I
103D CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 3043
To provide for the voluntary environmental cleanup of existing industrial
sites; to further define the cleanup liability of new industries, financial
institutions and tenants; to provide for the voluntary cleanup of industrial
sites by responsible owners; to define cleanup liabilities on abandoned
industrial sites; to establish the Cleanup Loan Fund and the Industrial
Land Recycling Fund to aid industrial site cleanups; and to provide
for the registration of environmental consulting professionals.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
SEPTEMBER 9, 1993
Mr. RIDGE introduced the following bill; which was referred jointly to the
Committees on Energy and Commerce and Public Works and Transportation
A BILL
To provide for the voluntary environmental cleanup of exist-
ing industrial sites; to further define the cleanup liability
of new industries, financial institutions and tenants; to
provide for the voluntary cleanup of industrial sites by
responsible owners; to define cleanup liabilities on aban-
doned industrial sites; to establish the Cleanup Loan
Fund and the Industrial Land Recycling Fund to aid
industrial site cleanups; and to provide for the registra-
tion of environmental consulting professionals.
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 ‘‘Industrial and Com-
mercial Land Recycling Act’’.
SEC. 2. TABLE OF CONTENTS.
The table of contents for this Act is as follows:
Sec. 1. Short title.
Sec. 2. Table of contents.
TITLE I—GENERAL PROVISIONS
Sec. 101. Findings.
Sec. 102. Definitions.
Sec. 103. Implementation and regulations.
Sec. 104. Liability of persons conducting environmental assessments.
Sec. 105. Applicability.
TITLE II—INNOCENT LANDOWNER AND RESPONSIBLE OWNER
CLEANUPS
Sec. 201. Applicability.
Sec. 202. Cleanup plans.
Sec. 203. Protection from liability.
Sec. 204. Cleanup guarantee.
Sec. 205. Voluntary Cleanup Loan Program.
Sec. 206. Penalty.
TITLE III—ABANDONED INDUSTRIAL LAND REDEVELOPMENT
Sec. 301. Applicability.
Sec. 302. Environmental assessment.
Sec. 303. Cleanup liability.
Sec. 304. Owner responsibilities.
Sec. 305. Transferability.
Sec. 306. Third parties.
Sec. 307. Funding.
TITLE IV—NO ACTION DETERMINATIONS
Sec. 401. No action determinations.
Sec. 402. Review deadline.
Sec. 403. Applicability.
Sec. 404. Exclusions and conditions.
Sec. 405. Transferability.
Sec. 406. Third parties.
TITLE V—REGISTRATION OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROFESSIONALS
Sec. 501. Registration.
Sec. 502. Qualifications.
Sec. 503. Withholding registration.
Sec. 504. Registration fee.
TITLE VI—MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS
Sec. 601. Industrial Land Recycling Fund.
Sec. 602. Enforcement.
Sec. 603. Delegation to States.
Sec. 604. Authority reserved.
Sec. 605. Construction.
Sec. 606. Effective date.
TITLE I—GENERAL PROVISIONS
SEC. 101. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds the following:
(1) The reuse and redevelopment of existing in-
dustrial and commercial land should be encouraged
as a sound land use management policy to prevent
the needless development of prime farmland, open
space, and natural and recreation areas, and to pre-
vent the expansion of urban sprawl.
(2) Hundreds of unused industrial sites should
be returned to being useful, tax producing properties
to protect existing employment opportunities and to
provide new opportunities.
(3) Persons interested in redeveloping existing
industrial sites must have a method of determining
with certainty what their legal liabilities and cleanup
responsibilities will be when they plan the reuse of
existing sites. Financial institutions which invest in
the reuse of existing sites and the subsequent owners
or lease holders must also be given this same degree
of certainty.
(4) Incentives should be put in place to encour-
age companies to voluntarily develop and implement
cleanup plans without the need for adversarial en-
forcement actions by the Environmental Protection
Agency, which frequently only serve to delay clean-
ups and increase their cost.
(5) Cleanup responsibilities should be based on
the actual risk that contamination on the site may
pose to public health and the environment taking
into account its future use, and on the degree to
which contamination can spread off-site and expose
the public or the environment to risk, not on cleanup
policies based solely on the need to return every site
in the Nation to a pristine condition.
SEC. 102. DEFINITIONS.
