I
103D CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 4411
To establish national programs to provide for environmental response training
and employment.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MAY 12, 1994
Mr. KLINK (for himself, Mr. KILDEE, and Mr. CLAY) introduced the following
bill; which was referred jointly to the Committees on Energy and Com-
merce and Education and Labor
A BILL
To establish national programs to provide for environmental
response training and employment.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the
‘‘National Environmental Training and Employment Act
of 1994’’.
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents is
as follows:
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. Findings and purpose.
Sec. 3. Definitions.
Sec. 4. Authorization of appropriations.
TITLE I—NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL RESPONSE TRAINING
PROGRAM
Subtitle A—Certification, Training, and Accreditation Program
Sec. 101. Establishment.
Sec. 102. Certification of environmental response employers.
Sec. 103. Training of environmental response employees and emergency re-
sponders.
Sec. 104. Accreditation of environmental training providers.
Subtitle B—Health and Safety Program
Sec. 111. Establishment
Sec. 112. Program requirement.
TITLE II—NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL RESPONSE EMPLOYMENT
PROGRAM
Sec. 201. Employment of women and minorities.
Sec. 202. Training and employment of displaced DOD personnel.
Sec. 203. Grants to environmental training providers.
Sec. 204. Grants to joint labor-management training trust funds and labor or-
ganizations.
Sec. 205. Grants to nonprofit veterans organizations.
Sec. 206. Grants to nonprofit minority and womens organizations.
TITLE III—FEDERAL ENVIRONMENTAL COORDINATION
COMMITTEE AND RELATED PROVISIONS
Sec. 301. Federal environmental coordination committee.
Sec. 302. Related provisions.
TITLE IV—ADMINISTRATION AND ENFORCEMENT
Sec. 401. Administration.
Sec. 402. Enforcement.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.
(a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds the following:
(1) The Nation is confronted with significant
risks to the environment and public health resulting
from contamination due to hazardous substances
and toxic substances, including asbestos-containing
material and lead-based paint hazards.
(2) The environmental response to such sub-
stances is enormous and will involve the expenditure
of large amounts of both private and public re-
sources.
(3) To adequately address these environmental
problems will require cooperation and coordination
among Federal, State, and local governments, along
with business and labor.
(4) The Federal Government shares a large
part of the environmental burden with respect to
polluted military bases and installations, nuclear
weapons production facilities, public lands and or-
phan hazardous waste sites.
(5) The Federal agencies involved in environ-
mental response actions, as responsible parties and
regulatory authorities, include the Department of
Energy, Department of Defense, Department of the
Interior, Department of Health and Human Serv-
ices, Department of Housing and Urban Develop-
ment, Department of Labor, Department of Trans-
portation, the Federal Emergency Management
Agency, the Agency for Toxic Substance Disease
Registry, the National Institute for Occupational
Safety and Health, and the Environmental Protec-
tion Agency.
(6) Environmental response actions will require
an entirely new, large, and well-trained work force,
which, in turn, represents new employment opportu-
nities for the Nation.
(7) Environmental response actions will also re-
quire a pool of highly qualified environmental re-
sponse employers to undertake the clean-up effort.
(8) Through the expenditure of public funds
and through its regulatory responsibilities, the Fed-
eral Government will largely define this new and
emerging environmental response industry.
(9) Environmental response is highly dangerous
work which poses serious safety and health hazards
to the workers involved, the surrounding commu-
nities, and the environment as a whole.
(10) The responsibility for responding to envi-
ronmental emergencies resulting from hazardous
materials accidents has fallen almost exclusively on
local 
fire 
departments 
which 
are 
severely
understaffed and lack proper and adequate hazard-
ous materials training and equipment.
(11) As of November 1993 there has been little
coordination among the Federal agencies that carry
out environmental response actions.
(12) There is also a lack of government-wide
standards governing the training and safety and
health of environmental response employees, environ-
mental response employers, emergency responders,
and environmental training providers.
(13) As of November 1993 the responsible Fed-
eral agencies have paid scant attention to environ-
mental response issues.
(14) Past legislative actions on environmental
response issues have resulted in several discrete na-
tional response training program requirements, and
such requirements have been developed and imple-
mented independently with little coordination.
