I 
115TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1747 
To amend the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and 
Liability Act of 1980 to reauthorize and improve the Brownfields revital-
ization program, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 28, 2017 
Mr. PALLONE (for himself and Mr. TONKO) 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 com-
mittee concerned 
A BILL 
To amend the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Com-
pensation, and Liability Act of 1980 to reauthorize and 
improve the Brownfields revitalization program, and for 
other purposes. 
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 Authoriza-
tion Increase Act of 2017’’. 
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SEC. 2. CLARIFICATION OF STATE OR LOCAL GOVERNMENT 
OWNERSHIP. 
Section 101(20)(D) of the Comprehensive Environ-
mental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 
1980 (42 U.S.C. 9601(20)(D)) is amended by striking 
‘‘involuntarily’’ the first place it appears. 
SEC. 3. NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION ELIGIBILITY. 
(a) DEFINITION
OF ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—Section 
104(k)(1) of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, 
Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 
9604(k)(1)) is amended— 
(1) in subparagraph (G), by striking ‘‘Alaska; 
or’’ and inserting ‘‘Alaska;’’; 
(2) in subparagraph (H), by striking ‘‘Indian 
community.’’ and inserting ‘‘Indian community; or’’; 
and 
(3) by adding at the end the following new sub-
paragraph: 
‘‘(I) a nonprofit organization, including— 
‘‘(i) an organization described in sec-
tion 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue 
Code of 1986 and exempt from taxation 
under section 501(a) of such Code; 
‘‘(ii) a limited liability corporation in 
which all managing members or all mem-
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bers are organizations described under 
clause (i); 
‘‘(iii) a limited partnership in which 
all general partners are— 
‘‘(I) 
organizations 
described 
under clause (i); 
‘‘(II) limited liability corporations 
whose members are all organizations 
described under clause (i); or 
‘‘(III) any combination of sub-
clauses (I) and (II); or 
‘‘(iv) a qualified community develop-
ment 
entity, 
as 
defined 
in 
section 
45D(c)(1) of the Internal Revenue Code of 
1986.’’. 
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 104(k) of 
the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensa-
tion, and Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9604(k)) is 
amended— 
(1) in paragraph (3)— 
(A) in subparagraph (A)(ii)— 
(i) by striking ‘‘or nonprofit organiza-
tions’’; and 
(ii) by striking ‘‘or organization’’; and 
(B) in subparagraph (B)(ii)— 
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(i) by striking ‘‘or other nonprofit or-
ganization’’; and 
(ii) by striking ‘‘or nonprofit organiza-
tion’’; and 
(2) in paragraph (6)(A), by striking ‘‘or non-
profit organizations’’. 
SEC. 4. INCREASED FUNDING LIMIT FOR DIRECT REMEDI-
ATION. 
Section 104(k)(3)(A) of the Comprehensive Environ-
mental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 
1980 (42 U.S.C. 9604(k)(3)(A)), as amended in section 
3(b) of this Act, is further amended— 
(1) in clause (ii)— 
(A) by striking ‘‘$200,000’’ and inserting 
‘‘$750,000’’; and 
(B) by inserting ‘‘, except that during the 
period of fiscal years 2018 through 2022, the 
President may, on not more than 2 occasions, 
waive such $750,000 limitation to permit the 
entity to receive a grant in an amount not to 
exceed $1,500,000 for a site to be remediated 
based on special circumstances, as determined 
by the President’’ after ‘‘site to be remediated’’; 
and 
(2) by adding after clause (ii) the following: 
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‘‘The President may transfer any duties under this 
subparagraph to the Administrator.’’. 
SEC. 5. INDIRECT COSTS. 
Subparagraph (B) of section 104(k)(4) of the Com-
prehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and 
Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9604(k)(4)) is amend-
ed— 
(1) in clause (i), by striking subclause (III) and 
redesignating subclauses (IV) and (V) as subclauses 
(III) and (IV), respectively; and 
(2) by striking clause (ii) and inserting the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(ii) ACCEPTABLE USE OF FUNDS.— 
‘‘(I) IN
GENERAL.—In addition 
to other acceptable purposes described 
in this subsection, a grant or loan 
under this subsection may be used for 
payment for the costs of— 
‘‘(aa) investigation and iden-
tification of the extent of con-
tamination; 
‘‘(bb) design and perform-
ance of a response action; and 
‘‘(cc) monitoring of a nat-
ural resource. 