For purposes of this Act, the following definitions
apply:
(1) The term ‘‘Administrator’’ means the Ad-
ministrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.
(2) The term ‘‘CERCLA’’ means the Com-
prehensive Environmental Response, Compensation,
and Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9601 et seq.).
(3) The term ‘‘EPA’’ means the Environmental
Protection Agency.
(4) 
The 
term 
‘‘Hazardous 
Substance
Superfund’’ means the fund established by section
9507 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.
(5) The term ‘‘hazardous substance’’ has the
meaning provided that term by section 101(14) of
CERCLA.
(6) The term ‘‘industrial activity’’ means com-
mercial, manufacturing, or any other activity done to
further either the development, manufacturing, or
distribution of goods and services, including adminis-
tration, research and development, warehousing,
shipping, transport, remanufacturing, and repair
and maintenance of commercial machinery and
equipment.
(7) The term ‘‘person’’ means an individual,
firm, corporation, association, partnership, consor-
tium, joint venture, commercial entity, authority,
nonprofit corporation, interstate body or other legal
entity which is recognized by law as the subject of
rights and duties. The term includes the United
States Government, a State, and a political subdivi-
sion of a State.
(8) The term ‘‘remediate’’ means cleanup, miti-
gate, correct, abate, minimize, eliminate, prevent,
study, or assess a release of a regulated substance
into the environment in order to protect the present
or future public health, safety, welfare, or the envi-
ronment.
SEC. 103. IMPLEMENTATION AND REGULATIONS.
The Environmental Protection Agency shall imple-
ment this Act and may promulgate any regulations needed
to do so. Any regulations needed to implement this Act
shall be proposed by the Environmental Protection Agency
no later than 6 months after the date of the enactment
of this Act and shall be promulgated no later than 18
months after such date.
SEC. 104. LIABILITY OF PERSONS CONDUCTING ENVIRON-
MENTAL ASSESSMENTS.
A person shall not be considered a person responsible
for a release or a threatened release of a hazardous sub-
stance simply by virtue of conducting an environmental
assessment on a property. Nothing in this section relieves
a person of any liability for failure to exercise due dili-
gence in performing an environmental assessment.
SEC. 105. APPLICABILITY.
This Act does not apply to properties listed or pro-
posed on the National Priorities List established under
CERCLA.
TITLE 
II—INNOCENT 
LAND-
OWNER 
AND 
RESPONSIBLE
OWNER CLEANUPS
SEC. 201. APPLICABILITY.
(a) IN GENERAL.—This title applies to a person who
is an innocent landowner or a responsible owner.
(b) INNOCENT LANDOWNER.—For purposes of this
title, an innocent landowner is a person—
(1) who either intends to own, as expressed as
an option to buy or other formal agreement, or who
owns, a parcel of real property on which industrial
activities take place;
(2) who did not, by act or omission, cause or
contribute to any contamination or to the release or
threatened release of a hazardous substance on the
real property; and
(3) who intends to reuse or redevelop the prop-
erty to retain or expand employment or who is using
the property to retain or expand employment.
(c) RESPONSIBLE OWNER.—For purposes of this
title, a responsible owner is a person—
(1) who owns a parcel of real property on which
industrial activities take place; and
(2) who intends to reuse or redevelop the prop-
erty to retain or expand employment or who is using
the property to retain or expand employment.
SEC. 202. CLEANUP PLANS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—A person to which this title ap-
plies may submit a cleanup plan with respect to a parcel
of real property to the Environmental Protection Agency
for review and approval. The Administrator shall review
the plan and make a decision on whether the plan meets
the requirements of this section within no more than 90
days after receipt of the plan.
(b) CONTENTS OF PLAN.—A cleanup plan shall in-
clude the following with respect to the real property con-
cerned:
(1) An environmental assessment of the prop-
erty which describes the contamination, if any, on
the property and the significant actual risk it poses
to public health and the environment.
(2) Proposals to remediate any contamination
or condition causing a release or threatened release
which poses an immediate, direct, or imminent ac-
tual risk to public health and the environment, con-
sidering the present or future use of the property.
