I 
109TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 280
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 
JANUARY 6, 2005
Mr. GARY G. MILLER of California (for himself, Mrs. MALONEY, Mr. OXLEY, 
Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts, Mr. NEY, Mr. KANJORSKI, Mr. LEACH, 
Ms. HART, Mr. SOUDER, and Mr. TURNER) 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. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES. 
(a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds that—
(1) returning the Nation’s brownfield sites to 
productive economic use could generate more than 
550,000 additional jobs and up to $2,400,000,000 
in new tax revenues for cities and towns; 
(2) redevelopment of brownfield sites and reuse 
of infrastructure at such sites will protect natural 
resources and open spaces; 
(3) lack of funding for redevelopment is a pri-
mary obstacle impeding the reuse of brownfield sites; 
(4) the Department of Housing and Urban De-
velopment is the agency of the Federal Government 
that is principally responsible for supporting commu-
nity development and encouraging productive land 
use in urban areas of the United States; 
(5) grants under the Brownfields Economic De-
velopment Initiative of the Department of Housing 
and Urban Development provide local governments 
with a flexible source of funding to pursue 
brownfields redevelopment through land acquisition, 
site preparation, economic development, and other 
activities; 
(6) to be eligible for such grant funds, a com-
munity must be willing to pledge community devel-
opment block grant funds as partial collateral for a 
loan guarantee under section 108 of the Housing
and Community Development Act of 1974, and this 
requirement is a barrier to many local communities 
that are unable or unwilling to pledge such block 
grant funds as collateral; and 
(7) by de-linking grants for brownfields develop-
ment from section 108 community development loan 
guarantees and the related pledge of community de-
velopment block grant funds, more communities will 
have access to funding for redevelopment of 
brownfield sites. 
(b) PURPOSES.—The purpose of this Act is to provide 
cities and towns with more flexibility for brownfields devel-
opment, increased accessibility to brownfields redevelop-
ment funds, and greater capacity to coordinate and col-
laborate with other government agencies—
(1) by providing additional incentives to invest 
in the cleanup and development of brownfield sites; 
and 
(2) by de-linking grants for brownfields develop-
ment from community development loan guarantees 
and the related pledge of community development 
block grant funds.
SEC. 3. BROWNFIELDS DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVE. 
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 DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVE. 
‘‘(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) and Indian tribes for carrying out 
projects and activities to assist the environmental cleanup 
and development of brownfield sites, which shall include 
mine-scarred lands. 
‘‘(b) USE
OF GRANT AMOUNTS.—Amounts from 
grants under this section shall—
‘‘(1) be used, as provided in subsection (a) of 
this section, only for activities specified in section 
108(a); and 
‘‘(2) be subject to the same requirements that, 
under section 101(c) and paragraphs (2) and (3) of 
section 104(b), apply to grants under section 106. 
‘‘(c) AVAILABILITY OF ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary 
shall 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) APPLICATIONS.—Applications for assistance 
under this section shall be in the form and in accordance 
with procedures as shall be established by the Secretary. 
‘‘(e) 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. Such criteria shall include 
consideration of the appropriateness of the extent of finan-
cial leveraging involved in the projects and activities to 
be funded with the grant amounts. 
‘‘(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 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2010.’’. 
SEC. 4. CLARIFICATION OF BROWNFIELDS REDEVELOP-
MENT AS ELIGIBLE CDBG ACTIVITY. 
(a) TECHNICAL CORRECTION.—The penultimate pro-
viso of the first undesignated paragraph of the item relat-
ing to ‘‘Community Development Block Grants Fund’’ in 
title II of the Departments of Veterans Affairs and Hous-
ing and Urban Development, and Independent Agencies 
Appropriations Act, 1997 (Public Law 104–204; 110 Stat. 
2887) shall be treated as having amended section 105(a) 
of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 
(42 U.S.C. 5305(a)) to read as such section was in effect 
on September 30, 1995. 
(b) BROWNFIELDS REDEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES.—
Section 105(a) of the Housing and Community Develop-
ment Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5305(a)), as in effect pursu-
ant to subsection (a) of this section, is amended—
(1) in paragraph (24), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 
end; 
(2) in paragraph (25), by striking the period at 
the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 
(3) by adding at the end the following new 
paragraph: 
‘‘(26) environmental cleanup and economic de-
velopment activities related to brownfield projects in 
conjunction with the appropriate environmental reg-
ulatory agencies.’’. 
SEC. 5. PILOT PROGRAM FOR NATIONAL REDEVELOPMENT 
OF BROWNFIELDS. 
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) PILOT PROGRAM FOR NATIONAL REDEVEL-
OPMENT OF BROWNFIELDS.—
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—Using any amounts 
made available under this subsection, the Sec-
retary may establish a pilot program under 
which grants under this subsection are used to 
develop, maintain, and administer (including 
the payment of an entity or entities selected 
pursuant to subparagraph (B)) a common loan 
pool of development loans for brownfield rede-
velopment projects made on behalf of eligible 
public entities with the proceeds of obligations 
guaranteed under this section, including related 
security and a common loans loss reserve ac-
count, for the benefit of participants in the pilot 
program. 
‘‘(B) SELECTION OF PROGRAM MANAGERS 
AND CONTRACTORS.—The Secretary may select 
an entity or entities on a competitive or non-
competitive basis to carry out any of the func-
tions involved in the pilot program. 
‘‘(C) TERMS
FOR
PARTICIPATION.—Par-
ticipation by eligible public entities in the pilot 
program shall be under such terms and condi-
tions as the Secretary may require.
‘‘(D) 
AUTHORIZATION
OF
APPROPRIA-
TIONS.—There are authorized to be appro-
priated such sums as may be necessary—
‘‘(i) for grants under this subsection 
to be used only in conjunction with the 
pilot program under this paragraph; and 
‘‘(ii) for costs of carrying out the pilot 
program under this paragraph and ensur-
ing that the program is carried out in an 
effective, efficient, and viable manner.’’. 
SEC. 6. TECHNICAL AMENDMENT TO ALLOW USE OF CDBG 
FUNDS TO ADMINISTER RENEWAL COMMU-
NITIES. 
Section 105(a)(13) of the Housing and Community 
Development Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5305(a)(13)) is 
amended by inserting ‘‘and renewal communities’’ after 
‘‘enterprise zones’’. 
SEC. 7. APPLICABILITY. 
The amendments made by this Act shall apply only 
with respect to amounts made available for fiscal year 
2006 and fiscal years thereafter for use under the provi-
sions of law amended by this Act.
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