I

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 1300

To amend the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and

Liability Act of 1980 to promote brownfields redevelopment, to reauthorize and reform the Superfund program, and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

MARCH 25, 1999

Mr. BOEHLERT (for himself, Mr. RAHALL, Mr. BARCIA, Mr. DOOLEY of California, Mr. CLYBURN, Mr. HORN, Mr. GILCHREST, Mr. DEFAZIO, Mr.

QUINN, Mr. TRAFICANT, Mr. EHLERS, Mr. TAYLOR of Mississippi, Mr.

BASS, Mrs. TAUSCHER, Mr. GILMAN, Mr. BERRY, Mr. PORTER, Mr.

MORAN of Virginia, Mr. WALSH, Mrs. THURMAN, Mr. LEACH, Mr. MATSUI, Mr. SENSENBRENNER, Mr. CLEMENT, Mr. CASTLE, Mr. GOSS, Mrs.

JOHNSON of Connecticut, Mr. KING, Mr. CRAMER, Mrs. BIGGERT, Mr.

THUNE, Ms. DANNER, Mr. COOK, and Mr. MCHUGH) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Commerce, and in

addition to the Committees on Transportation and Infrastructure, and

Ways and Means, 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

JUNE 15, 1999

Additional sponsors: Mr. GREENWOOD, Mr. SHOWS, Mr. MARTINEZ, Mr.

BLUMENAUER, Mr. FORD, Mr. ENGLISH, Mr. PASTOR, Mr. JEFFERSON,

Mr. HOLDEN, Mr. LATOURETTE, Mr. LAHOOD, Mr. RANGEL, Mr.

DIXON, Mrs. FOWLER, Mr. SMITH of Washington, Mr. HASTINGS of

Florida, Mr. ROEMER, Mr. CHAMBLISS, Mr. CLAY, Mr. FRELINGHUYSEN,

Mr. BACHUS, Mr. DICKS, Mrs. JONES of Ohio, Ms. PRYCE of Ohio, Mr.

FOLEY, Mrs. EMERSON, Mr. SHERMAN, Mr. PITTS, Mr. WISE, Mr.

GOODLING, Mr. BURTON of Indiana, Ms. SLAUGHTER, Mr. SWEENEY,

Mr. GORDON, Mr. COSTELLO, Mrs. MORELLA, Mr. LATHAM, Mr. PETERSON of Minnesota, Mr. WEINER, Mr. HILLIARD, Mr. PETRI, Mr. NEY,

Mr. CUMMINGS, Mr. BATEMAN, and Mr. DUNCAN
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A BILL

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

brownfields redevelopment, to reauthorize and reform the

Superfund 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the

5 ‘‘Recycle America’s Land Act of 1999’’.

6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.

Sec. 2. Amendments to Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980.

Sec. 3. Effective date.

TITLE I—BROWNFIELDS REVITALIZATION

Sec. 101. Savings provision.

Sec. 102. Brownfields.

Sec. 103. Assistance for voluntary cleanup programs.

Sec. 104. Enforcement in cases of a release subject to a State response action.

Sec. 105. Additions to National Priorities List.

TITLE II—COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION AND HUMAN HEALTH

Subtitle A—Community Participation

Sec. 201. Improving citizen and community participation in decisionmaking.

Sec. 202. Additional public involvement requirements.

Sec. 203. Technical assistance grants.

Sec. 204. Understandable presentation of materials.

Sec. 205. Public participation in removal actions.

Sec. 206. Community study.

Sec. 207. Definitions.

Subtitle B—Human Health

Sec. 221. Public health authorities.

Sec. 222. Indian health provisions.

Sec. 223. Hazard ranking system.

Sec. 224. Facility scoring.

TITLE III—LIABILITY REFORM
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Sec. 301. Amendments to section 106.

Sec. 302. Amendments to section 107(a).

Sec. 303. Innocent parties.

Sec. 304. Statutory construction.

Sec. 305. Livestock treatment.

Sec. 306. Liability relief for small businesses, municipal solid waste, sewage

sludge, and municipal owners and operators.

Sec. 307. Amendments to section 113.

Sec. 308. Liability of response action contractors.

Sec. 309. Amendments to section 122.

Sec. 310. Clarification of liability for recycling transactions.

Sec. 311. Allocation.

TITLE IV—REMEDY SELECTION

Sec. 401. Remedy selection.

Sec. 402. Hazardous substance property use.

Sec. 403. Risk assessment standards.

TITLE V—GENERAL PROVISIONS

Sec. 501. Trust Fund defined.

Sec. 502. Indian tribes.

Sec. 503. Grants for training and education of workers.

Sec. 504. State cost share.

Sec. 505. State and local reimbursement for response actions.

Sec. 506. State role at Federal facilities.

Sec. 507. Federal cost study.

Sec. 508. Oil Pollution Act.

TITLE VI—FUNDING

Subtitle A—Expenditures From the Hazardous Substance Superfund

Sec. 601. Expenditures from the Hazardous Substance Superfund.

Sec. 602. Authorization of appropriations from general revenues.

Subtitle B—Extension of Hazardous Substance Superfund

Sec. 611. Extension of Hazardous Substance Superfund.

1 SEC. 2. AMENDMENTS TO COMPREHENSIVE ENVIRON2 MENTAL RESPONSE, COMPENSATION, AND LI3 ABILITY ACT OF 1980.

4 Except as otherwise specifically provided, whenever in

5 this Act an amendment or repeal is expressed in terms

6 of an amendment to, or repeal of, a section or other provi7 sion of law, the reference shall be considered to be made

8 to a section or other provision of the Comprehensive Envi-
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1 ronmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of

2 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9601 et seq.).

3 SEC. 3. EFFECTIVE DATE.

4 Except as otherwise specifically provided, this Act,

5 and the amendments made by this Act, shall become effec6 tive on the date of the enactment of this Act.

7 TITLE I—BROWNFIELDS

8 REVITALIZATION

9 SEC. 101. SAVINGS PROVISION.

10 Nothing in this title (including the amendments made

11 by this title) may be construed to affect the President’s

12 authority to respond to a release or threatened release of

13 a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant under

14 section 104 of the Comprehensive Environmental Re15 sponse, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980.

16 SEC. 102. BROWNFIELDS.

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title I (42 U.S.C. 9601 et seq.)

18 is amended by adding at the end the following:

19 ‘‘SEC. 127. BROWNFIELDS.

20 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the following

21 definitions apply:

22 ‘‘(1) ADMINISTRATIVE COST.—The term ‘ad23 ministrative cost’ does not include the cost of—

24 ‘‘(A) site inventories;
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1 ‘‘(B) investigation and identification of the

2 extent of contamination;

3 ‘‘(C) design and performance of a response

4 action; or

5 ‘‘(D) monitoring of natural resources.

6 ‘‘(2) BROWNFIELD FACILITY.—

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

8 facility’ means real property with respect to

9 which expansion, development, or redevelopment

10 is complicated by the presence or potential pres11 ence of a hazardous substance.

12 ‘‘(B) EXCLUDED FACILITIES.—The term

13 ‘brownfield facility’ does not include—

14 ‘‘(i) any portion of real property that

15 is the subject of an ongoing removal or

16 planned removal under section 104;

17 ‘‘(ii) any portion of real property that

18 is listed or has been proposed for listing on

19 the National Priorities List;

20 ‘‘(iii) any portion of real property with

21 respect to which a cleanup is proceeding

22 under a permit, an administrative order, or

23 a judicial consent decree entered into by

24 the United States or an authorized State

25 under this Act, the Solid Waste Disposal
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1 Act (42 U.S.C. 6901 et seq.), the Federal

2 Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C.

3 1251 et seq.), the Toxic Substances Con4 trol Act (15 U.S.C. 2601 et seq.), or the

5 Safe Drinking Water Act (42 U.S.C. 300f

6 et seq.);

7 ‘‘(iv) a facility that is owned or oper8 ated by a department, agency, or instru9 mentality of the United States, except a

10 facility located on lands held in trust for

11 an Indian tribe; or

12 ‘‘(v) a portion of a facility for which

13 assistance for response activity has been

14 obtained under subtitle I of the Solid

15 Waste Disposal Act (42 U.S.C. 6991 et

16 seq.) from the Leaking Underground Stor17 age Tank Trust Fund established under

18 section 9508 of the Internal Revenue Code

19 of 1986.

20 ‘‘(3) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—

21 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘eligible en22 tity’ means—

23 ‘‘(i) a State or a political subdivision

24 of a State, including—
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1 ‘‘(I) a general purpose unit of

2 local government; and

3 ‘‘(II) a regional council or group

4 of general purpose units of local gov5 ernment;

6 ‘‘(ii) a redevelopment agency that is

7 chartered or otherwise sanctioned by a

8 State or other unit of government; and

9 ‘‘(iii) an Indian tribe.

10 ‘‘(B) EXCLUDED ENTITIES.—The term ‘el11 igible entity’ does not include any entity that is

12 not in full compliance with the requirements of

13 an administrative order, judicial consent decree,

14 or closure plan under a permit which has been

15 issued or entered into by the United States or

16 an authorized State under this Act, the Solid

17 Waste Disposal Act (42 U.S.C. 6901 et seq.),

18 the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33

19 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.), the Toxic Substances

20 Control Act (15 U.S.C. 2601 et seq.), or the

21 Safe Drinking Water Act (42 U.S.C. 300f et

22 seq.) with respect to the real property or por23 tion thereof which is the subject of the order,

24 judicial consent decree, or closure plan.
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1 ‘‘(b) BROWNFIELD ASSESSMENT GRANT PRO2 GRAM.—

3 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM.—The

4 President shall establish a program to provide

5 grants to eligible entities for inventory and assess6 ment of brownfield facilities.

7 ‘‘(2) ASSISTANCE FOR SITE ASSESSMENT.—On

8 approval of an application made by an eligible entity,

9 the President may make grants to the eligible entity

10 to be used for developing an inventory and con11 ducting an assessment of 1 or more brownfield fa12 cilities.

13 ‘‘(3) APPLICATIONS.—

14 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Any eligible entity

15 may submit an application to the President, in

16 such form as the President may require, for a

17 grant under this subsection for 1 or more

18 brownfield facilities.

19 ‘‘(B) APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS.—An

20 application for a grant under this subsection

21 shall include information relevant to the rank22 ing criteria established under paragraph (4) for

23 the facility or facilities for which the grant is

24 requested.
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1 ‘‘(4) RANKING CRITERIA.—The President shall

2 establish a system for ranking grant applications

3 submitted under this subsection that includes the

4 following criteria:

5 ‘‘(A) The demonstrated need for Federal

6 assistance.

7 ‘‘(B) The extent to which a grant will

8 stimulate the availability of other funds for en9 vironmental remediation and subsequent rede10 velopment of the area in which the brownfield

11 facilities are located.

12 ‘‘(C) The estimated extent to which a

13 grant would facilitate the identification of or fa14 cilitate a reduction in health and environmental

15 risks.

16 ‘‘(D) The potential to stimulate economic

17 development of the area, such as the following:

18 ‘‘(i) The relative increase in the esti19 mated fair market value of the area as a

20 result of any necessary response action.

21 ‘‘(ii) The potential of a grant to cre22 ate new or expand existing business and

23 employment opportunities on completion of

24 any necessary response action.
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1 ‘‘(iii) The estimated additional tax

2 revenues expected to be generated by eco3 nomic redevelopment in the area in which

4 a brownfield facility is located.

5 ‘‘(E) The financial involvement of the

6 State and local government in any response ac7 tion planned for a brownfield facility and the

8 extent to which the response action and the

9 proposed redevelopment is consistent with any

10 applicable State or local community economic

11 development plan.

12 ‘‘(F) The extent to which the site assess13 ment and subsequent development involves the

14 active participation and support of the local

15 community.

16 ‘‘(5) MAXIMUM GRANT AMOUNT PER FACIL17 ITY.—A grant made to an eligible entity under this

18 subsection shall not exceed $200,000 with respect to

19 any brownfield facility covered by the grant.

20 ‘‘(c) BROWNFIELD REMEDIATION GRANT PRO21 GRAM.—

22 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM.—The

23 President shall establish a program to provide

24 grants to eligible entities to be used for capitaliza-
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1 tion of revolving loan funds for remedial actions at

2 brownfield facilities.

3 ‘‘(2) ASSISTANCE FOR SITE REMEDIATION.—

4 Upon approval of an application made by an eligible

5 entity, the President may make grants to the eligible

6 entity to be used for establishing a revolving loan

7 fund. Any fund established using such grants shall

8 be used to make loans to a State, a site owner, or

9 a site developer for the purpose of carrying out re10 medial actions at 1 or more brownfield facilities.

11 ‘‘(3) APPLICATIONS.—

12 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Any eligible entity

13 may submit an application to the President, in

14 such form as the President may require, for a

15 grant under this subsection.

16 ‘‘(B) APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS.—An

17 application under this section shall include in18 formation relevant to the ranking criteria estab19 lished under paragraph (4).

20 ‘‘(4) RANKING CRITERIA.—The President shall

21 establish a system for ranking grant applications

22 submitted under this subsection that includes the

23 following criteria:

24 ‘‘(A) The adequacy of the financial con25 trols and resources of the eligible entity to ad-
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1 minister a revolving loan fund in accordance

2 with this title.

3 ‘‘(B) The ability of the eligible entity to

4 monitor the use of funds provided to loan re5 cipients under this title.

6 ‘‘(C) The ability of the eligible entity to en7 sure that a remedial action funded by the grant

8 will be conducted under the authority of a State

9 cleanup program that ensures that the remedial

10 action is protective of human health and the en11 vironment.

12 ‘‘(D) The ability of the eligible entity to

13 ensure that any cleanup funded under this Act

14 will comply with all laws that apply to the

15 cleanup.

16 ‘‘(E) The need of the eligible entity for fi17 nancial assistance to clean up brownfield sites

18 that are the subject of the application, taking

19 into consideration the financial resources avail20 able to the eligible entity.

21 ‘‘(F) The ability of the eligible entity to

22 ensure that the applicants repay the loans in a

23 timely manner.

24 ‘‘(G) The plans of the eligible entity for

25 using the grant to stimulate economic develop-
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1 ment or creation of recreational areas on com2 pletion of the cleanup.

3 ‘‘(H) The plans of the eligible entity for

4 using the grant to stimulate the availability of

5 other funds for environmental remediation and

6 subsequent redevelopment of the area in which

7 the brownfield facilities are located.

8 ‘‘(I) The plans of the eligible entity for

9 using the grant to facilitate a reduction of

10 health and environmental risks.

11 ‘‘(J) The plans of the eligible entity for

12 using the grant for remediation and subsequent

13 development that involve the active participa14 tion and support of the local community.

15 ‘‘(5) MAXIMUM GRANT AMOUNT.—A grant

16 made to an eligible entity under this subsection may

17 not exceed $1,000,000.

18 ‘‘(d) GENERAL PROVISIONS.—

19 ‘‘(1) PROHIBITION.—No part of a grant under

20 this section may be used for the payment of pen21 alties, fines, or administrative costs.

22 ‘‘(2) AUDITS.—The President shall audit an ap23 propriate number of grants made under subsections

24 (b) and (c) to ensure that funds are used for the

25 purposes described in this section.
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1 ‘‘(3) AGREEMENTS.—

2 ‘‘(A) TERMS AND CONDITIONS.—Each

3 grant made under this section shall be subject

4 to an agreement that—

5 ‘‘(i) requires the eligible entity to

6 comply with all applicable Federal and

7 State laws;

8 ‘‘(ii) requires the eligible entity to use

9 the grant exclusively for the purposes spec10 ified in subsection (b)(2) or (c)(2);

11 ‘‘(iii) in the case of an application by

12 a State under subsection (c)(2), requires

13 payment by the State of a matching share,

14 of at least 50 percent of the amount of the

15 grant, from other sources of funding;

16 ‘‘(iv) requires that grants under this

17 section will not supplant State or local

18 funds normally provided for the purposes

19 specified in subsection (b)(2) or (c)(2); and

20 ‘‘(v) contains such other terms and

21 conditions as the President determines to

22 be necessary to ensure proper administra23 tion of the grants.

24 ‘‘(B) LIMITATION.—The President shall

25 not place terms or conditions on grants made
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1 under this section other than the terms and

2 conditions specified in subparagraph (A).

3 ‘‘(4) LEVERAGING.—An eligible entity that re4 ceives a grant under this section may use the funds

5 for part of a project at a brownfield facility for

6 which funding is received from other sources, includ7 ing other Federal sources, but the grant shall be

8 used only for the purposes described in subsection

9 (b)(2) or (c)(2).

10 ‘‘(e) APPROVAL.—

11 ‘‘(1) INITIAL GRANT.—Before the expiration of

12 the fourth quarter of the first fiscal year following

13 the date of the enactment of this section, the Presi14 dent shall make grants under this section to eligible

15 entities and States that submit applications, before

16 the expiration of the second quarter of such year,

17 that the President determines have the highest

18 rankings under the ranking criteria established

19 under subsection (b)(4) or (c)(4).

20 ‘‘(2) SUBSEQUENT GRANTS.—Beginning with

21 the second fiscal year following the date of enact22 ment of this section, the President shall make an an23 nual evaluation of each application received during

24 the prior fiscal year and make grants under this sec25 tion to eligible entities and States that submit appli-
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1 cations during the prior year that the President de2 termines have the highest rankings under the rank3 ing criteria established under subsection (b)(4) or

4 (c)(4).

5 ‘‘(f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There

6 is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section

7 such sums as may be necessary. Such funds shall remain

8 available until expended.’’.

9 SEC. 103. ASSISTANCE FOR VOLUNTARY CLEANUP PRO10 GRAMS.

11 (a) STATE RESPONSE PROGRAMS.—Title I (42

12 U.S.C. 9601 et seq.) is further amended by adding at the

13 end the following:

14 ‘‘SEC. 128. STATE VOLUNTARY CLEANUP PROGRAMS.

15 ‘‘(a) ASSISTANCE TO STATES.—The Administrator

16 may provide technical and other assistance to States to

17 establish and expand State voluntary cleanup programs.

18 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBLE PURPOSES.—The purposes for which

19 assistance may be provided under subsection (a) include

20 the following:

21 ‘‘(1) Providing technical assistance for response

22 actions.

23 ‘‘(2) Providing adequate opportunities for pub24 lic participation, including prior notice and oppor-
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1 tunity for comment in appropriate circumstances, in

2 selecting response actions.

3 ‘‘(3) Developing streamlined procedures to en4 sure expeditious response actions.

5 ‘‘(4) Providing oversight and enforcement of re6 sponse actions.

7 ‘‘(c) PROHIBITION ON CONDITIONS.—A State may

8 request assistance under this section for 1 or more eligible

9 purposes. The President may require that such assistance

10 be used to carry out the eligible purposes for which the

11 assistance is provided, but may not require as a condition

12 of such assistance that the State take actions unrelated

13 to such purposes.’’.

14 (b) FUNDING.—Section 111 (42 U.S.C. 9611) is

15 amended by adding at the end the following:

16 ‘‘(q) STATE VOLUNTARY CLEANUP PROGRAM.—For

17 each of fiscal years 2000 through 2004, not more than

18 $25,000,000 of the amounts available in the Fund may

19 be used for assistance to States under section 130 during

20 the first 5 full fiscal years following the date of enactment

21 of this subsection. The amount of such assistance shall

22 be distributed among each of the States that notifies the

23 Administrator of the State’s intent to establish a State

24 voluntary cleanup program and each of the States with

25 a State voluntary cleanup program. Subject to appropria-
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1 tions from the Fund, the Administrator shall make for

2 each fiscal year to each State voluntary cleanup program

3 a grant in the amount of at least $250,000.’’.

4 SEC. 104. ENFORCEMENT IN CASES OF A RELEASE SUBJECT

5 TO A STATE RESPONSE ACTION.

6 Title I (42 U.S.C. 9601 et seq.) is further amended

7 by adding at the end the following:

8 ‘‘SEC. 129. ENFORCEMENT IN CASES OF A RELEASE SUB9 JECT TO A STATE RESPONSE ACTION.

10 ‘‘(a) ENFORCEMENT.—Except as provided in sub11 section (b), in the case of a facility that is not listed or

12 proposed for listing on the National Priorities List and

13 at which there is a release or threatened release of a haz14 ardous substance, neither the President nor any other per15 son (other than a State) may use authority under this Act

16 against any person who is conducting or has completed

17 a response action in compliance with a State law that spe18 cifically governs response actions for the protection of pub19 lic health and the environment—

20 ‘‘(1) to take an administrative enforcement ac21 tion under section 106;

22 ‘‘(2) to take a judicial enforcement action under

23 section 107 of 113; or

24 ‘‘(3) to bring a private civil action under section

25 107 or 113;
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1 regarding any release or threatened release that is ad2 dressed by such response action.

3 ‘‘(b) EXCEPTIONS.—The President may bring an ad4 ministrative enforcement action or a judicial enforcement

5 action under this Act with respect to a facility described

6 in subsection (a) if—

7 ‘‘(1) the State requests the President to take

8 such action;

9 ‘‘(2) the President determines that—

10 ‘‘(A) response actions are immediately re11 quired to prevent, limit, or mitigate an emer12 gency;

13 ‘‘(B) there is an immediate risk to public

14 health or welfare or the environment; and

15 ‘‘(C) the State will not take the necessary

16 response actions in a timely manner;

17 ‘‘(3) the Agency for Toxic Substances and Dis18 ease Registry issues a public health advisory with re19 spect to the facility; or

20 ‘‘(4) the President determines that contamina21 tion has migrated across a State line, resulting in

22 the need for further response action to protect

23 human health or the environment.’’.
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1 SEC. 105. ADDITIONS TO NATIONAL PRIORITIES LIST.

2 (a) NPL DEFERRALS.—Section 105 (42 U.S.C.

3 9605) is amended by adding at the end the following:

4 ‘‘(h) NPL DEFERRALS.—

5 ‘‘(1) DEFERRALS TO OTHER FEDERAL AUTHOR6 ITY.—The President generally shall defer listing a

7 facility on the National Priorities List if long-term

8 remedial action will be conducted under other Fed9 eral authorities, including the Solid Waste Disposal

10 Act (42 U.S.C. 6901 et seq.), the Surface Mining

11 Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (30 U.S.C.

12 1201 et seq.), the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide,

13 and Rodenticide Act (7 U.S.C. 136 et seq.), and the

14 Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2011 et

15 seq.).

16 ‘‘(2) DEFERRAL TO STATE RESPONSE AC17 TION.—The President generally shall defer listing a

18 facility on the National Priorities List if remedial

19 action that will provide long-term protection of

20 human health and the environment is underway at

21 that facility under a State response program.