(3) Descriptions of measures needed to remove
significant actual risks to public health and the envi-
ronment considering the future use of the property,
and a timetable for implementing the measures and
for monitoring the measures after they have been
completed. The plan is not required to provide for
the removal or remediation of the conditions or con-
taminants causing a release or threatened release on
the identified property if the Environmental Protec-
tion Agency determines that—
(i) activities required to undertake the pro-
posed reuse or redevelopment of the property
are proposed to be conducted in a manner
which will protect public health and the envi-
ronment;
(ii) any reuse or redevelopment of the
property will not aggravate or contribute to
contamination of the air, land, or water or to
a release or threatened release; and
(iii) the owner of the property agrees to co-
operate with the Environmental Protection
Agency or other persons acting at the direction
of the Environmental Protection Agency in tak-
ing response actions which may be necessary to
address any contamination, condition, or re-
leases or threatened releases not identified in
the Voluntary Cleanup Plan or required to be
removed or remediated at a later date.
(4) Descriptions of any proposed deed restric-
tions on the present or future use of the property
designed to prevent contamination or protect the in-
tegrity of cleanup measures installed on the site.
(c) RISK ASSESSMENT.—Remediation proposals in-
cluded in a cleanup plan pursuant to subsection (b)(2) for
a property shall be based on the actual risk to human
health and the environment posed by contaminants on the
property, considering the following factors:
(1) The intended and allowable use or subse-
quent uses of the property.
(2) The ability of the contaminants to move in
a form and manner which would result in exposure
to humans and the surrounding environment at lev-
els considered to be a significant health risk.
(3) The potential risk to human health and the
environment of containing and isolating contami-
nants in a manner which prevents harmful exposure
to employees on the property, to the public, and to
the environment.
(4) The potential environmental risks of pro-
posed cleanup alternatives and their economic and
technical feasibility and reliability.
(d) PUBLIC REVIEW.—A proposed cleanup plan shall
be subject to a 30-day public review and comment period.
Notice of the proposed plan shall be published in the Fed-
eral Register and a newspaper of general circulation serv-
ing the area in which the identified property is located.
The Environmental Protection Agency may hold a public
hearing on the plan if one is requested.
(e) CERTIFICATION OF EMPLOYMENT RETENTION OR
EXPANSION.—The person submitting a cleanup plan
under this section shall also submit to the Environmental
Protection Agency a certification regarding employment
retention or expansion. The certification shall be a state-
ment signed by the person that the person intends to re-
tain the same level of employment at the property, or ex-
pand employment opportunities by a specific number, for
at least 5 years after approval of the cleanup plan by
EPA.
(f) CERTIFICATION OF COMPLETION.—A person who
submits a cleanup plan under this section may request the
Environmental Protection Agency to provide a written cer-
tification that the plan has been completed. The Environ-
mental Protection Agency shall provide such a certifi-
cation not later than 30 days after such a request is made.
(g) DEED RESTRICTION.—A cleanup plan may in-
clude a proposal for placing a restriction on the deed for
the property covered by a cleanup plan which restricts the
uses of the property to industrial activities as specified in
the cleanup plan or to protect the integrity of cleanup
measures.
SEC. 203. PROTECTION FROM LIABILITY.
(a) PROTECTION.—Any person to which this section
applies shall not be liable under the Comprehensive Envi-
ronmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of
1980 or the Solid Waste Disposal Act (42 U.S.C. 6901
et seq.) (including claims for contribution or citizen suits)
for any contamination included in or not included in the
plan for the identified property, if the person undertakes
and the Environmental Protection Agency certifies as
complete (under section 202(f)) the actions to remove or
remediate contamination or releases or threatened releases
of hazardous substances on the identified property as re-
quired by the cleanup plan.
(b) APPLICABILITY.—The liability protection pro-
vided by this section applies to the following persons:
(1) Except as provided in subsection (c), a
landowner of the identified property.
(2) A person providing financing to the person
who undertakes and completes the activities required
under the cleanup plan, or who acquires the identi-
fied property.
(3) A person who develops or occupies the iden-
tified property as a result of a lease or rent agree-
ment.
(4) A successor or assign of any person to
whom the liability protection applies, provided the
successor or assign is not a person responsible for
contamination on the property.