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‘‘(II) 
INDIRECT
COSTS.—Not 
more than 10 percent of a grant or 
loan under this subsection may be 
used for the payment of indirect 
costs.’’. 
SEC. 6. ELIGIBILITY FOR FUNDING FOR BROWNFIELD 
SITES ACQUIRED PRIOR TO JANUARY 11, 2002. 
Subparagraph (B) of section 104(k)(4) of the Com-
prehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and 
Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9604(k)(4)), as amended 
in section 5 of this Act, is further amended by striking 
clause (iii) and inserting the following: 
‘‘(iii) EXCEPTIONS.—Notwithstanding 
clause (i)(III), the Administrator may use 
funds made available to carry out this sub-
section for one or more of the following: 
‘‘(I) To make a grant under 
paragraph (2) to an eligible entity 
that acquired a brownfield site to be 
covered by the grant on or before 
January 11, 2002. 
‘‘(II) To make a grant under 
paragraph (3) to an eligible entity if 
such eligible entity, except as other-
wise provided in this subclause, satis-
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fies all of the elements set forth in 
section 101(40) to qualify as a bona 
fide prospective purchaser, except that 
the 
date 
of 
acquisition 
of 
the 
brownfield site was on or before Janu-
ary 11, 2002. The Administrator may 
make exceptions with regard to com-
pliance with the elements set forth in 
section 101(40) based on mitigating 
circumstances, including any of the 
following: 
‘‘(aa) The brownfield site 
was acquired prior to May 31, 
1997, and compliance with all 
appropriate inquiry (as required 
under section 101(40)(B)) can-
not be fairly determined. 
‘‘(bb) A current site assess-
ment of the brownfield site has 
found no evidence that the eligi-
ble entity caused or exacerbated 
contamination found at the site 
or failed to exercise appropriate 
care (as required under section 
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grant or loan, but not later than 
May 31, 1997; 
‘‘(bb) did not cause or con-
tribute to the contamination on 
the brownfield site; and 
‘‘(cc) can reasonably indi-
cate why such entity cannot com-
ply with the elements set forth in 
section 101(40) to qualify as a 
bona 
fide 
prospective 
pur-
chaser.’’. 
SEC. 7. MULTI-PURPOSE BROWNFIELD GRANTS. 
(a) MULTI-PURPOSE
GRANT
PROGRAM.—Section 
104(k) of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, 
Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 
9604(k)) is amended— 
(1) by redesignating paragraph (12) as para-
graph (15); 
(2) by redesignating paragraphs (4) through 
(11), as amended, as paragraphs (5) through (12), 
respectively; and 
(3) by adding after paragraph (3) the following 
new paragraph: 
‘‘(4) MULTI-PURPOSE BROWNFIELD GRANTS.— 
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‘‘(A) ESTABLISHMENT
OF
PROGRAM.— 
Subject to paragraphs (5) and (6), the Admin-
istrator shall establish a program to provide 
multi-purpose grants to eligible entities, where 
warranted, as determined by the Administrator 
based 
on 
considerations 
under 
paragraph 
(3)(C), to be used to inventory, characterize, as-
sess, conduct planning related to, or remediate 
(or any combination thereof), one or more 
brownfield sites in an area, in amounts not to 
exceed $1,500,000 per grant. 
‘‘(B) ADDITIONAL
CONSIDERATIONS.—In 
addition to the considerations under paragraph 
(3)(C), the Administrator, in determining to 
award a multi-purpose grant under the program 
under subparagraph (A), shall consider the ex-
tent to which the eligible entity demonstrates— 
‘‘(i) an overall plan for revitalization 
of brownfield sites in the area in which the 
multi-purpose grant will be used; 
‘‘(ii) the capacity to conduct the range 
of eligible activities that will be funded by 
the multi-purpose grant; and 
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‘‘(iii) that a multi-purpose grant is 
appropriate for meeting the needs of the 
area in which the grant will be used. 
