I

103D CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 3572

To establish minimum standards for the training and certification of environmental professionals performing Phase I Environmental Site Assessments.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

NOVEMBER 19, 1993

Mr. RICHARDSON (for himself, Mr. BOUCHER, Mr. BROWN of Ohio, Mr. MANTON, Ms. MARGOLIES-MEZVINSKY, and Mr. WELDON) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce

A BILL

To establish minimum standards for the training and certification of environmental professionals performing Phase

I Environmental Site Assessments.

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 ‘‘Environmental Profes5 sionals Training and Certification Act of 1993’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

7 The Congress finds:
2

•HR 3572 IH

1 (1) Concern about the environment is growing

2 and environmental issues now affect all aspects of

3 American business and life. Americans now spend

4 close to $70,000,000,000 annually on environmental5 related expenditures.

6 (2) Business and industry spend approximately

7 $9,000,000,000 annually on various environmental

8 consulting services, including $1,200,000,000 for

9 Phase I Environmental Site Assessments.

10 (3) There are currently a large number of envi11 ronmental professionals performing Phase I Envi12 ronmental Site Assessments who are not properly

13 trained and who do not perform the assessments in

14 a manner consistent with proper environmental

15 standards and guidelines. Such assessments, there16 fore, pose a significant danger to the public health,

17 safety, and welfare.

18 (4) Many organizations issue environmental

19 certifications without properly training or testing the

20 candidates applying for certification.

21 (5) The Federal Government does not presently

22 have authority to regulate the quality of training

23 and certification programs for environmental profes24 sionals and, with very few exceptions, the certifi25 cation of environmental professionals.
3

•HR 3572 IH

1 (6) Several organizations provide high quality

2 training in the environmental sciences, and the Fed3 eral Government should support these efforts.

4 (7) Federal oversight is needed to ensure that

5 training and certification of environmental profes6 sionals meets certain minimum quality standards

7 which ultimately will serve to protect the public in8 terest.

9 SEC. 3. ENVIRONMENTAL TRAINING AND CERTIFICATION.

10 (a) DEFINITIONS.—

11 (1) The term ‘‘Administrator’’ means the Ad12 ministrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.

13 (2) The terms ‘‘Phase I Environmental Site As14 sessment’’ and ‘‘ESA’’ mean the process by which a

15 person or entity seeks to determine whether a par16 ticular parcel of real property is subject to Recog17 nized Environmental Conditions. These conditions

18 indicate the presence or likely presence of a Hazard19 ous Substance or Petroleum Product on a property

20 under conditions that indicate an existing release, a

21 past release, or a material threat of a release into

22 structures on the property or into the ground,

23 ground water, or surface water of the property.
4

•HR 3572 IH

1 (3) The term ‘‘Board’’ means the Environ2 mental Certification Board’’ established under sub3 section (b).

4 (4) The term ‘‘Certified Environmental Site As5 sessor’’ means any person receiving certification to

6 perform Phase I ESAs from an Approved Environ7 mental Training and Certification Organization in

8 accordance with this Act.

9 (5) The term ‘‘Approved Environmental Train10 ing and Certification Organization’’ means any

11 training and certification organization, public or pri12 vate, whose curriculum, program, facilities, training,

13 and testing methods have been approved by the Ad14 ministrator as complying with standards established

15 in accordance with this Act.

16 (6) The term ‘‘State’’ means the 50 States plus

17 the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, Amer18 ican Samoa, and the United States Virgin Islands.

19 (b) ESTABLISHMENT OF A PROGRAM TO REGULATE

20 TRAINING AND CERTIFICATION OF ENVIRONMENTAL SITE

21 ASSESSORS.—(1) Not later than 60 days after the date

22 of the enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall es23 tablish a certification advisory board to be known as the

24 ‘‘Environmental Certification Board’’.
5

•HR 3572 IH

1 (2) The Board shall consist of a minimum of 6 mem2 bers, appointed by the Administrator, with a demonstrated

3 knowledge in the environmental field. The Board shall in4 clude representatives from the Environmental Protection

5 Agency, environmental interest organizations, the chemi6 cal/manufacturing industry, the environmental consulting

7 service industry, the insurance industry, and the banking/

8 investment industry.

