORDS, Mr. BAUCUS, Mr. KENNEDY, Ms.

STABENOW, Mr. REID, Mr. SCHUMER, Mr. LEAHY, Mr. CORZINE, Mr.

SARBANES, and Mr. DAYTON) introduced the following bill; which was

read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public

Works

A BILL

To amend the Public Works and Economic Development

Act of 1965 to provide assistance to communities for

the redevelopment of brownfield sites.

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 ‘‘Brownfield Site Rede5 velopment Assistance Act of 2001’’.
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1 SEC. 2. PURPOSES.

2 Consistent with section 2 of the Public Works and

3 Economic Development Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3121), the

4 purposes of this Act are—

5 (1) to provide targeted assistance, including

6 planning assistance, for projects that promote the

7 redevelopment, restoration, and economic recovery of

8 brownfield sites; and

9 (2) through such assistance, to further the

10 goals of restoring the employment and tax bases of,

11 and bringing new income and private investment to,

12 distressed communities that have not participated

13 fully in the economic growth of the United States

14 because of a lack of an adequate private sector tax

15 base to support essential public services and facili16 ties.

17 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

18 Section 3 of the Public Works and Economic Devel19 opment Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3122) is amended—

20 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (1) through

21 (10) as paragraphs (2) through (11), respectively;

22 (2) by inserting before paragraph (2) (as so re23 designated) the following:

24 ‘‘(1) BROWNFIELD SITE.—

25 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘brownfield

26 site’ means real property, the expansion, rede-
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1 velopment, or reuse of which may be com2 plicated by the presence or potential presence

3 of—

4 ‘‘(i) a hazardous substance (as defined

5 in section 101 of the Comprehensive Envi6 ronmental Response, Compensation, and

7 Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9601));

8 or

9 ‘‘(ii) any other pollutant or contami10 nant, as determined by the Secretary, in

11 consultation with the Administrator of the

12 Environmental Protection Agency.

13 ‘‘(B) EXCLUSIONS.—Except as provided in

14 subparagraph (C), the term ‘brownfield site’

15 does not include—

16 ‘‘(i) a facility that is the subject of a

17 planned or ongoing removal action under

18 the Comprehensive Environmental Re19 sponse, Compensation, and Liability Act of

20 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9601 et seq.);

21 ‘‘(ii) a facility that is listed on the Na22 tional Priorities List, or is proposed for

23 listing on that list, under that Act;

24 ‘‘(iii) a facility that is the subject of

25 a unilateral administrative order, a court
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1 order, an administrative order on consent,

2 or a judicial consent decree that has been

3 issued to or entered into by the parties

4 under that Act;

5 ‘‘(iv) a facility that is the subject of a

6 unilateral administrative order, a court

7 order, an administrative order on consent,

8 or a judicial consent decree that has been

9 issued to or entered into by the parties, or

10 a facility to which a permit has been issued

11 by the United States or an authorized

12 State, under—

13 ‘‘(I) the Solid Waste Disposal

14 Act (42 U.S.C. 6901 et seq.);

15 ‘‘(II) the Federal Water Pollution

16 Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.);

17 ‘‘(III) the Toxic Substances Con18 trol Act (15 U.S.C. 2601 et seq.); or

19 ‘‘(IV) the Safe Drinking Water

20 Act (42 U.S.C. 300f et seq.);

21 ‘‘(v) a facility—

22 ‘‘(I) that is subject to corrective

23 action under section 3004(u) or

24 3008(h) of the Solid Waste Disposal
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1 Act (42 U.S.C. 6924(u), 6928(h));

2 and

3 ‘‘(II) to which a corrective action

4 permit or order has been issued or

5 modified to require the implementa6 tion of corrective measures;

7 ‘‘(vi) a land disposal unit with respect

8 to which—

9 ‘‘(I) a closure notification under

10 subtitle C of the Solid Waste Disposal

11 Act (42 U.S.C. 6921 et seq.) has been

12 submitted; and

13 ‘‘(II) closure requirements have

14 been specified in a closure plan or

15 permit;

16 ‘‘(vii) a facility that is subject to the

17 jurisdiction, custody, or control of a de18 partment, agency, or instrumentality of the

19 United States, except for land held in trust

20 by the United States for an Indian tribe;

21 ‘‘(viii) a portion of a facility—

22 ‘‘(I) at which there has been a

23 release of polychlorinated biphenyls;

24 and
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1 ‘‘(II) that is subject to remedi2 ation under the Toxic Substances

3 Control Act (15 U.S.C. 2601 et seq.);

4 or

5 ‘‘(ix) a portion of a facility, for which

6 portion, assistance for response activity

7 has been obtained under subtitle I of the

8 Solid Waste Disposal Act (42 U.S.C. 6991

9 et seq.) from the Leaking Underground

10 Storage Tank Trust Fund established by

11 section 9508 of the Internal Revenue Code

12 of 1986.

