I 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5310 

To amend the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and 

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

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 13, 2010 

Mr. PALLONE (for himself and Mr. SESTAK) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in 

addition to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, for a 

period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for 

consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

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

improve the Brownfields revitalization program, and for 

other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Brownfields Reauthor5 ization Act of 2010’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. CLARIFICATION OF STATE OR LOCAL GOVERNMENT 

2 OWNERSHIP. 

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

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

6 ‘‘involuntarily’’ after ‘‘acquired ownership or control’’. 

7 SEC. 3. NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION ELIGIBILITY. 

8 (a) DEFINITION OF ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—Section 

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

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

11 9604(k)(1)) is amended— 

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

13 or’’ and inserting ‘‘Alaska;’’; 

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

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

16 and 

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

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

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

22 Code of 1986 and exempt from taxation 

23 under section 501(a) of such Code; 

24 ‘‘(ii) a limited liability corporation in 

25 which all managing members or all memVerDate Mar 15 2010 01:10 May 14, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5310.IH H5310

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1 bers are organizations described under 

2 clause (i); 

3 ‘‘(iii) a limited partnership in which 

4 all general partners are— 

5 ‘‘(I) organizations described 

6 under clause (i); 

7 ‘‘(II) limited liability corporations 

8 whose members are all organizations 

9 described under clause (i); or 

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

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

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

15 1986.’’. 

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

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

19 amended— 

20 (1) in paragraph (3)— 

21 (A) in subparagraph (A)(ii)— 

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

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

25 (B) in subparagraph (B)(ii)— 


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

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

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

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

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

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

12 3(b), is further amended— 

13 (1) in clause (ii)— 

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

15 ‘‘$750,000’’; and 

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

17 period of fiscal years 2011 through 2016, the 

18 President may, on not more than 2 occasions, 

19 waive such $750,000 limitation to permit the 

20 entity to receive a grant in an amount not to 

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

22 based on special circumstances, as determined 

23 by the President.’’ after ‘‘site to be remedi24 ated’’; and 

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


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1 ‘‘The President may transfer any duties under this sub2 paragraph to the Administrator.’’. 

3 SEC. 5. INDIRECT COSTS. 

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

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

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

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

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

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

13 ‘‘(ii) ACCEPTABLE USE OF FUNDS.— 

14 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—In addition 

15 to other acceptable purposes described 

16 in this subsection, a grant or loan 

17 under this subsection may be used for 

18 payment for the costs of— 

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

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

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


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1 ‘‘(II) INDIRECT COSTS.—Not 

2 more than 10 percent of a grant or 

3 loan under this subsection may be 

4 used for the payment of indirect 

5 costs.’’. 

6 SEC. 6. ELIGIBILITY FOR FUNDING FOR BROWNFIELD 

7 SITES ACQUIRED PRIOR TO JANUARY 11, 2002. 

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

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

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

12 clause (iii) and inserting the following: 

13 ‘‘(iii) EXCEPTIONS.—Notwithstanding 

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

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

17 ‘‘(I) To make a grant under 

18 paragraph (2) to an eligible entity 

19 that acquired a brownfield site to be 

20 covered by the grant on or before 

21 January 11, 2002. 

22 ‘‘(II) To make a grant under 

23 paragraph (3) to an eligible entity if 

24 such eligible entity, except as other25 wise provided in this subclause, satisVerDate Mar 15 2010 01:10 May 14, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5310.IH H5310

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1 fies all of the elements set forth in 

2 section 101(40) to qualify as a bona 

3 fide prospective purchaser, except that 

4 the date of acquisition of the 

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

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

9 section 101(40) based on mitigating 

10 circumstances, including any of the 

11 following: 

12 ‘‘(aa) The brownfield site 

13 was acquired prior to May 31, 

14 1997, and compliance with all 

15 appropriate inquiry (as required 

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

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

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

22 failed to exercise appropriate care 

23 (as required under section 

24 101(40)(D)) with respect to con25 tamination found at the site. 


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1 ‘‘(cc) The eligible entity held 

2 a public hearing with respect to 

3 the grant application and no sub4 stantive testimony was offered 

5 that indicates that the eligible 

6 entity caused, exacerbated, or 

7 failed to exercise appropriate care 

8 (as required under section 

9 101(40)(D)) with respect to con10 tamination found at the site. 

