I 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1747 

To amend the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and 

Liability Act of 1980 to reauthorize and improve the Brownfields revitalization program, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 28, 2017 

Mr. PALLONE (for himself 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 reauthorize and 

improve the Brownfields revitalization program, 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 Authoriza5 tion Increase Act of 2017’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. CLARIFICATION OF STATE OR LOCAL GOVERNMENT 

2 OWNERSHIP. 

3 Section 101(20)(D) of the Comprehensive Environ4 mental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 

5 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9601(20)(D)) is amended by striking 

6 ‘‘involuntarily’’ the first place it appears. 

7 SEC. 3. NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION ELIGIBILITY. 

8 (a) DEFINITION OF ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—Section 

9 104(k)(1) of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, 

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

11 9604(k)(1)) is amended— 

12 (1) in subparagraph (G), by striking ‘‘Alaska; 

13 or’’ and inserting ‘‘Alaska;’’; 

14 (2) in subparagraph (H), by striking ‘‘Indian 

15 community.’’ and inserting ‘‘Indian community; or’’; 

16 and 

17 (3) by adding at the end the following new sub18 paragraph: 

19 ‘‘(I) a nonprofit organization, including— 

20 ‘‘(i) an organization described in sec21 tion 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue 

22 Code of 1986 and exempt from taxation 

23 under section 501(a) of such Code; 

24 ‘‘(ii) a limited liability corporation in 

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1 bers are organizations described under 

2 clause (i); 

3 ‘‘(iii) a limited partnership in which 

4 all general partners are— 

5 ‘‘(I) organizations described 

6 under clause (i); 

7 ‘‘(II) limited liability corporations 

8 whose members are all organizations 

9 described under clause (i); or 

10 ‘‘(III) any combination of sub11 clauses (I) and (II); or 

12 ‘‘(iv) a qualified community develop13 ment entity, as defined in section 

14 45D(c)(1) of the Internal Revenue Code of 

15 1986.’’. 

16 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 104(k) of 

17 the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensa18 tion, and Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9604(k)) is 

19 amended— 

20 (1) in paragraph (3)— 

21 (A) in subparagraph (A)(ii)— 

22 (i) by striking ‘‘or nonprofit organiza23 tions’’; and 

24 (ii) by striking ‘‘or organization’’; and 

25 (B) in subparagraph (B)(ii)— 


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1 (i) by striking ‘‘or other nonprofit or2 ganization’’; and 

3 (ii) by striking ‘‘or nonprofit organiza4 tion’’; and 

5 (2) in paragraph (6)(A), by striking ‘‘or non6 profit organizations’’. 

7 SEC. 4. INCREASED FUNDING LIMIT FOR DIRECT REMEDI8 ATION. 

9 Section 104(k)(3)(A) of the Comprehensive Environ10 mental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 

11 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9604(k)(3)(A)), as amended in section 

12 3(b) of this Act, is further amended— 

13 (1) in clause (ii)— 

14 (A) by striking ‘‘$200,000’’ and inserting 

15 ‘‘$750,000’’; and 

16 (B) by inserting ‘‘, except that during the 

17 period of fiscal years 2018 through 2022, the 

18 President may, on not more than 2 occasions, 

19 waive such $750,000 limitation to permit the 

20 entity to receive a grant in an amount not to 

21 exceed $1,500,000 for a site to be remediated 

22 based on special circumstances, as determined 

23 by the President’’ after ‘‘site to be remediated’’; 

24 and 

25 (2) by adding after clause (ii) the following: 


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1 ‘‘The President may transfer any duties under this 

2 subparagraph to the Administrator.’’. 

3 SEC. 5. INDIRECT COSTS. 

4 Subparagraph (B) of section 104(k)(4) of the Com5 prehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and 

6 Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9604(k)(4)) is amend7 ed— 

8 (1) in clause (i), by striking subclause (III) and 

9 redesignating subclauses (IV) and (V) as subclauses 

10 (III) and (IV), respectively; and 

11 (2) by striking clause (ii) and inserting the fol12 lowing: 

13 ‘‘(ii) ACCEPTABLE USE OF FUNDS.— 

14 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—In addition 

15 to other acceptable purposes described 

16 in this subsection, a grant or loan 

17 under this subsection may be used for 

18 payment for the costs of— 

19 ‘‘(aa) investigation and iden20 tification of the extent of con21 tamination; 

22 ‘‘(bb) design and perform23 ance of a response action; and 

24 ‘‘(cc) monitoring of a nat25 ural resource. 