9 (3) All members of the Board shall serve on a vol10 untary basis, except those members from the Environ11 mental Protection Agency.

12 (4) The Board shall appoint one member to serve as

13 Chairman who shall exercise the executive and administra14 tive functions of the Board.

15 (5) Not later than 12 months after the date of the

16 enactment of this Act, the Board shall issue recommenda17 tions to the Administrator which shall include, but not be

18 limited to, recommendations regarding the minimum

19 standards to be established under subsection (c).

20 (c) MINIMUM STANDARDS.—Not later than 2 years

21 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Adminis22 trator shall issue regulations, based on the recommenda23 tions of the Environmental Certification Board, establish24 ing minimum standards regulating environmental training

25 and certification organizations for environmental profes-
6

•HR 3572 IH

1 sionals performing Phase I Environmental Site Assess2 ments. The regulations shall include, but not be limited

3 to, minimum standards relating to—

4 (1) formal environmental training;

5 (2) continuing environmental education;

6 (3) environmental certification and testing pro7 cedures;

8 (4) revocation and disciplinary procedures;

9 (5) establishment of a code of ethics;

10 (6) consumer education;

11 (7) certification renewal procedures; and

12 (8) annual reporting of program activities.

13 (d) APPROVAL AND REVIEW OF ENVIRONMENTAL

14 TRAINING AND CERTIFICATION ORGANIZATIONS.—(1)

15 The Administrator shall review the curriculum, program,

16 facilities, training, and certification methods of each orga17 nization desiring to train and certify Phase I Environ18 mental Site Assessors to determine if the curriculum, pro19 gram, facilities, training, and certification methods are in

20 compliance with the standards set forth in subsection (c).

21 (2) If an organization’s curriculum, program, facili22 ties, training, and certification methods are in compliance

23 with the minimum standards established under subsection

24 (c), the Administrator shall issue a notice that such orga25 nization is an Approved Environmental Training and Cer-
7

•HR 3572 IH

1 tification Organization. This approval shall be valid for a

2 term to be set by the Administrator, but no longer than

3 5 years.

4 (e) ENFORCEMENT.—(1) No organization may issue

5 a diploma, certification, or any other form of degree sig6 nifying that the recipient is a Certified Environmental Site

7 Assessor, or qualified to perform a Phase I Environmental

8 Site Assessment unless that organization has received ap9 proval from the Administrator under subsection (d).

10 (2) The Administrator shall have the power to enjoin

11 any organization found to be in violation of paragraph (1).

12 Any organization found to be in violation of paragraph (1)

13 shall be liable for civil penalties up to $5,000 per violation.

14 Any person, corporation, or partnership found to be in vio15 lation of paragraph (1) shall be liable for civil penalties

16 up to $1,000 per violation.

17 (3) The Administrator may periodically, or upon expi18 ration of approval, review the program, curriculum, facili19 ties, and training methods of any Approved Environmental

20 Training and Certification Organization. If at any time

21 the Administrator finds such organization is no longer in

22 compliance with the standards under subsection (c), the

23 Administrator shall place the organization on probation

24 for a period of 1 year. If, after the 1-year probationary

25 period, the organization is still not conforming with the
8

•HR 3572 IH

1 standards, the Administrator shall revoke its approval of

2 certification.

3 (4) Nothing in this Act shall be construed to preempt

4 any State from issuing additional or more stringent guide5 lines and regulations regarding the training of environ6 mental professionals.

7 SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION.

8 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Ad9 ministrator such sums as necessary to carry out the pur10 poses of this Act.

Æ