11 ‘‘(dd) There are other cir12 cumstances that make compli13 ance with the elements set forth 

14 in section 101(40) impractical 

15 and not in the public interest. 

16 ‘‘(III) To make a grant or loan 

17 under this subsection to an eligible 

18 entity if such entity— 

19 ‘‘(aa) acquired ownership of 

20 the brownfield site at least 30 

21 years prior to the date of the 

22 grant or loan, but not later than 

23 May 31, 1997; 


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1 ‘‘(bb) did not cause or con2 tribute to the contamination on 

3 the brownfield site; and 

4 ‘‘(cc) can reasonably indi5 cate why such entity cannot com6 ply with the elements set forth in 

7 section 101(40) to qualify as a 

8 bona fide prospective pur9 chaser.’’. 

10 SEC. 7. MULTI-PURPOSE BROWNFIELD GRANTS. 

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

12 104(k) of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, 

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

14 9604(k)), is amended— 

15 (1) by redesignating paragraph (12) as para16 graph (15); 

17 (2) by redesignating paragraphs (4) through 

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

19 respectively; and 

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

21 new paragraph: 

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

23 ‘‘(A) ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM.— 

24 Subject to paragraphs (5) and (6), the Admin25 istrator shall establish a program to provide 


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1 multi-purpose grants to eligible entities, where 

2 warranted, as determined by the Administrator 

3 based on considerations under paragraph 

4 (3)(C), to be used to inventory, characterize, as5 sess, conduct planning related to, or remediate 

6 (or any combination thereof), one or more 

7 brownfield sites in an area, in amounts not to 

8 exceed $1,500,000 per grant. 

9 ‘‘(B) ADDITIONAL CONSIDERATIONS.—In 

10 addition to the considerations under paragraph 

11 (3)(C), in determining whether a multi-purpose 

12 grant is warranted under the program under 

13 subparagraph (A), the Administrator shall con14 sider the extent to which the eligible entity 

15 demonstrates— 

16 ‘‘(i) an overall plan for revitalization 

17 of brownfield sites in the area in which the 

18 multi-purpose grant will be used; 

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

20 of eligible activities that will be funded by 

21 the multi-purpose grant; and 

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

23 appropriate for meeting the needs of the 

24 area in which the grant will be used. 


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1 ‘‘(C) GRANT FUNDS.—Grants provided 

2 under the program established under subpara3 graph (A) shall be expended not later than 3 

4 years after the award of grant funding to the 

5 eligible entity, unless the Administrator deter6 mines that an extension of not more than 2 

7 years is justified. 

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

9 under this paragraph may not use amounts 

10 from such grant on remediation of a brownfield 

11 site until such recipient owns such site. 

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

13 this paragraph shall limit any other authority of 

14 the President or the Administrator under this 

15 subsection.’’. 

16 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

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

18 Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liabil19 ity Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9604(k)(3)(A)), as 

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

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

22 paragraphs (5) and (6)’’. 

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

24 Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liabil25 ity Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9604(k)(3)(C)) is 


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

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

3 SEC. 8. PROGRAM FOR SUSTAINABLE REUSE AND ALTER4 NATIVE ENERGY ON BROWNFIELD SITES. 

5 Section 104(k) of the Comprehensive Environmental 

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

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

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

9 following new paragraph: 

10 ‘‘(13) PROGRAM FOR SUSTAINABLE REUSE AND

11 ALTERNATIVE ENERGY ON BROWNFIELD SITES.— 

12 ‘‘(A) ESTABLISHMENT AND USE OF

13 FUNDS.—The Administrator shall establish a 

14 program to make grants, on a competitive 

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

16 more brownfield sites for projects that reduce 

17 environmental impact, increase community liv18 ability, and encourage sustainability, includ19 ing— 

20 ‘‘(i) sustainable reuse planning and 

21 site analysis, including— 

22 ‘‘(I) site characterization and as23 sessment; 

24 ‘‘(II) area and corridor sustain25 ability plans; and 


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1 ‘‘(III) engineering or feasibility 

2 analysis of environmentally beneficial 

3 site improvements; 

4 ‘‘(ii) remediation; 

5 ‘‘(iii) ecosystem restoration; and 

6 ‘‘(iv) habitat restoration. 

