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may require, an application for a
grant under this subsection for 1 or
more brownfield sites (including infor-
mation on the criteria used by the Ad-
ministrator to rank applications under
subparagraph (C), to the extent that
the information is available).
‘‘(II) 
NCP 
REQUIREMENTS.—
The Administrator may include in any
requirement for submission of an ap-
plication under subclause (I) a re-
quirement of the National Contin-
gency Plan only to the extent that the
requirement is relevant and appro-
priate to the program under this sub-
section.
‘‘(ii) COORDINATION.—The Adminis-
trator shall coordinate with other Federal
agencies to assist in making eligible enti-
ties aware of other available Federal re-
sources.
‘‘(iii) GUIDANCE.—The Administrator
shall publish guidance to assist eligible en-
tities in applying for grants under this
subsection.
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‘‘(B) 
APPROVAL.—The 
Administrator
shall—
‘‘(i) at least annually, complete a re-
view of applications for grants that are re-
ceived from eligible entities under this sub-
section; and
‘‘(ii) award grants under this sub-
section to eligible entities that the Admin-
istrator 
determines 
have 
the 
highest
rankings under the ranking criteria estab-
lished under subparagraph (C).
‘‘(C) RANKING
CRITERIA.—The Adminis-
trator shall establish a system for ranking
grant applications received under this para-
graph that includes the following criteria:
‘‘(i) The extent to which a grant will
stimulate the availability of other funds for
environmental assessment or remediation,
and subsequent reuse, of an area in which
1 or more brownfield sites are located.
‘‘(ii) The potential of the proposed
project or the development plan for an
area in which 1 or more brownfield sites
are located to stimulate economic develop-
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ment of the area on completion of the
cleanup.
‘‘(iii) The extent to which a grant
would address or facilitate the identifica-
tion and reduction of threats to human
health and the environment, including
threats in areas in which there is a great-
er-than-normal incidence of diseases or
conditions (including cancer, asthma, or
birth defects) that may be associated with
exposure to hazardous substances, pollut-
ants, or contaminants.
‘‘(iv) The extent to which a grant
would facilitate the use or reuse of existing
infrastructure.
‘‘(v) The extent to which a grant
would facilitate the creation of, preserva-
tion of, or addition to a park, a greenway,
undeveloped property, recreational prop-
erty, or other property used for nonprofit
purposes.
‘‘(vi) The extent to which a grant
would meet the needs of a community that
has an inability to draw on other sources
of funding for environmental remediation
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and subsequent redevelopment of the area
in which a brownfield site is located be-
cause of the small population or low in-
come of the community.
‘‘(vii) The extent to which the appli-
cant is eligible for funding from other
sources.
‘‘(viii) The extent to which a grant
will further the fair distribution of funding
between urban and nonurban areas.
‘‘(ix) The extent to which the grant
provides for involvement of the local com-
munity in the process of making decisions
relating to cleanup and future use of a
brownfield site.
‘‘(x) The extent to which a grant
would address or facilitate the identifica-
tion and reduction of threats to the health
or welfare of children, pregnant women,
minority or low-income communities, or
other sensitive populations.
‘‘(6) IMPLEMENTATION OF BROWNFIELDS PRO-
GRAMS.—
‘‘(A) ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM.—The
Administrator may provide, or fund eligible en-
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tities or nonprofit organizations to provide,
training, research, and technical assistance to
individuals and organizations, as appropriate, to
facilitate the inventory of brownfield sites, site
assessments, remediation of brownfield sites,
community involvement, or site preparation.
‘‘(B) FUNDING RESTRICTIONS.—The total
Federal funds to be expended by the Adminis-
trator under this paragraph shall not exceed 15
percent of the total amount appropriated to
carry out this subsection in any fiscal year.
‘‘(7) AUDITS.—
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Inspector General
of the Environmental Protection Agency shall
conduct such reviews or audits of grants and
loans under this subsection as the Inspector
General considers necessary to carry out this
subsection.
‘‘(B) PROCEDURE.—An audit under this
subparagraph shall be conducted in accordance
with the auditing procedures of the General Ac-
counting Office, including chapter 75 of title
31, United States Code.
