II 

Calendar No. 214 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 2959 

To amend the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and 

Liability Act of 1980 to reauthorize brownfields revitalization funding, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 27 (legislative day, SEPTEMBER 22), 2023 

Mr. CARPER, from the Committee on Environment and Public Works, reported the following original bill; which was read twice and placed on the 

calendar 

A BILL 

To amend the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 to reauthorize 

brownfields revitalization funding, and for other purposes. 

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 ‘‘Brownfields Reauthor5 ization Act of 2023’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. IMPROVING SMALL AND DISADVANTAGED COMMU2 NITY ACCESS TO GRANT OPPORTUNITIES. 

3 Section 104(k) of the Comprehensive Environmental 

4 Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (42 

5 U.S.C. 9604(k)) is amended— 

6 (1) in paragraph (1)(I), by inserting ‘‘or 

7 501(c)(6)’’ after ‘‘section 501(c)(3)’’; 

8 (2) in paragraph (5), by striking subparagraph 

9 (E); 

10 (3) in paragraph (6)(C), by striking clause (ix) 

11 and inserting the following: 

12 ‘‘(ix) The extent to which the appli13 cant has a plan— 

14 ‘‘(I) to engage a diverse set of 

15 local groups and organizations that ef16 fectively represent the views of the 

17 local community that will be directly 

18 affected by the proposed brownfield 

19 project; and 

20 ‘‘(II) to meaningfully involve the 

21 local community described in sub22 clause (I) in making decisions relating 

23 to the proposed brownfield project.’’; 

24 (4) in paragraph (10)(B)(iii)— 

25 (A) by striking ‘‘20 percent’’ and inserting 

26 ‘‘10 percent’’; 


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1 (B) by inserting ‘‘the eligible entity is lo2 cated in a small community or disadvantaged 

3 area (as those terms are defined in section 

4 128(a)(1)(B)(iv)) or’’ after ‘‘unless’’; and 

5 (C) by inserting ‘‘, in which case the Ad6 ministrator shall waive the matching share re7 quirement under this clause’’ before ‘‘; and’’; 

8 and 

9 (5) in paragraph (13), by striking ‘‘2019 

10 through 2023’’ and inserting ‘‘2024 through 2029’’. 

11 SEC. 3. INCREASING GRANT AMOUNTS. 

12 Section 104(k)(3)(A)(ii) of the Comprehensive Envi13 ronmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 

14 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9604(k)(3)(A)(ii)) is amended by strik15 ing ‘‘$500,000’’ and all that follows through the period 

16 at the end and inserting ‘‘$1,000,000 for each site to be 

17 remediated.’’. 

18 SEC. 4. STATE RESPONSE PROGRAMS. 

19 Section 128(a) of the Comprehensive Environmental 

20 Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (42 

21 U.S.C. 9628(a)) is amended— 

22 (1) in paragraph (1)(B)(i), by striking ‘‘or en23 hance’’ and inserting ‘‘, enhance, or implement’’; 

24 and 


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1 (2) by striking paragraph (3) and inserting the 

2 following: 

3 ‘‘(3) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

4 There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

5 this subsection— 

6 ‘‘(A) $50,000,000 for fiscal year 2024; 

7 ‘‘(B) $55,000,000 for fiscal year 2025; 

8 ‘‘(C) $60,000,000 for fiscal year 2026; 

9 ‘‘(D) $65,000,000 for fiscal year 2027; 

10 ‘‘(E) $70,000,000 for fiscal year 2028; and 

11 ‘‘(F) $75,000,000 for fiscal year 2029.’’. 

12 SEC. 5. REPORT TO IDENTIFY OPPORTUNITIES TO STREAM13 LINE APPLICATION PROCESS; UPDATING 

14 GUIDANCE. 

15 (a) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

16 of enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the Envi17 ronmental Protection Agency (referred to in this section 

18 as the ‘‘Administrator’’) shall submit to Congress a report 

19 that evaluates the application ranking criteria and ap20 proval process for grants and loans under section 104(k) 

21 of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Com22 pensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9604(k)), 

23 which shall include, with respect to those grants and 

24 loans— 


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1 (1) an evaluation of the shortcomings in the ex2 isting application requirements that are a recurring 

3 source of confusion for potential recipients of those 

4 grants or loans; 

5 (2) an identification of the most common 

6 sources of point deductions on application reviews; 

7 (3) strategies to incentivize the submission of 

8 applications from small communities and disadvan9 taged areas (as those terms are defined in section 

10 128(a)(1)(B)(iv) of that Act (42 U.S.C. 

11 9628(a)(1)(B)(iv)); and 

12 (4) recommendations, if any, to Congress on 

13 suggested legislative changes to the ranking criteria 

14 that would achieve the goal of streamlining the ap15 plication process for small communities and dis16 advantaged areas (as so defined). 

17 (b) UPDATING GUIDANCE.—Not later than 1 year 

18 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator 

19 shall update the guidance relating to the application rank20 ing criteria and approval process for grants and loans 

21 under section 104(k) of the Comprehensive Environmental 

22 Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (42 

23 U.S.C. 9604(k)) to reduce the complexity of the applica24 tion process while ensuring competitive integrity. 


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1 SEC. 6. BROWNFIELD REVITALIZATION FUNDING FOR 

2 ALASKA NATIVE TRIBES. 

3 Section 104(k)(1) of the Comprehensive Environ4 mental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 

5 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9604(k)(1)) is amended— 

6 (1) in subparagraph (G), by striking ‘‘other 

7 than in Alaska’’; and 

8 (2) by striking subparagraph (H) and inserting 

9 the following: 

10 ‘‘(H) a Regional Corporation or a Village 

11 Corporation (as those terms are defined in sec12 tion 3 of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement 

13 Act (43 U.S.C. 1602));’’. 


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Calendar No. 214 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 2959 

A BILL 

To amend the Comprehensive Environmental Reand for other purposes. to reauthorize brownfields revitalization funding, sponse, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 

SEPTEMBER 27 (legislative day, SEPTEMBER 22), 2023 

Read twice and placed on the calendar 


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