(c) EXCLUSIONS.—The protection from liability pro-
vided by this section does not apply to a property owner—
(1) who aggravates or contributes to a release
or threatened release identified but not remediated
under an approved cleanup plan on the identified
property;
(2) who obtains approval of a cleanup plan on
the identified property by fraud or misrepresentation
or by knowingly failing to disclose material informa-
tion that would have made the person responsible for
a release or threatened release;
(3) who does not fulfill the certification require-
ment under section 202(e) to retain or expand em-
ployment, unless there is an explanation, determined
to be valid by the Administrator, for not fulfilling
such requirement, based on criteria such as natural
disaster, industry trends, labor force, or loss of a
major supplier or market; or
(4) who was partially responsible for contami-
nation on the site, other than contamination identi-
fied in a cleanup plan submitted by a responsible
owner.
(d) FINES AND PENALTIES.—Innocent property own-
ers who submit a cleanup plan shall not be responsible
for paying any fines or penalties levied against any person
responsible for contamination on the property.
SEC. 204. CLEANUP GUARANTEE.
(a) GUARANTEE.—Any person with an approved
cleanup plan shall submit to the Environmental Protection
Agency a cleanup guarantee fee upon certification by the
Environmental Protection Agency under section 202(f)
that the plan has been completed. The guarantee shall be
in an amount negotiated by the parties that is a certain
percentage of the cost of preparing and implementing the
cleanup plan. The guarantee is to be held in the Industrial
Land Recycling Fund established under section 601 for
a period of 2 years after certification of completion under
section 202(f).
(b) FORM.—The cleanup guarantee fee can be in a
form acceptable to the Environmental Protection Agency,
which shall include collateral bonds, cash or other market-
able securities, certificates of deposit, letters of credit, or
other acceptable financial guarantees. The Environmental
Protection Agency may also accept phased deposits of col-
lateral to meet this requirement.
(c) USE.—The cleanup guarantee fee is to be ear-
marked specifically for the Environmental Protection
Agency’s use in the event the cleanup measures approved
by the Environmental Protection Agency in a cleanup plan
fail to contain or prevent a release or do not result in re-
ducing the risk presented by the site.
(d) DISPOSITION.—The cleanup guarantee fee will be
returned to the person implementing the cleanup plan at
the end of 2 years after certification of completion under
section 202(f) if the property owner satisfies any monitor-
ing or other post-certification requirements described in
the cleanup plan and if the measures taken to deal with
contamination required by the plan performed as expected.
Any successor to the property owner shall maintain the
guarantee for the remainder of the 2-year period. The
cleanup guarantee fee shall be forfeited if the property
owner is excluded from liability protection under section
203(b).
SEC. 205. CLEANUP LOAN PROGRAM.
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is hereby established a
separate account in the United States Treasury to be
known as the Cleanup Loan Fund, which shall be a special
fund administered by the Administrator. Within 60 days
of the effective date of this Act the Administrator shall
finalize guidelines and issue application forms to admin-
ister this Fund.
(b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the Cleanup Loan
Fund is to help provide funding to persons undertaking
an environmental assessment of a site as part of a cleanup
plan and for implementing an approved cleanup plan. The
funding shall be in the form of low-interest loans at an
interest rate not to exceed 2 percent and grants for up
to one-half of the costs incurred for completing an environ-
mental assessment and implementing a cleanup plan for
local economic development agencies and other applicants.
(c) FUNDS.—In addition to any funds appropriated
by Congress, at least $5,000,000 shall be transferred on
July 1 of each year from the Hazardous Substances
Superfund to the Cleanup Loan Fund for the purpose of
implementing the program established in this section.
Monies received by the Administrator as repayment of out-
standing loans shall be deposited in the Cleanup Loan
Fund. Any interest earned by monies in the Cleanup Loan
Fund shall remain in the Fund. The first transfer of funds
from the Hazardous Substances Superfund required by
this paragraph shall occur within 60 days of the effective
date of this Act.
(d) ANNUAL REPORT.—The Administrator shall on
October 1 of each year report to Congress on the grants,
loans, expenditures, and commitments made from the
Cleanup Loan Fund.
SEC. 206. PENALTY.
Where a property owner fails to retain or expand em-
ployment as certified under section 202(e), the property
owner shall pay a penalty to the Industrial Land Recycling
Fund equal to the cost of preparing and implementing the
cleanup plan in any year the owner fails to meet employ-
ment commitments. This penalty is in addition to any
other authority provided to the Environmental Protection
Agency by this Act.
TITLE III—ABANDONED INDUS-
TRIAL 
LAND 
REDEVELOP-
MENT
SEC. 301. APPLICABILITY.