‘‘(C) VIOLATIONS.—If the Administrator
determines that a person that receives a grant
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or loan under this subsection has violated or is
in violation of a condition of the grant, loan, or
applicable Federal law, the Administrator
may—
‘‘(i) terminate the grant or loan;
‘‘(ii) require the person to repay any
funds received; and
‘‘(iii) seek any other legal remedies
available to the Administrator.
‘‘(D) REPORT
TO
CONGRESS.—Not later
than 3 years after the date of enactment of this
subsection, the Inspector General of the Envi-
ronmental Protection Agency shall submit to
Congress a report that provides a description of
the management of the program (including a
description of the allocation of funds under this
subsection).
‘‘(8) LEVERAGING.—An eligible entity that re-
ceives a grant under this subsection may use the
grant funds for a portion of a project at a
brownfield site for which funding is received from
other sources if the grant funds are used only for
the purposes described in paragraph (2) or (3).
‘‘(9) AGREEMENTS.—Each grant or loan made
under this subsection shall—
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‘‘(A) include a requirement of the National
Contingency Plan only to the extent that the re-
quirement is relevant and appropriate to the
program under this subsection, as determined
by the Administrator; and
‘‘(B) be subject to an agreement that—
‘‘(i) requires the recipient to—
‘‘(I) comply with all applicable
Federal and State laws; and
‘‘(II) ensure that the cleanup
protects human health and the envi-
ronment;
‘‘(ii) requires that the recipient use
the grant or loan exclusively for purposes
specified in paragraph (2) or (3), as appli-
cable;
‘‘(iii) in the case of an application by
an eligible entity under paragraph (3)(A),
requires the eligible entity to pay a match-
ing share (which may be in the form of a
contribution of labor, material, or services)
of at least 20 percent, from non-Federal
sources of funding, unless the Adminis-
trator determines that the matching share
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would place an undue hardship on the eli-
gible entity; and
‘‘(iv) contains such other terms and
conditions as the Administrator determines
to be necessary to carry out this sub-
section.
‘‘(10) FACILITY
OTHER
THAN
BROWNFIELD
SITE.—The fact that a facility may not be a
brownfield site within the meaning of section
101(39)(A) has no effect on the eligibility of the fa-
cility for assistance under any other provision of
Federal law.
‘‘(11) EFFECT ON FEDERAL LAWS.—Nothing in
this subsection affects any liability or response au-
thority under any Federal law, including—
‘‘(A) this Act (including the last sentence
of section 101(14));
‘‘(B) the Solid Waste Disposal Act (42
U.S.C. 6901 et seq.);
‘‘(C) the Federal Water Pollution Control
Act (33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.);
‘‘(D) the Toxic Substances Control Act (15
U.S.C. 2601 et seq.); and
‘‘(E) the Safe Drinking Water Act (42
U.S.C. 300f et seq.).
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‘‘(12) FUNDING.—
‘‘(A) 
AUTHORIZATION
OF
APPROPRIA-
TIONS.—There is authorized to be appropriated
to carry out this subsection $200,000,000 for
each of fiscal years 2002 through 2006.
‘‘(B) USE
OF
CERTAIN
FUNDS.—Of the
amount made available under subparagraph
(A), $50,000,000, or, if the amount made avail-
able is less than $200,000,000, 25 percent of
the amount made available, shall be used for
site characterization, assessment, and remedi-
ation 
of 
facilities 
described 
in 
section
101(39)(D)(ii)(II).’’.
Subtitle B—Brownfields Liability
Clarifications
SEC. 221. CONTIGUOUS PROPERTIES.
