I

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 1750

To assist local governments in assessing and remediating brownfield sites,

to amend the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation,

and Liability Act of 1980 to encourage State voluntary response programs for remediating such sites, and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

MAY 11, 1999

Mr. TOWNS (for himself, Mr. BORSKI, Mr. GEPHARDT, Mr. DINGELL, Mr.

OBERSTAR, Ms. DEGETTE, Mr. REYES, Mr. RANGEL, Mr. LAFALCE, Mr.

BROWN of California, Mr. CLYBURN, Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD, Mr. KLINK,

Mr. MENENDEZ, Mr. BROWN of Ohio, Mr. RAHALL, Mr. PALLONE, Mr.

BLUMENAUER, Mr. GREEN of Texas, Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of

Texas, Mr. STRICKLAND, Ms. MILLENDER-MCDONALD, Ms. ESHOO, Mr.

MASCARA, Mr. WAXMAN, Mr. CLEMENT, Mr. MARKEY, Mrs. TAUSCHER,

Mr. RUSH, Mr. DEFAZIO, Mr. HALL of Texas, Ms. BROWN of Florida,

Ms. MCCARTHY of Missouri, Mr. LIPINSKI, Mr. GORDON, Mr. PASCRELL,

Mr. DEUTSCH, Mr. CUMMINGS, Mr. WYNN, Mr. SHOWS, Mr. ENGEL, Mr.

HOLDEN, Mr. BOUCHER, Mr. COSTELLO, Mr. STUPAK, Mr. NADLER, Mr.

BARRETT of Wisconsin, Mr. BARCIA, Mr. LUTHER, Mr. FILNER, Mrs.

CAPPS, Mr. SANDLIN, Mr. SAWYER, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. LAMPSON, Mr.

BALDACCI, Mr. BAIRD, Mr. WISE, Ms. NORTON, Mr. CROWLEY, Mr.

CLAY, Mr. HINCHEY, Mr. OWENS, Mr. DOYLE, Ms. JACKSON-LEE of

Texas, Mr. MCDERMOTT, Mr. KILDEE, Ms. RIVERS, Ms. DELAURO, Mr.

HILLIARD, Mr. JEFFERSON, Mr. SERRANO, Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi, Mrs. JONES of Ohio, Ms. KILPATRICK, Mr. OLVER, Mr. KANJORSKI, Ms. CARSON, Mr. ACKERMAN, Mrs. MALONEY of New York, Mr.

MEEKS of New York, Mr. COYNE, Mr. FATTAH, Mr. MATSUI, Mr. LEWIS

of Georgia, Mrs. MEEK of Florida, Mr. VENTO, Mrs. LOWEY, Mr. ANDREWS, Ms. PELOSI, Mr. CARDIN, Mrs. CHRISTENSEN, Mr. BRADY of

Pennsylvania, Mr. HOEFFEL, Mr. JACKSON of Illinois, Mr. DAVIS of Illinois, Mr. MARTINEZ, Ms. STABENOW, Mr. MALONEY of Connecticut, Mr.

STARK, Mr. GUTIERREZ, Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California, Ms. KAPTUR, Mr. MEEHAN, Ms. VELA ́ZQUEZ, Ms. MCKINNEY, Mr. SISISKY, Mr.

KENNEDY of Rhode Island, Ms. LEE, Mr. CAPUANO, Mr. EVANS, Ms.

BERKLEY, Mr. LARSON, Ms. SANCHEZ, Mr. GONZALEZ, Mrs. THURMAN,

Mr. FROST, Mr. ABERCROMBIE, Mr. ROTHMAN, Mr. UDALL of Colorado,

Mr. LEVIN, Ms. DANNER, Mr. PASTOR, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Mr. ROMEROBARCELO ́, Mr. FARR of California, Mr. MORAN of Virginia, Mr. BOS-
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WELL, Mr. ORTIZ, Mr. MOORE, Mr. VISCLOSKY, Mr. PAYNE, Mr. BECERRA, Mr. FORD, Mr. BERRY, Mr. BONIOR, Mr. BISHOP, Mr. HOLT, Mr.

WEYGAND, Mrs. CLAYTON, Mr. HASTINGS of Florida, and Mr. HOYER)

introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on

Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker,

in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

A BILL

To assist local governments in assessing and remediating

brownfield sites, to amend the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of

1980 to encourage State voluntary response programs

for remediating such sites, 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 AND TABLE OF CONTENTS.

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

5 ‘‘Community Revitalization and Brownfield Cleanup Act

6 of 1999’’.

7 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of

8 this Act is as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title and table of contents.

Sec. 2. Findings.

TITLE I—BROWNFIELD REMEDIATION AND ENVIRONMENTAL

CLEANUP

Sec. 101. Definitions.

Sec. 102. Inventory and site assessment.

Sec. 103. Grants for revolving loan programs.

Sec. 104. Limitations on use of funds.

Sec. 105. Reports.

Sec. 106. Effect on other laws.

Sec. 107. Regulations.
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Sec. 108. Authorizations of appropriations.

TITLE II—INNOCENT LANDOWNER, PROSPECTIVE PURCHASER,

AND CONTIGUOUS PROPERTY OWNER LIABILITY

Sec. 201. Innocent landowners.

Sec. 202. Limitations on liability for response costs for prospective purchasers.

Sec. 203. Contiguous or nearby properties.

TITLE III—SELLER LIABILITY RELIEF AND STATE VOLUNTARY

RESPONSE PROGRAMS

Sec. 301. State voluntary response programs.

1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

2 Congress finds the following:

3 (1) Brownfields are parcels of land that contain

4 or contained abandoned or under-used commercial or

5 industrial facilities, the expansion or redevelopment

6 of which is complicated by the presence or potential

7 presence of hazardous substances, pollutants, or con8 taminants.

9 (2) Brownfields, which may number in the hun10 dreds of thousands nationwide, threaten the environ11 ment, devalue surrounding property, erode local tax

12 bases, and prevent job growth.

13 (3) Despite potentially great productive value,

14 prospective developers may avoid brownfields be15 cause of the uncertainty of cleanup and development

16 costs, which leads to construction on undeveloped so17 called greenfield sites, creating infrastructure prob18 lems and reducing the amount of open spaces.

19 (4) Cleanup and redevelopment of brownfields

20 would reduce environmental contamination, encour-
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1 age job growth, and curb the development of green2 fields.

3 (5) State voluntary programs to address envi4 ronmental contamination, and addressing liability

5 concerns to encourage developers and current owners

6 to invest in brownfield sites, can be very effective in

7 promoting the cleanup and redevelopment of

8 brownfields.

9 TITLE I—BROWNFIELD REMEDI10 ATION AND ENVIRONMENTAL

11 CLEANUP

12 SEC. 101. DEFINITIONS.

13 In this title:

14 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis15 trator’’ means the Administrator of the Environ16 mental Protection Agency.

17 (2) BROWNFIELD SITE.—The term ‘‘brownfield

18 site’’ means a parcel of land that contains or con19 tained abandoned or under-used commercial or in20 dustrial facilities, the expansion or redevelopment of

21 which may be complicated by the presence or poten22 tial presence of hazardous substances, pollutants, or

23 contaminants.

24 (3) ENVIRONMENT.—The term ‘‘environment’’

25 has the meaning given the term in section 101 of the
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1 Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensa2 tion, and Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9601).