(a) IN GENERAL.—This title applies to a person
who—
(1) either intends to own, as expressed as an
option to buy or other formal agreement, or who
owns, a parcel of real property used for industrial
activities where there is no financially viable respon-
sible person to cleanup contamination on the prop-
erty causing a significant threat to public health or
the environment;
(2) did not, by act or omission, cause or con-
tribute to any contamination or to the release or
threatened release of a hazardous substance on the
identified real property; and
(3) intends to reuse or redevelop the property
to expand employment opportunities.
(b) EMPLOYMENT EXPANSION.—For purposes of this
title, employment expansion shall mean providing employ-
ment opportunities for a period of 5 years after an agree-
ment is signed under section 302(d).
SEC. 302. ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT.
(a) ASSESSMENT.—A prospective purchaser or prop-
erty owner shall conduct an environmental assessment on
the identified property to establish a baseline of any exist-
ing contamination on the site.
(b) PUBLIC REVIEW.—The proposed environmental
assessment shall be subject to a 30-day public review and
comment period. Notice of the availability of the completed
assessment shall be published in the Federal Register and
a newspaper of general circulation serving the area in
which the identified property is located. The Environ-
mental Protection Agency may hold a public hearing on
the assessment if one is requested.
(c) EPA REVIEW.—Within 90 days after a completed
environmental assessment is received, the Environmental
Protection Agency shall determine whether the assessment
adequately identified the environmental hazards and risks
posed by the site.
(d) AGREEMENT.—The Environmental Protection
Agency and the prospective purchaser or property owner
shall enter into an agreement based on the environmental
assessment which outlines cleanup liabilities for the identi-
fied property.
SEC. 303. CLEANUP LIABILITY.
(a) IMMEDIATE THREATS.—The prospective pur-
chaser or property owner shall be responsible for remedi-
ation of any immediate, direct, or imminent threats to
public health or the environment which would prevent the
property from being occupied for its intended purpose,
such as drummed waste.
(b) IDENTIFIED CONTAMINATION.—The prospective
purchaser or property owner shall not be held responsible
for the remediation of any contamination identified in the
completed environmental assessment accepted by the En-
vironmental Protection Agency.
(c) NEW LIABILITY.—Nothing in this Act shall re-
lieve the prospective purchaser or property owner of any
cleanup liability for contamination later caused by the pro-
spective purchaser or property owner. The prospective
purchaser or property owner shall also remain responsible
for any contamination which was not identified and which
was known to be a significant risk to public health or the
environment at the time the assessment was completed.
(d) RISK ASSESSMENT.—Remediation alternatives
for a property covered by an environmental assessment
shall be based on the actual risk to human health and
the environment posed by contaminants on the property,
considering the following factors:
(1) The intended and allowable use or subse-
quent uses of the property.
(2) The ability of the contaminants to move in
a form and manner which would result in exposure
to humans and the surrounding environment at lev-
els considered to be a significant health risk.
(3) The potential risk to human health and the
environment of containing and isolating contami-
nants in a manner which prevents harmful exposure
to employees on the property, to the public, and to
the environment.
(4) The potential environmental risks of pro-
posed cleanup alternatives and their economic and
technical feasibility and reliability.
(e) LIABILITY OF OTHER PARTIES.—A person pro-
viding financing to the prospective purchaser or property
owner or a person who develops or occupies the identified
property as a result of a lease or rent agreement shall
not be considered a responsible person for cleaning up con-
tamination on property covered by an agreement developed
pursuant to this title.
(f) PAST PENALTIES.—A prospective purchaser or
property owner submitting an environmental assessment
under this title shall not be responsible for paying any
fines or penalties levied against any person responsible for
contamination on the property.
SEC. 304. OWNER RESPONSIBILITIES.
(a) PREVENTION.—The prospective purchaser or
property owner shall take the steps necessary to prevent
any existing contamination on the site from becoming
worse as the result of its activities.
(b) NONINTERFERENCE.—The prospective purchaser
or property owner shall not interfere with any subsequent
remediation efforts by the Environmental Protection
Agency or others to deal with contamination identified in
the environmental assessment.
(c) DEED RESTRICTION.—The prospective purchaser
or property owner and the Environmental Protection
Agency may agree to having a restriction placed on the
deed for the property covered by this title which restricts
the use of the property to industrial activities which will
protect the integrity of any cleanup measures implemented
on the property or prevent contaminated portions of the
property from being disturbed.