Section 107 of the Comprehensive Environmental Re-
sponse, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (42
U.S.C. 9607) is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing:
‘‘(q) CONTIGUOUS PROPERTIES.—
‘‘(1) NOT CONSIDERED TO BE AN OWNER OR
OPERATOR.—
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A person that owns
real property that is contiguous to or otherwise
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similarly situated with respect to, and that is or
may be contaminated by a release or threatened
release of a hazardous substance from, real
property that is not owned by that person shall
not be considered to be an owner or operator of
a vessel or facility under paragraph (1) or (2)
of subsection (a) solely by reason of the con-
tamination if—
‘‘(i) the person did not cause, con-
tribute, or consent to the release or threat-
ened release;
‘‘(ii) the person is not—
‘‘(I) potentially liable, or affili-
ated with any other person that is po-
tentially liable, for response costs at a
facility through any direct or indirect
familial relationship or any contrac-
tual, corporate, or financial relation-
ship (other than a contractual, cor-
porate, or financial relationship that
is created by a contract for the sale of
goods or services); or
‘‘(II) the result of a reorganiza-
tion of a business entity that was po-
tentially liable;
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‘‘(iii) the person takes reasonable
steps to—
‘‘(I) stop any continuing release;
‘‘(II) prevent any threatened fu-
ture release; and
‘‘(III) prevent or limit human,
environmental, or natural resource ex-
posure to any hazardous substance re-
leased on or from property owned by
that person;
‘‘(iv) the person provides full coopera-
tion, assistance, and access to persons that
are authorized to conduct response actions
or natural resource restoration at the ves-
sel or facility from which there has been a
release or threatened release (including the
cooperation and access necessary for the
installation, integrity, operation, and main-
tenance of any complete or partial re-
sponse action or natural resource restora-
tion at the vessel or facility);
‘‘(v) the person—
‘‘(I) is in compliance with any
land use restrictions established or re-
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lied on in connection with the re-
sponse action at the facility; and
‘‘(II) does not impede the effec-
tiveness or integrity of any institu-
tional control employed in connection
with a response action;
‘‘(vi) the person is in compliance with
any request for information or administra-
tive subpoena issued by the President
under this Act;
‘‘(vii) the person provides all legally
required notices with respect to the dis-
covery or release of any hazardous sub-
stances at the facility; and
‘‘(viii) at the time at which the person
acquired the property, the person—
‘‘(I) conducted all appropriate in-
quiry within the meaning of section
101(35)(B) with respect to the prop-
erty; and
‘‘(II) did not know or have rea-
son to know that the property was or
could be contaminated by a release or
threatened release of 1 or more haz-
ardous substances from other real
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property not owned or operated by the
person.
‘‘(B) DEMONSTRATION.—To qualify as a
person described in subparagraph (A), a person
must establish by a preponderance of the evi-
dence that the conditions in clauses (i) through
(viii) of subparagraph (A) have been met.
‘‘(C) BONA
FIDE
PROSPECTIVE
PUR-
CHASER.—Any person that does not qualify as
a person described in this paragraph because
the person had, or had reason to have, knowl-
edge specified in subparagraph (A)(viii) at the
time of acquisition of the real property may
qualify as a bona fide prospective purchaser
under section 101(40) if the person is otherwise
described in that section.
‘‘(D) GROUND WATER.—With respect to a
hazardous substance from 1 or more sources
that are not on the property of a person that
is a contiguous property owner that enters
ground water beneath the property of the per-
son solely as a result of subsurface migration in
an aquifer, subparagraph (A)(iii) shall not re-
quire the person to conduct ground water inves-
tigations or to install ground water remediation
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systems, except in accordance with the policy of
the Environmental Protection Agency con-
cerning owners of property containing contami-
nated aquifers, dated May 24, 1995.
‘‘(2) EFFECT OF LAW.—With respect to a per-
son described in this subsection, nothing in this
subsection—
‘‘(A) limits any defense to liability that
may be available to the person under any other
provision of law; or
‘‘(B) imposes liability on the person that is
not otherwise imposed by subsection (a).
‘‘(3) ASSURANCES.—The Administrator may—
‘‘(A) issue an assurance that no enforce-
ment action under this Act will be initiated
against a person described in paragraph (1);
and
‘‘(B) grant a person described in para-
graph (1) protection against a cost recovery or
contribution action under section 113(f).’’.
SEC. 222. PROSPECTIVE PURCHASERS AND WINDFALL
LIENS.
(a) DEFINITION OF BONA FIDE PROSPECTIVE PUR-
CHASER.—Section 101 of the Comprehensive Environ-
mental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of
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1980 (42 U.S.C. 9601) (as amended by section 211(a) of
this Act) is amended by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(40) BONA FIDE PROSPECTIVE PURCHASER.—
The term ‘bona fide prospective purchaser’ means a
person (or a tenant of a person) that acquires own-
ership of a facility after the date of enactment of
this paragraph and that establishes each of the fol-
lowing by a preponderance of the evidence:
‘‘(A) DISPOSAL PRIOR TO ACQUISITION.—
All disposal of hazardous substances at the fa-
cility occurred before the person acquired the
facility.