22 ‘‘(3) ENCOURAGING STATE VOLUNTARY CLEAN23 UPS.—At the request of a State, the President shall

24 defer final listing of a facility on the National Prior25 ities List if the State is attempting to obtain an

26 agreement from a person or persons to perform a re-
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1 medial action that will provide long-term protection

2 of human health and the environment at such facil3 ity under a State response program. If, after the last

4 day of the 1-year period beginning on the date that

5 the President proposes to list the facility on the Na6 tional Priorities List, the President finds that the

7 State is not making reasonable progress toward ob8 taining such an agreement, the President may place

9 such facility on the National Priorities List.’’.

10 (b) CROSS REFERENCE.—Section 105(a)(8)(B) (42

11 U.S.C. 9605(a)(8)(B)) is amended by inserting after

12 ‘‘shall revise the list’’ the following: ‘‘, subject to sub13 section (h),’’.

14 TITLE II—COMMUNITY PARTICI15 PATION AND HUMAN HEALTH

16 Subtitle A—Community

17 Participation

18 SEC. 201. IMPROVING CITIZEN AND COMMUNITY PARTICI19 PATION IN DECISIONMAKING.

20 (a) TECHNICAL AMENDMENTS.—Section 117 (42

21 U.S.C. 9617) is amended—

22 (1) in subsection (a)—

23 (A) by striking ‘‘PROPOSED PLAN’’ and in24 serting ‘‘PROPOSED PLAN’’;
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1 (B) by redesignating paragraphs (1) and

2 (2) as subparagraphs (A) and (B), respectively;

3 and

4 (C) by striking ‘‘under paragraph (1)’’ and

5 inserting ‘‘under subparagraph (A)’’;

6 (2) by redesignating subsection (a) as para7 graph (4) and moving the text of such paragraph 2

8 ems to the right;

9 (3) in subsection (b) by striking ‘‘FINAL PLAN’’

10 and inserting ‘‘FINAL PLAN’’;

11 (4) in subsection (c)—

12 (A) by striking ‘‘EXPLANATION OF DIF13 FERENCES’’ and inserting ‘‘EXPLANATION OF

14 DIFFERENCES’’; and

15 (B) by redesignating paragraphs (1), (2),

16 and (3) as subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C), re17 spectively; and

18 (5) by redesignating subsections (b) and (c) as

19 paragraphs (6) and (7) and moving the text of such

20 paragraphs 2 ems to the right.

21 (b) PARTICIPATION IN DECISIONMAKING.—

22 (1) IMPROVING CITIZEN AND COMMUNITY PAR23 TICIPATION IN DECISIONMAKING.—Section 117 (42

24 U.S.C. 9617) is further amended by inserting after

25 the section heading the following:
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1 ‘‘(a) IMPROVING CITIZEN AND COMMUNITY PARTICI2 PATION IN DECISIONMAKING.—

3 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In order to provide an op4 portunity for meaningful public participation at

5 every significant phase of a response action at a cov6 ered facility, the President shall take the actions

7 specified in this subsection. Public meetings required

8 under this subsection shall be designed to obtain in9 formation from the community and to disseminate

10 information to the community concerning the Presi11 dent’s activities at a covered facility.

12 ‘‘(2) PRELIMINARY ASSESSMENT AND SITE IN13 SPECTION.—

14 ‘‘(A) EVALUATION OF CONCERNS.—To the

15 extent practicable, before or during site inspec16 tion, the President shall solicit and evaluate

17 concerns, interests, and information from af18 fected Indian Tribes, the affected community,

19 local government officials, and State and local

20 health officials.

21 ‘‘(B) REQUIREMENTS FOR EVALUATION.—

22 An evaluation under subparagraph (A) shall in23 clude, as appropriate, face-to-face community

24 surveys to identify the location of private drink25 ing water wells, potential exposure pathways,
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1 including historic and current or potential use

2 of water, and other environmental resources in

3 the community; a public meeting; written re4 sponses to significant concerns; and other ap5 propriate participatory activities.

6 ‘‘(3) REMEDIAL INVESTIGATION AND FEASI7 BILITY STUDY.—

8 ‘‘(A) PUBLIC MEETINGS.—The President

9 shall provide, as appropriate, an opportunity for

10 public meetings and publish a notice of such

11 meetings before or during the remedial inves12 tigation and feasibility study.

13 ‘‘(B) SOLICITATION OF VIEWS.—During

14 the remedial investigation and feasibility study,

15 the President shall solicit the views and pref16 erences of affected Indian tribes, the affected

17 community, local government officials, and

18 State and local health officials on the remedi19 ation and disposition of hazardous substances,

20 pollutants, or contaminants at the facility. Such

21 views and preferences shall be described in the

22 remedial investigation and feasibility study and

23 considered in the screening of remedial alter24 natives for the facility.’’.
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1 (2) COMPLETION OF WORK PLAN.—Section

2 117(a) (42 U.S.C. 9617(a)) is amended by inserting

3 after paragraph (4) of such section, as redesignated

4 by subsection (a)(2) of this section, the following:

5 ‘‘(5) COMPLETION OF WORK PLAN.—The Presi6 dent shall provide, as appropriate, an opportunity

7 for public meetings and publish a notice of such

8 meetings before or during the completion of the

9 work plan for the remedial design and remedial ac10 tion.’’.

11 (c) ALTERNATIVES; SELECTING APPROPRIATE AC12 TIVITIES; PROVIDING INFORMATION.—Section 117(a) (42

13 U.S.C. 9617(a)) is amended by inserting after paragraph

14 (7) of such section, as redesignated by subsection (a)(5)

15 of this section, the following:

16 ‘‘(8) ALTERNATIVES.—Pursuant to paragraph

17 (4), affected Indian tribes, the affected community,

18 local government officials, and State and local health

19 officials may propose remedial alternatives to the

20 President. The President shall consider such alter21 natives in the same manner as the President con22 siders alternatives proposed by other parties.

23 ‘‘(9) SELECTING APPROPRIATE ACTIVITIES.—In

24 determining which of the activities set forth in para25 graph (2) may be appropriate, the President may
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1 consult with affected Indian tribes, the affected com2 munity, local government officials, and State and

3 local health officials.

4 ‘‘(10) PROVIDING INFORMATION.—

5 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The President shall

6 provide information to affected Indian tribes,

7 the affected community, local government offi8 cials, and State and local health officials at

9 every significant phase of the response action at

10 the covered facility.

11 ‘‘(B) NOTICE.—The President, on a reg12 ular basis, shall inform the entities specified in

13 subparagraph (A) of the progress and sub14 stance of technical meetings between the lead

15 agency and potentially responsible parties re16 garding a covered facility and shall provide no17 tice to such entities concerning—

18 ‘‘(i) the schedule for commencement

19 of construction activities at the covered fa20 cility and the location and availability of

21 construction plans;

22 ‘‘(ii) the results of any review under

23 section 121(c) and any modifications to the

24 covered facility made as a result of the re25 view; and
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1 ‘‘(iii) the execution of and any revi2 sions to institutional controls being used as

3 part of a remedial action.’’.

4 SEC. 202. ADDITIONAL PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT REQUIRE5 MENTS.

6 Section 117 (42 U.S.C. 9617) is amended by insert7 ing after subsection (a), as amended by section 201 of this

8 Act, the following:

9 ‘‘(b) ADDITIONAL PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT REQUIRE10 MENTS.—

11 ‘‘(1) AVAILABILITY OF RECORDS.—The Presi12 dent shall make records relating to a response action

13 at a covered facility available to the public through14 out all phases of the response action. Such informa15 tion shall be made available to the public for inspec16 tion and copying without the need to file a formal

17 request, subject to reasonable service charges as ap18 propriate. This paragraph shall not apply to a

19 record that is exempt from disclosure under section

20 552 of title 5, United States Code.

21 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS FOR PUBLIC INFORMA22 TION.—

23 ‘‘(A) PRESENTATION.—The President, in

24 carrying out responsibilities under this Act,

25 shall ensure that the presentation of informa-
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1 tion on risk is unbiased and informative and

2 clearly discloses any uncertainties and data

3 gaps. To the extent feasible, documents made

4 available to the general public which purport to

5 describe the degree of risk to human health

6 shall state, at a minimum—

7 ‘‘(i) the population or populations ad8 dressed by any risk estimates;

9 ‘‘(ii) the expected risk or central esti10 mate of risk for the specific population;

11 ‘‘(iii) any appropriate upperbound and

12 lowerbound estimates; and

13 ‘‘(iv) the reasonable range or other

14 description of uncertainties in the assess15 ment process.

16 ‘‘(B) COMPARISONS OF RISK.—To the ex17 tent practicable and appropriate, the Adminis18 trator shall provide comparisons of the level of

19 risk from hazardous substances found at facili20 ties to the levels of risk from hazardous sub21 stances ordinarily encountered by the general

22 public through other routes of exposure.’’.

23 SEC. 203. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE GRANTS.

24 Section 117 (42 U.S.C. 9617) is further amended—
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•HR 1300 SC

1 (1) by redesignating subsections (d) and (e) as

2 subsections (c) and (d), respectively; and

3 (2) by striking subsection (d) as so redesig4 nated and inserting the following:

5 ‘‘(d) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE GRANTS.—

6 ‘‘(1) AUTHORITY.—In accordance with rules to

7 be promulgated by the Administrator, the Adminis8 trator may make grants for technical assistance

9 available to any affected community with respect

10 to—

11 ‘‘(A) a covered facility;

12 ‘‘(B) a facility at which the Administrator

13 is undertaking a response action anticipated to

14 exceed 1 year; or

15 ‘‘(C) a facility at which the funding limit

16 under section 104 is anticipated to be reached.

17 ‘‘(2) SPECIAL RULES.—

18 ‘‘(A) FEDERAL SHARE.—No matching con19 tribution shall be required for a grant under

20 this subsection.

21 ‘‘(B) ADVANCE PAYMENTS.—The Adminis22 trator may make available to a recipient of a

23 grant under this subsection in advance of the

24 expenditures to be covered by the grant the
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1 lesser of $5,000 or 10 percent of the total

2 amount of the grant.

3 ‘‘(3) GRANT AVAILABILITY.—The Administrator

4 shall promptly notify residents and Indian tribes liv5 ing near a covered facility that technical assistance

6 grants are available under this section.

7 ‘‘(4) NUMBER OF GRANTS PER FACILITY.—

8 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise

9 provided in this paragraph, the Administrator

10 may not make more than 1 grant under this

11 subsection with respect to a single facility.

12 ‘‘(B) RENEWAL OF GRANTS.—A grant

13 made under this subsection with respect to a fa14 cility may be renewed to facilitate public par15 ticipation at all stages of a response action.

16 ‘‘(C) SPECIAL RULE.—In exceptional cir17 cumstances, the Administrator may provide

18 more than 1 grant under this subsection with

19 respect to a single facility, considering such fac20 tors as the area affected by the facility and the

21 distances between affected communities.

22 ‘‘(5) FUNDING AMOUNT.—

23 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in

24 subparagraph (B), the amount of a grant under
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1 this subsection may not exceed $50,000 for a

2 single grant recipient.

3 ‘‘(B) ADDITIONAL FUNDS.—The Adminis4 trator may increase the amount of a grant

5 under this subsection if—

6 ‘‘(i) the grant recipient demonstrates

7 that the characteristics of a facility indi8 cate that additional funds are necessary

9 due to the complexity of the response ac10 tion, including the size and complexity of

11 the facility, or the nature or volume of

12 site-related information; and

13 ‘‘(ii) the Administrator finds that the

14 grant recipient’s management of a previous

15 grant under this subsection, if any, was

16 satisfactory, and the costs incurred under

17 the grant were allowable and reasonable.

18 ‘‘(6) SIMPLIFICATION.—To ensure that the ap19 plication process is accessible to all affected citizens,

20 the Administrator shall review the existing guide21 lines and application procedures for grants under

22 this subsection and, not later than 180 days after

23 the date of the enactment of this paragraph, revise,

24 as appropriate, such guidelines and procedures to

25 simplify the process of obtaining such grants.
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1 ‘‘(7) AUTHORIZED GRANT ACTIVITIES.—

2 ‘‘(A) INFORMATION AND PARTICIPATION.—

3 To facilitate full participation by a grant recipi4 ent in response activities at a facility, a grant

5 made under this subsection may be used to ob6 tain technical assistance, including the hiring of

7 health and safety experts, in interpreting infor8 mation for, and disseminating information to,

9 members of the community, and in providing

10 information and recommendations to the Presi11 dent, with regard to—

12 ‘‘(i) the nature of the hazard at a fa13 cility, including information used to rank

14 facilities according to the Hazard Ranking

15 System;

16 ‘‘(ii) sampling and monitoring plans;

17 ‘‘(iii) the remedial investigation and

18 feasibility study;

19 ‘‘(iv) the record of decision;

20 ‘‘(v) the selection, design, and con21 struction of the remedial action;

22 ‘‘(vi) operation and maintenance;

23 ‘‘(vii) institutional controls;

24 ‘‘(viii) removal activities at the facil25 ity; and
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•HR 1300 SC

1 ‘‘(ix) health assessment or health

2 studies.

3 ‘‘(B) ADDITIONAL ACTIVITIES.—In addi4 tion to the activities specified in subparagraph

5 (A), not more than 10 percent of the amount

6 of a grant under this subsection may be used

7 for educational training, hiring neutral profes8 sionals to facilitate deliberations and consensus

9 efforts, and hiring community liaisons to poten10 tially responsible parties and government agen11 cies to facilitate public participation at the facil12 ity.

13 ‘‘(C) AVAILABILITY OF INFORMATION.—In14 formation generated by the recipients of grants

15 under this subsection shall be made publicly

16 available.

17 ‘‘(D) LIMITATION.—Grants made under

18 this subsection may not be used for the pur19 poses of collecting field sampling data.

20 ‘‘(8) NON-SITE-SPECIFIC GRANTS.—In accord21 ance with rules to be promulgated by the Adminis22 trator, the Administrator may make grants under

23 this subsection to Indian tribes, nonprofit organiza24 tions, and citizens groups to enhance their participa25 tion, prior to final agency action, in rulemaking
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1 processes carried out in accordance with this Act.

2 Total funding for all such grants shall not exceed

3 $100,000.

4 ‘‘(9) REPRESENTATIVE OF THE COMMUNITY.—

5 The Administrator shall publish guidance for deter6 mining whether a recipient of a grant under this

7 subsection is a legitimate representative of the com8 munity affected by a facility.’’.

9 SEC. 204. UNDERSTANDABLE PRESENTATION OF MATE10 RIALS.

11 Section 117 (42 U.S.C. 9617) is further amended by

12 adding at the end the following:

13 ‘‘(e) UNDERSTANDABLE PRESENTATION OF MATE14 RIALS.—The President shall ensure that information pre15 pared for distribution to the public under this section shall

16 be provided or summarized in a manner that may be easily

17 understood by the community, considering any unique cul18 tural needs of the community, including presentation of

19 information orally and distribution of information in lan20 guages other than English, as appropriate.’’.

21 SEC. 205. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION IN REMOVAL ACTIONS.

22 Section 117 (42 U.S.C. 9617) is further amended by

23 adding at the end the following:

24 ‘‘(f) PUBLIC PARTICIPATION IN REMOVAL AC25 TIONS.—In the case of a removal action taken in accord-
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1 ance with section 104, the President shall provide opportu2 nities for meaningful public participation as follows:

3 ‘‘(1) REMOVAL ACTIONS WHERE ON-SITE AC4 TIVITIES MUST BEGIN IN LESS THAN 6 MONTHS.—

5 In the case of a removal action where on-site activi6 ties must begin in less than 6 months, the President

7 shall—

8 ‘‘(A) publish a notice of availability of the

9 administrative record established under section

10 113(k) in a local newspaper of general circula11 tion within 60 days of any on-site removal ac12 tivity;

13 ‘‘(B) provide a public comment period, as

14 appropriate, of not less than 30 days from the

15 date on which the administrative record is made

16 available for public inspection; and

17 ‘‘(C) prepare a written response to com18 ments.

19 ‘‘(2) REMOVAL ACTIONS WHERE ON-SITE AC20 TIVITIES WILL EXTEND BEYOND 120 DAYS.—In the

21 case of a removal action where on-site activities are

22 expected to extend beyond 120 days, the President

23 shall—

24 ‘‘(A) conduct interviews with the Commu25 nity Advisory Group, if any, affected Indian
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•HR 1300 SC

1 tribes, the affected community, local govern2 ment officials, and State and local health offi3 cials, as appropriate, to solicit their concerns,

4 information needs, and how or when the af5 fected community would like to become involved

6 in the response action;

7 ‘‘(B) prepare a formal community relations

8 plan based on the community interviews and

9 other relevant information, specifying the com10 munity relations activities that the President

11 expects to undertake during the response; and

12 ‘‘(C) establish at least 1 local information

13 repository at or near the location of the re14 sponse action.

15 The information repository shall contain items made

16 available for public information and the administra17 tive record. The President shall inform the affected

18 community of the establishment of the information

19 repository and provide a notice of availability of the

20 administrative record for public review. All items in

21 the repository shall be available for public inspection

22 and copying.

23 ‘‘(3) REMOVAL ACTIONS WHERE PLANNING PE24 RIOD WILL EXTEND BEYOND 6 MONTHS.—In the

25 case of a removal action where the planning period
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1 is expected to extend beyond 6 months, the Presi2 dent shall—

3 ‘‘(A) comply with the requirements of

4 paragraph (2);

5 ‘‘(B) provide a notice of availability of and

6 a brief description of the removal engineering

7 evaluation and cost analysis in a local news8 paper of general circulation;

9 ‘‘(C) provide a reasonable opportunity, not

10 less than 30 days, for submission of written and

11 oral comments after completion of the engineer12 ing evaluation and cost analysis; and

13 ‘‘(D) prepare a written response to signifi14 cant comments.’’.

15 SEC. 206. COMMUNITY STUDY.

16 Section 117 (42 U.S.C. 9617) is further amended by

17 adding at the end the following:

18 ‘‘(g) COMMUNITY STUDY.—

19 ‘‘(1) REPORT BY THE ADMINISTRATOR.—Not

20 later than 2 years after the date of the enactment

21 of this Act, the Administrator shall prepare and sub22 mit to Congress a community study. The Adminis23 trator shall periodically update the study. The Ad24 ministrator shall ensure that copies of such studies

25 are made available to the public.
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1 ‘‘(2) CONTENTS OF THE REPORT.—The Admin2 istrator’s report shall include an analysis of—

3 ‘‘(A) the duration of time between the dis4 covery and listing of a facility;

5 ‘‘(B) the timing and nature of response ac6 tions;

7 ‘‘(C) the degree to which public views are

8 reflected in response actions;

9 ‘‘(D) future land use determinations and

10 use of institutional controls;

11 ‘‘(E) the population, race, ethnicity, and

12 income characteristics of each community af13 fected by each facility listed or proposed for

14 listing on the National Priorities List; and

15 ‘‘(F) the risk presented by each such facil16 ity.

17 ‘‘(3) EVALUATION.—The Administrator shall

18 evaluate the information in the study to determine

19 whether priority setting, response actions, and public

20 participation requirements were conducted in a fair

21 and equitable manner and identify program areas

22 that require improvements or modification.

23 ‘‘(4) ACTIONS BASED ON EVALUATION.—The

24 Administrator shall institute necessary improve-
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1 ments or modifications to address any deficiencies

2 identified by the study prepared under this section.’’.

3 SEC. 207. DEFINITIONS.

4 Section 117 (42 U.S.C. 9617) is further amended by

5 adding at the end the following:

6 ‘‘(h) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the following

7 definitions apply:

8 ‘‘(1) COVERED FACILITY.—The term ‘covered

9 facility’ means a facility that has been listed or pro10 posed for listing on the National Priorities List.

11 ‘‘(2) AFFECTED COMMUNITY.—The term ‘af12 fected community’ means any group of 2 or more in13 dividuals (including representatives of Indian tribes)

14 which may be affected by a release or threatened re15 lease of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or con16 taminant at a covered facility.’’.

17 Subtitle B—Human Health

18 SEC. 221. PUBLIC HEALTH AUTHORITIES.

19 (a) DISEASE REGISTRY AND MEDICAL CARE PRO20 VIDERS.—Section 104(i)(1) (42 U.S.C. 9604(i)(1)) is

21 amended—

22 (1) by striking subparagraph (A) and inserting

23 the following:

24 ‘‘(A) in cooperation with the States, for sci25 entific purposes and public health purposes, estab-
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1 lish and maintain a national registry of persons ex2 posed to toxic substances;’’; and

3 (2) in subparagraph (E) by striking ‘‘admission

4 to hospitals and other facilities and services operated

5 or provided by the Public Health Service’’ and in6 serting ‘‘referral to licensed or accredited health care

7 providers’’.

8 (b) SUBSTANCE PROFILES.—Paragraph (3) of sec9 tion 104(i) (42 U.S.C. 9604(i)(3)) is amended—

10 (1) by inserting ‘‘(A)’’ after ‘‘(3)’’;

11 (2) by redesignating subparagraphs (A), (B),

12 and (C) as clauses (i), (ii), and (iii), respectively;

13 and

14 (3) by striking ‘‘Any toxicological profile or re15 vision thereof’’ and all that follows through the pe16 riod at the end of such paragraph and inserting the

17 following:

18 ‘‘(B) Any toxicological profile or revision thereof shall

19 reflect the Administrator of ATSDR’s assessment of all

20 relevant toxicological testing which has been peer re21 viewed. The profiles prepared under this paragraph shall

22 be for those substances highest on the list of priorities

23 under paragraph (2) for which profiles have not previously

24 been prepared or for substances not on the listing but

25 which have been found at facilities for which there has
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1 been a response action under this Act and which have been

2 determined by ATSDR to be of health concern. Profiles

3 required under this paragraph shall be revised and repub4 lished, as appropriate, based on scientific development.

5 Such profiles shall be provided to the States, including

6 State health departments, tribal health officials, and local

7 health departments, and made available to other inter8 ested parties.’’.

9 (c) DETERMINING HEALTH EFFECTS.—Section

10 104(i)(5)(A) (42 U.S.C. 9604(i)(5)(A)) is amended—

11 (1) by striking ‘‘designed to determine the

12 health effects (and techniques for development of

13 methods to determine such health effects) of such

14 substance.’’ and inserting ‘‘conducted directly or by

15 means such as cooperative agreements and grants

16 with appropriate public and nonprofit institutions.