3 (4) FACILITY.—The term ‘‘facility’’ has the

4 meaning given the term in section 101 of the Com5 prehensive Environmental Response, Compensation,

6 and Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9601).

7 (5) GRANT.—The term ‘‘grant’’ includes a co8 operative agreement.

9 (6) HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCE.—The term ‘‘haz10 ardous substance’’ has the meaning given the term

11 in section 101 of the Comprehensive Environmental

12 Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980

13 (42 U.S.C. 9601).

14 (7) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian tribe’’

15 has the meaning given the term in section 101 of the

16 Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensa17 tion, and Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9601).

18 (8) LOCAL GOVERNMENT.—The term ‘‘local

19 government’’ means any city, county, town, town20 ship, parish, village, regional council, or other gen21 eral purpose political subdivision of a State; any In22 dian tribe; Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, the

23 Virgin Islands, American Samoa, the District of Co24 lumbia, and the Trust Territory of the Pacific Is25 lands, or any general purpose political subdivision
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1 thereof; any redevelopment agency that is chartered

2 or otherwise sanctioned by a State or other unit of

3 local government; or any combination of local gov4 ernments.

5 (9) PERSON.—The term ‘‘person’’ has the

6 meaning given the term in section 101 of the Com7 prehensive Environmental Response, Compensation,

8 and Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9601).

9 (10) POLLUTANT OR CONTAMINANT.—The term

10 ‘‘pollutant or contaminant’’ has the meaning given

11 the term in section 101 of the Comprehensive Envi12 ronmental Response, Compensation, and Liability

13 Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9601).

14 (11) RELEASE.—The term ‘‘release’’ has the

15 meaning given the term in section 101 of the Com16 prehensive Environmental Response, Compensation,

17 and Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9601).

18 (12) RESPONSE ACTION.—The term ‘‘response

19 action’’ has the meaning given the term ‘‘response’’

20 in section 101 of the Comprehensive Environmental

21 Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980

22 (42 U.S.C. 9601).

23 (13) SITE ASSESSMENT.—

24 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘site assess25 ment’’ means an investigation that determines
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1 the nature and extent of a release or potential

2 release of a hazardous substance or pollutant or

3 contaminant at a brownfield site and meets the

4 requirements of subparagraph (B).

5 (B) INVESTIGATION.—For the purposes of

6 this paragraph, an investigation that meets the

7 requirements of this subparagraph—

8 (i) shall include—

9 (I) an onsite evaluation; and

10 (II) if necessary, sufficient test11 ing, sampling, and other field-data12 gathering activities to accurately de13 termine whether the brownfield site is

14 contaminated and whether threats to

15 human health and the environment

16 are posed by the release of hazardous

17 substances, pollutants, or contami18 nants at the brownfield site; and

19 (ii) may include—

20 (I) review of such information re21 garding the brownfield site and pre22 vious uses as is available at the time

23 of the review;

24 (II) an offsite evaluation, if ap25 propriate; and
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1 (III) a marketing analysis.

2 (14) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ has the mean3 ing given the term in section 101 of the Comprehen4 sive Environmental Response, Compensation, and

5 Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9601).

6 SEC. 102. INVENTORY AND SITE ASSESSMENT.

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall establish

8 a program to award grants to local governments to inven9 tory brownfield sites, which may include associated rivers,

10 streams, or lakes or mine-scarred land, and to conduct site

11 assessments of such brownfield sites.

12 (b) SCOPE OF PROGRAM.—

13 (1) GRANT AWARDS.—To carry out subsection

14 (a), the Administrator may, on approval of an appli15 cation, provide financial assistance to a local govern16 ment.

17 (2) GRANT APPLICATION PROCEDURE.—The

18 Administrator shall establish a grant application

19 procedure for this section. The Administrator may

20 include in such procedure requirements of the Na21 tional Contingency Plan, to the extent that those re22 quirements are relevant and appropriate to the pro23 gram under this section.

24 (3) APPROVAL OF APPLICATION.—
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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—In making a decision

2 whether to approve an application under this

3 subsection, the Administrator shall—

4 (i) consider the need of the local gov5 ernment for financial assistance to carry

6 out inventories and site assessments under

7 this section;

8 (ii) consider the ability of the appli9 cant to carry out inventories and site as10 sessments under this section;

11 (iii) consider the ability of the appli12 cant to manage a grant; and

13 (iv) consider such other factors as the

14 Administrator considers relevant to carry

15 out this section.

16 (B) GRANT CONDITIONS.—As a condition

17 of awarding a grant under this section, the

18 Administrator—

19 (i) shall require the recipient of the

20 grant to notify the State in which the re21 cipient is located of the receipt of the

22 grant; and

23 (ii) may, on the basis of the criteria

24 considered under subparagraph (A), attach
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1 such other conditions to the grant as the

2 Administrator determines appropriate.

3 (4) GRANT AMOUNT.—The amount of a grant

4 awarded to any local government under this section

5 for inventory and site assessment of one or more

6 brownfield sites shall not exceed $500,000.

7 (5) TERMINATION OF GRANTS.—If the Admin8 istrator determines that a local government that re9 ceives a grant under this section is in violation of a

10 condition of a grant, the Administrator may termi11 nate the grant made to the local government and re12 quire full or partial repayment of the grant.

13 (6) AUTHORITY TO AWARD GRANTS TO

14 STATES.—The Administrator may award a grant to

15 a State under the program established under this

16 section if the Administrator determines that a grant

17 to the State is necessary in order to facilitate the re18 ceipt of funds by one or more local governments that

19 otherwise do not have the capabilities, such as per20 sonnel and other resources, to manage grants under

21 the program.

22 (c) TRAINING AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The

23 Administrator may provide training and technical assist24 ance to individuals and organizations, as appropriate, to
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1 inventory brownfield sites and conduct site assessments or

2 cleanup of brownfield sites.

3 SEC. 103. GRANTS FOR REVOLVING LOAN PROGRAMS.

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—

5 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Administrator shall

6 establish a program to award grants to be used by

7 local governments to capitalize revolving loan funds

8 for the cleanup of brownfield sites.

9 (2) LOANS.—The loans may be provided by the

10 local government to finance cleanups of eligible

11 brownfield sites by the local government, or by an

12 owner or developer of an eligible brownfield site (in13 cluding a local government).

14 (b) SCOPE OF PROGRAM.—

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—

16 (A) GRANTS.—In carrying out subsection

17 (a), the Administrator may award a grant to a

18 local government that submits an application

19 that is approved by the Administrator.

20 (B) USE OF GRANT.—The grant shall be

21 used by the local government to capitalize a re22 volving loan fund to be used for cleanup of one

23 or more brownfield sites, which may include as24 sociated rivers, streams, or lakes or mine25 scarred land.
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1 (C) GRANT APPLICATION PROCEDURE.—

2 The Administrator shall establish a grant appli3 cation procedure for this section. The Adminis4 trator may include in such procedure require5 ments of the National Contingency Plan, to the

6 extent that those requirements are relevant and

7 appropriate to the program under this section.