‘‘(B) INQUIRIES.—
‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The person made
all appropriate inquiries into the previous
ownership and uses of the facility in ac-
cordance with generally accepted good
commercial and customary standards and
practices in accordance with clauses (ii)
and (iii).
‘‘(ii) STANDARDS AND PRACTICES.—
The standards and practices referred to in
clauses (ii) and (iv) of paragraph (35)(B)
shall be considered to satisfy the require-
ments of this subparagraph.
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‘‘(iii) RESIDENTIAL USE.—In the case
of property in residential or other similar
use at the time of purchase by a non-
governmental or noncommercial entity, a
facility inspection and title search that re-
veal no basis for further investigation shall
be considered to satisfy the requirements
of this subparagraph.
‘‘(C) NOTICES.—The person provides all
legally required notices with respect to the dis-
covery or release of any hazardous substances
at the facility.
‘‘(D) CARE.—The person exercises appro-
priate care with respect to hazardous sub-
stances found at the facility by taking reason-
able steps to—
‘‘(i) stop any continuing release;
‘‘(ii) prevent any threatened future re-
lease; and
‘‘(iii) prevent or limit human, environ-
mental, or natural resource exposure to
any previously released hazardous sub-
stance.
‘‘(E) COOPERATION, ASSISTANCE, AND AC-
CESS.—The person provides full cooperation,
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assistance, and access to persons that are au-
thorized to conduct response actions or natural
resource restoration at a vessel or facility (in-
cluding the cooperation and access necessary
for the installation, integrity, operation, and
maintenance of any complete or partial re-
sponse actions or natural resource restoration
at the vessel or facility).
‘‘(F) 
INSTITUTIONAL
CONTROL.—The
person—
‘‘(i) is in compliance with any land
use restrictions established or relied on in
connection with the response action at a
vessel or facility; and
‘‘(ii) does not impede the effectiveness
or integrity of any institutional control em-
ployed at the vessel or facility in connec-
tion with a response action.
‘‘(G) REQUESTS; SUBPOENAS.—The person
complies with any request for information or
administrative subpoena issued by the President
under this Act.
‘‘(H) NO
AFFILIATION.—The person is
not—
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‘‘(i) potentially liable, or affiliated
with any other person that is potentially
liable, for response costs at a facility
through—
‘‘(I) any direct or indirect famil-
ial relationship; or
‘‘(II) any contractual, corporate,
or financial relationship (other than a
contractual, corporate, or financial re-
lationship that is created by the in-
struments by which title to the facility
is conveyed or financed or by a con-
tract for the sale of goods or services);
or
‘‘(ii) the result of a reorganization of
a business entity that was potentially lia-
ble.’’.
(b) PROSPECTIVE
PURCHASER
AND
WINDFALL
LIEN.—Section 107 of the Comprehensive Environmental
Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (42
U.S.C. 9607) (as amended by this Act) is further amended
by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(r) PROSPECTIVE
PURCHASER
AND
WINDFALL
LIEN.—
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‘‘(1) LIMITATION
ON
LIABILITY.—Notwith-
standing subsection (a)(1), a bona fide prospective
purchaser whose potential liability for a release or
threatened release is based solely on the purchaser’s
being considered to be an owner or operator of a fa-
cility shall not be liable as long as the bona fide pro-
spective purchaser does not impede the performance
of a response action or natural resource restoration.
‘‘(2) LIEN.—If there are unrecovered response
costs incurred by the United States at a facility for
which an owner of the facility is not liable by reason
of paragraph (1), and if each of the conditions de-
scribed in paragraph (3) is met, the United States
shall have a lien on the facility, or may by agree-
ment with the owner, obtain from the owner a lien
on any other property or other assurance of payment
satisfactory to the Administrator, for the unre-
covered response costs.
‘‘(3) CONDITIONS.—The conditions referred to
in paragraph (2) are the following:
‘‘(A) RESPONSE ACTION.—A response ac-
tion for which there are unrecovered costs of
the United States is carried out at the facility.