13 ‘‘(C) SITE-BY-SITE INCLUSIONS.—The

14 term ‘brownfield site’ includes a site referred to

15 in clause (i), (iv), (v), (vi), (viii), or (ix) of sub16 paragraph (B), if, on a site-by-site basis, the

17 Secretary, in consultation with the Adminis18 trator of the Environmental Protection Agency,

19 determines that use of the financial assistance

20 at the site will—

21 ‘‘(i) protect human health and the en22 vironment; and

23 ‘‘(ii)(I) promote economic develop24 ment; or
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1 ‘‘(II) enable the creation of, preserva2 tion of, or addition to parks, greenways,

3 undeveloped property, other recreational

4 property, or other property used for non5 profit purposes.

6 ‘‘(D) ADDITIONAL INCLUSIONS.—The term

7 ‘brownfield site’ includes a site that meets the

8 definition of ‘brownfield site’ under subpara9 graphs (A) through (C) that—

10 ‘‘(i) is contaminated by a controlled

11 substance (as defined in section 102 of the

12 Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C.

13 802));

14 ‘‘(ii)(I) is contaminated by petroleum

15 or a petroleum product excluded from the

16 definition of ‘hazardous substance’ under

17 section 101 of the Comprehensive Environ18 mental Response, Compensation, and Li19 ability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9601); and

20 ‘‘(II) is a site determined by the Sec21 retary, in consultation with the Adminis22 trator of the Environmental Protection

23 Agency, to be—

24 ‘‘(aa) of relatively low risk, as

25 compared with other petroleum-only
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1 sites in the State in which the site is

2 located; and

3 ‘‘(bb) a site for which there is no

4 viable responsible party and that will

5 be assessed, investigated, or cleaned

6 up by a person that is not potentially

7 liable for cleaning up the site; and

8 ‘‘(III) is not subject to any order

9 issued under section 9003(h) of the Solid

10 Waste Disposal Act (42 U.S.C. 6991b(h));

11 or

12 ‘‘(iii) is mine-scarred land.’’; and

13 (3) by adding at the end the following:

14 ‘‘(12) UNUSED LAND.—The term ‘unused land’

15 means any publicly-owned or privately-owned un16 used, underused, or abandoned land that is not con17 tributing to the quality of life or economic well-being

18 of the community in which the land is located.’’.

19 SEC. 4. COORDINATION.

20 Section 103 of the Public Works and Economic De21 velopment Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3132) is amended—

22 (1) by inserting ‘‘(a) COMPREHENSIVE ECO23 NOMIC DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIES.—’’ before ‘‘The

24 Secretary’’; and

25 (2) by adding at the end the following:
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1 ‘‘(b) BROWNFIELD SITE REDEVELOPMENT.—The

2 Secretary shall coordinate activities relating to the redevel3 opment of brownfield sites under this Act with other Fed4 eral agencies, States, local governments, consortia of local

5 governments, Indian tribes, nonprofit organizations, and

6 public-private partnerships.’’.

7 SEC. 5. GRANTS FOR BROWNFIELD SITE REDEVELOPMENT.

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title II of the Public Works and

9 Economic Development Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3141 et

10 seq.) is amended—

11 (1) by redesignating sections 210 through 213

12 as sections 211 through 214, respectively; and

13 (2) by inserting after section 209 the following:

14 ‘‘SEC. 210. GRANTS FOR BROWNFIELD SITE REDEVELOP15 MENT.

16 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—On the application of an eligible

17 recipient, the Secretary may make grants for projects to

18 alleviate or prevent conditions of excessive unemployment,

19 underemployment, blight, and infrastructure deterioration

20 associated with brownfield sites, including projects con21 sisting of—

22 ‘‘(1) development of public facilities;

23 ‘‘(2) development of public services;

24 ‘‘(3) business development (including funding of

25 a revolving loan fund);
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1 ‘‘(4) planning;

2 ‘‘(5) technical assistance; and

3 ‘‘(6) training.