(b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this Act is to ensure
quality training, health and safety, and employment op-
portunities for environmental response employees, environ-
mental response employers, emergency responders, and
environmental training providers.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
For purposes of this Act, the following definitions
apply:
(1) ASBESTOS-CONTAINING
MATERIAL.—The
term ‘‘asbestos-containing material’’ has the mean-
ing provided that term by section 202(4) of the
Toxic Substances Control Act (15 U.S.C. 2642(4)).
(2) 
EMERGENCY
RESPONDER.—The 
term
‘‘emergency responder’’ means a person who works
in the field of environmental emergency response.
The term includes the following:
(A) Full-time career fire fighters or emer-
gency response personnel who are members of
a local or State agency or an organized depart-
ment with statutory responsibility for response
to hazardous materials incidents on demand
without regard to location.
(B) Part-time, seasonal, or reserve fire
fighters or emergency response personnel who
receive payment, including an annual stipend or
payment on a per call or per hour basis. For
purposes of this subparagraph, payment does
not include indirect compensation such as in-
surance or retirement benefits.
(C) Part-time, seasonal, or reserve fire
fighters or emergency personnel who do not re-
ceive payment other than indirect compensation
such as insurance or retirement benefits.
(D) Contract fire fighters, including full
time, paid fire fighters organized as an indus-
trial fire brigade and employed by a corporate
body, and maintenance engineering personnel
who, as a function of their employment, are ex-
pected to react or respond to a hazardous mate-
rial incident as an individual or a member of a
team rather than a government agency and
usually on a temporary basis.
(E) Employees of an employer engaged in
clean-up operations at uncontrolled waste sites,
sites covered by the Solid Waste Disposal Act,
and treatment, storage, or disposal facilities
who are intended to function as the on-site
emergency response personnel in accordance
with the employers emergency response plan.
(3) 
ENVIRONMENTAL
EMERGENCY
RE-
SPONSE.—The term ‘‘environmental emergency re-
sponse’’ means any action taken by an emergency
responder in response to a release of a substance or
material that poses an unreasonable risk to safety,
health, or property, or to waterways and the envi-
ronment.
(4) ENVIRONMENTAL
RESPONSE.—The term
‘‘environmental response’’ or ‘‘environmental re-
sponse action’’—
(A) with respect to a hazardous substance,
has the meaning provided the terms ‘‘respond’’
and ‘‘response’’ in section 101(25) of the Com-
prehensive Environmental Response, Compensa-
tion, and Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C.
9601(25));
(B) with respect to asbestos-containing
material, has the meaning provided the term
‘‘response action’’ by section 202(11) of the
Toxic Substances Control Act (15 U.S.C.
2642(11)); and
(C) with respect to a lead-based paint haz-
ard, has the meaning provided the term ‘‘abate-
ment’’ by section 401(1) of the Toxic Sub-
stances Control Act (15 U.S.C. 2681(1)).
(5) ENVIRONMENTAL RESPONSE EMPLOYEE.—
The term ‘‘environmental response employee’’ means
an individual who is employed by an environmental
response employer and who in the course of the indi-
vidual’s employment is directly engaged in carrying
out environmental response actions.
(6) ENVIRONMENTAL RESPONSE EMPLOYER.—
The term ‘‘environmental response employer’’ means
an individual or business entity who—
(A) is or may be carrying out environ-
mental response actions directly, under con-
tract, subcontract, or otherwise; and
(B) who uses one or more of its employees
in connection with such activity.
(7) ENVIRONMENTAL
TRAINING
PROVIDER.—
The term ‘‘environmental training provider’’ means
a person who provides or offers to provide training
for environmental response employers, environmental
response employees, and any other persons carrying
out environmental response actions.
(8) HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCE.—The term ‘‘haz-
ardous substance’’ has the meaning provided that
term by section 101(14) of the Comprehensive Envi-
ronmental Response, Compensation, and Liability
Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9601(15)).
(9) LEAD-BASED
PAINT
HAZARD.—The term
‘‘lead-based paint hazard’’ has the meaning provided
that term by section 401(10) of the Toxic Sub-
stances Control Act (15 U.S.C. 2681(10)).
(10) 
SECRETARY.—The 
term 
‘‘Secretary’’
means the Secretary of Labor.
SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
(a) AUTHORIZATION.—
(1) TITLES I, III, AND IV.—There are author-
ized to be appropriated to carry out titles I, III, and
IV not less than $25,000,000 for each of the fiscal
years 1995 through 2000.