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1 ‘‘(II) INDIRECT COSTS.—Not 

2 more than 10 percent of a grant or 

3 loan under this subsection may be 

4 used for the payment of indirect 

5 costs.’’. 

6 SEC. 6. ELIGIBILITY FOR FUNDING FOR BROWNFIELD 

7 SITES ACQUIRED PRIOR TO JANUARY 11, 2002. 

8 Subparagraph (B) of section 104(k)(4) of the Com9 prehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and 

10 Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9604(k)(4)), as amended 

11 in section 5 of this Act, is further amended by striking 

12 clause (iii) and inserting the following: 

13 ‘‘(iii) EXCEPTIONS.—Notwithstanding 

14 clause (i)(III), the Administrator may use 

15 funds made available to carry out this sub16 section for one or more of the following: 

17 ‘‘(I) To make a grant under 

18 paragraph (2) to an eligible entity 

19 that acquired a brownfield site to be 

20 covered by the grant on or before 

21 January 11, 2002. 

22 ‘‘(II) To make a grant under 

23 paragraph (3) to an eligible entity if 

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1 fies all of the elements set forth in 

2 section 101(40) to qualify as a bona 

3 fide prospective purchaser, except that 

4 the date of acquisition of the 

5 brownfield site was on or before Janu6 ary 11, 2002. The Administrator may 

7 make exceptions with regard to com8 pliance with the elements set forth in 

9 section 101(40) based on mitigating 

10 circumstances, including any of the 

11 following: 

12 ‘‘(aa) The brownfield site 

13 was acquired prior to May 31, 

14 1997, and compliance with all 

15 appropriate inquiry (as required 

16 under section 101(40)(B)) can17 not be fairly determined. 

18 ‘‘(bb) A current site assess19 ment of the brownfield site has 

20 found no evidence that the eligi21 ble entity caused or exacerbated 

22 contamination found at the site 

23 or failed to exercise appropriate 

24 care (as required under section 


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1 101(40)(D)) with respect to con2 tamination found at the site. 

3 ‘‘(cc) The eligible entity held 

4 a public hearing with respect to 

5 the grant application and no sub6 stantive testimony was offered 

7 that indicates that the eligible 

8 entity caused or exacerbated con9 tamination found at the site or 

10 failed to exercise appropriate care 

11 (as required under section 

12 101(40)(D)) with respect to con13 tamination found at the site. 

14 ‘‘(dd) There are other cir15 cumstances that make compli16 ance with the elements set forth 

17 in section 101(40) impractical 

18 and not in the public interest. 

19 ‘‘(III) To make a grant or loan 

20 under this subsection to an eligible 

21 entity if such entity— 

22 ‘‘(aa) acquired ownership of 

23 the brownfield site at least 30 

24 years prior to the date of the 


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1 grant or loan, but not later than 

2 May 31, 1997; 

3 ‘‘(bb) did not cause or con4 tribute to the contamination on 

5 the brownfield site; and 

6 ‘‘(cc) can reasonably indi7 cate why such entity cannot com8 ply with the elements set forth in 

9 section 101(40) to qualify as a 

10 bona fide prospective pur11 chaser.’’. 

12 SEC. 7. MULTI-PURPOSE BROWNFIELD GRANTS. 

13 (a) MULTI-PURPOSE GRANT PROGRAM.—Section 

14 104(k) of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, 

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

16 9604(k)) is amended— 

17 (1) by redesignating paragraph (12) as para18 graph (15); 

19 (2) by redesignating paragraphs (4) through 

20 (11), as amended, as paragraphs (5) through (12), 

21 respectively; and 

22 (3) by adding after paragraph (3) the following 

23 new paragraph: 

24 ‘‘(4) MULTI-PURPOSE BROWNFIELD GRANTS.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM.— 

2 Subject to paragraphs (5) and (6), the Admin3 istrator shall establish a program to provide 

4 multi-purpose grants to eligible entities, where 

5 warranted, as determined by the Administrator 

6 based on considerations under paragraph 

7 (3)(C), to be used to inventory, characterize, as8 sess, conduct planning related to, or remediate 

9 (or any combination thereof), one or more 

10 brownfield sites in an area, in amounts not to 

11 exceed $1,500,000 per grant. 

12 ‘‘(B) ADDITIONAL CONSIDERATIONS.—In 

13 addition to the considerations under paragraph 

14 (3)(C), the Administrator, in determining to 

15 award a multi-purpose grant under the program 

16 under subparagraph (A), shall consider the ex17 tent to which the eligible entity demonstrates— 

18 ‘‘(i) an overall plan for revitalization 

19 of brownfield sites in the area in which the 

20 multi-purpose grant will be used; 

21 ‘‘(ii) the capacity to conduct the range 

22 of eligible activities that will be funded by 

23 the multi-purpose grant; and 


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1 ‘‘(iii) that a multi-purpose grant is 

2 appropriate for meeting the needs of the 

3 area in which the grant will be used. 

