[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1206 Introduced in House (IH)]







105th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1206

To require the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to 
 establish a program under which States may be certified to carry out 
 voluntary environmental cleanup programs for low and medium priority 
sites to protect human health and the environment and promote economic 
                              development.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 20, 1997

Mr. Visclosky introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
      Committee on 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 committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To require the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to 
 establish a program under which States may be certified to carry out 
 voluntary environmental cleanup programs for low and medium priority 
sites to protect human health and the environment and promote economic 
                              development.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Brownfield Cleanup and Redevelopment 
Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.

    (a) Findings.--The Congress finds:
            (1) Nationwide, older abandoned or under-used commercial 
        and industrial sites known as brownfields are often overlooked 
        for redevelopment because of real or perceived contamination 
        from past commercial or industrial activities.
            (2) Reuse of these sites often requires site assessment and 
        cleanup, adding costs and uncertainties to the redevelopment 
        process, and prompting many developers to pursue cheaper, less 
        complicated development options on undeveloped sites.
            (3) Industrialized metropolitan areas and small towns alike 
        are affected adversely by these competing pressures, as loss of 
        tax revenues and job opportunities for community residents lead 
        to a deterioration of the urban environment, including the 
        presence of unremediated environmental contamination.
            (4) States have created remedial action programs to allow a 
        person to respond voluntarily to a release or suspected release 
        of hazardous substances at low and medium priority facilities. 
        Such programs have flourished due to the States' ability to 
        streamline duplicative State and Federal regulatory 
        requirements and affect a timely, cost-effective, and 
        environmentally protective cleanup of sites.
            (5) The benefits of State voluntary cleanup programs would 
        be significantly enhanced in the context of a Federal system 
        that encourages Federal-State partnerships, provides legal 
        finality to the cleanup process, and removes Federal 
        requirements for certain procedural permits for cleanups 
        conducted under certified State voluntary cleanup programs.
    (b) Purpose.--The purpose of this Act is to ensure the quality of 
State brownfield cleanup and redevelopment efforts by establishing 
Federal criteria for State voluntary cleanup programs and to provide 
certainty by removing the cleanup of eligible brownfield facilities and 
properties remediated through certified State voluntary cleanup 
programs from coverage under certain other Federal laws.

SEC. 3. CERTIFICATION OF STATE VOLUNTARY CLEANUP PROGRAMS.