8 (2) GRANT APPROVAL.—In determining wheth9 er to award a grant under this section, the Adminis10 trator shall consider—

11 (A) the need of the local government for fi12 nancial assistance to clean up brownfield sites,

13 taking into consideration the financial resources

14 available to the local government;

15 (B) the ability of the local government to

16 ensure that the applicants repay the loans in a

17 timely manner;

18 (C) the extent to which the cleanup of

19 brownfield sites would reduce health and envi20 ronmental risks caused by the release of haz21 ardous substances, pollutants, or contaminants

22 at, or from, brownfield sites;

23 (D) the demonstrable potential of

24 brownfield sites for stimulating economic devel-
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1 opment or creation of recreational areas on

2 completion of cleanup;

3 (E) the demonstrated ability of the local

4 government to administer such a loan program;

5 (F) the demonstrated experience of the

6 local government regarding brownfield sites and

7 the reuse of contaminated land, including

8 whether the local government has received any

9 grant under the Comprehensive Environmental

10 Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of

11 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9601 et seq.) to assess

12 brownfield sites, except that applicants who

13 have not previously received such a grant may

14 be considered for awards under this section;

15 (G) the experience of administering any

16 loan programs by the entity, including the loan

17 repayment rates; and

18 (H) such other factors as the Adminis19 trator considers relevant to carry out this sec20 tion.

21 (3) GRANT AMOUNT.—The amount of a grant

22 made to an applicant under this section shall not ex23 ceed $500,000. The Administrator may make an

24 award under this section in an amount up to

25 $1,000,000 if the Administrator determines that
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1 such action would achieve particularly significant en2 vironmental and economic benefits.

3 (c) GRANT AGREEMENTS.—Each grant under this

4 section for a revolving loan fund shall be made pursuant

5 to a grant agreement. At a minimum, the grant agreement

6 shall include provisions that ensure the following:

7 (1) COMPLIANCE WITH LAW.—The local govern8 ment will include in all loan agreements a require9 ment that the loan recipient shall comply with all

10 laws applicable to the cleanup, and shall ensure that

11 the cleanup protects human health and the environ12 ment.

13 (2) REPAYMENT.—The local government will

14 require repayment of the loan consistent with this

15 section.

16 (3) USE OF FUNDS.—The local government will

17 use the funds, including repayment of principal, in18 terest, and fees, solely for purposes of establishing

19 and capitalizing a loan program in accordance with

20 this title and of cleaning up brownfield sites.

21 (4) REPAYMENT OF FUNDS.—The local govern22 ment will require in each loan agreement, and take

23 necessary steps to ensure, that the loan recipient will

24 use the loan funds solely for cleaning up brownfield

25 sites, and will require the return of any excess funds
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1 immediately on a determination by the appropriate

2 local official that the cleanup has been completed.

3 (5) NONTRANSFERABILITY.—A local govern4 ment receiving a grant under this section may not

5 transfer funds received under the grant to any other

6 local government unless the Administrator agrees to

7 the transfer in writing.

8 (6) NOTICE TO STATE.—The local government

9 will notify the State in which the local government

10 is located of the receipt of the grant and of the iden11 tity of recipients of loans made under the revolving

12 loan fund.

13 (d) AUDITS.—

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Inspector General of

15 the Environmental Protection Agency shall audit a

16 portion of the grants awarded under this section to

17 ensure that all funds provided under those grants

18 are used for the purposes set forth in this section.

19 (2) FUTURE GRANTS.—The result of the audit

20 shall be taken into account in awarding any future

21 grants to the local government.

22 (e) TERMINATION OF GRANTS.—If the Administrator

23 determines that a local government that receives a grant

24 under this section is in violation of a condition of a grant,

25 the Administrator may terminate the grant made to the
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1 local government and require full or partial repayment of

2 the grant.

3 (f) AUTHORITY TO AWARD GRANTS TO STATES.—

4 The Administrator may award a grant to a State under

5 the program established under this section at the request

6 of a local government in the State if the Administrator

7 determines that a grant to the State is necessary in order

8 to facilitate the receipt of funds by one or more local gov9 ernments that otherwise do not have the capabilities, such

10 as personnel and other resources, to manage grants under

11 the program.

12 SEC. 104. LIMITATIONS ON USE OF FUNDS.

13 (a) EXCLUDED FACILITIES.—

14 (1) FACILITIES.—A grant for site inventory and

15 assessment under section 102 or to capitalize a re16 volving loan fund under section 103 may not be used

17 for any activity involving—

18 (A) a facility or portion of a facility that

19 is the subject of an order or other action under

20 section 106(a) of the Comprehensive Environ21 mental Response, Compensation, and Liability

22 Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9606(a)), or a response

23 action under section 104 of the Comprehensive

24 Environmental Response, Compensation, and

25 Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9604);
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1 (B) a facility included, or proposed for in2 clusion, on the National Priorities List main3 tained by the President under the Comprehen4 sive Environmental Response, Compensation,

5 and Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9601 et

6 seq.);

7 (C) an NPL-caliber facility, as defined in

8 paragraph (2);

9 (D) a facility that is subject to corrective

10 action under section 3004(u) or 3008(h) of the

11 Solid Waste Disposal Act (42 U.S.C. 6924(u)

12 or 6928(h)) to which a corrective action permit

13 or order has been issued or modified to require

14 the implementation of corrective measures;

15 (E) any land disposal unit with respect to

16 which a closure notification under subtitle C of

17 the Solid Waste Disposal Act (42 U.S.C. 6921

18 et seq.) has been submitted and closure require19 ments have been specified in a closure plan or

20 permit;

21 (F) a facility at which there has been a re22 lease of a polychlorinated biphenyl and that is

23 subject to the Toxic Substances Control Act (15

24 U.S.C. 2601 et seq.);
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1 (G) a facility with respect to which an ad2 ministrative or judicial order or decree requir3 ing cleanup has been issued or entered into by

4 the President under—

5 (i) the Comprehensive Environmental

6 Response, Compensation, and Liability Act

7 of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9601 et seq.);

8 (ii) the Solid Waste Disposal Act (42

9 U.S.C. 6901 et seq.);

10 (iii) the Federal Water Pollution Con11 trol Act (33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.);

12 (iv) the Toxic Substances Control Act

13 (15 U.S.C. 2601 et seq.); or

14 (v) the Safe Drinking Water Act (42

15 U.S.C. 300f et seq.);

16 (H) the portion of a facility at which as17 sistance for response activities may be obtained

18 under subtitle I of the Solid Waste Disposal Act

19 (42 U.S.C. 6991 et seq.) from the Leaking Un20 derground Storage Tank Trust Fund estab21 lished by section 9508 of the Internal Revenue

22 Code of 1986; or

23 (I) a facility owned or operated by a de24 partment, agency, or instrumentality of the
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1 United States, except for land held in trust by

2 the United States for an Indian tribe.

3 (2) DEFINITION.—For purposes of paragraph

4 (1), the term ‘‘NPL-caliber facility’’ means a facility

5 for which the President, in consultation with the

6 State concerned, has prepared or is preparing a haz7 ardous ranking system scoring package or that satis8 fies such other definition as the Administrator may

9 promulgate by regulation. The term does not include

10 a facility for which the President—

11 (A) has obtained a score under the haz12 ardous ranking system; and

13 (B) based on that score, has made a deter14 mination not to list on the National Priorities

15 List.

16 (3) EXCEPTION.—Notwithstanding paragraph

17 (1), the President may, on a facility-by-facility basis,

18 allow a grant under section 102 to be used for an

19 activity involving any facility listed in subparagraph

20 (D), (E), (F), (G)(ii), (G)(iii), (G)(iv), (G)(v), (H),

21 or (I) of paragraph (1) if the President finds that

22 such use would promote economic development while

23 still protecting human health and the environment.