SEC. 305. TRANSFERABILITY.
The agreement on cleanup liabilities entered into by
the Environmental Protection Agency and the prospective
purchaser or property owner pursuant to this title is trans-
ferable without review by the Environmental Protection
Agency in its entirety to any and all subsequent owners
of the property who did not, by act or omission, cause or
contribute to any contamination or to the release or
threatened release of a hazardous substance on the identi-
fied property.
SEC. 306. THIRD PARTIES.
No person who submits an environmental assessment
accepted under this title by the Environmental Protection
Agency or who is granted liability protection under section
303(e) shall be subject to citizen suits or other contribu-
tion actions brought by responsible persons for a release
or potential release on the identified property.
SEC. 307. FUNDING.
Prospective purchasers and property owners redevel-
oping abandoned property under this title shall be eligible
for funding under the Cleanup Loan Program established
under section 205 to perform environmental assessments
or to implement any remediation actions required of the
prospective purchaser or property owner under this title.
TITLE IV—NO ACTION
DETERMINATIONS
SEC. 401. NO ACTION DETERMINATIONS.
Property owners may request and the Environmental
Protection Agency may issue written determinations that
it will take no enforcement or cleanup actions under
CERCLA or the Solid Waste Disposal Act (42 U.S.C.
6901 et seq.) against an innocent landowner who owns
real property and is otherwise not responsible for any
identified contamination or a release or threatened release
of a hazardous substance in any case in which—
(1) an environmental assessment or transaction
screen analysis performed by a registered environ-
mental professional indicates no significant contami-
nation or contamination which does not pose signifi-
cant actual risk to public health and the environ-
ment; or
(2) the Environmental Protection Agency finds
that contamination or a release or threatened release
of a hazardous substance originates from a source
on an adjacent or nearby real property.
SEC. 402. REVIEW DEADLINE.
The Environmental Protection Agency shall make a
decision on whether or not to issue a no action determina-
tion no later than 90 days after a request is made.
SEC. 403. APPLICABILITY.
A no action determination shall also apply to any per-
son providing financing to the person named in the deter-
mination and to any person developing or occupying the
identified property as the result of a lease or rent agree-
ment.
SEC. 404. EXCLUSIONS AND CONDITIONS.
The Environmental Protection Agency may invalidate
a no action determination if new information indicates the
property owned by the person is the source of the contami-
nation or release or if the person is later determined to
be responsible for the release. The property owner must
allow entry to the property for the purpose of taking any
remediation and response actions needed to address con-
tamination on the adjacent site and not interfere with any
response action. The Environmental Protection Agency
may attach other conditions it feels are necessary to allow
the Environmental Protection Agency to adequately re-
spond to a release.
SEC. 405. TRANSFERABILITY.
A no action determination may be transferred by the
property owner to successors and assigns, if the successors
and assigns are not otherwise responsible for any contami-
nation on the adjacent property. The successors and as-
signs shall be bound by the conditions placed on the deter-
mination by the Environmental Protection Agency. A no
action determination shall also be extended to the succes-
sors and assigns of parties identified in section 403.
SEC. 406. THIRD PARTIES.
No person who is the subject of a no action deter-
mination issued by the Environmental Protection Agency
or who is granted liability protection under section 403
shall be subject to either citizen suits or other contribution
actions brought by responsible persons for a release or po-
tential release identified in the no action determination.
TITLE V—REGISTRATION OF EN-
VIRONMENTAL 
PROFES-
SIONALS
SEC. 501. REGISTRATION.
(a) GENERAL.—The Environmental Protection Agen-
cy may only accept environmental assessments or trans-
action screen reviews as required under this Act that are
prepared by Environmental Professionals registered with
the Environmental Protection Agency starting one year
after the Environmental Protection Agency qualifications
for registration are established under section 502. Both
individual Environmental Professionals and corporations
can be registered under this title.
(b) REGISTRATION PERIOD.—Registration for an En-
vironmental Professional shall be valid for a period of one
year and shall be renewed annually.
(c) INTERIM REVIEWS.—Nothing in this section shall
prevent the Environmental Protection Agency from ac-
cepting environmental assessments or transaction screen
before the registration requirements under this title be-
come effective.
SEC. 502. QUALIFICATIONS.