4 ‘‘(C) GRANT FUNDS.—Grants provided 

5 under the program established under subpara6 graph (A) shall be expended not later than 3 

7 years after the award of grant funding to the 

8 eligible entity, unless the Administrator deter9 mines that an extension of not more than 2 

10 years is justified. 

11 ‘‘(D) OWNERSHIP.—A recipient of a grant 

12 under this paragraph may not use amounts 

13 from such grant on remediation of a brownfield 

14 site until such recipient owns such site. 

15 ‘‘(E) EXISTING AUTHORITY.—Nothing in 

16 this paragraph shall limit any other authority of 

17 the President or the Administrator under this 

18 subsection.’’. 

19 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

20 (1) Section 104(k)(3)(A) of the Comprehensive 

21 Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liabil22 ity Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9604(k)(3)(A)), as 

23 amended, is further amended by striking ‘‘Subject to 

24 paragraphs (4) and (5)’’ and inserting ‘‘Subject to 

25 paragraphs (5) and (6)’’. 


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1 (2) Section 104(k)(3)(C) of the Comprehensive 

2 Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liabil3 ity Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9604(k)(3)(C)) is 

4 amended by inserting ‘‘or paragraph (4)’’ after 

5 ‘‘under subparagraph (A)(ii) or (B)(ii)’’. 

6 SEC. 8. PROGRAM FOR SUSTAINABLE REUSE AND ALTER7 NATIVE ENERGY ON BROWNFIELD SITES. 

8 Section 104(k) of the Comprehensive Environmental 

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

10 U.S.C. 9604(k)) is amended by adding after paragraph 

11 (12), as redesignated by section 7(a)(2) of this Act, the 

12 following new paragraph: 

13 ‘‘(13) PROGRAM FOR SUSTAINABLE REUSE AND

14 ALTERNATIVE ENERGY ON BROWNFIELD SITES.— 

15 ‘‘(A) ESTABLISHMENT AND USE OF

16 FUNDS.—The Administrator shall establish a 

17 program to make grants, on a competitive 

18 basis, to eligible entities to be used at one or 

19 more brownfield sites for projects that reduce 

20 environmental impact, increase community liv21 ability, and encourage sustainability, includ22 ing— 

23 ‘‘(i) sustainable reuse planning and 

24 site analysis, including— 


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1 ‘‘(I) site characterization and as2 sessment; 

3 ‘‘(II) area and corridor sustain4 ability plans; and 

5 ‘‘(III) engineering or feasibility 

6 analysis of environmentally beneficial 

7 site improvements; 

8 ‘‘(ii) remediation; 

9 ‘‘(iii) ecosystem restoration; and 

10 ‘‘(iv) habitat restoration. 

11 ‘‘(B) PROJECT SELECTION.—In addition to 

12 the criteria under paragraph (6), in selecting 

13 grant recipients under this paragraph, the Ad14 ministrator shall take into consideration the ex15 tent to which a grant will facilitate future use 

16 of a brownfield site in an environmentally bene17 ficial and sustainable manner, including the po18 tential for renewable energy production and 

19 green infrastructure, including greenways and 

20 hike-bike trails, green buildings, and mixed use 

21 and transit-oriented development in smart 

22 growth locations.’’. 


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1 SEC. 9. STAFF FOR SMALL, DISADVANTAGED, OR RURAL 

2 COMMUNITIES. 

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 by adding after paragraph 

6 (13) (as added by section 8 of this Act) the following: 

7 ‘‘(14) STAFF FOR SMALL, DISADVANTAGED, OR

8 RURAL COMMUNITIES.—The Administrator, upon 

9 approval of an application made by an eligible entity 

10 serving a community that has a small population, is 

11 disadvantaged, or is in a rural location, and in ac12 cordance with the applicable provisions of sub13 chapter VI of chapter 33 of title 5, United States 

14 Code, may assign employees of the Environmental 

15 Protection Agency to such eligible entity to build 

16 local capacity for the remediation and revitalization 

17 of brownfield sites located in such communities. The 

18 Administrator shall determine, consistent with exist19 ing law and regulation in effect as of the date of en20 actment of this paragraph and subject to comment 

21 and public review, what qualifies as a community 

22 that has a small population, is disadvantaged, or is 

23 in a rural location for purposes of this paragraph, 

24 provided that such definitions include rural munici25 palities, municipalities with populations of up to 

26 20,000, and municipalities in which the median 


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household income is at or less than 2 1 ⁄3 of the State 

2 average.’’. 