24 In the case of a facility listed in subparagraph (I),

25 the President may use the authority in the preceding
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1 sentence only if the facility is not a facility described

2 in subparagraph (A), (B), (C), or (G)(i).

3 (b) FINES AND COST-SHARING.—A grant made

4 under this title may not be used to pay any fine or penalty

5 owed to a State or the Federal Government, or to meet

6 any Federal cost-sharing requirement.

7 (c) RESPONSIBILITY FOR CLEANUP ACTION.—Funds

8 made available under this title may not be used to relieve

9 a local government of the commitment or responsibilities

10 of the local government under State law to assist or carry

11 out cleanup actions at brownfield sites.

12 SEC. 105. REPORTS.

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than one year after the

14 date of enactment of this Act, and not later than January

15 31 of each of the 3 calendar years thereafter, the Adminis16 trator shall prepare and submit a report describing the

17 results of each program established under this title to—

18 (1) the Committees on Commerce and on

19 Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of

20 Representatives; and

21 (2) the Committee on Environment and Public

22 Works of the Senate.

23 (b) CONTENTS OF REPORT.—Each report shall, with

24 respect to each of the programs established under this

25 title, include a description of—
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1 (1) the number of applications received by the

2 Administrator during the preceding calendar year;

3 (2) the number of applications approved by the

4 Administrator during the preceding calendar year;

5 and

6 (3) the allocation of assistance under sections

7 102 and 103 among the local governments.

8 SEC. 106. EFFECT ON OTHER LAWS.

9 Nothing in this title changes, modifies, or otherwise

10 affects the liability of any person or the obligations im11 posed or authorities provided under any other law or regu12 lation, including—

13 (1) the Comprehensive Environmental Re14 sponse, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (42

15 U.S.C. 9601 et seq.);

16 (2) the Solid Waste Disposal Act (42 U.S.C.

17 6901 et seq.);

18 (3) the Federal Water Pollution Control Act

19 (33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.);

20 (4) the Toxic Substances Control Act (15

21 U.S.C. 2601 et seq.); and

22 (5) the Safe Drinking Water Act (42 U.S.C.

23 300f et seq.).
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1 SEC. 107. REGULATIONS.

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator may issue

3 such regulations as are necessary to carry out this title.

4 (b) PROCEDURES AND STANDARDS.—The regulations

5 shall include such procedures and standards as the Admin6 istrator considers necessary, including procedures and

7 standards for evaluating an application for a grant sub8 mitted under this title or for a loan under a revolving loan

9 program for which a grant is provided under section 103.

10 SEC. 108. AUTHORIZATIONS OF APPROPRIATIONS.

11 (a) SITE ASSESSMENT PROGRAM.—To carry out sec12 tion 102, there is authorized to be appropriated to the Ad13 ministrator $35,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2000

14 through 2004.

15 (b) GRANTS FOR REVOLVING LOAN PROGRAMS.—To

16 carry out section 103, there is authorized to be appro17 priated to the Administrator $65,000,000 for each of fis18 cal years 2000 through 2004.

19 (c) STATE VOLUNTARY RESPONSE PROGRAMS.—For

20 each of the first 5 fiscal years commencing after the date

21 of enactment of this Act, $15,000,000 is authorized to be

22 appropriated to the Administrator for assistance to States

23 to develop or enhance State voluntary response programs

24 pursuant to title III.
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1 (d) AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS.—Amounts appro2 priated under this section shall remain available until ex3 pended.

4 TITLE II—INNOCENT LAND5 OWNER, PROSPECTIVE PUR6 CHASER, AND CONTIGUOUS

7 PROPERTY OWNER LIABILITY

8 SEC. 201. INNOCENT LANDOWNERS.

9 (a) ENVIRONMENTAL SITE ASSESSMENT.—Section

10 107 of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Com11 pensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9607) is

12 amended by adding at the end the following new sub13 section:

14 ‘‘(o) INNOCENT LANDOWNERS.—

15 ‘‘(1) CONDUCT OF ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESS16 MENT.—A person who has acquired real property

17 after April 15, 1994, shall have made all appropriate

18 inquiry within the meaning of subparagraph (B) of

19 section 101(35) only if such person establishes that,

20 within 180 days prior to the time of acquisition, an

21 environmental site assessment of the real property

22 was conducted which meets the requirements of

23 paragraph (2).

24 ‘‘(2) DEFINITION OF ENVIRONMENTAL SITE AS25 SESSMENT.—For purposes of this subsection, the
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1 term ‘environmental site assessment’ means an as2 sessment conducted in accordance with the stand3 ards set forth in the American Society for Testing

4 and Materials (ASTM) Standard E1527–94, titled

5 ‘Standard Practice for Environmental Site Assess6 ments: Phase I Environmental Site Assessment

7 Process’ or with alternative standards issued by rule

8 by the Administrator or promulgated or developed

9 by others and designated by rule by the Adminis10 trator. Before issuing or designating alternative

11 standards, the Administrator shall first conduct a

12 study of commercial and industrial practices con13 cerning environmental site assessments in the trans14 fer of real property in the United States. Any such

15 standards issued or designated by the Administrator

16 shall also be deemed to constitute commercially rea17 sonable and generally accepted standards and prac18 tices for purposes of this title. In issuing or desig19 nating any such standards, the Administrator shall

20 consider requirements governing each of the fol21 lowing:

22 ‘‘(A) Interviews of owners, operators, and

23 occupants of the property to determine informa24 tion regarding the potential for contamination.
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•HR 1750 IH

1 ‘‘(B) Review of historical sources as nec2 essary to determine previous uses and occupan3 cies of the property since the property was first

4 developed. For purposes of this subparagraph,

5 the term ‘historical sources’ means any of the

6 following, if they are reasonably ascertainable:

7 recorded chain of title documents regarding the

8 real property, including all deeds, easements,

9 leases, restrictions, and covenants, aerial photo10 graphs, fire insurance maps, property tax files,

11 USGS 7.5 minutes topographic maps, local

12 street directories, building department records,

13 zoning/land use records, and any other sources

14 that identify past uses and occupancies of the

15 property.

16 ‘‘(C) Determination of the existence of re17 corded environmental cleanup liens against the

18 real property which have arisen pursuant to

19 Federal, State, or local statutes.

20 ‘‘(D) Review of reasonably ascertainable

21 Federal, State, and local government records of

22 sites or facilities that are likely to cause or con23 tribute to contamination at the real property,

24 including, as appropriate, investigation reports

25 for such sites or facilities; records of activities
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•HR 1750 IH

1 likely to cause or contribute to contamination at

2 the real property, including landfill and other

3 disposal location records, underground storage

4 tank records, hazardous waste handler and gen5 erator records and spill reporting records; and

6 such other reasonably ascertainable Federal,

7 State, and local government environmental

8 records which could reflect incidents or activi9 ties which are likely to cause or contribute to

10 contamination at the real property.