‘‘(C) GRANT
FUNDS.—Grants provided 
under the program established under subpara-
graph (A) shall be expended not later than 3 
years after the award of grant funding to the 
eligible entity, unless the Administrator deter-
mines that an extension of not more than 2 
years is justified. 
‘‘(D) OWNERSHIP.—A recipient of a grant 
under this paragraph may not use amounts 
from such grant on remediation of a brownfield 
site until such recipient owns such site. 
‘‘(E) EXISTING
AUTHORITY.—Nothing in 
this paragraph shall limit any other authority of 
the President or the Administrator under this 
subsection.’’. 
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 
(1) Section 104(k)(3)(A) of the Comprehensive 
Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liabil-
ity Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9604(k)(3)(A)), as 
amended, is further amended by striking ‘‘Subject to 
paragraphs (4) and (5)’’ and inserting ‘‘Subject to 
paragraphs (5) and (6)’’. 
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(2) Section 104(k)(3)(C) of the Comprehensive 
Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liabil-
ity Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9604(k)(3)(C)) is 
amended by inserting ‘‘or paragraph (4)’’ after 
‘‘under subparagraph (A)(ii) or (B)(ii)’’. 
SEC. 8. PROGRAM FOR SUSTAINABLE REUSE AND ALTER-
NATIVE ENERGY ON BROWNFIELD SITES. 
Section 104(k) of the Comprehensive Environmental 
Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (42 
U.S.C. 9604(k)) is amended by adding after paragraph 
(12), as redesignated by section 7(a)(2) of this Act, the 
following new paragraph: 
‘‘(13) PROGRAM FOR SUSTAINABLE REUSE AND 
ALTERNATIVE ENERGY ON BROWNFIELD SITES.— 
‘‘(A) 
ESTABLISHMENT
AND
USE
OF 
FUNDS.—The Administrator shall establish a 
program to make grants, on a competitive 
basis, to eligible entities to be used at one or 
more brownfield sites for projects that reduce 
environmental impact, increase community liv-
ability, and encourage sustainability, includ-
ing— 
‘‘(i) sustainable reuse planning and 
site analysis, including— 
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‘‘(I) site characterization and as-
sessment; 
‘‘(II) area and corridor sustain-
ability plans; and 
‘‘(III) engineering or feasibility 
analysis of environmentally beneficial 
site improvements; 
‘‘(ii) remediation; 
‘‘(iii) ecosystem restoration; and 
‘‘(iv) habitat restoration. 
‘‘(B) PROJECT SELECTION.—In addition to 
the criteria under paragraph (6), in selecting 
grant recipients under this paragraph, the Ad-
ministrator shall take into consideration the ex-
tent to which a grant will facilitate future use 
of a brownfield site in an environmentally bene-
ficial and sustainable manner, including the po-
tential for renewable energy production and 
green infrastructure, including greenways and 
hike-bike trails, green buildings, and mixed use 
and transit-oriented development in smart 
growth locations.’’. 
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SEC. 9. STAFF FOR SMALL, DISADVANTAGED, OR RURAL 
COMMUNITIES. 
Section 104(k) of the Comprehensive Environmental 
Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (42 
U.S.C. 9604(k)) is amended by adding after paragraph 
(13) (as added by section 8 of this Act) the following: 
‘‘(14) STAFF FOR SMALL, DISADVANTAGED, OR 
RURAL
COMMUNITIES.—The Administrator, upon 
approval of an application made by an eligible entity 
serving a community that has a small population, is 
disadvantaged, or is in a rural location, and in ac-
cordance with the applicable provisions of sub-
chapter VI of chapter 33 of title 5, United States 
Code, may assign employees of the Environmental 
Protection Agency to such eligible entity to build 
local capacity for the remediation and revitalization 
of brownfield sites located in such communities. The 
Administrator shall determine, consistent with exist-
ing law and regulation in effect as of the date of en-
actment of this paragraph and subject to comment 
and public review, what qualifies as a community 
that has a small population, is disadvantaged, or is 
in a rural location for purposes of this paragraph, 
provided that such definitions include rural munici-
palities, municipalities with populations of up to 
20,000, and municipalities in which the median 
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household income is at or less than 2⁄3 of the State 
average.’’. 