(2) TITLE II.—There are authorized to be ap-
propriated to carry out title II not less than
$30,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 1995
through 2000.
(b) OTHER FUNDS.—Notwithstanding any other pro-
vision of law, amounts appropriated to carry out pro-
grams, projects, or activities which are administered by
the following Federal departments and agencies may be
used to carry out this Act:
(1) The Department of Defense.
(2) The Department of Energy.
(3) The Department of Housing and Urban De-
velopment.
(4) The Department of the Interior.
(5) The Department of Labor.
(6) The Environmental Protection Agency.
(7) The Department of Health and Human
Services.
(c) AVAILABILITY.—Amounts appropriated pursuant
to the authorization of appropriations under subsection
(a), and amounts described under subsection (b) that are
used to carry out this Act, are authorized to remain avail-
able until expended.
TITLE 
I—NATIONAL 
ENVIRON-
MENTAL 
RESPONSE 
TRAIN-
ING PROGRAM
Subtitle A—Certification, Training,
and Accreditation Program
SEC. 101. ESTABLISHMENT.
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish a
National Environmental Response Training Program for
the purpose of—
(1) ensuring that environmental response em-
ployers are certified to carry out environmental re-
sponse actions in accordance with section 102;
(2) ensuring that environmental response em-
ployees and emergency responders are trained by en-
vironmental training providers to carry out environ-
mental response actions and environmental emer-
gency response actions, respectively, in accordance
with section 103; and
(3) ensuring that environmental training pro-
viders are accredited to provide such training in ac-
cordance with section 104.
(b) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 1 year after the
date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary, in consulta-
tion with the Administrator of the Environmental Protec-
tion Agency and the Secretary of Health and Human
Services (acting through the Director of the National In-
stitute for Occupational Safety and Health), shall promul-
gate final regulations to carry out subsection (a).
SEC. 102. CERTIFICATION OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESPONSE
EMPLOYERS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish a
National Certification Program within the Department of
Labor for the purpose of certifying environmental re-
sponse employers to carry out environmental response ac-
tions.
(b) CONDUCT OF PROGRAM.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out the program
established under subsection (a), the Secretary shall
promulgate procedures for certifying environmental
response employers. In the event a cooperative
agreement exists with a State, the Secretary may
provide that certification and licensing of such pro-
viders may be undertaken by the State provided that
the requirements for certification are no less strin-
gent than those promulgated by the Secretary.
(2) REVOCATION OF CERTIFICATION.—The Sec-
retary shall promulgate procedures for the revoca-
tion or suspension certification of environmental
response employers. Such procedures shall include
provision for worker and citizen complaints.
SEC. 103. TRAINING OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESPONSE EM-
PLOYEES AND EMERGENCY RESPONDERS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish spe-
cific programs to provide for the training of environmental
response employees and emergency responders to carry
out environmental response actions and environmental
emergency response actions, respectively. Such training
shall include the following:
(1) Hazardous waste site worker as defined by
29 CFR 1910.120(e) pursuant to Title I of the
Superfund Amendment and Reauthorization Act of
1986. Such program shall be a minimum of 40
hours which shall include a minimum of 18 hours
hands-on training. The Secretary shall, in addition,
consider the degree and range of risks encountered
by different trades or categories of environmental re-
sponse employees and shall be authorized to estab-
lish additional training requirements for such trades
or categories not to exceed 80 hours including up to
30 hours of hands-on training.
(2) Hazardous waste site worker on-site train-
ing as defined by 29 CFR 1910.120(e)13. Such pro-
gram shall be a minimum of 36 hours of which 8
hours shall be supervised field training at the spe-
cific site.
will not be considered appropriate training for
fire fighters under this Act.
(B) Technician level: 80 hours additional
beyond Operations level.
(C) Specialists level: 100 hours beyond
technician level.
(D) Incident Commander: 16 hours beyond
technician level.
(E) Annual refresher: 8 hours in all cat-
egories.
(F) Site-specific: 24 hours site specific
training including site survey for each hazard-
ous waste site for which emergency response is
planned and specific training required by the
unique nature of the potential exposures.