11 ‘‘(E) A visual site inspection of the real

12 property and all facilities and improvements on

13 the real property and a visual inspection of im14 mediately adjacent properties, including an in15 vestigation of any hazardous substance use,

16 storage, treatment, and disposal practices on

17 the property.

18 ‘‘(F) Any specialized knowledge or experi19 ence on the part of the landowner.

20 ‘‘(G) The relationship of the purchase

21 price to the value of the property if

22 uncontaminated.

23 ‘‘(H) Commonly known or reasonably as24 certainable information about the property.
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•HR 1750 IH

1 ‘‘(I) The obviousness of the presence or

2 likely presence of contamination at the prop3 erty, and the ability to detect such contamina4 tion by appropriate investigation.

5 If a copy or reasonable facsimile of a record is pub6 licly available by request (within reasonable time and

7 cost constraints) and the record is practically review8 able, the record shall be considered to be reasonably

9 ascertainable for purposes of this paragraph.

10 ‘‘(3) APPROPRIATE INQUIRY.—A person shall

11 not be treated as having made all appropriate in12 quiry under paragraph (1) unless—

13 ‘‘(A) the person has maintained a compila14 tion of the information reviewed and gathered

15 in the course of the environmental site assess16 ment;

17 ‘‘(B) the person exercised appropriate care

18 with respect to hazardous substances found at

19 the facility by taking reasonable steps to stop

20 on-going releases, prevent threatened future re21 leases of hazardous substances, and prevent or

22 limit human or natural resource exposure to

23 hazardous substances previously released into

24 the environment; and
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•HR 1750 IH

1 ‘‘(C) the person provides full cooperation,

2 assistance, and facility access to persons au3 thorized to conduct response actions or natural

4 resource restoration at the facility, including

5 the cooperation and access necessary for the in6 stallation, integrity, operation, and maintenance

7 of any complete or partial response action or

8 natural resource restoration at the facility.’’.

9 (b) EXCEPTION.—Section 107(b)(3)(a) of the Com10 prehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and

11 Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9606(b)(3)(a)) is amend12 ed by inserting ‘‘(except as provided in subsection (o))’’

13 after ‘‘exercised due care’’.

14 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 101(35)

15 of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Com16 pensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9601(35))

17 is amended—

18 (1) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘, unless

19 the real property’’ and inserting ‘‘. A defendant

20 owner or operator of a facility may only assert under

21 section 107(b)(3) that an act or omission of a pre22 vious owner or operator of that facility did not occur

23 in connection with a contractual relationship if the

24 real property’’; and

25 (2) in subparagraph (B)—
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•HR 1750 IH

1 (A) by inserting ‘‘(as specified in section

2 107(o))’’ after ‘‘all appropriate inquiry’’; and

3 (B) by striking ‘‘For purposes of the pre4 ceding sentence’’ and inserting ‘‘For purposes

5 of the application of the preceding sentence to

6 acquisitions occurring on or before April 15,

7 1994,’’.

8 SEC. 202. LIMITATIONS ON LIABILITY FOR RESPONSE

9 COSTS FOR PROSPECTIVE PURCHASERS.

10 (a) LIMITATIONS ON LIABILITY.—Section 107 of the

11 Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation,

12 and Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9607) is further

13 amended by adding at the end the following new sub14 section:

15 ‘‘(p) LIMITATIONS ON LIABILITY FOR PROSPECTIVE

16 PURCHASERS.—To the extent the liability of a person,

17 with respect to a release or the threat of a release from

18 a facility, is based solely on subsection (a)(1), the person

19 shall not be liable under this Act if the person—

20 ‘‘(1) is a bona fide prospective purchaser of the

21 facility or an operator of a facility owned by such a

22 bona fide prospective purchaser;

23 ‘‘(2) does not impede the performance of any

24 response action or natural resource restoration at a

25 facility;
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•HR 1750 IH

1 ‘‘(3) provided all legally required notices with

2 respect to the discovery or release of any hazardous

3 substances at the facility;

4 ‘‘(4) exercised appropriate care with respect to

5 hazardous substances found at the facility by taking

6 reasonable steps to—

7 ‘‘(A) stop ongoing releases;

8 ‘‘(B) prevent threatened future releases of

9 hazardous substances; and

10 ‘‘(C) prevent or limit human or natural re11 source exposure to hazardous substances pre12 viously released into the environment;

13 ‘‘(5) provides full cooperation, assistance, and

14 facility access to such persons as are authorized to

15 conduct response actions at the facility, including

16 the cooperation and access necessary for the installa17 tion, integrity, operation, and maintenance of any

18 complete or partial response action at the facility;

19 and

20 ‘‘(6) is not liable, or is not affiliated with any

21 other person that is liable, for response costs at the

22 facility, through any direct or indirect familial rela23 tionship, or any contractual, corporate, or financial

24 relationship other than that created by the instru-
31

•HR 1750 IH

1 ments by which title to the facility is conveyed or fi2 nanced.’’.

3 (b) PROSPECTIVE PURCHASER AND WINDFALL

4 LIEN.—Section 107 of the Comprehensive Environmental

5 Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (as

6 amended by subsection (a)) is amended by adding after

7 subsection (p) the following new subsection:

8 ‘‘(q) PROSPECTIVE PURCHASER AND WINDFALL

9 LIEN.—

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In any case in which the

11 United States has incurred unrecovered costs of re12 sponse not inconsistent with the National Contin13 gency Plan at a facility for which an owner of the

14 facility is not liable by reason of subsection (p), and

15 the conditions described in paragraph (3) are met,

16 the United States shall have a lien on the facility,

17 or may obtain, from the appropriate responsible

18 party or parties, a lien on other property or other

19 assurances of payment satisfactory to the Adminis20 trator, for the unrecovered costs.

21 ‘‘(2) AMOUNT; DURATION.—The lien—

22 ‘‘(A) shall be for an amount not to exceed

23 the lesser of the amount of the United States

24 costs of response not inconsistent with the Na25 tional Contingency Plan or the amount of the
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•HR 1750 IH

1 increase in fair market value of the property at2 tributable to the response action at the time of

3 a subsequent sale or other disposition of the

4 property;

5 ‘‘(B) shall arise at the time costs are first

6 incurred by the United States with respect to a

7 response action at the facility;

8 ‘‘(C) shall be subject to the requirements

9 for notice and validity specified in subsection

10 (l)(3); and

11 ‘‘(D) shall continue until the earlier of sat12 isfaction of the lien or recovery of all United

13 States costs of response not inconsistent with

14 the National Contingency Plan incurred at the

15 facility, notwithstanding any statute of limita16 tions provided in section 113.

17 Nothing in this subsection prevents the United

18 States and a purchaser from entering into a settle19 ment at any time that extinguishes a lien under this

20 subsection.

21 ‘‘(3) CONDITIONS.—The conditions referred to

22 in paragraph (1) are the following:

23 ‘‘(A) RESPONSE ACTION.—An action for

24 which the United States has incurred unre25 covered costs of response not inconsistent with
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•HR 1750 IH

1 the National Contingency Plan is carried out at

2 the facility.

3 ‘‘(B) FAIR MARKET VALUE.—The response

4 action increases the fair market value of the fa5 cility.’’.