SEC. 10. SMALL COMMUNITY TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE 
GRANTS. 
Paragraph (7)(A) of section 104(k) of the Com-
prehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and 
Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9604(k)) (as redesig-
nated by section 7(a)(2) of this Act) is amended— 
(1) by striking ‘‘The Administrator may pro-
vide,’’ and inserting the following: 
‘‘(i) DEFINITIONS.—In this subpara-
graph: 
‘‘(I) DISADVANTAGED
AREA.— 
The term ‘disadvantaged area’ means 
an area with an annual median house-
hold income that is less than 2⁄3 of the 
statewide annual median household 
income, as determined by the latest 
available decennial census. 
‘‘(II) SMALL
COMMUNITY.—The 
term ‘small community’ means a com-
munity with a population of not more 
than 20,000 individuals, as deter-
mined by the latest available decennial 
census. 
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‘‘(ii) 
ESTABLISHMENT
OF
PRO-
GRAM.—The Administrator shall establish 
a program to provide grants that pro-
vide,’’; and 
(2) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(iii) SMALL
OR
DISADVANTAGED 
COMMUNITY RECIPIENTS.— 
‘‘(I) IN
GENERAL.—Subject to 
subclause (II), in carrying out the 
program under clause (ii), the Admin-
istrator shall use not more than 
$1,500,000 of amounts made available 
to carry out this paragraph to provide 
grants to eligible entities and institu-
tions of higher education, as deter-
mined by the Administrator, to assist 
small 
communities, 
Indian 
tribes, 
rural areas, or disadvantaged areas in 
achieving the purposes described in 
clause (ii). 
‘‘(II) LIMITATION.—Each grant 
awarded under subclause (I) shall be 
not more than $10,000.’’. 
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SEC. 11. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 
(a) AUTHORIZATION
OF
APPROPRIATIONS.—Sub-
paragraph (A) of paragraph (15) (as redesignated by sec-
tion 7(a)(1) of this Act) of section 104(k) of the Com-
prehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and 
Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9604(k)) is amended to 
read as follows: 
‘‘(A) 
AUTHORIZATION
OF
APPROPRIA-
TIONS.—There are authorized to be appro-
priated to carry out this subsection— 
‘‘(i) $350,000,000 for fiscal year 
2018; 
‘‘(ii) $400,000,000 for fiscal year 
2019; 
‘‘(iii) $450,000,000 for fiscal year 
2020; 
‘‘(iv) $500,000,000 for fiscal year 
2021; 
‘‘(v) $550,000,000 for fiscal year 
2022; and 
‘‘(vi) $600,000,000 for fiscal year 
2023.’’. 
(b) SET ASIDE FOR PROGRAM FOR SUSTAINABLE 
REUSE
AND ALTERNATIVE ENERGY
ON BROWNFIELD 
SITES.—Paragraph (15) of section 104(k) of the Com-
prehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and 
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Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9604(k)), as redesig-
nated by section 7(a)(1) of this Act and as amended by 
subsection (a) of this section, is further amended by add-
ing after subparagraph (B) the following new subpara-
graph: 
‘‘(C) SET ASIDE FOR PROGRAM FOR SUS-
TAINABLE REUSE AND ALTERNATIVE ENERGY 
ON
BROWNFIELD
SITES.—Of amounts made 
available each fiscal year pursuant to subpara-
graph (A), at least 7.5 percent of such amounts 
shall be used to carry out the program under 
paragraph (13).’’. 
SEC. 12. STATE RESPONSE PROGRAMS. 
Section 128(a)(3) of the Comprehensive Environ-
mental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 
1980 (42 U.S.C. 9628(a)(3)) is amended to read as fol-
lows: 
‘‘(3) FUNDING.—There are authorized to be ap-
propriated to carry out this subsection— 
‘‘(A) $70,000,000 for fiscal year 2018; 
‘‘(B) $80,000,000 for fiscal year 2019; 
‘‘(C) $90,000,000 for fiscal year 2020; 
‘‘(D) $100,000,000 for fiscal year 2021; 
‘‘(E) $110,000,000 for fiscal year 2022; 
and 
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‘‘(F) $120,000,000 for fiscal year 2023 
and each fiscal year thereafter.’’. 
Æ 
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