The Environmental Protection Agency shall establish
qualifications for Environmental Professionals requesting
certification including—
(1) education, training, and experience in pre-
paring environmental assessments;
(2) certification or accreditation by professional
groups such as the Institute of Professional Envi-
ronmental Practice; and
(3) an evaluation of ability to meet best profes-
sional and technical standards for preparing environ-
mental assessments.
SEC. 503. WITHHOLDING REGISTRATION.
The Environmental Protection Agency may withhold,
withdraw, or not renew registration of an Environmental
Professional if the applicant does not meet the qualifica-
tions to be registered or if the Environmental Protection
Agency determines the environmental assessment submit-
ted by the Environmental Professional do not meet best
professional and technical standards.
SEC. 504. REGISTRATION FEE.
The initial fee for registering Environmental Profes-
sionals for the first time shall be $150. The registration
renewal fee shall be $100. The Environmental Protection
Agency may by regulation change the initial registration
and registration renewal fees.
TITLE VI—MISCELLANEOUS
PROVISIONS
SEC. 601. INDUSTRIAL LAND RECYCLING FUND.
(a) FUND.—There is hereby established a separate
account in the United States Treasury to be known as the
Industrial Land Recycling Fund, which shall be a special
fund administered by the Environmental Protection
Agency.
(b) PURPOSE.—The monies deposited in this Fund
shall be used by the Environmental Protection Agency to
remediate a release or threatened release that poses a sig-
nificant risk to public health or the environment where
the Environmental Protection Agency has certified that a
cleanup plan has been completed. Monies from the Haz-
ardous Substance Superfund shall also be available to the
Environmental Protection Agency to remediate a release
or threatened release on a property covered by a cleanup
plan.
(c) FUNDS.—In addition to any funds appropriated
by the Congress, private contributions and any fines and
penalties assessed under this Act and the cleanup guaran-
tees assessed or forfeited under sections 204 and 304 shall
be deposited into the Fund.
(d) ANNUAL REPORT.—The Environmental Protec-
tion Agency shall on October 1 of each year report to Con-
gress on the expenditures and commitments made from
the Industrial Land Recycling Fund.
SEC. 602. ENFORCEMENT.
(a) ORDERS.—The Environmental Protection Agency
may issue orders to such persons and municipalities as
it deems necessary to aid in the enforcement of the provi-
sions of this Act. An order issued under this Act shall take
effect upon service, unless the order specifies otherwise.
The power of the Environmental Protection Agency to
issue an order under this Act is in addition to any other
remedy which may be afforded to the Environmental Pro-
tection Agency pursuant to this Act or any other Act.
(b) ADDITIONAL AUTHORITY.—The Environmental
Protection Agency may use the enforcement authorities
(including penalty provisions) contained in CERCLA and
the Solid Waste Disposal Act (42 U.S.C. 6901 et seq.)
to enforce the provisions of this Act.
SEC. 603. DELEGATION TO STATES.
(a) COMPATIBLE PROGRAM.—If a State has adopted
an industrial and commercial land recycling program com-
patible with the provisions of this Act, the Administrator
may delegate primary authority for the administration and
implementation of the programs outlined in titles II and
III to that State.
(b) LIABILITY PROTECTION.—If a State is delegated
primary authority under subsection (a) for administration
and implementation, the liability protection provided
under sections 203, 303(e), and 306 of this Act concern-
ing direct and third party contribution actions and citizen
suits under CERCLA and the Solid Waste Disposal Act
(42 U.S.C. 6901 et seq.) shall be extended to the partici-
pating parties as if such protection were provided by the
Administrator.
(c) STATE FUNDING.—States delegated primary au-
thority to administer and implement titles II and III of
this Act shall be eligible to apply for funds from the Indus-
trial Land Recycling Fund to help offset the cost of ad-
ministering the program.
SEC. 604. AUTHORITY RESERVED.
Nothing in this Act shall affect the ability or author-
ity of the Environmental Protection Agency or any person
to seek any relief available under this Act or any other
Act against any party who is not subject to the liability
protection provided under this Act.
SEC. 605. CONSTRUCTION.
The protection from cleanup liability afforded under
this Act shall be in addition to the exclusions from being
a potentially responsible party existing under Federal en-
vironmental statutes.
SEC. 606. EFFECTIVE DATE.
This Act shall take effect 60 days after the date of
the enactment of this Act.
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