17 The research shall be designed to determine the

18 health effects of the substance and techniques for

19 development of methods to determine such health ef20 fects.’’;

21 (2) by redesignating clause (iv) as clause (v);

22 (3) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of clause (iii);

23 and

24 (4) by inserting after clause (iii) the following:
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1 ‘‘(iv) laboratory and other studies which can

2 lead to the development of innovative techniques for

3 predicting organ-specific, site-specific, and system4 specific acute and chronic toxicity; and’’.

5 (d) PUBLIC HEALTH AT NPL FACILITIES.—

6 (1) PRELIMINARY PUBLIC HEALTH ASSESS7 MENTS.—Section 104(i)(6) (42 U.S.C. 9604(i)(6)) is

8 amended by striking ‘‘(6)(A)’’ and all that follows

9 through the period at the end of subparagraph (A)

10 and inserting the following:

11 ‘‘(6)(A)(i) The Administrator of ATSDR shall per12 form a preliminary public health assessment for each facil13 ity, including those facilities owned by any department,

14 agency, or instrumentality of the United States, on the

15 National Priorities List and those sites that are the sub16 ject of a petition under subparagraph (B). The prelimi17 nary public health assessment shall be commenced as soon

18 as practicable after each facility is proposed for inclusion

19 on the National Priorities List or ATSDR accepts a peti20 tion for a health assessment. Where ATSDR, in consulta21 tion with local public health officials, determines it is indi22 cated by the preliminary public health assessment,

23 ATSDR shall conduct a public health assessment of those

24 sites posing a health hazard, which should be considered

25 in selecting the remedial action.
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1 ‘‘(ii) The Administrator of ATSDR shall design pub2 lic health assessments that take into account the needs

3 and conditions of the affected community, in cooperation

4 with States.

5 ‘‘(iii) The Administrator of the Environmental Pro6 tection Agency shall place highest priority on facilities

7 with releases of hazardous substances which result in ac8 tual ongoing human exposures at levels of public health

9 concern or adverse health effects as identified in a public

10 health assessment conducted by the ATSDR or are rea11 sonably anticipated based on currently known facts.’’.

12 (2) STRATEGIES FOR OBTAINING DATA; COMMU13 NITY INVOLVEMENT.—Section 104(i)(6)(D) (42

14 U.S.C. 9604(i)(6)(D)) is amended—

15 (A) by inserting ‘‘(i)’’ after ‘‘(D)’’; and

16 (B) by adding at the end the following:

17 ‘‘The President and the Administrator of ATSDR shall

18 develop strategies to obtain relevant on-site and off-site

19 characterization data for use in the health assessment.

20 The President shall, to the maximum extent practicable,

21 provide the Administrator of ATSDR with the data and

22 information necessary to make public health assessments

23 sufficiently prior to the choice of remedial actions to allow

24 ATSDR to complete these assessments. Where deemed ap25 propriate, the Administrator of ATSDR shall provide to
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1 the President as soon as practicable after site discovery,

2 recommendations for sampling environmental media for

3 hazardous substances of public health concern. To the ex4 tent feasible, the President shall incorporate such rec5 ommendations into the President’s site investigation ac6 tivities.

7 ‘‘(ii) In order to improve community involvement in

8 health assessments, the Administrator of ATSDR shall

9 carry out each of the following duties:

10 ‘‘(I) The Administrator of ATSDR shall collect

11 from Community Assistance Groups, from State and

12 local public health authorities, and from other

13 sources in communities affected or potentially af14 fected by releases of hazardous substances data re15 garding exposure, relevant human activities, and

16 other factors.

17 ‘‘(II) The Administrator of ATSDR shall design

18 health assessments that take into account the needs

19 and conditions of the affected community. Commu20 nity-based research models, building links to local

21 expertise, and local health resources should be used.

22 In preparing such designs, emphasis shall be placed

23 on collection of actual exposure data, and sources of

24 multiple exposure shall be considered.’’.
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1 (3) RESULTS OF PUBLIC HEALTH ASSESS2 MENTS.—Section 104(i)(6)(H) (42 U.S.C.

3 9604(i)(6)(H)) is amended by striking ‘‘health as4 sessment’’ each place it appears and inserting ‘‘pub5 lic health assessment’’.

6 (e) HEALTH STUDIES.—Section 104(i)(7) (42 U.S.C.

7 9604(i)(7)) is amended by striking ‘‘(7)(A)’’ and all that

8 follows through the period at the end of subparagraph (A)

9 and inserting the following:

10 ‘‘(7)(A) Whenever in the judgment of the Adminis11 trator of ATSDR it is appropriate on the basis of the re12 sults of a public health assessment or on the basis of other

13 appropriate information, the Administrator of ATSDR

14 shall conduct a human health study of exposure or other

15 health effects for selected groups or individuals in order

16 to determine the desirability of conducting full scale epi17 demiologic or other health studies of the entire exposed

18 population.’’.

19 (f) DISTRIBUTION OF MATERIALS TO HEALTH PRO20 FESSIONALS AND MEDICAL CENTERS.—Section

21 104(i)(14) (42 U.S.C. 9604(i)(14)) is amended to read as

22 follows:

23 ‘‘(14) In implementing this subsection and other

24 health-related provisions of this Act in cooperation with

25 the States, the Administrator of ATSDR shall—
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1 ‘‘(A) assemble, develop as necessary, and dis2 tribute to the State and local health officials, tribes,

3 medical colleges, physicians, nursing institutions,

4 nurses, and other health professionals and medical

5 centers, appropriate educational materials (including

6 short courses) on the medical surveillance, screening,

7 and methods of prevention, diagnosis, and treatment

8 of injury or disease related to exposure to hazardous

9 substances (giving priority to those listed in para10 graph (2)), through means the Administrator of

11 ATSDR considers appropriate; and

12 ‘‘(B) assemble, develop as necessary, and dis13 tribute to the general public and to at-risk popu14 lations appropriate educational materials and other

15 information on human health effects of hazardous

16 substances.’’.

17 (g) GRANTS, CONTRACTS, AND COMMUNITY ASSIST18 ANCE ACTIVITIES.—Section 104(i)(15) (42 U.S.C.

19 6904(i)(15)) is amended—

20 (1) by inserting ‘‘(A)’’ before ‘‘The activities’’;

21 (2) in the first sentence by striking ‘‘coopera22 tive agreements with States (or political subdivisions

23 thereof)’’ and inserting ‘‘grants, cooperative agree24 ments, or contracts with States (or political subdivi25 sions thereof), other appropriate public authorities,
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1 public or private institutions, colleges, universities,

2 and professional associations’’;

3 (3) in the second sentence by inserting ‘‘public’’

4 before ‘‘health assessments’’; and

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

6 ‘‘(B) When a public health assessment is conducted

7 at a facility on the National Priorities List, or a facility

8 is being evaluated for inclusion on the National Priorities

9 List, the Administrator of ATSDR may provide the assist10 ance specified in this paragraph to public or private non11 profit entities, individuals, and community-based groups

12 that may be affected by the release or threatened release

13 of hazardous substances in the environment.

14 ‘‘(C) The Administrator of ATSDR, pursuant to the

15 grants, cooperative agreements, and contracts referred to

16 in this paragraph, is authorized and directed to provide,

17 where appropriate, diagnostic services, health data reg18 istries and preventative public health education to commu19 nities affected by the release of hazardous substances.’’.

20 (h) PEER REVIEW COMMITTEE.—Section 104(i) (42

21 U.S.C. 6904(i)) is amended by adding at the end the fol22 lowing:

23 ‘‘(19) The Administrator of ATSDR shall establish

24 an external peer review committee of qualified health sci-
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1 entists who serve for fixed periods and meet periodically

2 to—

3 ‘‘(A) provide guidance on initiation of studies;

4 ‘‘(B) assess the quality of study reports funded

5 by the agency; and

6 ‘‘(C) provide guidance on effective and objective

7 risk characterization and communication.

8 The peer review committee may include additional specific

9 experts representing a balanced group of stakeholders on

10 an ad hoc basis for specific issues. Meetings of the com11 mittee should be open to the public.’’.

12 SEC. 222. INDIAN HEALTH PROVISIONS.

13 Section 104(i) (42 U.S.C. 9406(i)) is amended—

14 (1) in paragraph (1) by inserting ‘‘the Indian

15 Health Service,’’ after ‘‘the Secretary of Transpor16 tation,’’;

17 (2) in paragraph (5)(A) by inserting ‘‘and the

18 Indian Health Service’’ after ‘‘Public Health Serv19 ice’’;

20 (3) in paragraph (6)(C) by inserting ‘‘where low

21 population density is not used as an excluding risk

22 factor’’ after ‘‘health appears highest’’;

23 (4) by adding at the end of paragraph (6)(E)

24 the following: ‘‘If the Administrator of ATSDR or

25 the Administrator of EPA does not act on the rec-
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1 ommendations of the State, the Administrators must

2 respond in writing to the State or tribe as to why

3 they have not acted on the recommendations.’’;

4 (5) in paragraph (6)(F)—

5 (A) by striking ‘‘and’’ after ‘‘emissions,’’;

6 and

7 (B) by inserting ‘‘, and any other pathways

8 resulting from subsistence activities’’ after

9 ‘‘food chain contamination’’; and

10 (6) by striking the period at the end of para11 graph (6)(G) and inserting the following: ‘‘, and may

12 give special consideration, where appropriate, to any

13 practices of the affected community that may result

14 in increased exposure to hazardous substances, pol15 lutants, or contaminants, such as subsistence hunt16 ing, fishing, and gathering.’’.

17 SEC. 223. HAZARD RANKING SYSTEM.

18 Section 105(c) (42 U.S.C. 9605(c)) is amended by

19 adding at the end the following:

20 ‘‘(5) RISK PRIORITIZATION.—In setting prior21 ities under subsection (a)(8), the President shall

22 place highest priority on facilities with releases of

23 hazardous substances which result in actual ongoing

24 human exposures at levels of public health concern

25 or demonstrated adverse health effects as identified
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1 in a health assessment conducted by the Agency for

2 Toxic Substances and Disease Registry or are rea3 sonably anticipated based on currently known facts.

4 ‘‘(6) PRIOR RESPONSE ACTION.—Any evalua5 tion under this section shall take into account all

6 prior response actions taken at a facility.’’.

7 SEC. 224. FACILITY SCORING.

8 Section 105 (42 U.S.C. 9605) is amended by adding

9 at the end the following:

10 ‘‘(h) FACILITY SCORING.—The Administrator shall

11 evaluate areas, such as Indian reservations or poor rural

12 communities that warrant special attention and identify

13 up to 5 facilities in each region of the Environmental Pro14 tection Agency that are likely to warrant inclusion on the

15 National Priorities List. These facilities shall be accorded

16 a priority in evaluation for National Priorities List listing

17 and scoring, and shall be evaluated for listing within 2

18 years after the date of enactment of this subsection.’’.

19 TITLE III—LIABILITY REFORM

20 SEC. 301. AMENDMENTS TO SECTION 106.

21 (a) ADMINISTRATIVE ORDERS.—Section 106(a) (42

22 U.S.C. 9606(a)) is amended by adding at the end the fol23 lowing: ‘‘No order may be issued under this section

24 against any person who would not be liable for costs or

25 damages referred to in section 107(a). In any case in
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1 which the President issues an order to a person under this

2 subsection, the President shall provide information con3 cerning the evidence that indicates that each element of

4 liability contained in section 107(a) is present.’’.

5 (b) SUFFICIENT CAUSE.—Section 106(b)(1) (42

6 U.S.C. 9606(b)(1)) is amended—

7 (1) by inserting ‘‘(A)’’ after ‘‘(b)(1)’’;

8 (2) by striking ‘‘to enforce such order’’;

9 (3) by inserting before the period ‘‘, or be re10 quired to comply with such order, or both, even if

11 another person has complied, or is complying, with

12 the terms of the same order or another order per13 taining to the same facility and release or threatened

14 release’’; and

15 (4) by inserting at the end the following:

16 ‘‘(B) For purposes of this subsection and section

17 107(c)(3), a ‘sufficient cause’ includes an objectively rea18 sonable belief by the person to whom the order is issued

19 that—

20 ‘‘(i) the person is not liable for any response

21 costs under section 107; or

22 ‘‘(ii) that the action to be performed pursuant

23 to the order is inconsistent with the national contin24 gency plan.’’.
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1 (c) LIMITATION ON LIABLE PARTIES.—Section 106

2 is further amended by adding at the end the following:

3 ‘‘(d) LIMITATION ON LIABLE PARTIES.—No Federal

4 agency or department with authority to use the imminent

5 hazard, enforcement, and emergency response authorities

6 under this section may use such authorities with respect

7 to a release or threatened release for which such agency

8 or department is a potentially responsible party under sec9 tion 107.’’

10 SEC. 302. AMENDMENTS TO SECTION 107(a).

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 107 (42 U.S.C. 9607) is

12 amended by striking the section heading, the section des13 ignation, and subsection (a) and inserting the following:

14 ‘‘SEC. 107. LIABILITY.

15 ‘‘(a) GENERAL RULE.—

16 ‘‘(1) PERSONS LIABLE.—Notwithstanding any

17 other provision or rule of law and subject only to the

18 defenses set forth in subsection (b) of this section

19 and the exemptions set forth in subsections (n) and

20 (o), in the case of a facility or vessel from which

21 there is a release, or a threatened release, of a haz22 ardous substance that causes the incurrence of re23 sponse costs the following persons shall be liable for

24 the costs and damages described in paragraph (2):
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1 ‘‘(A) the owner or operator of the vessel or

2 the facility;

3 ‘‘(B) any person who at the time of dis4 posal of any hazardous substance owned or op5 erated any facility at which such hazardous

6 substances were disposed of;

7 ‘‘(C) any person who by contract, agree8 ment, or otherwise arranged for disposal or

9 treatment, or arranged with a transporter for

10 transport for disposal or treatment, of haz11 ardous substances owned or possessed by such

12 person, by any other party or entity, at any fa13 cility or incineration vessel owned or operated

14 by another party or entity and containing such

15 hazardous substances; and

16 ‘‘(D) any person who accepts or accepted

17 any hazardous substances for transport to dis18 posal or treatment facilities, incineration vessels

19 or sites selected by such person.

20 ‘‘(2) COSTS AND DAMAGES.—The liability of a

21 person under paragraph (1) shall be for—

22 ‘‘(A) any costs of response incurred by the

23 United States Government or a State or an In24 dian tribe not unnecessary and not inconsistent

25 with the national contingency plan;
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1 ‘‘(B) any necessary costs of response in2 curred by any person (other than the United

3 States, a State, or an Indian tribe) consistent

4 with the national contingency plan;

5 ‘‘(C) damages for injury to, destruction of,

6 or loss of natural resources, including the rea7 sonable costs of assessing such injury, destruc8 tion, or loss resulting from the release; and

9 ‘‘(D) the costs of any health assessment or

10 health effects study carried out under section

11 104(i).

12 ‘‘(3) INTEREST.—The amounts recoverable in

13 an action under this section shall include interest on

14 the amounts recoverable under paragraph (2). Such

15 interest shall accrue from the later of (A) the date

16 payment of a specified amount is demanded in writ17 ing, or (B) the date of the expenditure concerned.

18 The rate of interest on the outstanding unpaid bal19 ance of the amounts recoverable under this section

20 shall be the same rate as is specified for interest on

21 investments of the Hazardous Substance Superfund

22 established under subchapter A of chapter 98 of the

23 Internal Revenue Code of 1986. For purposes of ap24 plying such amendments to interest under this sub25 section, the term ‘comparable maturity’ shall be de-
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1 termined with reference to the date on which inter2 est accruing under this subsection commences.’’.

3 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—The Act is further

4 amended—

5 (1) in section 101(20) (42 U.S.C. 9601) by

6 striking ‘‘section 107(a)(3) or (4)’’ each place it ap7 pears and inserting ‘‘section 107(a)(1)(C) or

8 107(a)(2)(D)’’;

9 (2) in section 107 (42 U.S.C. 9607)—

10 (A) in subsection (d)(3) by striking ‘‘the

11 provisions of paragraph (1), (2), (3), or (4) of

12 subsection (a) of this section’’ and inserting

13 ‘‘subsection (a)’’;

14 (B) in subsection (f)(1) by striking ‘‘sub15 paragraph (C) of subsection (a)’’ each place it

16 appears and inserting ‘‘subsection (a)(2)(C)’’;

17 (C) in subsection (l)(1) by striking ‘‘para18 graph (1)’’ and inserting ‘‘paragraph (1)(A)’’;

19 and

20 (D) in subsection (m) by striking ‘‘sub21 section (a)(1)’’ and inserting ‘‘subsection

22 (a)(1)(A)’’;

23 (3) in section 108(a)(1) (42 U.S.C. 9608(a)(1))

24 by striking ‘‘paragraph (1)’’ and inserting ‘‘para25 graph (1)(A)’’;
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1 (4) in section 114(c)(1) (42 U.S.C.

2 9614(c)(1))—

3 (A) by striking ‘‘(a)(3) or (a)(4)’’ and in4 serting ‘‘(a)(1)(C) or (a)(1)(D)’’; and

5 (B) by striking ‘‘(a)(1) or (a)(2)’’ and in6 serting ‘‘(a)(1)(A) or (a)(1)(B)’’;

7 (5) in section 119(d) (42 U.S.C. 9619(d)) by

8 striking ‘‘(1), (2), (3) or (4)’’ and inserting ‘‘(1)(A),

9 (1)(B), (1)(C), or (1)(D)’’;

10 (6) in section 122(j)(2) (42 U.S.C. 9622(j)(2))

11 by striking ‘‘107(a)(4)(C)’’ and inserting

12 ‘‘107(a)(2)(C)’’; and

13 (7) in section 124(b)(2) (42 U.S.C. 9624(b)(2))

14 by striking ‘‘(1), (2), (3), or (4)’’ and inserting

15 ‘‘(1)(A), (1)(B), (1)(C), or (1)(D)’’.

16 SEC. 303. INNOCENT PARTIES.

17 (a) LIABILITY RELIEF FOR INNOCENT PARTIES.—

18 Section 107(b) (42 U.S.C. 9607(b)) is amended to read

19 as follows:

20 ‘‘(b) DEFENSES TO LIABILITY.—

21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There shall be no liability

22 under subsection (a) for a person otherwise liable

23 who can establish by a preponderance of the evi24 dence that the release or threat of release of a haz-
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1 ardous substance and the damages resulting there2 from were caused solely by—

3 ‘‘(A) an act of God;

4 ‘‘(B) an act of war;

5 ‘‘(C) an act or omission of a third party

6 other than an employee or agent of the defend7 ant, or other than one whose act or omission

8 occurs in connection with a contractual relation9 ship, existing directly or indirectly, with the de10 fendant (except where the sole contractual ar11 rangement arises exclusively from a contract for

12 carriage by a common carrier by rail), if the de13 fendant establishes by a preponderance of the

14 evidence that (i) the defendant exercised due

15 care with respect to the hazardous substance

16 concerned, taking into consideration the charac17 teristics of such hazardous substance, in light

18 of all relevant facts, circumstances, and gen19 erally accepted good commercial and customary

20 standards and practices at the time of the de21 fendant’s acts or omissions, and (ii) the defend22 ant took precautions against foreseeable acts or

23 omissions of any such third party and the con24 sequences that could foreseeably result from

25 such acts or omissions; or
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1 ‘‘(D) any combination of acts or omissions

2 described in subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C).

3 ‘‘(2) LIABILITY RELIEF FOR INNOCENT PAR4 TIES.—

5 ‘‘(A) INNOCENT OWNERS OR OPERA6 TORS.—There shall be no liability under sub7 section (a) for a person whose liability is based

8 solely on the person’s status as an owner or op9 erator of the facility or vessel and who can es10 tablish by a preponderance of the evidence

11 that—

12 ‘‘(i) the person acquired the facility or

13 vessel after the disposal or placement of

14 the hazardous substances for which liabil15 ity is alleged under subsection (a);

16 ‘‘(ii) the person did not, by any act or

17 omission, cause or contribute to the release

18 or threatened release of such hazardous

19 substances;

20 ‘‘(iii) the person exercised appropriate

21 care with respect to such hazardous sub22 stances taking into consideration the char23 acteristics of such hazardous substances, in

24 light of all relevant facts, circumstances,

25 and generally accepted good commercial
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1 and customary standards and practices at

2 the time of the defendant’s acts or omis3 sions; and

4 ‘‘(iv) in any case in which the person

5 acquired ownership of the facility or vessel

6 after December 11, 1980, the person, prior

7 to such acquisition, made all appropriate

8 inquiry into the previous ownership and

9 uses of the facility or vessel and any real

10 property in accordance with the generally

11 accepted commercial and customary stand12 ards and practices of the time of acquisi13 tion.

14 ‘‘(B) INNOCENT RECIPIENTS OF PROPERTY

15 BY INHERITANCE OR BEQUEST.—There shall be

16 no liability under subsection (a) for a person

17 whose liability is based solely on the person’s

18 status as an owner or operator of the facility or

19 vessel and who can establish by a preponder20 ance of the evidence that the person meets the

21 requirements of clauses (i), (ii), and (iii) of sub22 paragraph (A) and that the person acquired the

23 property by inheritance or bequest.

24 ‘‘(C) INNOCENT RECIPIENTS OF PROPERTY

25 BY CHARITABLE DONATION.—Liability under
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1 subsection (a) shall be limited to the lesser of

2 the fair market value of the facility or vessel

3 and the actual proceeds of the sale of the facil4 ity for a person whose liability is based solely

5 on the person’s status as an owner or operator

6 of the facility or vessel and who can establish

7 by a preponderance of the evidence that the

8 person meets the requirements of clauses (i),

9 (ii), and (iii) of subparagraph (A) and the per10 son holding title, either outright or in trust, to

11 the vessel or facility is an organization de12 scribed in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Rev13 enue Code of 1986 and exempt from tax under

14 section 501(a) of such Code and holds such title

15 as a result of a charitable donation that quali16 fies under section 170, 2055, or 2522 of such

17 Code.

18 ‘‘(D) INNOCENT GOVERNMENTAL ENTI19 TIES.—There shall be no liability under sub20 section (a) for a person who is a governmental

21 entity and whose liability is based solely on—

22 ‘‘(i) the person’s status as an owner

23 or operator of the facility or vessel if the

24 person meets the requirements of clauses

25 (i), (ii), and (iii) of subparagraph (A) and
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1 acquired the facility by escheat or through

2 any other involuntary transfer or by acqui3 sition through the exercise of eminent do4 main authority; or

5 ‘‘(ii) the granting of a license or per6 mit to conduct business.