3 SEC. 10. SMALL COMMUNITY TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE 

4 GRANTS. 

5 Paragraph (7)(A) of section 104(k) of the Com6 prehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and 

7 Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9604(k)) (as redesig8 nated by section 7(a)(2) of this Act) is amended— 

9 (1) by striking ‘‘The Administrator may pro10 vide,’’ and inserting the following: 

11 ‘‘(i) DEFINITIONS.—In this subpara12 graph: 

13 ‘‘(I) DISADVANTAGED AREA.— 

14 The term ‘disadvantaged area’ means 

15 an area with an annual median household income that is less than 2 16 ⁄3 of the 

17 statewide annual median household 

18 income, as determined by the latest 

19 available decennial census. 

20 ‘‘(II) SMALL COMMUNITY.—The 

21 term ‘small community’ means a com22 munity with a population of not more 

23 than 20,000 individuals, as deter24 mined by the latest available decennial 

25 census. 


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1 ‘‘(ii) ESTABLISHMENT OF PRO2 GRAM.—The Administrator shall establish 

3 a program to provide grants that pro4 vide,’’; and 

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

6 ‘‘(iii) SMALL OR DISADVANTAGED

7 COMMUNITY RECIPIENTS.— 

8 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—Subject to 

9 subclause (II), in carrying out the 

10 program under clause (ii), the Admin11 istrator shall use not more than 

12 $1,500,000 of amounts made available 

13 to carry out this paragraph to provide 

14 grants to eligible entities and institu15 tions of higher education, as deter16 mined by the Administrator, to assist 

17 small communities, Indian tribes, 

18 rural areas, or disadvantaged areas in 

19 achieving the purposes described in 

20 clause (ii). 

21 ‘‘(II) LIMITATION.—Each grant 

22 awarded under subclause (I) shall be 

23 not more than $10,000.’’. 


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1 SEC. 11. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

2 (a) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Sub3 paragraph (A) of paragraph (15) (as redesignated by sec4 tion 7(a)(1) of this Act) of section 104(k) of the Com5 prehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and 

6 Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9604(k)) is amended to 

7 read as follows: 

8 ‘‘(A) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIA9 TIONS.—There are authorized to be appro10 priated to carry out this subsection— 

11 ‘‘(i) $350,000,000 for fiscal year 

12 2018; 

13 ‘‘(ii) $400,000,000 for fiscal year 

14 2019; 

15 ‘‘(iii) $450,000,000 for fiscal year 

16 2020; 

17 ‘‘(iv) $500,000,000 for fiscal year 

18 2021; 

19 ‘‘(v) $550,000,000 for fiscal year 

20 2022; and 

21 ‘‘(vi) $600,000,000 for fiscal year 

22 2023.’’. 

23 (b) SET ASIDE FOR PROGRAM FOR SUSTAINABLE

24 REUSE AND ALTERNATIVE ENERGY ON BROWNFIELD

25 SITES.—Paragraph (15) of section 104(k) of the Com26 prehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and 


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1 Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9604(k)), as redesig2 nated by section 7(a)(1) of this Act and as amended by 

3 subsection (a) of this section, is further amended by add4 ing after subparagraph (B) the following new subpara5 graph: 

6 ‘‘(C) SET ASIDE FOR PROGRAM FOR SUS7 TAINABLE REUSE AND ALTERNATIVE ENERGY

8 ON BROWNFIELD SITES.—Of amounts made 

9 available each fiscal year pursuant to subpara10 graph (A), at least 7.5 percent of such amounts 

11 shall be used to carry out the program under 

12 paragraph (13).’’. 

13 SEC. 12. STATE RESPONSE PROGRAMS. 

14 Section 128(a)(3) of the Comprehensive Environ15 mental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 

16 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9628(a)(3)) is amended to read as fol17 lows: 

18 ‘‘(3) FUNDING.—There are authorized to be ap19 propriated to carry out this subsection— 

20 ‘‘(A) $70,000,000 for fiscal year 2018; 

21 ‘‘(B) $80,000,000 for fiscal year 2019; 

22 ‘‘(C) $90,000,000 for fiscal year 2020; 

23 ‘‘(D) $100,000,000 for fiscal year 2021; 

24 ‘‘(E) $110,000,000 for fiscal year 2022; 

25 and 


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1 ‘‘(F) $120,000,000 for fiscal year 2023 

2 and each fiscal year thereafter.’’. 

Æ 


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