    (a) In General.--Not later than one year after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the Environmental 
Protection Agency (hereinafter in this Act referred to as the 
``Administrator'') shall establish, and publish in the Federal 
Register, certification criteria under subsection (d) for State 
programs for the voluntary cleanup of eligible facilities. If a State 
meets the criteria for certification, the Administrator shall certify 
the State to carry out the cleanup program in such State at 
eligible Facilities in lieu of any Federal program that addresses the 
cleanup of such facilities under the Comprehensive Environmental 
Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 or the Solid Waste 
Disposal Act.
    (b) Certification of State Programs.--The Administrator shall 
certify a State program for the voluntary cleanup of eligible 
facilities within 120 days after the Administrator receives adequate 
documentation from the State indicating that the State program meets 
the certification criteria established under subsection (d).
    (c) Federal-State Cooperation and State Certification.--The 
Administrator shall cooperate with the State to ensure that State 
programs continue to meet the terms of the certification issued 
pursuant to subsection (b). The Administrator shall convene annual 
meetings to discuss the status of the State program and to encourage 
continuing dialogue. The Administrator shall notify the State of any 
failure of the State program to continue to meet the certification 
criteria established under subsection (d) and shall assist the State in 
remedying such deficiency. If any such deficiency is substantial and is 
not remedied in a timely manner, the Administrator may withdraw the 
certification. Withdrawal of certification shall not affect any cleanup 
completed and approved by the State as of the date of such withdrawal.
    (d) Certification Criteria.--In order for a State voluntary cleanup 
program to be certified under this section, the program shall meet each 
of the following criteria:
            (1) The program shall provide that only eligible 
        facilities, as described in subsection (d), may participate in 
        the program.
            (2) The program shall provide adequate opportunities for 
        meaningful public participation in the development and 
        implementation of cleanup plans for eligible facilities. Public 
        participation requirements shall include, but not be limited 
        to, providing opportunity for affected parties to review and 
        comment on cleanup documents and plans, and providing 
        opportunity for public input to the remedy selection process. 
        Affected parties shall include, but not be limited to, local 
        work force representatives, adjacent community residents, and 
        local environmental and health officials and other public 
        interest organizations.
            (3) The program shall ensure that technical assistance is 
        available throughout each voluntary cleanup.
            (4) The program shall ensure that adequate resources are 
        available to carry out cleanup under the program and to 
        administer the program.
            (5) The program shall ensure adequate oversight and 
        enforcement authority.
            (6) The program shall provide for a certification from the 
        State to the owner or prospective purchaser of an eligible 
        facility that the cleanup is complete.
    (e) Eligible Facilities.--For purposes of this Act, the term 
``eligible facility'' means a facility or property that is a low- or 
medium-priority environmental hazard for the State, but whose 
environmental contamination is thought to be preventing the timely use, 
redevelopment, or reuse of the facility or property, and is thought to 
be limited in scope and readily assessable, except that such term shall 
not include any of the following:
            (1) A facility for which an abatement action has been taken 
        or is scheduled to be taken under section 106 of the 
        Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and 
        Liability Act of 1980 or for which an action has been taken or 
        is scheduled to be taken under section 7003 of the Solid Waste 
        Disposal Act.
            (2) A facility that is the subject of a Federal response 
        action under section 104 of the Comprehensive Environmental 
        Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 
        9601 et seq.).
            (3) A facility included on the National Priorities List or 
        proposed for inclusion and for which documentation for listing 
        has been prepared by the State or the Administrator.
            (4) A facility required to have a permit under section 3005 
        of the Solid Waste Disposal Act that does not have a permit 
        under that section and does not qualify for authorization to 
        operate in interim status under subsection (e) of that section.
            (5) A land disposal unit with respect to which a closure 
        requirement under subtitle C of the Solid Waste Disposal Act 
        (42 U.S.C. 6921 et seq.) is submitted and closure requirements 
        are specified in a closure plan or permit.
            (6) A facility that is the subject of a corrective action 
        under section 3004(u) or 3008(h) of the Solid Waste Disposal 
        Act (42 U.S.C. 5924(u) or 6928(h)) that has been evaluated as 
        high priority under the Environmental Protection Agency's 
        National Corrective Action Priority System as set forth in 
        regulations under subtitle C of the Solid Waste Disposal Act.
            (7) A facility at which assistance for response activities 
        may be obtained pursuant to subtitle I of the Solid Waste 
        Disposal Act (42 U.S.C. 6991 et seq.) from the Leaking 
        Underground Storage Tank Trust Fund established under section 
        9508 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.
            (8) A facility owned or operated by a department, agency, 
        or instrumentality of the United States.
    (f) Relationship to Permit Requirements.--For any cleanup conducted 
under a State voluntary cleanup program certified under this section, 
if the cleanup is carried out in compliance with the certified program 
the State may modify any procedural permit requirement in order to 
expedite the cleanup.

SEC. 4. AUTHORITY UNDER CERCLA.

    Notwithstanding subsection (a) of section 3, the Administrator 
may--
            (1) take any action authorized by section 103 of the 
        Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and 
        Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9603), or
            (2) carry out investigations, monitoring, surveys, testing, 
        or other information gathering authorized under section 104(b) 
        of such Act (42 U.S.C. 9604(b)) with respect to facilities that 
        are subject to a State voluntary response program, but only for 
        purposes of determining whether the facility qualifies for 
        listing on the National Priorities List pursuant to section 105 
        (42 U.S.C. 9605) of that Act.
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