7 ‘‘(E) INNOCENT OWNERS OR OPERATORS

8 OF RIGHTS-OF-WAY.—There shall be no liability

9 under subsection (a) for a person whose liability

10 is based solely on ownership or operation of a

11 road, street, or other right-of-way or public

12 transportation route (other than railroad rights13 of-way and railroad property) over which haz14 ardous substances are transported if such per15 son can establish by a preponderance of the evi16 dence that the person did not, by any act or

17 omission, cause or contribute to the release or

18 threatened release.

19 ‘‘(F) INNOCENT RAILROAD OWNERS OR OP20 ERATORS OF SPUR TRACK.—There shall be no

21 liability under subsection (a) for a person whose

22 liability is based solely on the status of the per23 son as a railroad owner or operator of a spur

24 track, including a spur track over land subject

25 to an easement, to a facility that is owned or
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1 operated by a person that is not affiliated with

2 the railroad owner or operator if such person

3 can establish by a preponderance of the evi4 dence that—

5 ‘‘(i) the spur track provides access to

6 a main line or branch line track that is

7 owned or operated by the railroad;

8 ‘‘(ii) the spur track is 10 miles long or

9 less; and

10 ‘‘(iii) the railroad owner or operator

11 did not cause or contribute to a release or

12 threatened release of the hazardous sub13 stances for which liability is alleged under

14 subsection (a).

15 ‘‘(G) INNOCENT CONSTRUCTION CONTRAC16 TORS.—There shall be no liability under sub17 section (a) for a person who is a construction

18 contractor (other than a response action con19 tractor covered by section 119) if such person

20 can establish by a preponderance of the evi21 dence that—

22 ‘‘(i) the person’s liability is based sole23 ly on construction activities that were spe24 cifically directed by and carried out in ac-
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1 cordance with a contract with an owner or

2 operator of the facility;

3 ‘‘(ii) the person did not know or have

4 reason to know of the presence of haz5 ardous substances at the facility concerned

6 before beginning construction activities;

7 and

8 ‘‘(iii) the person exercised appropriate

9 care with respect to the hazardous sub10 stances discovered in the course of per11 forming the construction activity, including

12 precautions against foreseeable acts of

13 third parties, taking into consideration the

14 characteristics of such hazardous sub15 stance, in light of all relevant facts, cir16 cumstances, and generally accepted good

17 commercial and customary standards and

18 practices at the time of the defendant’s

19 acts or omissions.

20 ‘‘(3) APPROPRIATE CARE.—

21 ‘‘(A) SITE-SPECIFIC BASIS.—The deter22 mination whether or not a person has exercised

23 appropriate care with respect to hazardous sub24 stances within the meaning of paragraph

25 (2)(A)(iii) shall be made on a site-specific basis
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1 taking into consideration the characteristics of

2 the hazardous substances, in light of all rel3 evant facts, circumstances, and generally ac4 cepted good commercial and customary stand5 ards and practices at the time of the defend6 ant’s acts or omissions.

7 ‘‘(B) SAFE HARBOR.—A person shall be

8 deemed to have exercised appropriate care with9 in the meaning of paragraph (2)(A)(iii) if—

10 ‘‘(i) the person took reasonable steps

11 to stop any continuing release, prevent any

12 threatened future release, and prevent or

13 limit human or natural resource exposure

14 to any previously released hazardous sub15 stance, or

16 ‘‘(ii) where the release or threatened

17 release of hazardous substances is the sub18 ject of a response action by persons au19 thorized to conduct the response action at

20 the facility or vessel, the person provides

21 access for and reasonable cooperation with

22 the response action.

23 ‘‘(4) ALL APPROPRIATE INQUIRY.—

24 ‘‘(A) SITE-SPECIFIC BASIS.—The deter25 mination whether or not a person has made all
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1 appropriate inquiry into the previous ownership

2 and uses of a facility or vessel within the mean3 ing of paragraph (2)(A)(iv) shall be made on a

4 site-specific basis.

5 ‘‘(B) ASTM SAFE HARBOR.—A person

6 who has acquired real property shall be deemed

7 to have made all appropriate inquiry within the

8 meaning of paragraph (2)(A)(iv) if the

9 person—

10 ‘‘(i) establishes that an environmental

11 assessment has been conducted in accord12 ance with the standards set forth in the

13 American Society for Testing and Mate14 rials Standards E1527–94, entitled ‘Stand15 ard Practice for Environmental Site As16 sessments: Phase I Environmental Site As17 sessment Process’ or with alternative

18 standards issued by rule by the Adminis19 trator or promulgated or developed by oth20 ers and designated by rule by the Adminis21 trator; and

22 ‘‘(ii) maintains a compilation of the

23 information reviewed and gathered in the

24 course of the environmental site assess25 ment.
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1 ‘‘(C) GOVERNMENTAL REVIEW SAFE HAR2 BOR.—A person who has acquired real property

3 shall be deemed to have made all appropriate

4 inquiry within the meaning of paragraph

5 (2)(A)(iv) if, prior to such acquisition, the per6 son reviewed a determination by a State or

7 Federal environmental or health agency with ju8 risdiction over response actions at the facility

9 that no further response action was planned at

10 the facility or if such facility has been placed in

11 the Comprehensive Environmental Response,

12 Compensation, and Liability Information Sys13 tem Archive.

14 ‘‘(5) LIMITATIONS.—No defense shall be avail15 able under this subsection to—

16 ‘‘(A) a person who obtained actual knowl17 edge of a release or threat of release of a haz18 ardous substance at a facility when such person

19 owned the real property and subsequently

20 transferred ownership of the property to an21 other person without disclosing such knowledge;

22 ‘‘(B) a person who knowingly and willfully

23 impedes the performance of a response action

24 or natural resource restoration at the facility;
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1 ‘‘(C) a person who did not provide all le2 gally required notices with respect to the dis3 covery or release of any hazardous substances

4 at the facility; and

5 ‘‘(D) a person (other than a person de6 scribed in paragraph (2)(B)) who is affiliated

7 with any other person liable for response costs

8 at the facility, through any direct or indirect fa9 milial relationship, or any contractual, cor10 porate, or financial relationship other than that

11 created by the instruments by which title to the

12 facility is conveyed or financed or by a contract

13 for the sale of goods or services.

14 ‘‘(6) WINDFALL LIENS.—

15 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In any case in which

16 there are unrecovered response costs incurred

17 by the United States at a facility for which an

18 owner of the facility is not liable by reason of

19 paragraph (2), and the conditions described in

20 subparagraph (C) are met, the United States

21 shall have a lien upon such facility for such un22 recovered costs.

23 ‘‘(B) SPECIAL RULES.—A lien under this

24 paragraph—
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1 ‘‘(i) shall not exceed the increase in

2 fair market value of the property attrib3 utable to the response action at the time of

4 a subsequent sale or other disposition of

5 the property;

6 ‘‘(ii) shall arise at the time costs are

7 first incurred by the United States with re8 spect to a response action at the facility;

9 ‘‘(iii) shall be subject to the require10 ments for notice and validity established in

11 paragraph (3) of subsection (l);

12 ‘‘(iv) shall continue until the earlier of

13 satisfaction of the lien or recovery of all re14 sponse costs incurred at the facility; and

15 ‘‘(v) shall not arise against a recipient

16 of a grant under section 127(b) or 127(c)

17 with respect to such grants.

18 ‘‘(C) CONDITIONS.—The conditions re19 ferred to in subparagraph (A) are the following:

20 ‘‘(i) A response action for which there

21 are unrecovered costs is carried out at the

22 facility.

23 ‘‘(ii) The United States has made rea24 sonable efforts to recover such unrecovered
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1 response costs from parties liable under

2 this section.

3 ‘‘(iii) Such response action increases

4 the fair market value of the facility above

5 the fair market value of the facility that

6 existed in the 6-month period preceding

7 the date that response action began.

8 ‘‘(D) LIMITATIONS.—No lien under this

9 paragraph shall arise (i) with respect to prop10 erty for which the property owner preceding the

11 current owner is not a liable party or has re12 solved its liability under this Act, or (ii) in any

13 case in which an environmental assessment gave

14 the owner or operator no reason to know of the

15 release of hazardous substances.’’.

16 (b) RENDERING CARE OR ADVICE.—

17 (1) STATE, TRIBAL, AND LOCAL GOVERN18 MENTS.—Section 107(d)(2) (42 U.S.C. 9607(d)(2))

19 is amended to read as follows:

20 ‘‘(2) STATE, TRIBAL, AND LOCAL GOVERN21 MENTS.—

22 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—No State, tribal, or

23 local government, including a municipality or

24 other political subdivision of a State, shall be
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1 liable under this title for costs or damages as

2 a result of—

3 ‘‘(i) actions taken in response to an

4 emergency created by the release or threat5 ened release of a hazardous substance gen6 erated by or from a facility owned by an7 other person; or

8 ‘‘(ii) actions to improve water quality

9 protection at an abandoned mine site and

10 adjacent lands that are owned by a person

11 other than the State, tribal, or local gov12 ernment, if such actions are taken in ac13 cordance with a response action approved

14 under applicable State or Federal law.

15 ‘‘(B) LIMITATION ON STATUTORY CON16 STRUCTION.—This paragraph shall not be con17 strued to preclude liability for costs or damages

18 as a result of gross negligence or intentional

19 misconduct by a governmental entity referred to

20 in subparagraph (A). For the purpose of the

21 preceding sentence, reckless, willful, or wanton

22 misconduct shall constitute gross negligence.’’.

23 (2) SAVINGS PROVISION.—Section 107(d)(3)

24 (42 U.S.C. 9607(d)(3)) is amended by striking

25 ‘‘This’’ and inserting ‘‘Except with respect to costs
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1 and damages referred to in paragraphs (1) and

2 (2)(A), this’’.

3 (c) CLARIFICATION OF LIABILITY FOR CONTIGUOUS

4 PROPERTY OWNERS.—Section 101(20) (42 U.S.C.

5 9601(20)) is amended by adding at the end the following:

6 ‘‘(E) The term ‘owner or operator’ does not in7 clude a person who owns or operates real property

8 that is contiguous to, or onto which a release has

9 migrated from, a facility that is under separate own10 ership or operation and from which there is a release

11 or threatened release of a hazardous substance if—

12 ‘‘(i) the person did not, by any act or omis13 sion, cause or contribute to the release or

14 threatened release of a hazardous substance;

15 and

16 ‘‘(ii) the person is not affiliated with any

17 other person that is potentially liable for any

18 response costs at the facility at which there has

19 been a release or threatened release of a haz20 ardous substance.’’.

21 (d) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Title I is further

22 amended—

23 (1) in section 101 (42 U.S.C. 9601) by striking

24 paragraph (35); and
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1 (2) in section 119(b)(1) (42 U.S.C. 9619(b)(1))

2 by striking ‘‘107(b)(3)’’ and inserting

3 ‘‘107(b)(1)(C)’’.

4 SEC. 304. STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION.

5 Section 107(f) (42 U.S.C. 9607(f)) is amended by

6 adding at the end the following:

7 ‘‘(3) UNITARY EXECUTIVE.—In any judicial ac8 tion brought under this Act by the United States

9 seeking recovery for damages to natural resources,

10 any brief or motion filed by the United States in any

11 other judicial action seeking recovery from the

12 United States for damages to natural resources

13 under this Act, shall be, for purposes of the action

14 brought by the United States, admissible and

15 deemed the position of the United States with re16 spect to the interpretation and construction of this

17 subsection.’’.

18 SEC. 305. LIVESTOCK TREATMENT.

19 Section 107(i) (42 U.S.C. 9607(i)) is amended—

20 (1) by striking ‘‘No person’’ and inserting ‘‘(1)

21 IN GENERAL.—No person and’’;

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

23 ‘‘(2) APPLICATION IN COMPLIANCE WITH

24 LAW.—For the purposes of paragraph (1), the term

25 ‘application of a pesticide product registered under
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1 the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide

2 Act’ includes a release of a hazardous substance re3 sulting from the application, before the date of en4 actment of this paragraph, of any pesticide, insecti5 cide, or similar product in compliance with a Federal

6 or State law (including a regulation) requiring the

7 treatment of livestock to prevent, suppress, control,

8 or eradicate any dangerous, contagious, or infectious

9 disease or any vector organism for such disease.’’;

10 and

11 (3) by indenting and aligning paragraph (1) (as

12 designated by paragraph (1) of this section) with

13 paragraph (2) (as added by paragraph (2) of this

14 section).

15 SEC. 306. LIABILITY RELIEF FOR SMALL BUSINESSES, MU16 NICIPAL SOLID WASTE, SEWAGE SLUDGE,

17 AND MUNICIPAL OWNERS AND OPERATORS.

18 (a) LIMITATION ON LIABILITY FOR SMALL BUSI19 NESSES.—Section 107 (42 U.S.C. 9607) is amended by

20 adding at the end the following new subsection:

21 ‘‘(o) LIMITATION ON LIABILITY FOR SMALL BUSI22 NESSES.—

23 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—With respect to actions

24 taken before March 25, 1999, no small business con25 cern shall be liable under subsection (a)(1)(C) or
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1 (a)(1)(D) for response costs or damages at a facility

2 or vessel on the National Priorities List.

3 ‘‘(2) LIMITATION.—Paragraph (1) shall not

4 preclude liability for costs or damages as a result of

5 gross negligence or intentional misconduct by the

6 small business concern. For the purpose of the pre7 ceding sentence, reckless, willful, or wanton mis8 conduct shall constitute gross negligence.

9 ‘‘(3) SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN DEFINED.—In

10 this subsection, the term ‘small business concern’

11 means a business entity that—

12 ‘‘(A) on average over the previous 3 years,

13 has no more than 75 full-time employees or the

14 equivalent thereof; and

15 ‘‘(B) in its taxable year preceding the date

16 of notification by the President that the busi17 ness entity is a potentially responsible party,

18 has $3,000,000 or less in gross revenues.’’.

19 (b) LIABILITY RELIEF FOR MUNICIPAL SOLID

20 WASTE AND SEWAGE SLUDGE.—

21 (1) Section 107 is further amended by adding

22 at the end the following new subsections:

23 ‘‘(p) LIABILITY EXEMPTION FOR MUNICIPAL SOLID

24 WASTE AND SEWAGE SLUDGE.—
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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided under

2 paragraph (2), no person shall be liable under sub3 section (a)(1)(C) or (a)(1)(D) for response costs or

4 damages at a facility or vessel on the National Pri5 orities List to the extent that the materials that the

6 person arranged or transported for disposal at the

7 facility or vessel consist of municipal solid waste or

8 municipal sewage sludge.

9 ‘‘(2) POST-ENACTMENT ACTIVITIES.—With re10 spect to actions taken on or after the date that is

11 36 months after the date of the enactment of this

12 paragraph, no municipality shall be liable under sub13 section (a)(1)(C) or (a)(1)(D) for response costs or

14 damages at a facility or vessel on the National Pri15 orities List to the extent that the materials that the

16 municipality arranged or transported for disposal at

17 the facility or vessel consist of municipal solid waste

18 or municipal sewage sludge and the municipality in19 stitutes or participates in a qualified household haz20 ardous waste collection program.

21 ‘‘(3) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the fol22 lowing definitions apply:

23 ‘‘(A) MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE.—The term

24 ‘municipal solid waste’ means all waste mate25 rials generated by households, including single
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1 and multifamily residences, and hotels and mo2 tels, and waste materials generated by commer3 cial, institutional, and industrial sources, to the

4 extent that such materials (i) are substantially

5 similar to waste materials normally generated

6 by households, notwithstanding differences in

7 volume, or (ii) waste that is collected and dis8 posed of with other municipal solid waste and,

9 regardless of when generated, would be consid10 ered conditionally exempt small quantity gener11 ator waste under regulations issued pursuant to

12 section 3001(d) of the Solid Waste Disposal Act

13 (42 U.S.C. 6921(d)). The term includes food

14 and yard waste, paper, clothing, appliances,

15 consumer product packaging, disposal diapers,

16 office supplies, cosmetics, glass and metal food

17 containers, wooden pallets, cardboard, elemen18 tary or secondary school science laboratory

19 waste, and household hazardous waste, and

20 wastes that are substantially similar. The term

21 does not include combustion ash generated by

22 resource recovery facilities or municipal inciner23 ators; solid waste from the extraction,

24 beneficiation, and processing of ores and min25 erals; or waste from manufacturing or proc-
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1 essing operations (including pollution control)

2 that is not described in clause (i) or (ii), or

3 both. Volumes of municipal solid waste de4 scribed in clause (i) shall not be considered

5 when making a determination whether waste is

6 considered conditionally exempt small quantity

7 generator waste under clause (ii), regardless of

8 whether such waste streams are mixed together.

9 ‘‘(B) MUNICIPAL SEWAGE SLUDGE.—The

10 term ‘municipal sewage sludge’ means solid,

11 semisolid, or liquid residue removed during the

12 treatment of municipal waste water, domestic

13 sewage, or other waste water at or by (i) a pub14 licly owned treatment works, (ii) a federally

15 owned treatment works, or (iii) a treatment

16 works that, without regard to ownership, would

17 be considered to be a publicly owned treatment

18 works and is principally treating municipal

19 waste water or domestic sewage.

20 ‘‘(C) QUALIFIED HOUSEHOLD HAZARDOUS

21 WASTE COLLECTION PROGRAM.—The term

22 ‘qualified household hazardous waste collection

23 program’ means a program established by an

24 entity of the Federal Government, a State, a

25 municipality, or an Indian tribe that provides,
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1 at a minimum, for semiannual collection of

2 household hazardous waste at accessible, well3 publicized collection points within the relevant

4 jurisdiction.

5 ‘‘(q) LIMITATION ON LIABILITY FOR MUNICIPAL

6 OWNERS AND OPERATORS.—

7 ‘‘(1) AGGREGATE LIABILITY OF SMALL MUNICI8 PALITIES.—With respect to a facility that received

9 municipal solid waste, that was proposed for listing

10 on the National Priorities List before March 25,

11 1999, that is or was owned or operated by munici12 palities with a population of less than 100,000 ac13 cording to the 1990 census, and that is not subject

14 to the criteria for solid waste landfills published

15 under subtitle D of the Solid Waste Disposal Act

16 (42 U.S.C. 6941 et seq.) at part 258 of title 40,

17 Code of Federal Regulations (or a successor regula18 tion), the aggregate liability of such municipalities

19 for response costs incurred on or after March 25,

20 1999, shall be the lesser of—

21 ‘‘(A) 10 percent of the total amount of re22 sponse costs at the facility; or

23 ‘‘(B) the costs of compliance with the re24 quirements of such subtitle for the facility (as
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1 if the facility had continued to accept municipal

2 solid waste through January 1, 1997).

3 ‘‘(2) AGGREGATE LIABILITY OF LARGE MUNICI4 PALITIES.—With respect to a facility that received

5 municipal solid waste, that was proposed for listing

6 on the National Priorities List before March 25,

7 1999, that is or was owned or operated by munici8 palities with a population of 100,000 or more ac9 cording to the 1990 census, and that is not subject

10 to the criteria for solid waste landfills published

11 under subtitle D of the Solid Waste Disposal Act

12 (42 U.S.C. 6941 et seq.) at part 258 of title 40,

13 Code of Federal Regulations (or a successor regula14 tion), the aggregate liability of such municipalities

15 for response costs incurred on or after March 25,

16 1999, shall be the lesser of—

17 ‘‘(A) 20 percent of the total amount of re18 sponse costs at the facility; or

19 ‘‘(B) the costs of compliance with the re20 quirements of such subtitle for the facility (as

21 if the facility had continued to accept municipal

22 solid waste through January 1, 1997).’’.

23 (c) INELIGIBILITY FOR EXEMPTIONS OR LIMITA24 TIONS.—Section 107 is further amended by adding at the

25 end the following:
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1 ‘‘(r) INELIGIBILITY FOR EXEMPTIONS OR LIMITA2 TIONS.—

3 ‘‘(1) IMPEDING RESPONSE OR RESTORATION.—

4 The exemptions and limitations set forth in sub5 sections (o), (p), and (q) and sections 114(c) and

6 130 shall not apply to any person with respect to a

7 facility if such person impedes the performance of a

8 response action or natural resource restoration at

9 the facility.

10 ‘‘(2) FAILURE TO RESPOND TO INFORMATION

11 REQUEST.—The exemptions and limitations set forth

12 in subsections (o), (p), and (q) and sections 114(c)

13 and 130 shall not apply to any person who—

14 ‘‘(A) willfully fails to submit a complete

15 and timely response to an information request

16 under section 104(e); or

17 ‘‘(B) knowingly makes any false or mis18 leading material statement or representation in

19 any such response.

20 ‘‘(3) FAILURE TO PROVIDE COOPERATION AND

21 FACILITY ACCESS.—The limitation set forth in sub22 section (q) shall not apply to any owner or operator

23 of a facility who does not provide reasonable co24 operation and facility access to persons authorized to

25 conduct response actions at the facility.’’.
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1 (d) EXEMPT PARTY FUNDING.—Section 107 is fur2 ther amended by adding at the end the following:

3 ‘‘(s) EXEMPT PARTY FUNDING.—

4 ‘‘(1) EXEMPT PARTY FUNDING.—Except as

5 provided in paragraph (2), the equitable share of li6 ability under section 107(a) for any release or

7 threatened release of a hazardous substance from a

8 facility or vessel on the National Priorities List that

9 is extinguished—

10 ‘‘(A) through an exemption under sub11 section (o) or (p) of this section, section 114(c),

12 or section 130, or

13 ‘‘(B) through a limitation on liability

14 under subsection (q) of this section,

15 shall be transferred to and assumed by the Trust

16 Fund.

17 ‘‘(2) CERTAIN MSW GENERATORS.—Paragraph

18 (1) shall not apply to the equitable share of liability

19 of any person who would have been liable under

20 under subsection (a)(1)(C) but for the exemption

21 from liability under subsection (p) and who is—

22 ‘‘(A) an owner, operator, or lessee of resi23 dential property;

24 ‘‘(B) a business entity that employs no

25 more than 100 individuals and is a small busi-
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1 ness concern as defined under the Small Busi2 ness Act (15 U.S.C. 631 et seq.); or

3 ‘‘(C) an organization described in section

4 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986

5 and exempt from tax under section 501(a) of

6 such Code if such organization employs no more

7 than 100 paid individuals at the involved chap8 ter, office, or department.

9 ‘‘(3) SOURCE OF FUNDS.—Payments made by

10 the Trust Fund or work performed on behalf of the

11 Trust Fund to meet the obligations under paragraph

12 (1) shall be funded from amounts made available by

13 section 111(a)(1).