6 (c) DEFINITION OF BONA FIDE PROSPECTIVE PUR7 CHASER.—Section 101 of the Comprehensive Environ8 mental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of

9 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9601) is amended by adding at the end

10 the following:

11 ‘‘(39) BONA FIDE PROSPECTIVE PURCHASER.—

12 The term ‘bona fide prospective purchaser’ means a

13 person who acquires ownership of a facility after the

14 date of enactment of the Community Revitalization

15 and Brownfield Cleanup Act of 1999 who can estab16 lish each of the following by a preponderance of the

17 evidence:

18 ‘‘(A) DISPOSAL PRIOR TO ACQUISITION.—

19 All active disposal of hazardous substances at

20 the facility occurred before the person acquired

21 the facility.

22 ‘‘(B) INQUIRY.—

23 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The person made

24 all appropriate inquiry as provided in sec25 tion 101(35)(B) into the previous owner-
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1 ship and uses of the facility in accordance

2 with generally accepted good commercial

3 and customary standards and practices.

4 ‘‘(ii) STANDARDS.—The ASTM stand5 ards described in section 107(o)(2) or the

6 alternative standards issued or designated

7 by the President pursuant to that section

8 shall satisfy the requirements of this sub9 paragraph.

10 ‘‘(iii) RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY.—In

11 the case of property in residential or other

12 similar use at the time of purchase by a

13 nongovernmental or noncommercial entity,

14 a site inspection and title search that re15 veal no basis for further investigation shall

16 satisfy the requirements of this subpara17 graph.’’.

18 ‘‘(C) NOTICES.—The person provided all

19 legally required notices with respect to the dis20 covery or release of any hazardous substances

21 at the facility.

22 ‘‘(D) CARE.—The person exercised appro23 priate care with respect to hazardous sub24 stances found at the facility by taking reason25 able steps to—
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•HR 1750 IH

1 ‘‘(i) stop ongoing releases;

2 ‘‘(ii) prevent threatened future re3 leases of hazardous substances; and

4 ‘‘(iii) prevent or limit human or nat5 ural resource exposure to hazardous sub6 stances previously released into the envi7 ronment.

8 ‘‘(E) COOPERATION, ASSISTANCE, AND AC9 CESS.—The person provides full cooperation,

10 assistance, and facility access to such persons

11 as are authorized to conduct response actions at

12 the facility, including the cooperation and ac13 cess necessary for the installation, integrity, op14 eration, and maintenance of any complete or

15 partial response action at the facility.

16 ‘‘(F) RELATIONSHIP.—The person is not

17 potentially liable, or is not affiliated with any

18 other person that is potentially liable, for re19 sponse costs at the facility, through any direct

20 or indirect familial relationship, or any contrac21 tual, corporate, or financial relationship other

22 than that created by the instruments by which

23 title to the facility is conveyed or financed.’’.
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•HR 1750 IH

1 SEC. 203. CONTIGUOUS OR NEARBY PROPERTIES.

2 Section 107 of the Comprehensive Environmental Re3 sponse, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (42

4 U.S.C. 9607) is further amended by adding at the end

5 the following new subsection:

6 ‘‘(r) CONTIGUOUS PROPERTIES.—(1) A person who

7 owns or operates real property, that is contiguous to or

8 otherwise similarly situated with respect to other real

9 property not owned or operated by that person, and that

10 is or may be contaminated by a release or threatened re11 lease of hazardous substances from such other real prop12 erty, shall not be considered to be an owner or operator

13 of a facility under subsection (a)(1) or (2) solely by reason

14 of such contamination, if such person establishes by a pre15 ponderance of the evidence that—

16 ‘‘(A) such person exercised appropriate care

17 with respect to those hazardous substances on or

18 under such person’s property by taking reasonable

19 steps to—

20 ‘‘(i) stop ongoing releases;

21 ‘‘(ii) prevent threatened future releases of

22 hazardous substances; and

23 ‘‘(iii) prevent or limit human, environ24 mental, or natural resource exposure to haz25 ardous substances previously released into the

26 environment;
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•HR 1750 IH

1 ‘‘(B) such person did not cause, contribute to,

2 consent to, or exacerbate the release;

3 ‘‘(C) such person provided all legally required

4 notices with respect to the discovery of the release;

5 ‘‘(D) such person is not otherwise potentially

6 liable and is not affiliated with any other person

7 that is potentially liable for response costs at the fa8 cility, through any direct or indirect familial rela9 tionship, or any contractual, corporate, or financial

10 relationship other than that created by the instru11 ments by which title to the real property is conveyed

12 or financed;

13 ‘‘(E) at the time the person acquired the prop14 erty, the person conducted all appropriate inquiry

15 within the meaning of subparagraph (B) of section

16 101(35) and did not know and had no reason to

17 know of the presence of such contamination on the

18 property being acquired; and

19 ‘‘(F) such person provides full cooperation, as20 sistance, and access to such other persons as are au21 thorized to conduct response actions or natural re22 source restoration at the real property, including the

23 cooperation and access necessary for the installation,

24 integrity, operation, and maintenance of any com-
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1 plete or partial response action or natural resource

2 restoration at the real property.

3 ‘‘(2) With respect to hazardous substances in ground4 water beneath such person’s property solely as a result

5 of subsurface migration in an aquifer from a source or

6 sources outside the property, appropriate care under para7 graph (1)(A) shall not require that such person either con8 duct groundwater investigations or install groundwater re9 mediation systems, except in accordance with the Environ10 mental Protection Agency’s May 24, 1995, ‘‘Policy To11 ward Owners of Property Containing Contaminated

12 Aquifers’’.

13 ‘‘(3) Any person who at the time of acquisition of

14 real property had, or had reason to have had, the knowl15 edge specified in paragraph (1)(E) may nonetheless qual16 ify as a bona fide prospective purchaser under section

17 101(39) if such person otherwise would fall within that

18 definition.

19 ‘‘(4) Nothing in this subsection shall limit defenses

20 to liability that otherwise may be available to such persons

21 nor shall be construed to impose liability not otherwise im22 posed by section 107(a) on such persons.

23 ‘‘(5) The President may issue an assurance of no en24 forcement action under this Act to any such person and

25 may grant any such person protection against cost recov-
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1 ery, and contribution actions pursuant to section

2 113(f)(2).’’.

3 TITLE III—SELLER LIABILITY

4 RELIEF AND STATE VOL5 UNTARY RESPONSE PRO6 GRAMS

7 SEC. 301. STATE VOLUNTARY RESPONSE PROGRAMS.

8 Title I of the Comprehensive Environmental Re9 sponse, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (42

10 U.S.C. 9601 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end

11 the following new section:

12 ‘‘SEC. 127. STATE VOLUNTARY RESPONSE PROGRAMS.

13 ‘‘(a) PURPOSES AND OBJECTIVES.—The purposes

14 and objectives of this section are—

15 ‘‘(1) to significantly increase the pace of re16 sponse activities at contaminated sites by promoting

17 and encouraging the creation, development, and en18 hancement of State voluntary response programs;

19 and

20 ‘‘(2) to benefit the public health and welfare

21 and the environment by cleaning up and returning

22 contaminated sites to economically productive or

23 other beneficial uses.

24 ‘‘(b) ASSISTANCE TO STATES.—The Administrator

25 shall provide technical, financial, and other assistance to
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1 States to establish and enhance voluntary response pro2 grams. The Administrator shall encourage the States to

3 develop risk sharing pools, indemnity pools, or insurance

4 mechanisms to provide financing for response actions

5 under their voluntary response programs.

