I 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2896 

To amend the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and 

Liability Act of 1980 to modify provisions relating to grants, and for 

other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 31, 2013 

Ms. SLAUGHTER (for herself, Mr. HIGGINS, Mr. MAFFEI, and Mr. TONKO) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and 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 amend the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 to modify provisions 

relating to grants, 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 Utiliza5 tion, Investment, and Local Development Act of 2013’’ or 

6 the ‘‘BUILD Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. EXPANDED ELIGIBILITY FOR NONPROFIT ORGANI2 ZATIONS. 

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 ‘‘or’’ after 

7 the semicolon; 

8 (2) in subparagraph (H), by striking the period 

9 at the end and inserting a semicolon; and 

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

11 ‘‘(I) an organization described in section 

12 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 

13 and exempt from taxation under section 501(a) 

14 of that Code; 

15 ‘‘(J) a limited liability corporation in which 

16 all managing members are organizations de17 scribed in subparagraph (I) or limited liability 

18 corporations whose sole members are organiza19 tions described in subparagraph (I); 

20 ‘‘(K) a limited partnership in which all 

21 general partners are organizations described in 

22 subparagraph (I) or limited liability corpora23 tions whose sole members are organizations de24 scribed in subparagraph (I); or 


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1 ‘‘(L) a qualified community development 

2 entity (as defined in section 45D(c)(1) of the 

3 Internal Revenue Code of 1986).’’. 

4 SEC. 3. MULTIPURPOSE BROWNFIELDS GRANTS. 

5 Section 104(k) of the Comprehensive Environmental 

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

7 U.S.C. 9604(k)) is amended— 

8 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (4) through 

9 (9) and (10) through (12) as paragraphs (5) 

10 through (10) and (13) through (15), respectively; 

11 (2) in paragraph (3)(A), by striking ‘‘subject to 

12 paragraphs (4) and (5)’’ and inserting ‘‘subject to 

13 paragraphs (5) and (6)’’; and 

14 (3) by inserting after paragraph (3) the fol15 lowing: 

16 ‘‘(4) MULTIPURPOSE BROWNFIELDS GRANTS.— 

17 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara18 graph (D) and paragraphs (5) and (6), the Ad19 ministrator shall establish a program to provide 

20 multipurpose grants to an eligible entity based 

21 on the considerations under paragraph (3)(C), 

22 to carry out inventory, characterization, assess23 ment, planning, or remediation activities at 1 or 

24 more brownfield sites in a proposed area. 

25 ‘‘(B) GRANT AMOUNTS.— 


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1 ‘‘(i) INDIVIDUAL GRANT AMOUNTS.— 

2 Each grant awarded under this paragraph 

3 shall not exceed $950,000. 

4 ‘‘(ii) CUMULATIVE GRANT

5 AMOUNTS.—The total amount of grants 

6 awarded for each fiscal year under this 

7 paragraph shall not exceed 15 percent of 

8 the funds made available for the fiscal year 

9 to carry out this subsection. 

10 ‘‘(C) CRITERIA.—In awarding a grant 

11 under this paragraph, the Administrator shall 

12 consider the extent to which an eligible entity is 

13 able— 

14 ‘‘(i) to provide an overall plan for re15 vitalization of the 1 or more brownfield 

16 sites in the proposed area in which the 

17 multipurpose grant will be used; 

18 ‘‘(ii) to demonstrate a capacity to con19 duct the range of eligible activities that 

20 will be funded by the multipurpose grant; 

21 and 

22 ‘‘(iii) to demonstrate that a multipur23 pose grant will meet the needs of the 1 or 

24 more brownfield sites in the proposed area. 


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1 ‘‘(D) CONDITION.—As a condition of re2 ceiving a grant under this paragraph, each eli3 gible entity shall expend the full amount of the 

4 grant not later than the date that is 3 years 

5 after the date on which the grant is awarded to 

6 the eligible entity unless the Administrator, in 

7 the discretion of the Administrator, provides an 

8 extension.’’. 

9 SEC. 4. TREATMENT OF CERTAIN PUBLICLY OWNED 

10 BROWNFIELD SITES. 

11 Section 104(k)(2) of the Comprehensive Environ12 mental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 

13 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9604(k)(2)) is amended by adding at the 

14 end the following: 

15 ‘‘(C) EXEMPTION FOR CERTAIN PUBLICLY

16 OWNED BROWNFIELD SITES.—Notwithstanding 

17 any other provision of law, an eligible entity 

18 that is a governmental entity may receive a 

19 grant under this paragraph for property ac20 quired by that governmental entity prior to 

21 January 11, 2002, even if the governmental en22 tity does not qualify as a bona fide prospective 

23 purchaser (as that term is defined in section 

24 101(40)).’’. 


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1 SEC. 5. INCREASED FUNDING FOR REMEDIATION GRANTS. 

2 Section 104(k)(3)(A)(ii) of the Comprehensive Envi3 ronmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 

4 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9604(k)(3)(A)(ii)) is amended by strik5 ing ‘‘$200,000 for each site to be remediated’’ and insert6 ing ‘‘$500,000 for each site to be remediated, which limit 

7 may be waived by the Administrator, but not to exceed 

8 a total of $650,000 for each site, based on the anticipated 

9 level of contamination, size, or ownership status of the 

10 site’’. 