14 ‘‘(t) EFFECT ON CONCLUDED ACTIONS.—The ex15 emptions from and limitations on liability provided under

16 subsection (o), (p), and (q) and sections 114(c) and 130

17 shall not affect any concluded judicial or administrative

18 action against a person otherwise covered by such exemp19 tion or limitation.’’.

20 (e) SMALL BUSINESS OMBUDSMAN.—The Adminis21 trator shall establish a small business Superfund assist22 ance section within the small business ombudsman office

23 at the Environmental Protection Agency. Such section

24 shall carry out the following functions:
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1 (1) Act as a clearinghouse of information for

2 small businesses regarding the Comprehensive Envi3 ronmental Response, Compensation, and Liability

4 Act of 1980. Such information shall be comprehen5 sible to a lay person and shall include information

6 regarding the exemptions to liability under section

7 107 of such Act, the allocation process under section

8 131 of such Act, requirements and procedures for

9 expedited settlements pursuant to section 122(g) of

10 such Act, and de minimis status and ability-to-pay

11 procedures.

12 (2) Provide general advice and assistance to

13 small businesses as to their questions and problems

14 concerning liability and the exemptions to liability

15 under such Act and the allocation and settlement

16 processes, except that such advice and assistance

17 shall not include any legal advice as to liability or

18 any other legal representation. The ombudsman

19 shall not participate in the allocation process.

20 SEC. 307. AMENDMENTS TO SECTION 113.

21 Section 113(f) (42 U.S.C. 9613(f)) is amended—

22 (1) by adding at the end the following new

23 paragraph:

24 ‘‘(4) LIMITATIONS ON CONTRIBUTION AC25 TIONS.—
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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—There shall be no

2 right of contribution under this subsection in

3 any of the following circumstances:

4 ‘‘(i) The person asserting the right of

5 contribution has waived the right in a set6 tlement pursuant to this Act.

7 ‘‘(ii) The person from whom contribu8 tion is sought is not liable under this Act.

9 ‘‘(iii) The person from whom con10 tribution is sought has entered into a set11 tlement with the United States pursuant to

12 section 122(g), with respect to matters ad13 dressed in that settlement.

14 ‘‘(B) ATTORNEYS’ FEES.—Any person who

15 commences an action for contribution shall be

16 liable to the person against whom the claim of

17 contribution is brought for all reasonable costs

18 of defending against the claim, including all

19 reasonable attorneys’ and expert witness fees,

20 if—

21 ‘‘(i) the action is barred by subpara22 graph (A);

23 ‘‘(ii) the action is brought against a

24 person who is protected from such suits
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1 pursuant to section 113(f)(2) by reason of

2 a settlement with the United States; or

3 ‘‘(iii) the action is brought during the

4 moratorium pursuant to section 131 (relat5 ing to allocation).’’.

6 SEC. 308. LIABILITY OF RESPONSE ACTION CONTRACTORS.

7 (a) EXTENSION OF NEGLIGENCE STANDARD.—Sub8 section (a) of section 119 (42 U.S.C. 9619(a)) is amended

9 as follows:

10 (1) In paragraph (1) by striking ‘‘title or under

11 any other Federal law’’ and inserting ‘‘title, under

12 any other Federal law or under the law of any State

13 or political subdivision of a State’’.

14 (2) By adding at the end of paragraph (1) the

15 following: ‘‘Notwithstanding the preceding sentence,

16 this section shall not apply in determining the liabil17 ity of a response action contractor under the law of

18 any State or political subdivision thereof if the State

19 has enacted a law determining the liability of a re20 sponse action contractor.’’.

21 (3) By adding at the end of paragraph (2) the

22 following: ‘‘Such conduct shall be evaluated based on

23 the generally accepted standards and practices in ef24 fect at the time and place that the conduct oc25 curred.’’.
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1 (b) CLARIFICATION OF LIABILITY.—Section 119(a)

2 (42 U.S.C. 9219(a)) is amended by inserting after para3 graph (4) the following:

4 ‘‘(5) LIABILITY.—Notwithstanding any other

5 provision of this Act, any liability of a response ac6 tion contractor under this Act shall be determined

7 solely in accordance with this section.’’.

8 (c) EXTENSION OF INDEMNIFICATION AUTHORITY.—

9 Section 119(c) is amended by adding at the end of para10 graph (1) the following: ‘‘Any such agreement may apply

11 to claims for negligence arising under Federal law or

12 under the law of any State or political subdivision of a

13 State.’’.

14 (d) INDEMNIFICATION FOR THREATENED RE15 LEASES.—Section 119(c)(5) is amended in subparagraph

16 (A) by inserting ‘‘or threatened release’’ after ‘‘release’’

17 each place it appears.

18 (e) EXTENSION OF COVERAGE TO ALL RESPONSE

19 ACTIONS.—Section 119(e)(1) is amended as follows:

20 (1) By striking ‘‘carrying out an agreement

21 under section 106 or 122’’.

22 (2) By striking ‘‘any remedial action under this

23 Act at a facility listed on the National Priorities

24 List, or any removal action under this Act,’’ and in-
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1 serting ‘‘any response as defined by section

2 101(25),’’.

3 (f) LIMITATION ON ACTIONS.—Section 119 is amend4 ed by adding at the end the following:

5 ‘‘(h) LIMITATION ON ACTIONS AGAINST RESPONSE

6 ACTION CONTRACTORS.—No action to recover for any in7 jury to property, real or personal, or for bodily injury or

8 wrongful death, or any other expenses or costs arising out

9 of the performance of services under a response action

10 contract, nor any action for contribution or indemnity for

11 damages sustained as a result of such injury, shall be

12 brought against any response action contractor more than

13 6 years after the completion of work at any site under

14 such contract. Notwithstanding the preceding sentence,

15 this section shall not—

16 ‘‘(1) bar recovery for a claim caused by the con17 duct of the response action contractor that is grossly

18 negligent or that constitutes intentional misconduct;

19 ‘‘(2) affect any right of indemnification that

20 such response action contractor may have under this

21 section or may acquire by written agreement with

22 any party; or

23 ‘‘(3) apply in any State or political subdivision

24 thereof if the State has enacted a statute of repose
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1 determining the liability of a response action con2 tractor.’’.

3 SEC. 309. AMENDMENTS TO SECTION 122.

4 (a) ADMINISTRATIVE SETTLEMENTS.—Section 122

5 (42 U.S.C. 9622) is amended by adding at the end the

6 following:

7 ‘‘(n) CHALLENGE TO COST RECOVERY COMPONENT

8 OF SETTLEMENT.—Notwithstanding the limitations on re9 view in section 113(h), and except as provided in sub10 section (g) of this section, a person whose potential claim

11 for response costs or contribution is limited as a result

12 of contribution protection afforded by an administrative

13 settlement under this section may challenge the cost recov14 ery component of such settlement. Such a challenge may

15 be made only by filing a complaint against the Adminis16 trator in the United States District Court within 60 days

17 after such settlement becomes final. Venue shall lie in the

18 district in which the principal office of the appropriate re19 gion of the Environmental Protection Agency is located.

20 Any review of an administrative settlement shall be limited

21 to the administrative record, and the settlement shall be

22 upheld unless the objecting party can demonstrate on that

23 record that the decision of the President to enter into the

24 administrative settlement was arbitrary, capricious, or

25 otherwise not in accordance with law.’’.
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1 (b) FINAL COVENANTS.—Section 122(f) is amended

2 as follows:

3 (1) By striking paragraph (1) and inserting the

4 following:

5 ‘‘(1) FINAL COVENANTS.—The President shall

6 offer potentially responsible parties who enter into

7 settlement agreements that are in the public interest

8 a final covenant not to sue concerning any liability

9 to the United States under this Act, including a cov10 enant with respect to future liability, for response

11 actions or response costs addressed in the settle12 ment, if all of the following conditions are met:

13 ‘‘(A) The settling party agrees to perform,

14 or there are other adequate assurances of the

15 performance of, a final remedial action author16 ized by the Administrator for the release or

17 threat of release that is the subject of the set18 tlement.

19 ‘‘(B) The settlement agreement has been

20 reached prior to the commencement of litigation

21 against the settling party under section 106 or

22 107 of this Act with respect to this facility.

23 ‘‘(C) The settling party waives all contribu24 tion rights against other potentially responsible

25 parties at the facility.
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1 ‘‘(D) The settling party (other than a

2 small business) pays a premium that com3 pensates for the risks of remedy failure; future

4 liability resulting from unknown conditions; and

5 unanticipated increases in the cost of any

6 uncompleted response action, unless the settling

7 party is performing the response action. The

8 President shall have sole discretion to deter9 mine the appropriate amount of any such pre10 mium, and such determinations are committed

11 to the President’s discretion. The President has

12 discretion to waive or reduce the premium pay13 ment for persons who demonstrate an inability

14 to pay such a premium.

15 ‘‘(E) The remedial action does not rely on

16 institutional controls to ensure continued pro17 tection of human health and the environment.

18 ‘‘(F) The settlement is otherwise accept19 able to the United States.’’.

20 (2) In paragraph (2) by striking ‘‘remedial’’

21 each place it appears and inserting ‘‘response’’.

22 (3) By striking paragraph (3) and inserting the

23 following:

24 ‘‘(3) DISCRETIONARY COVENANTS.—For settle25 ments under this Act for which covenants under
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1 paragraph (1) are not available, the President may,

2 in his discretion, provide any person with a covenant

3 not to sue concerning any liability to the United

4 States under this Act, if the covenant not to sue is

5 in the public interest. Such covenants shall be sub6 ject to the requirements of paragraph (5). The

7 President may include any conditions in such cov8 enant not to sue, including the additional condition

9 referred to in paragraph (5). In determining whether

10 such conditions or covenants are in the public inter11 est, the President shall consider the nature and

12 scope of the commitment by the settling party under

13 the settlement, the effectiveness and reliability of the

14 response action, the nature of the risks remaining at

15 the facility, the strength of evidence, the likelihood

16 of cost recovery, the reliability of any response ac17 tion or actions to restore, replace, or acquire the

18 equivalent of injured natural resources, the extent to

19 which performance standards are included in the

20 order or decree, the extent to which the technology

21 used in the response action is demonstrated to be ef22 fective, and any other factors relevant to the protec23 tion of human health and the environment.’’.
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1 (4) By striking paragraph (4) and redesig2 nating paragraphs (5) and (6) as paragraphs (4)

3 and (5), respectively.

4 (5) In subparagraph (A) of paragraph (5) (as

5 so redesignated)—

6 (A) by striking ‘‘remedial’’ and inserting

7 ‘‘response’’;

8 (B) by striking ‘‘paragraph (2)’’ in the

9 first sentence and inserting ‘‘paragraph (1) or

10 (2)’’;

11 (C) by striking ‘‘de minimis settlements’’

12 and inserting ‘‘de minimis and other expedited

13 settlements pursuant to subsection (g) of this

14 section’’; and

15 (D) by striking ‘‘the President certifies

16 under paragraph (3) that remedial action has

17 been completed at the facility concerned’’, and

18 inserting ‘‘that the response action that is the

19 subject of the settlement agreement is se20 lected’’.

21 (6) In subparagraph (B) of paragraph (5) (as

22 so redesignated)—

23 (A) by striking ‘‘In extraordinary cir24 cumstances, the’’ and inserting ‘‘The’’;
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1 (B) by striking ‘‘those referred to in para2 graph (4) and’’;

3 (C) by striking ‘‘if other terms,’’ and in4 serting ‘‘, if the agreement containing the cov5 enant not to sue provides for payment of a pre6 mium to address possible remedy failure or any

7 releases that may result from unknown condi8 tions, and if other terms,’’; and

9 (D) by adding at the end the following:

10 ‘‘The President may waive or reduce the pre11 mium payment for persons who demonstrate an

12 inability to pay such a premium.’’.

13 (c) EXPEDITED FINAL SETTLEMENTS.—Section 122

14 is further amended as follows:

15 (1) In subsection (g) by striking ‘‘(g)’’ and all

16 that follows through the period at the end of para17 graph (1) and inserting the following:

18 ‘‘(g) EXPEDITED FINAL SETTLEMENT.—

19 ‘‘(1) PARTIES ELIGIBLE FOR EXPEDITED SET20 TLEMENT.—The President shall, as promptly as pos21 sible, offer to reach a final administrative or judicial

22 settlement with potentially responsible parties who,

23 in the judgment of the President, meet the following

24 conditions for eligibility for an expedited settlement

25 in subparagraph (A) or (B):
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1 ‘‘(A) The potentially responsible party’s in2 dividual contribution to the release of haz3 ardous substances at the facility as an owner or

4 operator, arranger for disposal, or transporter

5 for disposal is de minimis. The contribution of

6 hazardous substance to a facility by a poten7 tially responsible party is de minimis if both of

8 the following conditions are met:

9 ‘‘(i) The contribution of materials

10 containing hazardous substances that the

11 potentially responsible party arranged or

12 transported for treatment or disposal, or

13 that were treated or disposed during the

14 potentially responsible party’s period of

15 ownership or operation of the facility, is

16 minimal in comparison to the total volume

17 of materials containing hazardous sub18 stances at the facility. Such individual con19 tribution is presumed to be minimal if it is

20 not more than 1 percent of the total vol21 ume of such materials, unless the Adminis22 trator identifies a different threshold based

23 on site-specific factors.

24 ‘‘(ii) Such hazardous substances do

25 not present toxic or other hazardous ef-
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1 fects that are significantly greater than

2 those of other hazardous substances at the

3 facility.

4 ‘‘(B)(i) The potentially responsible party is

5 a natural person, a small business, or a munici6 pality and can demonstrate to the United

7 States an inability or limited ability to pay re8 sponse costs. A party who enters into a settle9 ment pursuant to this subparagraph shall be

10 deemed to have resolved its liability under this

11 Act to the United States for all matters ad12 dressed in the settlement.

13 ‘‘(ii) For purposes of this subparagraph,

14 the following provisions apply:

15 ‘‘(I) In the case of a small business,

16 the President shall take into consideration

17 the ability to pay of the business, if re18 quested by the business. The term ‘ability

19 to pay’ means the President’s reasonable

20 expectation of the ability of the small busi21 ness to pay its total settlement amount

22 and still maintain its basic business oper23 ations. Such consideration shall include the

24 business’s overall financial condition and
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1 demonstrable constraints on its ability to

2 raise revenues.

3 ‘‘(II) Any business requesting such

4 consideration shall promptly provide the

5 President with all relevant information

6 needed to determine the business’s ability

7 to pay.

8 ‘‘(III) If the President determines

9 that a small business is unable to pay its

10 total settlement amount immediately, the

11 President shall consider alternative pay12 ment methods as may be necessary or ap13 propriate. The methods to be considered

14 may include installment payments to be

15 paid during a period of not to exceed 10

16 years and the provision of in-kind services.

17 ‘‘(iii) Any municipality which is a poten18 tially responsible party may submit for consid19 eration by the President an evaluation of the

20 potential impact of the settlement on essential

21 services that the municipality must provide, and

22 the feasibility of making delayed payments or

23 payments over time. If a municipality asserts

24 that it has additional environmental obligations

25 besides its potential liability under this Act,
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1 then the municipality may create a list of the

2 obligations, including an estimate of the costs

3 of complying with such obligations.

4 ‘‘(iv) Any municipality which is a poten5 tially responsible party may establish an inabil6 ity to pay through an affirmative showing that

7 such payment of its liability under this Act

8 would either—

9 ‘‘(I) create a substantial demonstrable

10 risk that the municipality would default on

11 existing debt obligations, be forced into

12 bankruptcy, be forced to dissolve, or be

13 forced to make budgetary cutbacks that

14 would substantially reduce current levels of

15 protection of public health and safety; or

16 ‘‘(II) necessitate a violation of legal

17 requirements or limitations of general ap18 plicability concerning the assumption and

19 maintenance of fiscal municipal obliga20 tions.

21 ‘‘(v) This subparagraph does not limit or

22 affect the President’s authority to evaluate any

23 person’s ability to pay or to enter into settle24 ments with any person based on that person’s

25 inability to pay.’’.
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1 (3) By striking paragraphs (2) and (3) of sub2 section (g) and inserting the following:

3 ‘‘(2) BASIS OF DETERMINATION.—Any person

4 who enters into a settlement pursuant to this sub5 section shall provide any information requested by

6 the President or by an allocator in accordance with

7 section 128(l)(1) or section 104(e). The determina8 tion of whether a person is eligible for an expedited

9 settlement shall be made on the basis of all informa10 tion available to the President at the time the deter11 mination is made. The President’s determination as

12 to the eligibility of a party that is not a department,

13 agency, or instrumentality of the United States for

14 settlement pursuant to this section shall not be sub15 ject to judicial review. If the President determines

16 that a party is not eligible for a settlement pursuant

17 to this section, the President shall explain the basis

18 for that determination in writing to any person who

19 requests such a settlement.

20 ‘‘(3) ADDITIONAL FACTORS RELEVANT TO SET21 TLEMENTS WITH MUNICIPALITIES.—In any settle22 ment with a municipality pursuant to this Act, the

23 President may take additional equitable factors into

24 account in determining an appropriate settlement

25 amount, including the limited resources available to
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1 that party, and any in-kind services that the party

2 may provide to support the response action at the

3 facility. In considering the value of in-kind services,

4 the President shall consider the fair market value of

5 those services.’’.

6 (4) In subsection (g)(4) by striking ‘‘$500,000’’

7 and inserting ‘‘$2,000,000’’.

8 (5) By striking paragraph (5) of subsection (g)

9 and inserting the following:

10 ‘‘(5) SMALL BUSINESS DEFINED.—In this sec11 tion, the term ‘small business’ refers to any business

12 entity that employs no more than 100 individuals

13 and is a ‘small business concern’ as defined under

14 the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 631 et seq.).’’.

15 (6) By adding at the end of subsection (g) the

16 following:

17 ‘‘(7) DEADLINE.—If the President does not

18 make a settlement offer to a person on or before the

19 180th day following the date of the President’s de20 termination that such person is eligible for an expe21 dited settlement under this subsection, or on or be22 fore the 180th day following the date of the enact23 ment of this paragraph, whichever is later, such per24 son shall have no further liability under this Act.
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1 ‘‘(8) PREMIUMS.—In any settlement under this

2 Act with a small business, the President shall not re3 quire the small business to pay any premium over

4 and above the small business’s share of liability.’’.

5 (7) In subsection (h)—

6 (A) by striking the subsection heading and

7 inserting the following: ‘‘AUTHORITY TO SET8 TLE CLAIMS FOR FINES, CIVIL PENALTIES,

9 PUNITIVE DAMAGES, AND COST RECOVERY.—

10 ’’;

11 (B) by striking ‘‘costs incurred’’ in the

12 first sentence of paragraph (1) and inserting

13 ‘‘past and future costs incurred or that may be

14 incurred’’:

15 (C) by inserting after ‘‘if the claim has not

16 been referred to the Department of Justice for

17 further action.’’ in the first sentence of para18 graph (1) the following: ‘‘The head of any de19 partment or agency with the authority to seek

20 fines, civil penalties, or punitive damages under

21 this Act may consider, compromise, and settle

22 claims for any such fines, civil penalties, or pu23 nitive damages which may otherwise be assessed

24 in civil administrative or judicial proceedings if

25 the claim has not been referred to the Depart-
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1 ment of Justice for further action. If the total

2 claim for response costs, fines, civil penalties, or

3 punitive damages exceeds $3,000,000, such

4 claim may be compromised and settled only

5 with the prior written approval of the Attorney

6 General.’’;

7 (D) by striking ‘‘$500,000 (excluding in8 terest), any claim referred to in the preceding

9 sentence’’ in the second sentence of paragraph

10 (1) and inserting ‘‘$2,000,000 (excluding inter11 est), any claim for response costs referred to

12 in this subsection’’; and

13 (E) by striking paragraph (4).

14 (d) MUNICIPALITY DEFINED.—Section 101 (42

15 U.S.C. 9601), as amended by section 303(d) of this Act,

16 is further amended by inserting after paragraph (34) the

17 following:

18 ‘‘(35) The term ‘municipality’ means a political sub19 division of a State, including a city, county, village, town,

20 township, borough, parish, school district, sanitation dis21 trict, water district, or other public entity performing local

22 governmental functions. The term also includes a natural

23 person acting in the capacity of an official, employee, or

24 agent of any entity referred to in the preceding sentence

25 in the performance of governmental functions.’’.
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1 SEC. 310. CLARIFICATION OF LIABILITY FOR RECYCLING

2 TRANSACTIONS.

3 (a) RECYCLING TRANSACTIONS.—Title I (42 U.S.C.

4 9601 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the fol5 lowing:

6 ‘‘SEC. 130. RECYCLING TRANSACTIONS.

7 ‘‘(a) LIABILITY CLARIFICATION.—As provided in

8 subsections (b), (c), (d), (e), and (f), a person who ar9 ranged for the recycling of recyclable material or trans10 ported such material shall not be liable under sections

11 107(a)(1)(C) and 107(a)(1)(D) with respect to such mate12 rial.

13 ‘‘(b) RECYCLABLE MATERIAL DEFINED.—For pur14 poses of this section, the term ‘recyclable material’

15 means—

16 ‘‘(1) plastic, glass, textiles, rubber (other than

17 whole tires), and metal, as well as minor amounts of

18 material incident to or adhering to the scrap mate19 rial as a result of its normal and customary use

20 prior to becoming scrap; except that such term shall

21 not include shipping containers of a capacity from

22 30 liters to and including 3,000 liters, whether in23 tact or not, having any hazardous substances (but

24 not metal bits or pieces or hazardous substances

25 that form an integral part of the container) con26 tained in or adhering thereto;
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1 ‘‘(2) spent lead-acid, spent nickel-cadmium, and

2 other spent batteries; and

3 ‘‘(3) used oil.

4 ‘‘(c) TRANSACTIONS INVOLVING SCRAP, PLASTIC,

5 GLASS, TEXTILES, OR RUBBER.—

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Transactions involving re7 cyclable materials that consist of scrap plastic, scrap

8 glass, scrap textiles, or scrap rubber (other than

9 whole tires) shall be deemed to be arranging for re10 cycling if the person who arranged for the trans11 action (by selling recyclable material or otherwise ar12 ranging for the recycling of recyclable material) can

13 demonstrate by a preponderance of the evidence that

14 all of the following criteria were met at the time of

15 the transaction:

16 ‘‘(A) The recyclable material met a com17 mercial specification grade.

18 ‘‘(B) A market existed for the recyclable

19 material.

20 ‘‘(C) A substantial portion of the recyclable

21 material was made available for use as a feed22 stock for the manufacture of a new saleable

23 product.