6 ‘‘(c) LIMITATION ON FEDERAL AUTHORITY TO LIST

7 ON NATIONAL PRIORITIES LIST.—Except as provided in

8 subsection (e), the President shall not list on the National

9 Priorities List the portion of a facility subject to a re10 sponse action plan approved under a State program quali11 fied under subsection (i)—

12 ‘‘(1) while substantial and continuous voluntary

13 response activities are being conducted in compliance

14 with the plan at that portion of the facility; or

15 ‘‘(2) after response activities conducted in com16 pliance with the plan at that portion of the facility

17 have been certified by the State as complete.

18 ‘‘(d) LIMITATION ON FEDERAL AUTHORITY TO RE19 COVER COSTS.—(1) Except as provided in subsection (e),

20 if substantial and continuous voluntary response activities

21 are being conducted at a voluntary response action site

22 in compliance with a response action plan approved under

23 a State program qualified under subsection (i) or if re24 sponse activities conducted at such a site in compliance

25 with the plan have been certified by the State as complete,
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1 then the Administrator may not bring a claim under sec2 tion 107(a) for response costs incurred with respect to a

3 release or substantial threat of release of a hazardous sub4 stance addressed by the response action plan unless one

5 or more of the following conditions is met:

6 ‘‘(A) The Administrator determines that the re7 lease or threat of release may present an imminent

8 and substantial endangerment to the public health

9 or welfare or the environment.

10 ‘‘(B) The State requests the Administrator to

11 take action.

12 ‘‘(C) Conditions at the site that were unknown

13 to the State at the time the response action plan

14 was approved by the State are discovered, and such

15 conditions indicate, as determined by the Adminis16 trator or the State, that the response action does not

17 protect human health or the environment.

18 ‘‘(D) The cleanup of the site under the response

19 action plan of the State program no longer protects

20 human health or the environment, as determined by

21 the Administrator or the State, because of a change

22 or a proposed change in the use of the site.

23 ‘‘(2) For purposes of this subsection, the term ‘vol24 untary response action site’ means a site subject to a re-
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•HR 1750 IH

1 sponse action plan under a State program qualified under

2 subsection (i).

3 ‘‘(3) Nothing in this subsection shall preclude the Ad4 ministrator from recovering costs incurred by the Admin5 istrator at a site before State approval of a response action

6 plan for that site.

7 ‘‘(e) FACILITIES INELIGIBLE FOR LIMITATIONS.—

8 ‘‘(1) FACILITIES.—The limitations on Federal

9 authority provided under subsections (c) and (d) do

10 not apply to any of the following facilities:

11 (A) a facility or portion of a facility that

12 is the subject of an order or other action under

13 section 106(a) of this Act, or a response action

14 under section 104 of this Act;

15 ‘‘(B) A facility included, or proposed for

16 inclusion, on the National Priorities List main17 tained by the President under this Act.

18 ‘‘(C) An NPL-caliber facility, as defined in

19 paragraph (2).

20 ‘‘(D) A facility that is subject to corrective

21 action under section 3004(u) or 3008(h) of the

22 Solid Waste Disposal Act (42 U.S.C. 6924(u)

23 or 6928(h)) to which a corrective action permit

24 or order has been issued or modified to require

25 the implementation of corrective measures.
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•HR 1750 IH

1 ‘‘(E) Any land disposal unit with respect

2 to which a closure notification under subtitle C

3 of the Solid Waste Disposal Act (42 U.S.C.

4 6921 et seq.) has been submitted and closure

5 requirements have been specified in a closure

6 plan or permit.

7 ‘‘(F) A facility at which there has been a

8 release of a polychlorinated biphenyl and that is

9 subject to the Toxic Substances Control Act (15

10 U.S.C. 2601 et seq.).

11 ‘‘(G) A facility with respect to which an

12 administrative or judicial order or decree re13 quiring cleanup has been issued or entered into

14 by the President under—

15 ‘‘(i) this Act;

16 ‘‘(ii) the Solid Waste Disposal Act (42

17 U.S.C. 6901 et seq.);

18 ‘‘(iii) the Federal Water Pollution

19 Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.);

20 ‘‘(iv) the Toxic Substances Control

21 Act (15 U.S.C. 2601 et seq.); or

22 ‘‘(v) the Safe Drinking Water Act (42

23 U.S.C. 300f et seq.).

24 ‘‘(H) The portion of a facility at which as25 sistance for response activities may be obtained
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1 under subtitle I of the Solid Waste Disposal Act

2 (42 U.S.C. 6991 et seq.) from the Leaking Un3 derground Storage Tank Trust Fund estab4 lished by section 9508 of the Internal Revenue

5 Code of 1986.

6 ‘‘(I) A facility owned or operated by a de7 partment, agency, or instrumentality of the

8 United States, except for land held in trust by

9 the United States for an Indian tribe.

10 ‘‘(2) DEFINITION.—For purposes of paragraph

11 (1), the term ‘NPL-caliber facility’ means a facility

12 for which the President, in consultation with the

13 State concerned, has prepared or is preparing a haz14 ardous ranking system scoring package or that satis15 fies such other definition as the Administrator may

16 promulgate by regulation. The term does not include

17 a facility for which the President—

18 ‘‘(A) has obtained a score under the haz19 ardous ranking system; and

20 ‘‘(B) based on that score, has made a de21 termination not to list on the National Prior22 ities List.

23 ‘‘(3) EXCEPTION.—Notwithstanding paragraph

24 (1), the President may, on a facility-by-facility basis

25 and pursuant to an agreement with the State con-
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•HR 1750 IH

1 cerned, apply the limitations on authority provided

2 under subsections (c) and (d) to any facility listed

3 in subparagraph (D), (E), (F), (G)(ii), (G)(iii),

4 (G)(iv), (G)(v), (H), or (I) of paragraph (1) if the

5 President finds that such use would promote eco6 nomic development while still protecting human

7 health and the environment. In the case of a facility

8 listed in subparagraph (I), the President may use

9 the authority in the preceding sentence only if the

10 facility is not a facility described in subparagraph

11 (A), (B), (C), or (G)(i).

12 ‘‘(f) EPA ASSISTANCE TO STATES FOR STATE VOL13 UNTARY RESPONSE PROGRAMS.—The Administrator shall

14 assist States to establish and administer State voluntary

15 response programs that—

16 ‘‘(1) provide for voluntary response actions that

17 ensure adequate site assessment and protect human

18 health and the environment;

19 ‘‘(2) provide opportunities for technical assist20 ance with respect to voluntary response actions;

21 ‘‘(3) provide meaningful opportunities for public

22 participation on issues that affect the community,

23 which shall include prior notice and opportunity for

24 comment in the selection or significant modification

25 of response actions and which may include involve-
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1 ment of State and local health officials during site

2 assessment;

3 ‘‘(4) provide streamlined procedures to ensure

4 expeditious voluntary response actions;

5 ‘‘(5) provide adequate oversight, enforcement

6 authorities, resources, and practices—

7 ‘‘(A) to ensure that voluntary response ac8 tions protect human health and the environ9 ment and are conducted in a timely manner in

10 accordance with a State-approved response ac11 tion plan or other instrument; and

12 ‘‘(B) to ensure completion of voluntary re13 sponse actions if the person conducting the vol14 untary response action fails or refuses to com15 plete the necessary voluntary response actions

16 that protect human health and the environ17 ment, including operation and maintenance or

18 long-term monitoring activities;

19 ‘‘(6) provide mechanisms for the approval of a

20 response action plan or other instrument; and

21 ‘‘(7) provide mechanisms for a certification or

22 similar documentation to the person who conducted

23 the response action indicating that the response is

24 complete.
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1 ‘‘(g) FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE FOR DEVELOPMENT

2 AND ENHANCEMENT OF STATE VOLUNTARY RESPONSE

3 PROGRAMS AND REPORTING REQUIREMENT.—

4 ‘‘(1) PUBLIC RECORD.—To assist the Adminis5 trator in determining the needs of States for assist6 ance under this section, the Administrator shall en7 courage the States to maintain a public record of fa8 cilities, by name and location, that have been or are

9 planned to be addressed under a State voluntary re10 sponse program.