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

8 the criteria under paragraph (6), in selecting 

9 grant recipients under this paragraph, the Ad10 ministrator shall take into consideration the ex11 tent to which a grant will facilitate future use 

12 of a brownfield site in an environmentally bene13 ficial and sustainable manner, including the po14 tential for renewable energy production and 

15 green infrastructure, including greenways and 

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

17 and transit-oriented development in smart 

18 growth locations.’’. 

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

20 COMMUNITIES. 

21 Section 104(k) of the Comprehensive Environmental 

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

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

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


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

2 RURAL COMMUNITIES.—The Administrator, upon 

3 approval of an application made by an eligible entity 

4 serving a community that has a small population, is 

5 disadvantaged, or is in a rural location, and in ac6 cordance with the applicable provisions of sub7 chapter VI of chapter 33 of title 5, United States 

8 Code, may assign employees of the Environmental 

9 Protection Agency to such eligible entity to build 

10 local capacity for the remediation and revitalization 

11 of brownfield sites located in such communities. The 

12 Administrator shall determine, consistent with exist13 ing law and regulation in effect as of the date of en14 actment of this paragraph, what qualifies as a com15 munity that has a small population, is disadvan16 taged, or is in a rural location for purposes of this 

17 paragraph, provided that such definitions include 

18 rural municipalities, municipalities with populations 

19 of up to 20,000, and municipalities in which the median household income is at or less than 2 20 ⁄3 of the 

21 State average.’’. 

22 SEC. 10. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

23 (a) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Sub24 paragraph (A) of paragraph (15) (as redesignated by sec25 tion 7(a)(1) of this Act) of section 104(k) of the ComVerDate Mar 15 2010 01:10 May 14, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00014 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5310.IH H5310

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1 prehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and 

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

3 read as follows: 

4 ‘‘(A) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIA5 TIONS.—There are authorized to be appro6 priated to carry out this subsection— 

7 ‘‘(i) $350,000,000 for fiscal year 

8 2011; 

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

10 2012; 

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

12 2013; 

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

14 2014; 

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

16 2015; and 

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

18 2016.’’. 

19 (b) PETROLEUM SET ASIDE.—Paragraph (15) of sec20 tion 104(k) of the Comprehensive Environmental Re21 sponse, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (42 

22 U.S.C. 9604(k)), as redesignated by section 7(a)(1) of this 

23 Act and as amended by subsection (a) of this section, is 

24 further amended, in subparagraph (B), by inserting ‘‘at 

25 least’’ before ‘‘25 percent’’. 


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1 (c) SET ASIDE FOR SUSTAINABLE REUSE.—Para2 graph (15) of section 104(k) of the Comprehensive Envi3 ronmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 

4 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9604(k)), as redesignated by section 

5 7(a)(1) of this Act and as amended by subsections (a) and 

6 (b) of this section, is further amended by adding after sub7 paragraph (B) the following new subparagraph: 

8 ‘‘(C) SET ASIDE FOR PROGRAM FOR SUS9 TAINABLE REUSE AND ALTERNATIVE ENERGY

10 ON BROWNFIELD SITES.—Of amounts made 

11 available each fiscal year pursuant to subpara12 graph (A), at least 7.5 percent of such amounts 

13 shall be used to carry out the program under 

14 paragraph (13).’’. 

15 SEC. 11. STATE RESPONSE PROGRAMS. 

16 Section 128(a)(3) of the Comprehensive Environ17 mental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 

18 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9628(a)(3)) is amended to read as fol19 lows: 

20 ‘‘(3) FUNDING.—There are authorized to be ap21 propriated to carry out this subsection $70,000,000 

22 for fiscal year 2011, $80,000,000 for fiscal year 

23 2012, $90,000,000 for fiscal year 2013, 

24 $100,000,000 for fiscal year 2014, $110,000,000 for 


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1 fiscal year 2015, and $120,000,000 for fiscal year 

2 2016 and each fiscal year thereafter.’’. 

Æ 


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