24 ‘‘(D) The recyclable material could have

25 been a replacement or substitute for a virgin
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1 raw material, or the product to be made from

2 the recyclable material could have been a re3 placement or substitute for a product made, in

4 whole or in part, from a virgin raw material.

5 ‘‘(E) For transactions occurring on or

6 after the 90th day following the date of the en7 actment of this section, the person exercised

8 reasonable care to determine that the facility

9 where the recyclable material would be handled,

10 processed, reclaimed, or otherwise managed by

11 another person (hereinafter in this section re12 ferred to as a ‘consuming facility’) was in com13 pliance with substantive (not procedural or ad14 ministrative) provisions of any Federal, State,

15 or local environmental law or regulation, or

16 compliance order or decree issued pursuant

17 thereto, applicable to the handling, processing,

18 reclamation, storage, or other management ac19 tivities associated with the recyclable material.

20 ‘‘(2) REASONABLE CARE.—For purposes of this

21 subsection, ‘reasonable care’ shall be determined

22 using criteria that include—

23 ‘‘(A) the price paid in the recycling trans24 action;
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1 ‘‘(B) the ability of the person to detect the

2 nature of the consuming facility’s operations

3 concerning its handling, processing, reclama4 tion, or other management activities associated

5 with the recyclable material; and

6 ‘‘(C) the result of inquiries made to the ap7 propriate Federal, State, or local environmental

8 agency (or agencies) regarding the consuming

9 facility’s past and current compliance with sub10 stantive (not procedural or administrative) pro11 visions of any Federal, State, or local environ12 mental law or regulation, or compliance order

13 or decree issued pursuant thereto, applicable to

14 the handling, processing, reclamation, storage,

15 or other management activities associated with

16 the recyclable material.

17 ‘‘(3) TREATMENT OF CERTAIN REQUIREMENTS

18 AS SUBSTANTIVE PROVISIONS.—For purposes of this

19 subsection, a requirement to obtain a permit applica20 ble to the handling, processing, reclamation, or other

21 management activities associated with the recyclable

22 materials shall be deemed to be a substantive provi23 sion.

24 ‘‘(d) TRANSACTIONS INVOLVING SCRAP METAL.—
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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Transactions involving re2 cyclable materials that consist of scrap metal shall

3 be deemed to be arranging for recycling if the per4 son who arranged for the transaction (by selling re5 cyclable material or otherwise arranging for the re6 cycling of recyclable material) can demonstrate by a

7 preponderance of the evidence that at the time of

8 the transaction—

9 ‘‘(A) the person met the criteria set forth

10 in subsection (c) with respect to the scrap

11 metal;

12 ‘‘(B) the person was in compliance with

13 any applicable regulations or standards regard14 ing the storage, transport, management, or

15 other activities associated with the recycling of

16 scrap metal that the Administrator issues under

17 the Solid Waste Disposal Act (42 U.S.C. 6901

18 et seq.) after the date of the enactment of this

19 section and with regard to transactions occur20 ring after the effective date of such regulations

21 or standards; and

22 ‘‘(C) the person did not melt the scrap

23 metal prior to the transaction.

24 ‘‘(2) MELTING OF SCRAP METAL.—For pur25 poses of paragraph (1)(C), melting of scrap metal
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1 does not include the thermal separation of 2 or more

2 materials due to differences in their melting points

3 (referred to as ‘sweating’).

4 ‘‘(3) SCRAP METAL DEFINED.—In this sub5 section, the term ‘scrap metal’ means bits and pieces

6 of metal parts (such as bars, turnings, rods, sheets,

7 and wire) or metal pieces that may be combined to8 gether with bolts or soldering (such as radiators,

9 scrap automobiles, and railroad box cars) which

10 when worn or superfluous can be recycled, except for

11 scrap metals that the Administrator excludes from

12 this definition by regulation and electrical equipment

13 that contains polychlorinated biphenyls.

14 ‘‘(e) TRANSACTIONS INVOLVING BATTERIES.—

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Transactions involving re16 cyclable materials that consist of spent lead-acid bat17 teries, spent nickel-cadmium batteries, or other

18 spent batteries shall be deemed to be arranging for

19 recycling if the person who arranged for the trans20 action (by selling recyclable material or otherwise ar21 ranging for the recycling of recyclable material) can

22 demonstrate by a preponderance of the evidence that

23 at the time of the transaction—

24 ‘‘(A) the person met the criteria set forth

25 in subsection (c) with respect to the spent lead-
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1 acid batteries, spent nickel-cadmium batteries,

2 or other spent batteries but did not recover the

3 valuable components of such batteries; and

4 ‘‘(B)(i) with respect to transactions involv5 ing lead-acid batteries, the person was in com6 pliance with applicable Federal environmental

7 regulations or standards, and any amendments

8 thereto, regarding the storage, transport, man9 agement, or other activities associated with the

10 recycling of spent lead-acid batteries;

11 ‘‘(ii) with respect to transactions involving

12 nickel-cadmium batteries, Federal environ13 mental regulations or standards were in effect

14 regarding the storage, transport, management,

15 or other activities associated with the recycling

16 of spent nickel-cadmium batteries and the per17 son was in compliance with such regulations or

18 standards and any amendments thereto; or

19 ‘‘(iii) with respect to transactions involving

20 other spent batteries, Federal environmental

21 regulations or standards were in effect regard22 ing the storage, transport, management, or

23 other activities associated with the recycling of

24 such batteries and the person was in compliance
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1 with such regulations or standards and any

2 amendments thereto.

3 ‘‘(2) RECOVERY OF VALUABLE BATTERY COM4 PONENTS.—For purposes of paragraph (1)(A), a

5 person who, by contract, arranges or pays for proc6 essing of batteries by an unrelated third person and

7 receives from such third person materials reclaimed

8 from such batteries shall not thereby be deemed to

9 recover the valuable components of such batteries.

10 ‘‘(f) TRANSACTIONS INVOLVING USED OIL.—

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Transactions involving re12 cyclable materials that consist of used oil shall be

13 deemed to be arranging for recycling if the person

14 who arranged for the transaction (by selling recycla15 ble material or otherwise arranging for the recycling

16 of recyclable material) did not mix the recyclable

17 material with a hazardous substance following the

18 removal of the used oil from service and can dem19 onstrate by a preponderance of the evidence that at

20 the time of the transaction—

21 ‘‘(A) the recyclable material was sent to a

22 facility that recycled used oil by using it as feed

23 stock for the manufacture of a new saleable

24 product;
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1 ‘‘(B) the person met the criteria specified

2 in subparagraphs (D) and (E) of subsection

3 (c)(1), as modified by paragraphs (2) and (3)

4 of subsection (c), with respect to used oil; and

5 ‘‘(C) regulations or standards for the man6 agement of used oil promulgated under the

7 Solid Waste Disposal Act (42 U.S.C. 6901 et

8 seq.) were in effect on the date of the trans9 action and the person was in compliance with

10 such regulations or standards and any amend11 ment thereto.

12 ‘‘(2) USED OIL DEFINED.—In this subsection,

13 the term ‘used oil’ means any oil that has been re14 fined from crude oil, or any synthetic oil, that has

15 been used or stored. Such term does not include any

16 oil that is subject to regulation under section

17 6(e)(1)(A) of the Toxic Substances Control Act (15

18 U.S.C. 2605(e)(1)(A)), relating to regulations pre19 scribing methods for disposal of polychlorinated

20 biphenyls.

21 ‘‘(g) EXCLUSIONS.—

22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The exemptions set forth in

23 subsections (c), (d), (e), and (f) shall not apply if—
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1 ‘‘(A) the person had an objectively reason2 able basis to believe at the time of the recycling

3 transaction that—

4 ‘‘(i) the recyclable material would not

5 be recycled;

6 ‘‘(ii) in the case of recyclable mate7 rials other than used oil, the recyclable ma8 terial would be burned as fuel or for en9 ergy recovery or incineration; or

10 ‘‘(iii) for transactions occurring on or

11 before the 90th day following the date of

12 the enactment of this section, the con13 suming facility was not in compliance with

14 a substantive (not a procedural or adminis15 trative) provision of any Federal, State, or

16 local environmental law or regulation, or

17 compliance order or decree issued pursuant

18 thereto, applicable to the handling, proc19 essing, reclamation, or other management

20 activities associated with the recyclable

21 material;

22 ‘‘(B) the person had reason to believe that

23 hazardous substances had been added to the re24 cyclable material for purposes other than proc25 essing for recycling; or
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1 ‘‘(C) the person failed to exercise reason2 able care with respect to the management and

3 handling of the recyclable material (including

4 adhering to customary industry practices cur5 rent at the time of the recycling transaction de6 signed to minimize, through source control, con7 tamination of the recyclable material by haz8 ardous substances).

9 ‘‘(2) OBJECTIVELY REASONABLE BASIS.—For

10 purposes of paragraph (1)(A), an objectively reason11 able basis for belief shall be determined using cri12 teria that include the size of the person’s business,

13 customary industry practices (including customary

14 industry practices current at the time of the recy15 cling transaction designed to minimize, through

16 source control, contamination of the recyclable mate17 rial by hazardous substances), the price paid in the

18 recycling transaction, and the ability of the person

19 to detect the nature of the consuming facility’s oper20 ations concerning its handling, processing, reclama21 tion, or other management activities associated with

22 the recyclable material.

23 ‘‘(3) TREATMENT OF CERTAIN REQUIREMENTS

24 AS SUBSTANTIVE PROVISIONS.—For purposes of this

25 subsection, a requirement to obtain a permit applica-
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1 ble to the handling, processing, reclamation, or other

2 management activities associated with recyclable ma3 terial shall be deemed to be a substantive provision.

4 ‘‘(h) EFFECT ON OWNER LIABILITY.—Nothing in

5 this section shall be deemed to affect the liability of a per6 son under subparagraph (A) or (B) of section 107(a)(1).

7 ‘‘(i) RELATIONSHIP TO LIABILITY UNDER OTHER

8 LAWS.—Nothing in this section shall affect—

9 ‘‘(1) liability under any other Federal, State, or

10 local statute or regulation promulgated pursuant to

11 any such statute, including any requirements pro12 mulgated by the Administrator under the Solid

13 Waste Disposal Act (42 U.S.C. 6901 et seq.); or

14 ‘‘(2) the ability of the Administrator to promul15 gate regulations under any other statute, including

16 the Solid Waste Disposal Act (42 U.S.C. 6901 et

17 seq.).

18 ‘‘(j) LIMITATION ON STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION.—

19 Nothing in this section shall be construed to affect any

20 liability under section 107(a)(1) of any person with re21 spect to any material other than a recyclable material sub22 ject to subsection (a).’’.

23 (b) SERVICE STATION DEALERS.—Section 114(c)

24 (42 U.S.C. 9614(c)) is amended—

25 (1) in paragraph (1)—
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1 (A) by striking ‘‘No person’’ and inserting

2 ‘‘A person’’;

3 (B) by striking ‘‘may recover’’ and insert4 ing ‘‘may not recover’’;

5 (C) by striking ‘‘if such recycled oil’’ and

6 inserting ‘‘unless the service station dealer’’;

7 and

8 (D) by striking subparagraphs (A) and (B)

9 and inserting the following:

10 ‘‘(A) mixed the recycled oil with any other

11 hazardous substance; or

12 ‘‘(B) did not store, treat, transport, or oth13 erwise manage the recycled oil in compliance

14 with any applicable regulations or standards

15 promulgated pursuant to section 3014 of the

16 Solid Waste Disposal Act and other applicable

17 authorities that were in effect on the date of

18 such activity.’’; and

19 (2) by striking paragraph (4).

20 SEC. 311. ALLOCATION.

21 Title I (42 U.S.C. 9601 et seq.) is amended by adding

22 at the end the following new section:

23 ‘‘SEC. 131. ALLOCATION.

24 ‘‘(a) PURPOSE OF ALLOCATION.—The purpose of an

25 allocation under this section is to determine equitable
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1 shares of liability for the costs of performing a response

2 action that is eligible for an allocation under this section,

3 including the equitable share of liability to be borne by

4 the Trust Fund under subsection (i).

5 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBLE RESPONSE ACTION.—A response ac6 tion is eligible for an allocation under this section if—

7 ‘‘(1) the performance of such response action is

8 not the subject of a consent decree or an administra9 tive order as of March 25, 1999; and

10 ‘‘(2) the President’s estimate of the cost of such

11 response action exceeds $2,000,000.

12 ‘‘(c) ALLOCATION PROCESS.—

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The President shall initiate

14 an allocation under this section for each eligible re15 sponse action by filing a cost recovery and declara16 tory judgment action under section 107 for costs of

17 response to a release or threatened release of haz18 ardous substances from a facility or vessel in the

19 district court of the United States in the district in

20 which such release occurs.

21 ‘‘(2) STAY.—The President shall seek a stay of

22 litigation of the action referred to in paragraph (1)

23 until 150 days after the issuance of an allocator’s

24 report unless the court determines that a stay will

25 result in manifest injustice.
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1 ‘‘(3) JURISDICTION OF THE COURT.—Upon the

2 filing of the action referred to in paragraph (1), the

3 court shall have jurisdiction to ensure that a fair

4 and equitable allocation of liability is undertaken by

5 a neutral allocator selected by agreement of the par6 ties, or by the court, under such process or proce7 dures as are agreed to by the parties, or ordered by

8 the court.

9 ‘‘(d) DISCRETIONARY ALLOCATION PROCESS.—Not10 withstanding subsection (a)(1), the President may initiate

11 an allocation under this section for any response action.

12 ‘‘(e) EARLY OFFER OF SETTLEMENT.—As soon as

13 practicable and prior to the selection of an allocator, the

14 President shall provide an estimate of the aggregate Fund

15 share in accordance with subsection (i). The President

16 shall offer to contribute to a settlement of liability for re17 sponse costs on the basis of this estimate.

18 ‘‘(f) REPRESENTATION OF THE UNITED STATES AND

19 AFFECTED STATES.—The Administrator or the Attorney

20 General, as a representative of the Fund, and a represent21 ative of any State that is or may be responsible pursuant

22 to section 104(c)(3) for any costs of a response action that

23 is the subject of an allocation shall be entitled to partici24 pate in the allocation proceeding to the same extent as

25 any potentially responsible party.
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1 ‘‘(g) MORATORIUM ON LITIGATION.—

2 ‘‘(1) MORATORIUM ON LITIGATION.—No person

3 may commence any civil action or assert any claim

4 under this Act seeking recovery of any response

5 costs, or contribution toward such costs, in connec6 tion with any response action for which the Presi7 dent has initiated an allocation under this section,

8 until 150 days after issuance of the allocator’s re9 port or of a report under this section.

10 ‘‘(2) STAY.—If any action or claim referred to

11 in paragraph (1) is pending on the date of enact12 ment of this section or on the date of initiation of

13 an allocation, such action or claim (including any

14 pendant claim under State law over which a court is

15 exercising jurisdiction) shall be stayed until 150

16 days after the issuance of the allocator’s report or

17 of a report under this section, unless the court de18 termines that a stay will result in manifest injustice.

19 ‘‘(3) TOLLING OF LIMITATIONS PERIOD.—Any

20 applicable limitations period with respect to actions

21 subject to paragraph (1) shall be tolled from the ear22 lier of—

23 ‘‘(A) the date of listing of the facility on

24 the National Priorities List, where such listing
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1 occurs after the date of enactment of this sec2 tion; or

3 ‘‘(B) the commencement of the allocation

4 process pursuant to this section, until 180 days

5 after rejects or waives its right to reject the al6 locator’s report.

7 ‘‘(h) EFFECT ON PRINCIPLES OF LIABILITY.—The

8 allocation process under this section shall not be construed

9 to modify or affect in any way the principles of liability

10 under this title as determined by the courts of the United

11 States.

12 ‘‘(i) FUND SHARE.—For each response action that

13 is the subject of an allocation under this section, the allo14 cator shall determine the share of response costs, if any,

15 to be allocated to the Fund. The Fund share shall consist

16 of the sum of following amounts:

17 ‘‘(1) The amount attributable to the aggregate

18 share of response costs that the allocator determines

19 to be attributable to parties who are not affiliated

20 with any potentially responsible party and whom the

21 President determines are insolvent or defunct.

22 ‘‘(2) The amount attributable to the difference

23 in the aggregate share of response costs that the al24 locator determines to be attributable to parties who

25 have resolved their liability to the United States for
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1 the response and the amount actually assumed by

2 those parties in any settlement for the response ac3 tion with the United States. Except where such set4 tlements include a consideration of ability to pay,

5 the allocator may presume that the amount accepted

6 by the United States in a settlement is that party’s

7 equitable share.

8 ‘‘(3) Except as provided in subsection (j), the

9 amount attributable to the aggregate share of re10 sponse costs that the allocator determines to be at11 tributable to persons who are entitled to an exemp12 tion from liability under subsection (o) or (p) of sec13 tion 107 or section 114(c) or 130 at a facility or

14 vessel on the National Priorities List.

15 ‘‘(4) The amount attributable to the difference

16 in the aggregate share of response costs that an allo17 cator determines to be attributable to persons sub18 ject to a limitation on liability under section 107(q)

19 and the amount actually assumed by those parties in

20 accordance with such limitation.

21 ‘‘(j) CERTAIN MSW GENERATORS.—Notwith22 standing subsection (i)(3), the allocator shall not attribute

23 any response costs to any person who would have been

24 liable under section 107(a)(1)(C) but for the exemption

25 from liability under section 107(p) and who is—
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1 ‘‘(1) an owner, operator, or lessee of residential

2 property;

3 ‘‘(2) a business entity that employs no more

4 than 100 individuals and is a small business concern

5 as defined under the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C.

6 631 et seq.); or

7 ‘‘(3) an organization described in section

8 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and

9 exempt from tax under section 501(a) of such Code

10 if such organization employs no more than 100 paid

11 individuals at the involved chapter, office, or depart12 ment.

13 ‘‘(k) UNATTRIBUTABLE SHARE.—The share attrib14 utable to the aggregate share of response costs incurred

15 to respond to materials containing hazardous substances

16 for which no generator, transporter, or owner or operator

17 at the time of disposal or placement can be identified shall

18 be divided pro rata among the potentially responsible par19 ties and the Fund share determined under subsection (i).

20 ‘‘(l) EXPEDITED ALLOCATION.—At the request of the

21 potentially responsible parties or the United States, to as22 sist in reaching settlement, the allocator may, prior to

23 reaching a final allocation of response costs among all par24 ties, first provide an estimate of the aggregate Fund

25 share, in accordance with subsection (i), and an estimate
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1 of the aggregate share of the potentially responsible par2 ties.

3 ‘‘(m) OTHER SETTLEMENTS.—The President may

4 use the authority under section 122(g) to enter into settle5 ment agreements with respect to any response action that

6 is the subject of an allocation at any time.

7 ‘‘(n) SETTLEMENTS BASED ON ALLOCATIONS.—

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

9 the President shall accept an offer of settlement of

10 liability for a response action that is the subject of

11 an allocation if—

12 ‘‘(A) the offer is made within 90 days after

13 issuance of the allocator’s report; and

14 ‘‘(B) the offer is based on the share of re15 sponse costs specified by the allocator and such

16 other terms and conditions (other than the allo17 cated share of response costs) as are acceptable

18 to the President.

19 ‘‘(2) REJECTION OF ALLOCATION REPORT.—

20 The requirement of paragraph (1) to accept an offer

21 of settlement shall not apply if the Administrator

22 and the Attorney General reject the allocation re23 port.

24 ‘‘(o) REIMBURSEMENT FOR UAO PERFORMANCE.—
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1 ‘‘(1) REIMBURSEMENT.—Parties who satisfac2 torily perform work under an administrative order

3 issued under section 106(a) with respect to a reme4 dial action for which an allocation is required by

5 subsection (c) shall be entitled to reimbursement for

6 the reasonable and necessary costs of work they per7 form in excess of the share assigned to them in the

8 allocation in accordance with the provisions of this

9 section if the allocation report is not rejected by the

10 United States and, that, at the end of the morato11 rium following the allocation, the performing party,

12 in consideration of such reimbursement—

13 ‘‘(A) agrees not to contest liability for all

14 response costs not inconsistent with the Na15 tional Contingency Plan to the extent of the al16 located share;

17 ‘‘(B) receives no covenant not to sue; and

18 ‘‘(C) waives contribution rights against all

19 parties who are potentially responsible parties

20 for the response action, as well as waives any

21 rights to challenge any settlement the President

22 enters into with any other potentially respon23 sible party.

24 ‘‘(2) OFFSET.—Any reimbursement provided to

25 a performing party under this subsection shall be
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1 subject to equitable offset or reduction by the Ad2 ministrator upon a finding of a failure to perform

3 any aspect of the remedy in a proper and timely

4 manner.

5 ‘‘(3) TIME OF PAYMENT.—Any reimbursement

6 to a performing party under this subsection shall be

7 paid after work is completed, but no sooner than

8 completion of the construction of the remedial action

9 and, subject to paragraph (5), without any increase

10 for interest or inflation.

11 ‘‘(4) LIMIT ON AMOUNT OF REIMBURSE12 MENT.—The amount of reimbursement under this

13 subsection shall be further limited as follows:

14 ‘‘(A) Performing parties who waive their

15 right to challenge remedy selection at the end

16 of the moratorium following allocation shall be

17 entitled to reimbursement of actual dollars

18 spent by each such performing party in excess

19 of the party’s share and attributable by the al20 locator to the Fund share under subsection (i).

21 ‘‘(B) Performing parties who retain their

22 right to challenge the remedy shall be reim23 bursed (i) for actual dollars spent by each such

24 performing party, but not to exceed 90 percent

25 of the Fund share, or (ii) an amount equal to
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1 80 percent of the Fund share if the Fund share

2 is less than 20 percent of responsibility at the

3 site.

4 ‘‘(5) REIMBURSEMENT OF SHARES ATTRIB5 UTABLE TO OTHER PARTIES.—If reimbursement is

6 made under this subsection to a performing party

7 for work in excess of the performing party’s allo8 cated share that is not attributable to the Fund

9 share, the performing party shall be entitled to all

10 interest (prejudgment and post judgment, whether

11 recovered from a party or earned in a site account)

12 that has accrued on money recovered by the United

13 States from other parties for such work at the time

14 construction of the remedy is completed.

15 ‘‘(6) REIMBURSEMENT CLAIMS.—The Adminis16 trator shall require that all claims for reimburse17 ment be supported by—

18 ‘‘(A) documentation of actual costs in19 curred; and

20 ‘‘(B) sufficient information to enable the

21 Administrator to determine whether such costs

22 were reasonable.