(7) On-site emergency response personnel, as
described in section 3(2)(E), shall have additional
training specific to emergency response beyond that
required by paragraphs (1) through (5) for their
normal work assignment. Such training shall include
at least the minimum requirements specified in sub-
paragraphs (A), and (E), of paragraph (6).
(8) DOE environmental restoration workers
shall be trained to the levels specified in (1) through
(4) of this subsection plus an additional 40 hours.
(9) Contractor or other business entity which is
the employer of those engaged in activities covered
by this Act shall have a minimum of 8 hours train-
ing which shall include the requirements of this Act,
the applicable Occupational Safety and Health Ad-
ministration, Environmental Protection Agency, and
State regulations applicable to the activity covered
by this Act in which the contractor intends to en-
gage. The individual within the contractor or busi-
ness entity required to be trained shall be the most
senior individual in the organization who bears di-
rect responsibility for the activity and shall at a min-
imum be senior to the most senior management per-
son in the organization actually working on the ac-
tivity in the field.
(10) Such other additional training programs as
may be appropriate to the purposes of this Act.
(b) CERTIFICATION.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall promul-
gate regulations for the certification of environ-
mental response employees and emergency respond-
ers. Such regulations shall be implemented by the
Secretary, or by the appropriate State agency by
agreement, provided the certification requirements
are no less stringent than those specified by the Sec-
retary. The provisions for certification shall be based
on the specific training requirements set forth in
subsection (a). Training of workers for purpose of
certification shall be undertaken only by accredited
training providers as specified in this Act.
(2) TIME
PERIOD
AND
OTHER
REQUIRE-
MENTS.—Certifications shall be for a period of two
years. Biannual refresher training shall be required
for renewal of certifications. The Secretary shall
specify the minimum number of hours required for
such refresher training.
SEC. 104. ACCREDITATION OF ENVIRONMENTAL TRAINING
PROVIDERS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish spe-
cific requirements to provide for the accreditation of envi-
ronmental training providers to provide training to envi-
ronmental response employees and emergency responders
to carry out environmental response actions and environ-
mental emergency response actions, respectively. Such re-
quirements shall include the following:
(1) Minimum requirements for the accreditation
of such providers.
(2) Minimum training curriculum requirements
for each of the training programs described in sec-
tion 103.
(3) Minimum training hours for each such
training program.
(4) Minimum hands-on training requirements
for each such training program.
(5) Minimum trainee competency and pro-
ficiency requirements for each such training pro-
gram.
(6) Minimum requirements for training pro-
gram quality control.
(7) Requirements for periodic re-accreditation
of environmental training providers.
(8) Requirements for the issuance of certifi-
cations to trainees successfully completing a course
of instruction.
(9) Requirements for the periodic review of ac-
credited environmental training providers and for
revocation of accreditation.
(10) Requirements for minimum skill and expe-
rience levels as a prerequisite for each requirement
under this subsection.
(11) The environmental training provider shall
establish and maintain a jobs placement component
in the training program to ensure that individuals
successfully completing the program are employed in
work appropriate to the training received.
(b) ACCREDITATION OF TRAINING PROVIDERS.—The
Secretary shall promulgate procedures for accreditation of
environmental training providers. Such procedures shall
require the provider to meet the requirements under sub-
section (a). In the event a cooperative agreement exists
with a State, the Secretary may provide that accreditation
of such providers may be undertaken by the State provided
that the requirements for accreditation and licensing are
no less stringent than those promulgated by the Secretary.
(c) REVOCATION
OF ACCREDITATION.—The Sec-
retary shall promulgate procedures for the revocation or
suspension of accreditation of environmental training pro-
viders. Such procedures shall include provision for worker
and citizen complaints.
Subtitle B—Health and Safety
Program
SEC. 111. ESTABLISHMENT.
The Secretary shall establish a dedicated national
safety and health program covering those environmental
response employees and emergency responders engaged in
activities under this Act. Such program shall be developed
and implemented in consultation with the Secretary of
Health and Human Services (acting through the Director
of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and
Health) and may, at the Secretary’s discretion, be imple-
mented and managed by such Institute.
SEC. 112. PROGRAM REQUIREMENT.
Such program shall include the following:
(1) The required use of a minimum standard
medical examination protocol which shall be required
of all those successfully completing any training pro-
gram required by this Act including annual medical
or emergency medical examinations thereafter while
any such individual is engaged in work covered by
this Act. Medical surveillance protocols for emer-
gency responders covered by this Act shall at a mini-
mum meet the medical surveillance requirements of
National Fire Protection Association Standard 1500.
