[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 996 Introduced in House (IH)]







105th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 996

 To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to permit the issuance of 
 tax-exempt bonds to finance environmental remediation of contaminated 
                                 sites.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 6, 1997

Mr. Weller (for himself, Mr. Lipinski, Mr. Crane, Mr. Rush, Mr. Fawell, 
 Mr. Jackson of Illinois, Mr. Manzullo, Mr. Gutierrez, Mr. English of 
  Pennsylvania Mr. Blagojevich, Mr. Shays, Mr. Davis of Illinois, Mr. 
   Costello, and Mr. Evans) introduced the following bill; which was 
              referred to the Committee on Ways and Means

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to permit the issuance of 
 tax-exempt bonds to finance environmental remediation of contaminated 
                                 sites.

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

SECTION 1. TAX-EXEMPT FINANCING OF ENVIRONMENTAL REMEDIATION OF 
              QUALIFIED CONTAMINATED SITES.

    (a) In General.--Subsection (e) of section 141 of the Internal 
Revenue Code of 1986 (defining qualified bond) is amended by striking 
``or'' at the end of subparagraph (F), by redesignating subparagraph 
(G) as subparagraph (H), and by inserting after subparagraph (F) the 
following new subparagraph:
                    ``(G) a qualified contaminated site remediation 
                bond, or''.
    (b) Qualified Contaminated Site Remediation Bond.--Section 144 of 
such Code is amended by adding at the end thereof the following new 
subsection:
    ``(d) Qualified Contaminated Site Remediation Bond.--For purposes 
of this part--
            ``(1) In general.--The term `qualified contaminated site 
        remediation bond' means any bond issued as part of an issue 95 
        percent or more of the proceeds of which are to finance--
                    ``(A) the acquisition of a qualified contaminated 
                site, or
                    ``(B) the costs of environmental remediation with 
                respect to such a site which is owned by the person 
                incurring such costs.
            ``(2) Limitations.--
                    ``(A) In general.--Such term shall not include any 
                bond issued to provide financing with respect to a 
                qualified contaminated site if--
                            ``(i) any amount of such financing is 
                        provided directly or indirectly to any 
                        ineligible person,
                            ``(ii) less than 60 percent of the amount 
                        of the financing so provided with respect to 
                        such site is for costs described in paragraph 
                        (1)(B), or
                            ``(iii) the amount of the financing so 
                        provided to acquire such site exceeds the 
                        excess of--
                                    ``(I) the fair market value of the 
                                site after the completion of the 
                                environmental remediation, over
                                    ``(II) the amount of the financing 
                                so provided with respect to such site 
                                for costs described in paragraph 
                                (1)(B).
                    ``(B) Ineligible person.--For purposes of 
                subparagraph (A), a person is an ineligible person with 
                respect to any site if--
                            ``(i) at any time on or before the date of 
                        the enactment of this subsection such person 
                        was the owner or operator of any business on 
                        such site,
                            ``(ii) at any time before, on, or after 
                        such date of enactment such person--
                                    ``(I) had (by contract, agreement, 
                                or otherwise) arranged for the disposal 
                                or treatment of any hazardous materials 
                                at such site or arranged with a 
                                transporter for transport for disposal 
                                or treatment of any hazardous materials 
                                at such site, or
                                    ``(II) had accepted any hazardous 
                                materials for transport to such site, 
                                or
                            ``(iii) the person is related to any person 
                        referred to in clause (i) or (ii).
                    ``(C) Related Person.--For purposes of this 
                paragraph, persons shall be treated as related to each 
                other if such persons are treated as a single employer 
                under the regulations prescribed under section 52(b) or 
                such persons bear a relationship to each other 
                specified in section 267(b) or 707(b).
            ``(3) Restriction on land acquisition not to apply.--
        Section 147(c) shall not apply to any qualified contaminated 
        site remediation bond.
            ``(4) Qualified contaminated site.--
                    ``(A) In general.--For purposes of this subsection, 
                the term `qualified contaminated site' means any site 
                if the appropriate agency certifies that at least 1 of 
                the following environmental conditions is present on 
                such site:
                            ``(i) A release or threatened release of 
                        any hazardous, toxic, or dangerous substance.
                            ``(ii) Any storage tanks which contain any 
                        hazardous, toxic, or dangerous substance.
                            ``(iii) Any illegal disposal of solid 
                        waste.
                Such term shall not include any site listed on the 
                National Priorities List under the Comprehensive 
                Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act 
                of 1980.
                    ``(B) Appropriate agency.--For purposes of 
                subparagraph (A), the appropriate agency is--
                            ``(i) the agency of the State in which the 
                        site is located which is designated by the 
                        Administrator of the Environmental Protection 
                        Agency for purposes of this paragraph, or
                            ``(ii) if the agency described in clause 
                        (i) designates an agency of the local 
                        government in which the site is located for 
                        purposes of this paragraph, such local 
                        government agency.
            ``(5) Hazardous, toxic, or dangerous substance.--For 
        purposes of this subsection, any substance, waste, or material 
        shall be treated as a hazardous, toxic, or dangerous substance 
        if it is so treated under--
                    ``(A) the Comprehensive Environmental Response, 
                Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9601 
                et seq.),
                    ``(B) the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act 
                (42 U.S.C. 6901 et seq.), or
                    ``(C) any State or local environmental law or 
                ordinance.
        The following materials shall in any event be treated as such a 
        substance: petroleum or crude oil or any derivative thereof, 
        friable asbestos or any asbestos containing material, 
        polychlorinated biphenyls, or urea formaldehyde foam 
        insulation.
            ``(6) Environmental remediation.--For purposes of this 
        subsection, the term `environmental remediation' means--
                    ``(A) removal or remediation activity, including 
                soil and ground water remediation,
                    ``(B) restoration of natural, historic, or cultural 
                resources at the site or the mitigation of unavoidable 
                losses of such resources incurred in connection with 
                the remediation or response activity,
                    ``(C) health assessments or health effects studies,
                    ``(D) environmental investigations,
                    ``(E) remediation of off-site contamination caused 
                by activity on the site, and
                    ``(F) any other costs reasonably required by reason 
                of the environmental conditions of the site including 
                demolition of existing contaminated structures, site 
                security, and permit fees necessary for remediation.''
    (c) Clerical Amendments.--
            (1) The section heading for section 144 of such Code is 
        amended by inserting before the period ``; qualified 
        contaminated site remediation bond''.
            (2) The table of sections for subpart A of part IV of 
        subchapter B of chapter 1 of such Code is amended by inserting 
        before the period at the end of the item relating to section 
        144 ``; qualified contaminated site remediation bond''.
    (d) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall 
apply to bonds issued after the date of the enactment of this Act.
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