23 ‘‘(7) INDEPENDENT AUDITING.—The Adminis24 trator may require independent auditing of any

25 claim for reimbursement.
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1 ‘‘(p) POST-SETTLEMENT LITIGATION.—Following

2 expiration of the moratorium periods under subsection (g),

3 the United States may request the court to lift the stay

4 and proceed with an action under this Act against any

5 potentially responsible party that has not resolved its li6 ability to the United States following an allocation, seek7 ing to recover response costs that are not recovered

8 through settlements with other persons. All such actions

9 shall be governed by the principles of liability under this

10 Act as determined by the courts of the United States. In

11 allocating response costs among persons determined by the

12 court to be liable in such litigation, the court may use the

13 allocator’s report as a basis for such allocation.

14 ‘‘(q) RESPONSE COSTS.—

15 ‘‘(1) DESCRIPTION.—The following costs shall

16 be considered response costs for purposes of this

17 Act:

18 ‘‘(A) Costs incurred by the United States

19 and the court of implementing the allocation

20 procedure set forth in this section, including

21 reasonable fees and expenses of the allocator.

22 ‘‘(B) Costs paid from amounts made avail23 able under section 111(a)(1).

24 ‘‘(2) SETTLED PARTIES.—Any costs of alloca25 tion described in paragraph (1)(A) and incurred
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1 after a party has settled all of its liability with re2 spect to the response action or actions that are the

3 subject of the allocation may not be recovered from

4 such party.

5 ‘‘(r) FEDERAL, STATE, AND LOCAL AGENCIES.—All

6 Federal, State, and local governmental departments, agen7 cies, or instrumentalities that are identified as potentially

8 responsible parties shall be subject to, and be entitled to

9 the benefits of, the allocation process and allocation deter10 mination provided by this section to the same extent as

11 any other party.

12 ‘‘(s) SAVINGS PROVISIONS.—Except as otherwise ex13 pressly provided, nothing in this section shall limit or af14 fect the following:

15 ‘‘(1) The President’s—

16 ‘‘(A) authority to exercise the powers con17 ferred by sections 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, or

18 122;

19 ‘‘(B) authority to commence an action

20 against a party where there is a contempora21 neous filing of a judicial consent decree resolv22 ing that party’s liability;

23 ‘‘(C) authority to file a proof of claim or

24 take other action in a proceeding under title 11,

25 United States Code;
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1 ‘‘(D) authority to file a petition to preserve

2 testimony under Rule 27 of the Federal Rules

3 of Civil Procedure; or

4 ‘‘(E) authority to take action to prevent

5 dissipation of assets, including actions under

6 chapter 176 of title 28, United States Code.

7 ‘‘(2) The ability of any person to resolve its li8 ability at a facility to any other person at any time

9 before or during the allocation process.

10 ‘‘(3) The validity, enforceability, finality, or

11 merits of any judicial or administrative order, judg12 ment, or decree issued, signed, lodged, or entered,

13 before the date of enactment of this paragraph with

14 respect to liability under this Act, or authority to

15 modify any such order, judgment, or decree with re16 gard to the response action addressed in the order,

17 judgment or decree.

18 ‘‘(4) The validity, enforceability, finality, or

19 merits of any pre-existing contract or agreement re20 lating to any allocation of responsibility or any in21 demnity for, or sharing of, any response costs under

22 this Act.’’.
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1 TITLE IV—REMEDY SELECTION

2 SEC. 401. REMEDY SELECTION.

3 (a) REMEDY SELECTION.—Section 121(b) (42

4 U.S.C. 9621(b)) is amended—

5 (1) by striking ‘‘(1) Remedial’’ and all that fol6 lows through ‘‘or containment.’’ and inserting the

7 following:

8 ‘‘(1) HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENTAL STAND9 ARDS.—

10 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Final remedies se11 lected under this Act shall protect human

12 health and the environment.

13 ‘‘(B) EXPOSURE INFORMATION.—Exposure

14 assessments shall be consistent with the current

15 and reasonably anticipated uses of land, water,

16 and other resources as identified under para17 graph (2). The President shall consider and

18 use, in selecting final remedies under this Act,

19 information made available to the President on

20 actual exposure to hazardous substances or pol21 lutants or contaminants, along with other rel22 evant information.

23 ‘‘(C) PLANTS AND ANIMALS.—In deter24 mining what is protective of plants and animals

25 for purposes of this section, the President shall
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1 base such determinations on the significance of

2 impacts from a release or releases of hazardous

3 substances from a facility to local populations

4 or communities of plants and animals or eco5 systems. If a species is listed as threatened or

6 endangered under the Endangered Species Act

7 of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) impacts to in8 dividual plants or animals may be considered to

9 be impacts to populations of plants or animals.

10 ‘‘(2) ANTICIPATED USE OF LAND, WATER, AND

11 OTHER RESOURCES.—

12 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of se13 lecting the method or methods of remediation

14 appropriate for a given facility, the President

15 shall identify the current and reasonably antici16 pated uses of land, water, and other resources

17 at and around the facility and the timing of

18 such uses.

19 ‘‘(B) INSTITUTIONAL CONTROLS.—Land

20 use assumptions restricting future use can be

21 used in evaluating remedial alternatives only to

22 the extent that institutional controls meeting

23 the criteria of subsection (g) have been or will

24 be adopted in the final remedy.
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1 ‘‘(C) INCLUSION IN ADMINISTRATIVE

2 RECORD.—All information considered by the

3 President in evaluating current and reasonably

4 anticipated future land uses under this sub5 section shall be included in the administrative

6 record under section 113(k).

7 ‘‘(3) SITE-SPECIFIC RISK ASSESSMENT.—The

8 President shall use site-specific risk assessment that

9 meets the requirements of the principles set forth in

10 section 132 to—

11 ‘‘(A) determine the nature and extent of

12 risk to human health and the environment;

13 ‘‘(B) assist in establishing remedial objec14 tives for the facility respecting releases or

15 threatened releases, and in identifying geo16 graphic areas or exposure pathways of concern;

17 and

18 ‘‘(C) evaluate alternative remedial actions

19 for the facility to determine their risk reduction

20 benefits and assist in selecting the remedial ac21 tion for the facility that meets the criteria of

22 paragraph (1).

23 ‘‘(4) APPROPRIATE REMEDIAL ACTION.—

24 ‘‘(A) REMEDY EVALUATION.—The Presi25 dent shall identify appropriate remedial options,
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1 including options with a treatment component,

2 that are designed to meet the standards set

3 forth in this section within a reasonable period

4 of time and considering reasonable points of

5 compliance (as determined by the President)

6 and shall select an appropriate remedy by bal7 ancing the following factors:

8 ‘‘(i) The effectiveness of the remedy,

9 including its implementability.

10 ‘‘(ii) The long-term reliability of the

11 remedy, that is, its capability to achieve

12 long-term protection of human health and

13 the environment, including consideration of

14 the preference for treatment of principal

15 threats.

16 ‘‘(iii) Any short-term risk posed by

17 the implementation of the remedy to the

18 affected community, to those engaged in

19 the cleanup effort, and to the environment.

20 ‘‘(iv) The acceptability of the remedy

21 to the affected community, including the

22 affected local government.

23 ‘‘(v) The reasonableness of the cost of

24 the remedy.
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1 ‘‘(B) CONSIDERATION OF TREATMENT AS

2 A COMPONENT OF A REMEDY.—

3 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—In balancing fac4 tors under subparagraph (A) and deter5 mining the appropriate remedial action,

6 the President shall give preference to rem7 edies that include a treatment component

8 for facilities with source materials that

9 constitute a principal threat.

10 ‘‘(ii) SELECTION OF A REMEDY WITH11 OUT A TREATMENT COMPONENT.—In the

12 case of a facility containing source mate13 rials that constitute a principal threat, if

14 the President selects a remedy that does

15 not include a treatment component, the

16 President shall publish an explanation of

17 why such treatment component was not in18 cluded in the remedy.’’;

19 (2) by striking ‘‘The President’’ and inserting

20 ‘‘(5) PROTECTIVE REMEDIES.—The President’’;

21 (3) by striking ‘‘If the’’ and all that follows

22 through ‘‘not selected.’’;

23 (4) by striking ‘‘(2) The President’’ and insert24 ing the following:
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1 ‘‘(6) ALTERNATIVE REMEDIAL ACTIONS.—The

2 President’’; and

3 (5) by aligning the remainder of the text of

4 paragraph (6) (as designated by paragraph (4) of

5 this subsection) accordingly.

6 (b) APPLICABLE STANDARDS.—Section 121(d) (42

7 U.S.C. 9621(d)) is amended—

8 (1) in paragraph (1) by striking the last sen9 tence;

10 (2) in paragraph (2)(A)—

11 (A) by inserting ‘‘that is generally applica12 ble, that is consistently applied to response ac13 tions in the State,’’ after ‘‘subparagraph (A),’’;

14 (B) by striking ‘‘or is relevant and appro15 priate under the circumstances of the release or

16 threatened release of such hazardous substance

17 or pollutant or contaminant’’;

18 (C) by striking ‘‘or relevant and appro19 priate’’;

20 (D) by striking ‘‘Level Goals’’ and insert21 ing ‘‘Levels’’;

22 (E) by striking ‘‘goals or’’ and inserting

23 ‘‘levels or’’; and

24 (F) by adding at the end the following:
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1 ‘‘The President shall closely examine whether a require2 ment is of general applicability under clause (ii) if, in

3 practice, the requirement only applies to one facility in the

4 State or if the requirement only applies to facilities owned

5 or operated by the United States.’’; and

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

7 ‘‘(5) EXCLUSIONS.—The standards, require8 ments, criteria, and limitations referred to in para9 graph (2) shall not include—

10 ‘‘(A) any requirement with respect to the

11 return, replacement, or disposal of contami12 nated media, residuals, or other solid waste or

13 contaminated media into the same medium in

14 or very near existing areas of contamination on

15 site; or

16 ‘‘(B) any requirement for a reduction in

17 concentrations of contaminants below back18 ground levels.’’.

19 (c) INSTITUTIONAL CONTROLS.—Section 121 (42

20 U.S.C. 9621) is amended by adding at the end the fol21 lowing:

22 ‘‘(g) INSTITUTIONAL CONTROLS.—

23 ‘‘(1) ASSURANCES.—In any case in which the

24 President selects a remedial action that relies on re25 strictions on the use of land, water, or other re-
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1 sources or other activities to provide protection, the

2 President shall ensure that such controls, taken to3 gether with other response measures, are adequate

4 to protect human health and the environment. Insti5 tutional controls which form a significant portion of

6 the basis for a finding that a set of remedial options

7 will adequately protect human health and the envi8 ronment must be—

9 ‘‘(A) enforceable;

10 ‘‘(B) publicly noticed; and

11 ‘‘(C) as appropriate for deed restrictions or

12 other similar measure, incorporated in the rec13 ordation systems of the appropriate jurisdiction

14 where the property is located.

15 The President may allow for a reasonable schedule

16 for appropriate public notice and recordation.

17 ‘‘(2) IDENTIFICATION AND REGISTRY.—Each

18 record of decision with respect to a facility shall

19 clearly identify any institutional controls that re20 strict uses of land, water, or other resources or other

21 activities at the facility. The President shall also

22 provide the identity of the Government official who

23 is primarily responsible for monitoring and enforcing

24 the institutional controls. The President shall main25 tain a registry of restrictions on the use of land,
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1 water, or other resources through institutional con2 trols that are included in final records of decision as

3 part of the basis of decision at National Priorities

4 List facilities.’’.

5 (d) REMEDIAL DESIGN.—Section 121 is further

6 amended by adding at the end the following:

7 ‘‘(h) REMEDIAL DESIGN.—Where appropriate and

8 practicable, remedial designs for remedies selected under

9 this section shall seek to accommodate existing beneficial

10 uses of the contaminated property and shall seek to expe11 dite the return of contaminated property to beneficial use,

12 including the return to beneficial use of separate areas

13 within a facility prior to completion of the remedial action

14 for an entire facility.’’.

15 SEC. 402. HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCE PROPERTY USE.

16 Section 104 (42 U.S.C. 9604) is amended by adding

17 at the end the following:

18 ‘‘(k) HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCE PROPERTY USE.—

19 ‘‘(1) AUTHORITY OF PRESIDENT TO ACQUIRE

20 EASEMENTS.—In connection with any remedial ac21 tion under this Act, in order to prevent exposure to,

22 reduce the likelihood of, or otherwise respond to a

23 release or threatened release of a hazardous sub24 stance, pollutant, or contaminant, the President may

25 acquire, at fair market value, or for other consider-
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1 ation as agreed to by the parties, a hazardous sub2 stance easement which restricts, limits, or controls

3 the use of land or other natural resources, including

4 specifying permissible or impermissible uses of land,

5 prohibiting specified activities upon property, prohib6 iting the drilling of wells or use of ground water, or

7 restricting the use of surface water.

8 ‘‘(2) USE OF EASEMENTS.—A hazardous sub9 stance easement under this subsection may be used

10 wherever institutional controls have been selected as

11 a component of a remedial action under this Act and

12 the National Contingency Plan.

13 ‘‘(3) PERSONS SUBJECT TO EASEMENTS.—A

14 hazardous substance easement shall be enforceable

15 in perpetuity (unless terminated and released as pro16 vided for in this section) against any owner of the

17 affected property and all persons who subsequently

18 acquire an interest in the property or rights to use

19 the property, including lessees, licensees, and any

20 other person with an interest in the property, with21 out respect to privity or lack of privity of estate or

22 contract, lack of benefit running to any other prop23 erty, assignment of the easement to another party or

24 sale or other transfer of the burdened property, or

25 any other circumstance which might otherwise affect
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1 the enforceability of easements or similar deed re2 strictions under the laws of the State. The easement

3 shall be binding upon holders of any other interests

4 in the property regardless of whether such interests

5 are recorded or whether they were recorded prior or

6 subsequent to the easement, and shall remain in ef7 fect notwithstanding any foreclosure or other asser8 tion of such interests.

9 ‘‘(4) CONTENTS OF EASEMENTS.—A hazardous

10 substance easement shall contain, at a minimum—

11 ‘‘(A) a legal description of the property af12 fected;

13 ‘‘(B) the name or names of any current

14 owner or owners of the property as reflected in

15 public land records;

16 ‘‘(C) a description of the release or threat17 ened release; and

18 ‘‘(D) a statement as to the nature of the

19 restriction, limitation, or control created by the

20 easement.

21 ‘‘(5) RECORDING AND FILING OF EASEMENT.—

22 Whenever the President acquires a hazardous sub23 stance easement or assigns a hazardous substance

24 easement to another party, the President shall

25 record the easement in the public land records for
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1 the jurisdiction in which the affected property is lo2 cated. If the State has not by law designated an of3 fice for the recording of interests in real property or

4 claims or rights burdening real property, the ease5 ment shall be filed in the office of the clerk of the

6 United States district court for the district in which

7 the affected property is located and the registry.

8 ‘‘(6) METHODS OF ACQUIRING EASEMENTS.—

9 The President may acquire a hazardous substance

10 easement by purchase or other agreement, by con11 demnation, or by any other means permitted by law.

12 Compensation for such easement shall be at fair

13 market value, or for other consideration as agreed to

14 by the parties, for the interest acquired.

15 ‘‘(7) ASSIGNMENT OF EASEMENTS TO PARTIES

16 OTHER THAN THE PRESIDENT.—

17 ‘‘(A) AUTHORITY TO ASSIGN.—The Presi18 dent may, where appropriate and with the con19 sent of the State or other governmental entity,

20 assign an easement acquired under this sub21 section to a State or other governmental entity

22 that has the capability of effectively enforcing

23 the easement over the period of time necessary

24 to achieve the purposes of the easement. In the

25 case of any assignment, the easement shall also
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1 be fully enforceable by the assignee. Any assign2 ment of such an easement by the President may

3 be made by following the same procedures as

4 are used for the transfer of an interest in real

5 property to a State under subsection (j).

6 ‘‘(B) EASEMENTS HELD BY OTHER PER7 SONS.—

8 ‘‘(i) DESIGNATION AS HAZARDOUS

9 SUBSTANCE EASEMENTS.—Subject to

10 clause (ii), in a case in which an institu11 tional control is a component of a remedy

12 selected under section 121 at a facility list13 ed on the National Priorities List, the

14 owner of property and the potential holder

15 of a restrictive easement may expressly

16 designate, in writing, any interest in prop17 erty as a hazardous substance easement

18 within the meaning of this paragraph.

19 ‘‘(ii) CONDITIONS.—An interest in

20 property may be designated as a hazardous

21 substance easement under clause (i) if

22 such interest is granted to a State, an In23 dian Tribe, or another governmental entity

24 or other person for the purpose of restrict25 ing or limiting the use of land, water, or
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1 other resources in order to prevent expo2 sure to, reduce the likelihood of, or other3 wise respond to a release or threatened re4 lease of a hazardous substance, pollutant,

5 or contaminant from such a facility.

6 ‘‘(iii) EFFECT OF DESIGNATION.—

7 When properly recorded or filed under

8 paragraph (5), a hazardous substance

9 easement designated under clause (i) shall

10 create the same rights, have the same legal

11 effect, and be enforceable in the same

12 manner as a hazardous substance ease13 ment acquired by the President regardless

14 of whether the interest in property is oth15 erwise denominated as an easement, cov16 enant, or any other form of property right.

17 ‘‘(8) PUBLIC NOTICE.—Not later than 180 days

18 after the date of the enactment of this subsection,

19 the President shall issue regulations regarding the

20 procedures to be used for public notice of proposed

21 property use restrictions. Such regulations shall en22 sure that before acquiring a hazardous substance

23 easement, and before recording any notice of such

24 easement, the President will give notice and an op25 portunity to comment to the owner of the affected
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1 property, all other persons with recorded interests in

2 the property, any lessees or other authorized occu3 pants of the property known to the President, the

4 State and any municipalities in which the property

5 is located, any relevant Community Advisory Group

6 established under section 117, the affected commu7 nity, and the general public.

8 ‘‘(9) TERMINATION OR MODIFICATION OF EASE9 MENTS.—An easement acquired under this sub10 section shall remain in force until the Administrator

11 approves a modification or termination and release

12 of the easement and, following such approval, the

13 holder of the easement executes and records such

14 modification or termination and release in accord15 ance with the terms of the easement. Such modifica16 tion or termination shall be recorded in the same

17 manner as the easement. A person may conduct ad18 ditional response actions at a facility to allow for un19 restricted use of the facility and may subsequently

20 request termination of the easement. Such a request

21 shall be granted by the holder of the easement and

22 approved by the President, in the discretion of the

23 holder and the President, if the holder and the

24 President determine that the easement is no longer
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1 necessary to protect human health and the environ2 ment.

3 ‘‘(10) ENFORCEMENT.—

4 ‘‘(A) EFFECT OF VIOLATIONS.—Violation

5 of any restriction, limitation, or control imposed

6 under a hazardous substance easement shall

7 have the same effect as failure to comply with

8 an order issued under section 106 and relief

9 may be sought either in enforcement actions

10 under section 106(b)(1) or section 120(g), by

11 States under section 121(e)(2), or in citizens

12 suits under section 310. No citizens suit under

13 section 310 to enforce such a notice may be

14 commenced if the holder of the easement has

15 commenced and is diligently prosecuting an ac16 tion in court to enforce the easement.

17 ‘‘(B) ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS.—The

18 President may take appropriate enforcement ac19 tions to ensure compliance with the terms of

20 the easement whenever the President deter21 mines that the terms set forth in the easement

22 are being violated. If the easement is held by a

23 party other than the President and that party

24 has not taken appropriate enforcement actions,

25 the President may notify the party of the viola-
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1 tion. If the party does not take appropriate en2 forcement actions within 30 days of such notifi3 cation, or sooner in the case of an imminent

4 hazard, the President may initiate such enforce5 ment actions.

6 ‘‘(C) SAVINGS CLAUSE.—Nothing in this

7 section shall limit rights or remedies available

8 under other laws.

9 ‘‘(11) APPLICABILITY OF OTHER PROVISIONS.—

10 Holding a hazardous substance easement shall not

11 in itself subject either the holder thereof or the

12 owner of the affected property to liability under sec13 tion 107. Any such easement acquired by the Presi14 dent shall not be subject to the requirements of sub15 section (j)(2) or section 120(h). Nothing in this sub16 section limits or modifies the authority of the Presi17 dent pursuant to subsection (j)(1).’’.

18 SEC. 403. RISK ASSESSMENT STANDARDS.

19 Title I (42 U.S.C. 9601–9626) is amended by adding

20 at the end the following:

21 ‘‘SEC. 132. RISK ASSESSMENT PRINCIPLES, GUIDELINES,

22 AND REVIEWS.

23 ‘‘Risk assessments and characterizations conducted

24 under this Act shall—
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1 ‘‘(1) provide objective assessments, estimates,

2 and characterizations which neither minimize nor ex3 aggerate the nature and magnitude of risks to

4 human health and the environment;

5 ‘‘(2) distinguish scientific findings from other

6 considerations;

7 ‘‘(3) be based on the best, relevant, and current

8 scientific and technical information, including (A)

9 available epidemiologic data, (B) available data on

10 bioavailability, (C) available or reasonably obtainable

11 site-specific information, and (D) all other relevant

12 information made available to the President; and

13 ‘‘(4) be based on an analysis of the weight of

14 scientific evidence that supports conclusions about a

15 problem’s potential risk to human health and the en16 vironment.’’.

17 TITLE V—GENERAL PROVISIONS

18 SEC. 501. TRUST FUND DEFINED.

19 Section 101(11) (42 U.S.C. 9601(11)) is amended to

20 read as follows:

21 ‘‘(11) The term ‘Fund’ or ‘Trust Fund’ means the

22 Hazardous Substance Superfund established by section

23 9507 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.’’.
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1 SEC. 502. INDIAN TRIBES.

2 (a) TREATMENT GENERALLY.—Section 126(a) (42

3 U.S.C. 9626(a)) is amended—

4 (1) by striking ‘‘and section 105’’ and inserting

5 ‘‘, section 105’’;

6 (2) by inserting before the period at the end the

7 following: ‘‘, section 117 (regarding public participa8 tion), and section 121 (regarding selection of rem9 edies)’’; and

10 (3) by adding at the end the following: ‘‘In ap11 plying this subsection, any reference contained in a

12 section identified in the preceding sentence to a fa13 cility located in a State shall include a facility lo14 cated on lands within the jurisdiction of a Federal

15 Indian reservation under the jurisdiction of the

16 United States government.’’.

17 (b) STUDY.—Section 126(c) (42 U.S.C. 9626(c)) is

18 amended to read as follows:

19 ‘‘(c) HEALTH IMPACTS.—

20 ‘‘(1) STUDY.—The President shall conduct a

21 study of the health impacts on Indian tribes of pol22 lutants, contaminants, and hazardous substances re23 leased from facilities that have been listed or pro24 posed for listing on the National Priorities List.