(2) A medical surveillance program to include
all those successfully completing any training pro-
gram required by this Act.
(3) A dedicated national injury/illness/fatality
surveillance system covering all activities covered by
this Act.
(4) An annual report to Congress on the Pro-
gram required by this paragraph.
TITLE II—NATIONAL ENVIRON-
MENTAL RESPONSE EMPLOY-
MENT PROGRAM
SEC. 201. EMPLOYMENT OF WOMEN AND MINORITIES.
The Secretary shall establish a program for the pur-
pose of ensuring the employment of minorities and women
in those activities covered by this Act.
SEC. 202. TRAINING AND EMPLOYMENT OF DISPLACED DOD
PERSONNEL.
The Secretary shall, in cooperation with the Secretary
of Defense, establish a program directed toward ensuring
the availability of training and employment in those activi-
ties covered by this Act of military personnel displaced by
Department of Defense department budget cuts and re-
structuring.
SEC. 203. GRANTS TO ENVIRONMENTAL TRAINING PROVID-
ERS.
The Secretary shall provide grants to public agencies
and nonprofit employee organizations qualifying as ac-
credited environmental training providers for the purpose
of training emergency responder workers under this Act
in environmental emergency response.
(7) The Secretary of Transportation.
(8) The Secretary of Health and Human Serv-
ices.
(d) CHAIRPERSON.—The Secretary of Labor shall
serve as the chairperson of the Committee.
(e) SUPPORT SERVICES.—The Secretary of Labor
shall provide support services for the Committee.
SEC. 302. RELATED PROVISIONS.
(a) ENFORCEMENT THROUGH CONTRACTING AU-
THORITY.—The Secretary, acting through the Committee,
shall promulgate regulations implementing the provisions
of this Act to be included in the contracting procedures
of the United States. The Federal Acquisition Regulations
as well as other regulations applicable to Federal agencies
shall contain provisions for the implementation and en-
forcement of the requirements of this Act.
(b) COOPERATION WITH STATES.—The Secretary
may enter into cooperative agreements with States for the
purpose of carrying out the provisions of this Act with re-
spect to any State that has been approved by the Sec-
retary, or the Administrator of Environmental Protection
Agency to provide for the registration of hazardous waste,
lead and asbestos abatement training providers. In the
event of such agreement, the provisions of the State law
applicable to the compliance and enforcement of the train-
ing provisions shall be applicable.
(c) ACCREDITATION AND CERTIFICATION/LICENSURE
FEES.—The Secretary (or the State in the case of an au-
thorized State program) shall impose a fee on persons op-
erating training programs accredited under this Act and
contractors or business entities certified or licensed under
provisions of this Act. The fees shall be established at a
level to cover the costs associated with the administration
and enforcement of regulations under this section which
are applicable to such programs and contractors. Fees
shall not be imposed on any State, local government, or
nonprofit training program.
(d) ENVIRONMENTAL WORK FORCE RESEARCH AND
STUDIES.—The Secretary, in cooperation with the Com-
mittee shall undertake a program of research and studies
relating to the long-term environmental work force re-
quirements as well as the training needs to assure safety
and health of workers in connection with new technologies
and methodologies.
TITLE IV—ADMINISTRATION
AND ENFORCEMENT
SEC. 401. ADMINISTRATION.
The Secretary shall promulgate regulations to carry
out the provisions of this Act, including provisions for the
filing of reports by employers, the collection of data rel-
evant to the enforcement of this Act, and procedures for
enforcement.
SEC. 402. ENFORCEMENT.
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may seek judicial
relief against any employer who fails to comply with the
provision of this Act, including the seeking of an injunctive
relief to require compliance with the training provisions
of this Act. For purposes of enforcement and injunctive
relief, the provisions of section 17 of the Fair Labor
Standards Act of 1938 shall apply.
(b) CIVIL MONEY PENALTIES.—The Secretary may
also seek civil money penalties for the failure to comply
with the Act. The provisions of section 16(e) of the Fair
Labor Standards Act of 1938 and the regulations promul-
gated thereto shall be followed with respect to the proce-
dures for assessing civil money penalties and the adminis-
trative proceedings to be followed.
Æ
HR 4411 IH——2