11 SEC. 6. ALLOWING ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS FOR GRANT 

12 RECIPIENTS. 

13 Paragraph (5) of section 104(k) of the Comprehen14 sive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liabil15 ity Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9604(k)) (as redesignated by 

16 section 3(1)) is amended— 

17 (1) in subparagraph (B)— 

18 (A) in clause (i)— 

19 (i) by striking subclause (III); and 

20 (ii) by redesignating subclauses (IV) 

21 and (V) as subclauses (III) and (IV), re22 spectively; 

23 (B) by striking clause (ii); 

24 (C) by redesignating clause (iii) as clause 

25 (ii); and 


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1 (D) in clause (ii) (as redesignated by sub2 paragraph (C)), by striking ‘‘Notwithstanding 

3 clause (i)(IV)’’ and inserting ‘‘Notwithstanding 

4 clause (i)(III)’’; and 

5 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

6 ‘‘(E) ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.— 

7 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—An eligible entity 

8 may use up to 8 percent of the amounts 

9 made available under a grant or loan 

10 under this subsection for administrative 

11 costs. 

12 ‘‘(ii) RESTRICTION.—For purposes of 

13 clause (i), the term ‘administrative costs’ 

14 does not include— 

15 ‘‘(I) investigation and identifica16 tion of the extent of contamination; 

17 ‘‘(II) design and performance of 

18 a response action; or 

19 ‘‘(III) monitoring of a natural re20 source.’’. 

21 SEC. 7. SMALL COMMUNITY TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE. 

22 Paragraph (7)(A) of section 104(k) of the Com23 prehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and 

24 Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9604(k)) (as redesig25 nated by section 3(1)) is amended— 


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1 (1) by striking ‘‘The Administrator’’ and insert2 ing the following: 

3 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Adminis4 trator’’; and 

5 (2) by inserting after clause (i) (as added by 

6 paragraph (1)) the following: 

7 ‘‘(ii) SMALL COMMUNITY RECIPI8 ENTS.—In carrying out the program under 

9 clause (i), the Administrator shall give pri10 ority to small communities, Indian tribes, 

11 rural areas, or low-income areas with a 

12 population of not more than 15,000 indi13 viduals, as determined by the latest avail14 able decennial census.’’. 

15 SEC. 8. WATERFRONT BROWNFIELDS GRANTS. 

16 Section 104(k) of the Comprehensive Environmental 

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

18 U.S.C. 9604(k)) is amended by inserting after paragraph 

19 (10) (as redesignated by section 3(1)) the following: 

20 ‘‘(11) WATERFRONT BROWNFIELD SITES.— 

21 ‘‘(A) DEFINITION OF WATERFRONT

22 BROWNFIELD SITE.—In this paragraph, the 

23 term ‘waterfront brownfield site’ means a 

24 brownfield site that is adjacent to a body of 

25 water or a federally designated floodplain. 


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1 ‘‘(B) REQUIREMENTS.—In providing 

2 grants under this subsection, the Administrator 

3 shall— 

4 ‘‘(i) take into consideration whether 

5 the brownfield site to be served by the 

6 grant is a waterfront brownfield site; and 

7 ‘‘(ii) give consideration to waterfront 

8 brownfield sites.’’. 

9 SEC. 9. CLEAN ENERGY BROWNFIELDS GRANTS. 

10 Section 104(k) of the Comprehensive Environmental 

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

12 U.S.C. 9604(k)) (as amended by section 8) is amended 

13 by inserting after paragraph (11) the following: 

14 ‘‘(12) CLEAN ENERGY PROJECTS AT

15 BROWNFIELD SITES.— 

16 ‘‘(A) DEFINITION OF CLEAN ENERGY

17 PROJECT.—In this paragraph, the term ‘clean 

18 energy project’ means— 

19 ‘‘(i) a facility that generates renew20 able electricity from wind, solar, or geo21 thermal energy; and 

22 ‘‘(ii) any energy efficiency improve23 ment project at a facility, including com24 bined heat and power and district energy. 


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1 ‘‘(B) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Adminis2 trator shall establish a program to provide 

3 grants— 

4 ‘‘(i) to eligible entities to carry out in5 ventory, characterization, assessment, 

6 planning, feasibility analysis, design, or re7 mediation activities to locate a clean en8 ergy project at 1 or more brownfield sites; 

9 and 

10 ‘‘(ii) to capitalize a revolving loan 

11 fund for the purposes described in clause 

12 (i). 

13 ‘‘(C) MAXIMUM AMOUNT.—A grant under 

14 this paragraph shall not exceed $500,000.’’. 

15 SEC. 10. TARGETED FUNDING FOR STATES. 

16 Paragraph (15) of section 104(k) of the Comprehen17 sive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liabil18 ity Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9604(k)) (as redesignated by 

19 section 3(1)) is amended by adding at the end the fol20 lowing: 

21 ‘‘(C) TARGETED FUNDING.—Of the 

22 amounts made available under subparagraph 

23 (A) for a fiscal year, the Administrator may use 

24 not more than $2,000,000 to provide grants to 

25 States for purposes authorized under section 


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1 128(a), subject to the condition that each State 

2 that receives a grant under this subparagraph 

3 shall have used at least 50 percent of the 

4 amounts made available to that State in the 

5 previous fiscal year to carry out assessment and 

6 remediation activities under section 128(a).’’. 

7 SEC. 11. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

8 (a) BROWNFIELDS REVITALIZATION FUNDING.— 

9 Paragraph (15)(A) of section 104(k) of the Comprehen10 sive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liabil11 ity Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9604(k)) (as redesignated by 

12 section 3(1)) is amended by striking ‘‘2006’’ and inserting 

13 ‘‘2016’’. 

14 (b) STATE RESPONSE PROGRAMS.—Section 

15 128(a)(3) of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, 

16 Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 

17 9628(a)(3)) is amended by striking ‘‘2006’’ and inserting 

18 ‘‘2016’’. 

Æ 


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