25 ‘‘(2) REPORT.—Not later than 2 years after the

26 date of the enactment of the Superfund Accelera-
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1 tion, Fairness, and Efficiency Act, the President

2 shall transmit to Congress a report on the results of

3 the study conducted under this subsection.’’.

4 SEC. 503. GRANTS FOR TRAINING AND EDUCATION OF

5 WORKERS.

6 Section 126(g) of the Superfund Amendments and

7 Reauthorization Act of 1986 (42 U.S.C. 9660a) is

8 amended—

9 (1) by inserting ‘‘from the Fund’’ after

10 ‘‘Grants’’ in each of paragraphs (1), (2), and (3);

11 and

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

13 ‘‘(4) ALLOCATION OF AMOUNTS.—Of the

14 amounts made available under section 111 to

15 carry out this subsection in a fiscal year, at

16 least 20 percent shall be allocated to non-profit

17 organizations described in paragraph (3) for

18 training minority and other community-based

19 workers who are or may be directly engaged in

20 hazardous waste removal or containment or

21 emergency response actions.’’.

22 SEC. 504. STATE COST SHARE.

23 Section 104(c)(3) (42 U.S.C. 9604(c)(3)) is amended

24 to read as follows:
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1 ‘‘(3) STATE COST SHARE.—The President shall

2 not provide any remedial actions pursuant to this

3 section unless the State in which the release or

4 threatened release occurs has entered into a contract

5 or cooperative agreement with the President that

6 provides assurances, deemed adequate by the Presi7 dent, that the State will pay or assure payment, in

8 cash or through in-kind contribution, of 10 percent

9 of the cost of such remedial action (other than any

10 cost paid by the Fund under section 111(a)(1)) and

11 10 percent of the cost of operation and mainte12 nance.’’.

13 SEC. 505. STATE AND LOCAL REIMBURSEMENT FOR RE14 SPONSE ACTIONS.

15 Section 123 (42 U.S.C. 9623) is amended to read as

16 follows:

17 ‘‘SEC. 123. REIMBURSEMENT TO STATE AND LOCAL GOV18 ERNMENTS.

19 ‘‘(a) APPLICATION.—Any State or general purpose

20 unit of local government for a political subdivision which

21 is affected by a release or threatened release at any facility

22 may apply to the President for reimbursement under this

23 section.

24 ‘‘(b) REIMBURSEMENT.—
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1 ‘‘(1) EMERGENCY RESPONSE.—The President is

2 authorized to reimburse a State or general purpose

3 unit of local government for expenses incurred in

4 carrying out emergency response actions necessary

5 to prevent or mitigate injury to human health or the

6 environment associated with the release or threat7 ened release of any hazardous substance or pollutant

8 or contaminant. Such actions may include, where ap9 propriate, security fencing to limit access, response

10 to fires and explosions, and other activities which re11 quire immediate response at the State or local level.

12 ‘‘(2) STATE OR LOCAL FUNDS NOT SUP13 PLANTED.—Reimbursement under this section shall

14 not supplant State or local funds normally provided

15 for response.

16 ‘‘(c) AMOUNT.—

17 ‘‘(1) REIMBURSEMENT TO STATES AND GEN18 ERAL PURPOSE UNITS OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT.—

19 The amount of any reimbursement to a State or

20 general purpose unit of local government under sub21 section (b)(1) may not exceed $25,000 for a single

22 response. The reimbursement under this section with

23 respect to a single facility shall be limited to the

24 State or general purpose unit of local government
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1 having jurisdiction over the political subdivision in

2 which the facility is located.

3 ‘‘(2) LIMITATION.—The amounts allowed for

4 the State and general purpose units of local govern5 ment may not be combined for any single response

6 action.

7 ‘‘(d) PROCEDURE.—Reimbursements authorized pur8 suant to this section shall be in accordance with rules pro9 mulgated by the Administrator within 1 year after the

10 date of the enactment of the Recycle America’s Land Act

11 of 1999.’’.

12 SEC. 506. STATE ROLE AT FEDERAL FACILITIES.

13 Section 120(g) (42 U.S.C. 9620(g)) is amended to

14 read as follows:

15 ‘‘(g) STATE ROLE AT FEDERAL FACILITIES.—

16 ‘‘(1) ENFORCEMENT AND DISPUTE RESOLU17 TION.—

18 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—An interagency agree19 ment under this section between a State and

20 any department, agency, or instrumentality of

21 the United States shall be enforceable by the

22 State or the Federal department, agency, or in23 strumentality in the United States district court

24 for the district in which the facility is located.

25 The district court shall have the jurisdiction to
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1 enforce compliance with any provision, stand2 ard, regulation, condition, requirement, order,

3 or final determination which has become effec4 tive under such agreement, and to impose any

5 appropriate civil penalty provided for any viola6 tion of the agreement, not to exceed $25,000

7 per day.

8 ‘‘(B) NONCONCURRENCE BY STATE.—At a

9 Federal facility in a State to which the Presi10 dent’s authorities under subsection (e)(4) have

11 been transferred pursuant to a cooperative

12 agreement, if the State does not concur in the

13 remedy selection proposed by the Federal de14 partment, agency, or instrumentality that owns

15 or operates the facility, the parties shall enter

16 into dispute resolution as provided in the inter17 agency agreement. If there is no interagency

18 agreement, the State shall, not later than 120

19 days after the transfer of authorities under a

20 cooperative agreement, enter into an agreement

21 with the head of the department, agency, or in22 strumentality on a process for resolving dis23 putes regarding remedy selection for the facil24 ity. If a dispute is unresolved after using the

25 process under the interagency agreement or dis-
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1 pute resolution agreement, the head of the Fed2 eral department, agency, or instrumentality

3 that owns the Federal facility and the Governor

4 of the State shall attempt to resolve such dis5 pute by consensus. If no agreement is reached

6 between the head of the Federal department,

7 agency, or instrumentality and the Governor,

8 the State may issue the final determination. In

9 order to compel implementation of the State’s

10 selected remedy, the State must bring a civil ac11 tion in the appropriate United States district

12 court. The district court shall have jurisdiction

13 as provided in subparagraph (A) to issue any

14 relief that may be necessary to implement the

15 remedial action, to impose appropriate civil pen16 alties not to exceed $25,000 per day from the

17 date the selected remedy becomes final, and to

18 review any challenges to the State’s final deter19 mination consistent with the standards set forth

20 in section 113(j) of this Act.

21 ‘‘(2) LIMITATION.—Except as necessary to im22 plement the transfer of the Administrator’s authori23 ties to a State under a cooperative agreement, noth24 ing in this subsection shall be construed as altering,

25 modifying, or impairing in any manner, or author-
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1 izing the unilateral modification of, any terms of any

2 agreement, permit, administrative or judicial order,

3 decree, or interagency agreement existing on the ef4 fective date of the Recycle America’s Land Act of

5 1999. Any other modifications or revisions of an

6 interagency agreement entered into under this sec7 tion shall require the consent of all parties to such

8 agreement, and absent such consent the agreement

9 shall remain unchanged.

10 ‘‘(3) EFFECT ON OTHER AUTHORITIES.—Noth11 ing in this subsection shall affect the exercise by a

12 State of any other authorities that may be applicable

13 to Federal facilities in the State.’’.

14 SEC. 507. FEDERAL COST STUDY.

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—Within 18 months after the date

16 of enactment of this Act, the Congressional Budget Office

17 shall conduct, and submit to Congress the results of, a

18 study of the potential costs to the Federal Government

19 over the next 20 years from Federal liability for natural

20 resource damages under section 107 of the Comprehensive

21 Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act

22 of 1980.

23 (b) METHODOLOGY.—In conducting the study, the

24 Congressional Budget Office shall review pleadings filed

25 by the Department of Justice on behalf of Federal natural
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1 resource trustees seeking damages for restoration of nat2 ural resources and shall apply the same statutory interpre3 tations and methods of calculating damages employed by

4 the United States, as plaintiff, in determining the poten5 tial liability of the United States, as defendant, in actions

6 seeking recovery for natural resource damages.

7 SEC. 508. NO PREEMPTION OF STATE LAW CLAIMS.

8 Section 302 (42 U.S.C. 9652) is amended by adding

9 at the end the following:

10 ‘‘(e) NO PREEMPTION OF STATE LAW CLAIMS.—Sec11 tion 107 shall not be construed to preempt any claims

12 under State law for contribution to or recovery of costs

13 of responding to releases or threatened releases of haz14 ardous substances.’’.

15 TITLE VI—FUNDING

16 Subtitle A—Expenditures From the

17 Hazardous Substance Superfund

18 SEC. 601. EXPENDITURES FROM THE HAZARDOUS SUB19 STANCE SUPERFUND.

20 (a) EXPENDITURES.—Section 111 (42 U.S.C. 9611)

21 is amended—

22 (1) by redesignating subsections (f) and (g) as

23 subsections (g) and (h), respectively; and

24 (2) by striking subsections (a), (b), (c), (d), and

25 (e) and inserting the following:
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1 ‘‘(a) EXPENDITURES FROM HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCE

2 SUPERFUND.—

3 ‘‘(1) SUBSECTION (b) EXPENDITURES.—The

4 following amounts of amounts appropriated to the

5 Hazardous Substance Superfund after January 1,

6 2000, pursuant to section 9507(b) of the Internal

7 Revenue Code of 1986, and of amounts credited

8 under section 9602(b) of such Code with respect to

9 those appropriated amounts shall be available for the

10 purposes specified in subsection (b):

11 ‘‘(A) For fiscal year 2000, $300,000,000.

12 ‘‘(B) For fiscal year 2001, $300,000,000.

13 ‘‘(C) For fiscal year 2002, $300,000,000.

14 ‘‘(D) For fiscal year 2003, $300,000,000.

15 ‘‘(E) For fiscal year 2004, $300,000,000.

16 Such funds shall remain available until expended.

17 ‘‘(2) SUBSECTION (c) EXPENDITURES.—There

18 is authorized to be appropriated from the Hazardous

19 Substance Superfund established pursuant to section

20 9507(b) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 not

21 more than $7,500,000,000 for the period beginning

22 October 1, 1999, and ending September 30, 2004,

23 for the purposes specified in subsection (c) of this

24 section.
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1 ‘‘(b) PAYMENTS RELATED TO CERTAIN REDUC2 TIONS, LIMITATIONS, AND EXEMPTIONS.—

3 ‘‘(1) FUNDING OF EXEMPT PARTY FUND

4 SHARE.—The President may use amounts in the

5 Fund made available by subsection (a)(1) for fund6 ing the equitable share of liability attributable to ex7 empt parties under section 107(s) and the Fund

8 share under section 131(i).

9 ‘‘(2) LIMITATIONS.—

10 ‘‘(A) FUNDING.—Amounts made available

11 by subsection (a)(1) for the purposes of this

12 subsection shall not exceed the following:

13 ‘‘(i) For fiscal year 2000,

14 $300,000,000.

15 ‘‘(ii) For fiscal year 2001,

16 $300,000,000.

17 ‘‘(iii) For fiscal year 2002,

18 $300,000,000.

19 ‘‘(iv) For fiscal year 2003,

20 $300,000,000.

21 ‘‘(v) For fiscal year 2004,

22 $300,000,000.

23 ‘‘(B) ELIGIBLE COSTS.—No funds made

24 available under paragraph (1) may be used for

25 payment of, or reimbursement for, any portion
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1 of attorneys’ fees that do not constitute nec2 essary costs of response consistent with section

3 107(a)(2)(B).

4 ‘‘(c) RESPONSE, REMOVAL, AND REMEDIATION.—

5 The President may use amounts in the Fund appropriated

6 under subsection (a)(2) for costs of response, removal, and

7 remediation (and administrative costs directly related to

8 such costs), including the following:

9 ‘‘(1) GOVERNMENT RESPONSE COSTS.—Pay10 ment of governmental response costs incurred pursu11 ant to section 104, including costs incurred pursuant

12 to the Intervention on the High Seas Act.

13 ‘‘(2) PRIVATE RESPONSE COST CLAIMS.—Pay14 ment of any claim for necessary response costs in15 curred by any other person as a result of carrying

16 out the national contingency plan established under

17 section 105, if such costs are approved under such

18 plan, are reasonable in amount based on open and

19 free competition or fair market value for similar

20 available goods and services, and are certified by the

21 responsible Federal official.

22 ‘‘(3) ACQUISITION COSTS UNDER SECTION

23 104(j).—The costs incurred by the President in ac24 quiring real estate or interests in real estate under

25 section 104(j) (relating to acquisition of property).
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1 ‘‘(4) STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT REIM2 BURSEMENT.—Reimbursement to States and local

3 governments under section 123; except that during

4 any fiscal year not more than 0.1 percent of the

5 total amount appropriated under subsection (a)(2)

6 may be used for such reimbursements.

7 ‘‘(5) CONTRACTS AND COOPERATIVE AGREE8 MENTS.—Payment for the implementation of any

9 contract or cooperative agreement under section

10 104(d).

11 ‘‘(6) NATURAL RESOURCE DAMAGE ASSESS12 MENTS.—The costs of assessing both short-term and

13 long-term injury to, destruction of, or loss of any

14 natural resources resulting from a release of a haz15 ardous substance.

16 ‘‘(7) NATURAL RESOURCE DAMAGES.—The

17 costs of Federal or State or Indian tribe efforts in

18 the restoration, rehabilitation, or replacement or ac19 quiring the equivalent of any natural resources in20 jured, destroyed, or lost as a result of a release of

21 a hazardous substance.

22 ‘‘(d) ADMINISTRATION, OVERSIGHT, RESEARCH, AND

23 OTHER COSTS.—The President may use amounts in the

24 Fund appropriated under subsection (a)(2) for the fol-
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1 lowing costs (and administrative costs directly related to

2 such costs):

3 ‘‘(1) INVESTIGATION AND ENFORCEMENT.—The

4 costs of identifying, investigating, and taking en5 forcement action against releases of hazardous sub6 stances.

7 ‘‘(2) OVERHEAD.—

8 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The costs of providing

9 services, equipment, and other overhead related

10 to the purposes of this Act and section 311 of

11 the Federal Water Pollution Control Act and

12 needed to supplement equipment and services

13 available through contractors and other non14 Federal entities.

15 ‘‘(B) DAMAGE ASSESSMENT CAPABILITY.—

16 The costs of establishing and maintaining dam17 age assessment capability for any Federal agen18 cy involved in strike forces, emergency task

19 forces, or other response teams under the Na20 tional Contingency Plan.

21 ‘‘(3) EMPLOYEE SAFETY PROGRAMS.—The cost

22 of maintaining programs otherwise authorized by

23 this Act to protect the health and safety of employ24 ees involved in response to hazardous substance re25 leases.
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1 ‘‘(4) GRANTS FOR TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—

2 The cost of grants under section 117(e) (relating to

3 public participation grants for technical assistance).

4 ‘‘(5) WORKER TRAINING AND EDUCATION

5 GRANTS.—The cost of grants under section 126(g)

6 of the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization

7 Act of 1986 for training and education of workers

8 to the extent that such costs do not exceed

9 $40,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2000, 2001,

10 2002, 2003, and 2004.

11 ‘‘(6) ATSDR ACTIVITIES.—Any costs incurred

12 in accordance with subsection (m) of this section (re13 lating to ATSDR) and section 104(i), including the

14 costs of epidemiologic and laboratory studies, health

15 assessments, and other activities authorized by sec16 tion 104(i).

17 ‘‘(7) EVALUATION COSTS UNDER PETITION

18 PROVISIONS OF SECTION 105(d).—Costs incurred by

19 the President in evaluation facilities pursuant to pe20 titions under section 105(d) (relating to petitions for

21 assessment of release).

22 ‘‘(8) CONTRACT COSTS UNDER SECTION

23 104(a)(1).—The costs of contracts or arrangements

24 entered into under section 104(a)(1) to oversee and

25 review the conduct of remedial investigations and
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1 feasibility studies undertaken by persons other than

2 the President and the costs of appropriate Federal

3 and State oversight of remedial activities at National

4 Priorities List sites resulting from consent orders or

5 settlement agreements.

6 ‘‘(9) RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENT, AND DEM7 ONSTRATION COSTS UNDER SECTION 311.—The cost

8 of carrying out section 311 (relating to research, de9 velopment, and demonstration).

10 ‘‘(10) AWARDS UNDER SECTION 109.—The costs

11 of any awards granted under section 109(d) (relat12 ing to providing information concerning violations).

13 ‘‘(e) LIMITATIONS ON NATURAL RESOURCES

14 CLAIMS.—No money in the Fund may be used for the pay15 ment of any claim under subsection (c)(7) or (c)(8) of this

16 section where such expenses are associated with injury or

17 loss resulting from long-term exposure to ambient con18 centrations of air pollutants from multiple or diffuse

19 sources.

20 ‘‘(f) OTHER LIMITATIONS.—

21 ‘‘(1) LIMITATIONS ON PAYMENTS OF CLAIMS.—

22 Claims against or presented to the Fund shall not

23 be valid or paid in excess of the total unobligated

24 balance in the Fund at any one time. Such claims

25 become valid and are payable only when additional
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1 money is collected, appropriated, or otherwise added

2 to the Fund. Should the total claims outstanding at

3 any time exceed the current balance of the Fund,

4 the President shall pay such claims, to the extent

5 authorized under this section, in full in the order in

6 which they were finally determined.

7 ‘‘(2) REMEDIAL ACTIONS AT FEDERALLY

8 OWNED FACILITIES.—No money in the Fund shall

9 be available for costs of remedial action, other than

10 costs specified in subsection (d), with respect to fed11 erally owned facilities; except that money in the

12 Fund shall be available for the provision of alter13 native water supplies (including the reimbursement

14 of costs incurred by a municipality) in any case in15 volving groundwater contamination outside the

16 boundaries of a federally owned facility in which the

17 federally owned facility is not the only potentially re18 sponsible party.

19 ‘‘(3) REMEDIAL ACTIONS AT FACILITIES NOT

20 LISTED ON NPL.—No money in the Fund shall be

21 available for response actions that are not removal

22 actions under section 101(23) with respect to any

23 facility that is not listed on the National Priorities

24 List.’’.

25 (b) ADDITIONAL AMENDMENT.—
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1 (1) SECTION 111.—Section 111 (42 U.S.C.

2 9611) is further amended by striking subsections (j)

3 and (n).

4 (2) SECTION 107.—Section 107 (42 U.S.C.

5 9607) is amended by striking subsection (k).

6 SEC. 602. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS FROM

7 GENERAL REVENUES.

8 (a) AUTHORIZATION.—Section 111(p)(1) is amended

9 to read as follows:

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The following sums are au11 thorized to be appropriated, out of any money in the

12 Treasury not otherwise appropriated, to the Haz13 ardous Substance Superfund:

14 ‘‘(A) For fiscal year 2000, $250,000,000.

15 ‘‘(B) For fiscal year 2001, $250,000,000.

16 ‘‘(C) For fiscal year 2002, $250,000,000.

17 ‘‘(D) For fiscal year 2003, $250,000,000.

18 ‘‘(E) For fiscal year 2004, $250,000,000.

19 In addition, there is authorized to be appropriated to

20 the Hazardous Substance Superfund for each fiscal

21 year an amount equal to so much of the aggregate

22 amount authorized to be appropriated under this

23 subsection as has not been appropriated before the

24 beginning of the fiscal year involved.’’.
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1 (b) REPEAL OF DUPLICATIVE AUTHORIZATION.—

2 Subsection (b) of section 517 of the Superfund Amend3 ments and Reauthorization Act of 1986 (26 U.S.C. 9507

4 note) is hereby repealed.

5 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 9507(a)(2)

6 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by strik7 ing ‘‘section 517(b) of the Superfund Revenue Act of

8 1986’’ and inserting ‘‘section 111(p) of the Comprehensive

9 Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act

10 of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9611(p))’’.

11 Subtitle B—Extension of

12 Hazardous Substance Superfund

13 SEC. 611. EXTENSION OF HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCE SUPER14 FUND.

15 (a) EXTENSION OF TAXES.—

16 (1) Paragraph (1) of section 59A(e) of the In17 ternal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended to read as

18 follows:

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The tax imposed by this

20 section shall apply to taxable years beginning after

21 December 31, 1999, and before January 1, 2004.’’

22 (2) Paragraph (1) of section 4611(e) of such

23 Code is amended to read as follows:

24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para25 graphs (2) and (3), the Hazardous Substance Super-
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1 fund financing rate under this section shall apply

2 after December 31, 1999, and before January 1,

3 2004.’’

4 (3) Paragraph (2) of section 4611(e) of such

5 Code is amended—

6 (A) by striking ‘‘1993’’ and inserting

7 ‘‘2000’’;

8 (B) by striking ‘‘1994’’ each place it ap9 pears and inserting ‘‘2001’’;

10 (C) by striking ‘‘1995’’ each place it ap11 pears and inserting ‘‘2002’’; and

12 (D) by striking ‘‘$3,500,000,000’’ each

13 place it appears and inserting

14 ‘‘$1,800,000,000’’.

15 (b) EXTENSION OF REPAYMENT DEADLINE FOR

16 SUPERFUND BORROWING.—Subparagraph (B) of section

17 9507(d)(3) of such Code is amended by striking ‘‘Decem18 ber 31, 1995’’ and inserting ‘‘December 31, 2002’’.

19 (c) TRUST FUND PURPOSES.—Paragraph (1) of sec20 tion 9507(c) of such Code is amended by striking subpara21 graphs (A) and (B) and inserting the following new sub22 paragraphs:

23 ‘‘(A) to carry out the purposes specified in

24 subsections (b), (c), and (d) of section 111

25 CERCLA, or
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1 ‘‘(B) hereafter authorized by a law which

2 does not authorize the expenditure out of the

3 Superfund for a general purpose not covered by

4 subparagraph (A).’’

5 (d) COORDINATION WITH OTHER PROVISIONS.—

6 Paragraph (2) of section 9507(e) of such Code is amended

7 by striking ‘‘CERCLA’’ and all that follows through

8 ‘‘Acts)’’ and inserting ‘‘CERCLA, the Superfund Amend9 ments and Reauthorization Act of 1986, and Recycle

10 America’s Land Act of 1999 (or in any amendment made

11 by any of such Acts)’’.

Æ