11 ‘‘(2) REPORTING REQUIREMENT.—Each State

12 receiving financial assistance under this section shall

13 submit to the Administrator a report at the end of

14 each calendar year on the progress of its voluntary

15 response program, which shall include the following

16 information with respect to that calendar year:

17 ‘‘(A) The number of sites, if any, under18 going voluntary cleanup, with the number of

19 sites in each stage of such cleanup set forth

20 separately.

21 ‘‘(B) The number of sites, if any, entering

22 voluntary cleanup.

23 ‘‘(C) The number of sites, if any, that re24 ceived a certification from the State indicating

25 that a response action is complete.
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1 ‘‘(h) EPA REVIEW OF STATE PROGRAMS.—At any

2 time after the date of enactment of this section, a State

3 may submit, for review by the Administrator, documenta4 tion that the State considers appropriate to describe a

5 State voluntary response program, together with a certifi6 cation that the program is consistent with the elements

7 set forth in subsection (f), and, if such program is devel8 oped by administrative action, executive order, or regula9 tion, documentation of public comment and State response

10 to comment on the adequacy of the State voluntary re11 sponse program.

12 ‘‘(i) QUALIFICATION OF STATE PROGRAM.—

13 ‘‘(1) APPROVAL OR DISAPPROVAL.—(A) The

14 Administrator shall approve a State voluntary re15 sponse program submitted under subsection (h)

16 within 180 days after the Administrator receives

17 documentation and certification under subsection (h)

18 if the Administrator determines that the State’s sub19 mission is consistent with the elements set forth in

20 subsection (f). A program so approved by the Ad21 ministrator shall be considered a qualified program

22 under this section.

23 ‘‘(B) The Administrator shall publish in the

24 Federal Register the reasons for the approval or dis25 approval of any such program.
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1 ‘‘(C) If the Administrator needs additional in2 formation, the 180-day time period referred to in

3 subparagraph (A) shall be extended until 30 days

4 after the Administrator is satisfied that enough ad5 ditional information has been obtained in order to

6 make a determination.

7 ‘‘(2) WITHDRAWAL OF QUALIFICATION.—When8 ever the Administrator determines that a State is

9 not administering and enforcing a qualified program

10 in accordance with subsection (f), the Administrator

11 shall notify the State in writing of such determina12 tion. If appropriate corrective action is not taken by

13 the State within 120 days after receipt of the notice,

14 the Administrator shall propose within 60 days

15 thereafter to withdraw approval of the program and

16 publish a notice of such proposed withdrawal in the

17 Federal Register. The Administrator shall not with18 draw approval of any such program unless the Ad19 ministrator provides to the State in writing and pub20 lishes in the Federal Register the reasons for such

21 withdrawal. If the State subsequently completes the

22 necessary corrective measures as determined by the

23 Administrator, the Administrator shall reinstate the

24 program as a qualified program under this section.
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1 ‘‘(j) EFFECT OF RESPONSE.—Performance of a vol2 untary response action pursuant to this section shall not

3 constitute an admission of liability under any Federal,

4 State, or local law or regulation or in any citizens suit

5 or other private action.

6 ‘‘(k) COMPLIANCE WITH NCP.—Solely for the pur7 pose of private cost recovery and contribution claims

8 under this Act, response actions conducted pursuant to

9 a qualified program shall be presumed to be consistent

10 with the National Contingency Plan.

11 ‘‘(l) ANNUAL REPORTING.—

12 ‘‘(1) REPORTS BY STATE.—Each State with a

13 qualified program under this section shall submit to

14 the Administrator a report at the end of each cal15 endar year describing whether the program con16 tinues to be consistent with the elements set forth

17 in subsection (f).

18 ‘‘(2) REPORT BY ADMINISTRATOR.—The Ad19 ministrator shall report, not later than two years

20 after the enactment of this section, and annually

21 thereafter, to the Congress on the status of State

22 voluntary response programs. The report shall in23 clude an analysis of whether qualified State vol24 untary response programs continue to be consistent

25 with the elements set forth in subsection (f).
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1 ‘‘(m) EFFECT ON EXISTING STATE PROGRAMS.—

2 This section is not intended to impose any requirement

3 on any State voluntary response program, including a pro4 gram existing on or before the date of the enactment of

5 the Community Revitalization and Brownfield Cleanup

6 Act of 1999. A program shall not be considered to be a

7 qualified program under this section unless the program

8 is approved in accordance with this section.

9 ‘‘(n) EFFECT ON AGREEMENTS BETWEEN STATE

10 AND EPA.—This section is not intended to modify or oth11 erwise affect a memorandum of agreement, or a coopera12 tive agreement, under this Act between a State agency and

13 the Environmental Protection Agency in effect on or be14 fore the date of the enactment of the Community Revital15 ization and Brownfield Cleanup Act of 1999. Such an

16 agreement shall remain in effect, subject to the terms of

17 the agreement. This section is not intended to restrict or

18 limit the President’s discretionary authority to enter into

19 or modify an agreement with a State or other person relat20 ing to the President’s implementation of authorities under

21 this Act, nor to modify or otherwise affect an existing

22 agreement between the President and any person relating

23 to the President’s implementation of those authorities.

24 ‘‘(o) EFFECT ON OTHER LAWS.—Except as provided

25 in subsections (c) and (d), this section does not change,
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1 modify, or otherwise affect the liability of any person or

2 the obligations imposed or authorities provided under any

3 law or regulation, including this Act, the Solid Waste Dis4 posal Act, the Federal Water Pollution and Control Act,

5 the Toxic Substances Control Act, and title XIV of the

6 Public Health Service Act (the Safe Drinking Water Act).

7 ‘‘(p) RELATIONSHIP TO INNOCENT LANDOWNER AND

8 PROSPECTIVE PURCHASER.—(1) The successful comple9 tion of a response action at a facility pursuant to a re10 sponse action plan or other instrument approved under a

11 qualified program under this section shall be evidence to

12 be considered for purposes of section 107(o)(3)(B) and

13 section 101(39)(D).

14 ‘‘(2) Nothing in this section shall be construed to re15 quire any person to participate in a qualified voluntary

16 response program under this section or in any other vol17 untary response program in order to qualify as an inno18 cent landowner or bona fide prospective purchaser for pur19 poses of subsections (o) and (p) of section 107.’’.

Æ