I
107TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 2941
To facilitate the provision of assistance by the Department of Housing and
Urban Development for the cleanup and economic redevelopment of
brownfields.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
SEPTEMBER 21, 2001
Mr. GARY G. MILLER of California (for himself, Mrs. MALONEY of New York,
Mr. OXLEY, and Mrs. ROUKEMA) introduced the following bill; which was
referred to the Committee on Financial Services
A BILL
To facilitate the provision of assistance by the Department
of Housing and Urban Development for the cleanup and
economic redevelopment of brownfields.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Brownfields Redevelop-
ment Enhancement Act’’.
SEC. 2. BROWNFIELDS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT INITIA-
TIVE.
Title I of the Housing and Community Development
Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5301 et seq.) is amended by add-
ing at the end the following new section:
‘‘SEC. 123. BROWNFIELDS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT INI-
TIATIVE.
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may make grants
under this section, on a competitive basis as specified in
section 102 of the Department of Housing and Urban De-
velopment Reform Act of 1989 (42 U.S.C. 3545), only to
eligible public entities (as such term is defined in section
108(o) of this title) for projects and activities to assist
the environmental cleanup and economic development of
brownfield sites.
‘‘(b) APPLICATIONS.—Applications for assistance
under this section shall be in the form and in accordance
with procedures as shall be established by the Secretary.
‘‘(c) AVAILABILITY OF ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary
may not require, for eligibility for a grant under this sec-
tion, that such grant amounts be used only in connection
or conjunction with projects and activities assisted with
a loan guaranteed under section 108.
‘‘(d) SELECTION CRITERIA AND LEVERAGING.—The
Secretary shall establish criteria for awarding grants
under this section, which may include the extent to which
the applicant has obtained other Federal, State, local, or
private funds for the projects and activities to be assisted
with grant amounts and such other criteria as the Sec-
retary considers appropriate.
‘‘(e) BROWNFIELD SITE.—The Secretary shall, by
regulation, define the term ‘brownfield site’ for purposes
of this section. In establishing such definition, the Sec-
retary shall consult with other appropriate Federal agen-
cies to ensure that the efforts of the various Federal agen-
cies regarding environmental cleanup and economic devel-
opment of brownfield sites are complimentary, coordi-
nated, and not inconsistent.
‘‘(f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There
are authorized to be appropriated for grants under this
section such sums as may be necessary for each of fiscal
years 2002, 2003, and 2004.’’.
SEC. 
3. 
CDBG 
LOAN 
GUARANTEES 
FOR 
LOANS 
FOR
BROWNFIELDS 
REDEVELOPMENT 
ACTIVI-
TIES.
(a) INCREASE
IN
GUARANTEE
LIMIT.—Section
108(b) of the Housing and Community Development Act
of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5308(b)) is amended—
(1) by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ after ‘‘(b)’’; and
(2) by adding at the end the following new
paragraph:
‘‘(2) Notes and other obligations that are guaranteed
under this section after the date of the enactment of the
Brownfields Redevelopment Enhancement Act shall not
count for purposes of the issuer’s limitation under para-
graph (1) to the extent that such notes or obligations—
‘‘(A) are issued for the purpose of financing
projects, activities, and costs described in subsection
(a)(7); and
‘‘(B) do not exceed an amount equal to 5 times
the amount of the grant approval for the issuer pur-
suant to section 106 or 107.’’.
(b) CLARIFICATION OF BROWNFIELDS REDEVELOP-
MENT AS ELIGIBLE ACTIVITY.—The first sentence of sec-
tion 108(a) of the Housing and Community Development
Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5308(a)) is amended—
(1) by striking ‘‘or’’ before ‘‘(6)’’; and
(2) by inserting before the period at the end the
following: ‘‘; or (7) projects and activities, and costs
(as defined by the Secretary) thereof, to assist the
environmental cleanup and economic development of
brownfield sites (as such term is defined in section
123(e))’’.
SEC. 4. IMPLEMENTATION OF COMMUNITY EMPOWERMENT
FUND PILOT PROGRAM.
Section 108(q) of the Housing and Community De-
velopment Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5308(q)) is amended
by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
‘‘(5) COMMUNITY EMPOWERMENT FUND PILOT
PROGRAM.—
‘‘(A) IMPLEMENTATION.—The Secretary
shall implement the Community Empowerment
Fund Pilot program by reissuing the Notice of
Funding Availability (NOFA) for the Economic
Development Initiative (EDI) Community Em-
powerment Fund (CEF) Pilot, Department of
Housing and Urban Development, published in
the Federal Register of June 30, 2000 (Vol. 65,
No. 127, p. 40836). In reissuing such notice of
funding availability, the Secretary shall consider
revisions that will improve the utilization of the
CEF pilot program for brownfields redevelop-
ment purposes.
‘‘(B) FUNDING.—Any amounts made avail-
able for grants under this subsection shall be
available for carrying out the Community Em-
powerment Fund Pilot program referred in sub-
paragraph (A).’’.
SEC. 5. HUD BROWNFIELDS STUDY.
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Housing and
Urban Development shall conduct a study to review the
activities of the Federal Government relating to redevelop-
ment of brownfields. Under the study, the Secretary
shall—
(1) determine the extent and scope of the rede-
velopment problems in the United States caused by
the existence of brownfields;
(2) identify existing sources of support and as-
sistance for redevelopment of brownfields and ana-
lyze and evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of
existing sources of support;
(3) identify Federal and State technical assist-
ance for redevelopment of brownfields and any
shortages or gaps in such assistance;
(4) identify problems in the existing policies
and programs for redevelopment of brownfields that
suggest that new policies and programs would be
more effective or efficient in achieving such redevel-
opment;
(5) recommend new policies and programs to
redevelop brownfields in a more effective and effi-
cient manner; and
(6) identify the circumstances under which
former brownfields sites could safely and appro-