4 ‘‘(b) CRITERIA FOR GRANTS.—The Secretary may

5 provide a grant for a project under this section only if—

6 ‘‘(1) the Secretary determines that the project

7 will assist the area where the project is or will be lo8 cated to meet, directly or indirectly, a special need

9 arising from—

10 ‘‘(A) a high level of unemployment or

11 underemployment, or a high proportion of low12 income households;

13 ‘‘(B) the existence of blight and infrastruc14 ture deterioration;

15 ‘‘(C) dislocations resulting from commer16 cial or industrial restructuring;

17 ‘‘(D) outmigration and population loss, as

18 indicated by—

19 ‘‘(i)(I) depletion of human capital (in20 cluding young, skilled, or educated popu21 lations);

22 ‘‘(II) depletion of financial capital (in23 cluding firms and investment); or

24 ‘‘(III) a shrinking tax base; and

25 ‘‘(ii) resulting—
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1 ‘‘(I) fiscal pressure;

2 ‘‘(II) restricted access to mar3 kets; and

4 ‘‘(III) constrained local develop5 ment potential; or

6 ‘‘(E) the closure or realignment of—

7 ‘‘(i) a military or Department of En8 ergy installation; or

9 ‘‘(ii) any other Federal facility; and

10 ‘‘(2) except in the case of a project consisting

11 of planning or technical assistance—

12 ‘‘(A) the Secretary has approved a com13 prehensive economic development strategy for

14 the area where the project is or will be located;

15 and

16 ‘‘(B) the project is consistent with the

17 comprehensive economic development strategy.

18 ‘‘(c) PARTICULAR COMMUNITY ASSISTANCE.—Assist19 ance under this section may include assistance provided

20 for activities identified by a community, the economy of

21 which is injured by the existence of 1 or more brownfield

22 sites, to assist the community in—

23 ‘‘(1) revitalizing affected areas by—

24 ‘‘(A) diversifying the economy of the com25 munity; or
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1 ‘‘(B) carrying out industrial or commercial

2 (including mixed use) redevelopment projects on

3 brownfield sites or sites adjacent to brownfield

4 sites;

5 ‘‘(2) carrying out development that conserves

6 environmental and agricultural resources by—

7 ‘‘(A) reusing existing facilities and infra8 structure;

9 ‘‘(B) reclaiming unused land and aban10 doned buildings; or

11 ‘‘(C) creating publicly owned parks, play12 grounds, recreational facilities, or cultural cen13 ters that contribute to the economic revitaliza14 tion of a community; or

15 ‘‘(3) carrying out a collaborative economic de16 velopment planning process, developed with broad17 based and diverse community participation, that ad18 dresses the economic repercussions and opportunities

19 posed by the existence of brownfield sites in an area.

20 ‘‘(d) DIRECT EXPENDITURE OR REDISTRIBUTION BY

21 ELIGIBLE RECIPIENT.—

22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2),

23 an eligible recipient of a grant under this section

24 may directly expend the grant funds or may redis25 tribute the funds to public and private entities in the
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1 form of a grant, loan, loan guarantee, payment to

2 reduce interest on a loan guarantee, or other appro3 priate assistance.

4 ‘‘(2) LIMITATION.—Under paragraph (1), an el5 igible recipient may not provide any grant to a pri6 vate for-profit entity.’’.

7 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of con8 tents in section 1(b) of the Public Works and Economic

9 Development Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. prec. 3121) is

10 amended by striking the items relating to sections 210

11 through 213 and inserting the following:

‘‘Sec. 210. Grants for brownfield site redevelopment.

‘‘Sec. 211. Changed project circumstances.

‘‘Sec. 212. Use of funds in projects constructed under projected cost.

‘‘Sec. 213. Reports by recipients.

‘‘Sec. 214. Prohibition on use of funds for attorney’s and consultant’s fees.’’.

12 SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title VII of the Public Works and

14 Economic Development Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3231 et

15 seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:

16 ‘‘SEC. 704. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS FOR

17 BROWNFIELD SITE REDEVELOPMENT.

18 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—In addition to amounts made

19 available under section 701, there is authorized to be ap20 propriated to carry out section 210 $60,000,000 for each

21 of fiscal years 2002 through 2006, to remain available

22 until expended.
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1 ‘‘(b) FEDERAL SHARE.—Notwithstanding section

2 204, subject to section 205, the Federal share of the cost

3 of activities funded with amounts made available under

4 subsection (a) shall be not more than 75 percent.’’.

5 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of con6 tents in section 1(b) of the Public Works and Economic

7 Development Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. prec. 3121) is

8 amended by adding at the end of the items relating to

9 title VII the following:

‘‘Sec. 704. Authorization of appropriations for brownfield site redevelopment.’’.

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