‘‘(B) FAIR MARKET VALUE.—The response
action increases the fair market value of the fa-
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cility above the fair market value of the facility
that existed before the response action was ini-
tiated.
‘‘(4) AMOUNT; DURATION.—A lien under para-
graph (2)—
‘‘(A) shall be in an amount not to exceed
the increase in fair market value of the prop-
erty attributable to the response action at the
time of a sale or other disposition of the prop-
erty;
‘‘(B) shall arise at the time at which costs
are first incurred by the United States with re-
spect to a response action at the facility;
‘‘(C) shall be subject to the requirements
of subsection (l)(3); and
‘‘(D) shall continue until the earlier of—
‘‘(i) satisfaction of the lien by sale or
other means; or
‘‘(ii) notwithstanding any statute of
limitations under section 113, recovery of
all response costs incurred at the facility.’’.
SEC. 223. INNOCENT LANDOWNERS.
Section 101(35) of the Comprehensive Environmental
Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (42
U.S.C. 9601(35)) is amended—
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(1) in subparagraph (A)—
(A) in the first sentence, in the matter pre-
ceding clause (i), by striking ‘‘deeds or’’ and in-
serting ‘‘deeds, easements, leases, or’’; and
(B) in the second sentence—
(i) by striking ‘‘he’’ and inserting ‘‘the
defendant’’; and
(ii) by striking the period at the end
and inserting ‘‘, provides full cooperation,
assistance, and facility access to the per-
sons that are authorized to conduct re-
sponse actions at the facility (including the
cooperation and access necessary for the
installation, integrity, operation, and main-
tenance of any complete or partial re-
sponse action at the facility), is in compli-
ance with any land use restrictions estab-
lished or relied on in connection with the
response action at a facility, and does not
impede the effectiveness or integrity of any
institutional control employed at the facil-
ity in connection with a response action.’’;
and
(2) by striking subparagraph (B) and inserting
the following:
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‘‘(B) REASON TO KNOW.—
‘‘(i) ALL APPROPRIATE INQUIRIES.—
To establish that the defendant had no
reason to know of the matter described in
subparagraph (A)(i), the defendant must
demonstrate to a court that—
‘‘(I) on or before the date on
which the defendant acquired the fa-
cility, the defendant carried out all
appropriate inquiries, as provided in
clauses (ii) and (iv), into the previous
ownership and uses of the facility in
accordance with generally accepted
good 
commercial 
and 
customary
standards and practices; and
‘‘(II) the defendant took reason-
able steps to—
‘‘(aa) stop any continuing
release;
‘‘(bb) prevent any threat-
ened future release; and
‘‘(cc) prevent or limit any
human, environmental, or natural
resource exposure to any pre-
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viously released hazardous sub-
stance.
‘‘(ii) STANDARDS AND PRACTICES.—
Not later than 2 years after the date of en-
actment of the Brownfields Revitalization
and Environmental Restoration Act of
2001, the Administrator shall by regula-
tion establish standards and practices for
the purpose of satisfying the requirement
to carry out all appropriate inquiries under
clause (i).
‘‘(iii) 
CRITERIA.—In 
promulgating
regulations that establish the standards
and practices referred to in clause (ii), the
Administrator shall include each of the fol-
lowing:
‘‘(I) The results of an inquiry by
an environmental professional.
‘‘(II) Interviews with past and
present owners, operators, and occu-
pants of the facility for the purpose of
gathering information regarding the
potential for contamination at the fa-
cility.
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‘‘(III) 
Reviews 
of 
historical
sources, such as chain of title docu-
ments, aerial photographs, building
department records, and land use
records, to determine previous uses
and occupancies of the real property
since the property was first developed.
‘‘(IV) Searches for recorded envi-
ronmental cleanup liens against the
facility that are filed under Federal,
State, or local law.
‘‘(V) Reviews of Federal, State,
and local government records, waste
disposal records, underground storage
tank records, and hazardous waste
handling, generation, treatment, dis-
posal, and spill records, concerning
contamination at or near the facility.
‘‘(VI) Visual inspections of the
facility and of adjoining properties.
‘‘(VII) Specialized knowledge or
experience on the part of the defend-
ant.
‘‘(VIII) The relationship of the
purchase price to the value of the