[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3207 Introduced in House (IH)]







106th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3207

To authorize research, development, and demonstration activities under 
section 311 of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, 
     and Liability Act of 1980 for fiscal years 2000 through 2004.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            November 3, 1999

Mr. Sensenbrenner (for himself, Mr. Hall of Texas, Mr. Calvert, and Mr. 
  Costello) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
      Committee on Commerce, and in addition to the Committees on 
  Transportation and Infrastructure, and Science, 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 authorize research, development, and demonstration activities under 
section 311 of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, 
     and Liability Act of 1980 for fiscal years 2000 through 2004.

    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 ``Superfund Research, Development, and 
Demonstration Act of 1999''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds the following:
            (1) The Superfund Innovative Treatment and Evaluation 
        (SITE) program carried out under the authority of section 
        311(b) of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, 
        Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 has helped private 
        sector developers to market innovative Superfund clean-up 
        treatment technologies for more than 10 years.
            (2) Technologies demonstrated and evaluated through the 
        SITE program have been successfully deployed at many Superfund 
        and Resource Conservation and Recovery Act sites, resulting in 
        significant cost savings and faster remediation of those sites.
            (3) The Environmental Protection Agency's Science Advisory 
        Board has found that SITE program accomplishments have been 
        ``impressive'' and that ``the need for improved technology to 
        prevent, reduce, or remediate environmental contamination 
        remains a national priority''.
            (4) The University Hazardous Substance Research Centers 
        authorized under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, 
        Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 have played an 
        important role in conducting basic research, developing 
        innovative clean-up technologies, and providing invaluable 
        technical assistance to communities.
            (5) The SITE program and related hazardous substance 
        research program should be reauthorized with an emphasis on 
        meeting the emerging technical and scientific challenges 
        presented by the use of remediated sites (including 
        brownfields), developing technologies to address remediation at 
        remaining sites with complex contamination characteristics, and 
        transferring technology and technical capabilities to a wider 
        variety of remediation needs.

SEC. 3. AMENDMENTS.

    (a) Section 111(n) of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, 
Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9611(n)) is 
amended--
            (1) in paragraph (1) by striking ``1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 
        1991, 1992, 1993, and 1994'' and inserting ``2000, 2001, 2002, 
        2003, and 2004'';
            (2) by amending paragraph (2) to read as follows:
            ``(2) Section 311(a).--For each of the fiscal years 2000, 
        2001, 2002, 2003, and 2004, not more than $35,000,000 of the 
        amounts available in the Fund may be used for the purposes of 
        section 311(a). Not more than 10 percent of such amounts may be 
        used for training under section 311(a) in any fiscal year.''; 
        and
            (3) in paragraph (3) by striking ``1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 
        1991, 1992, 1993, and 1994'' and inserting ``2000, 2001, 2002, 
        2003, and 2004''.
    (b) Section 311(a) of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, 
Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9660(a)) is amended 
by striking paragraph (6).
    (c) Section 311(b) of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, 
Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9660(b) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (4) by striking ``Each such project'' and 
        inserting ``The Administrator may enter into agreements with 
        persons, public entities (including the Department of Defense, 
        the Department of Energy, and other Federal agencies), and 
        nonprofit private entities, to arrange for the use of other 
        sites appropriate for carrying out hazardous substances 
        research, testing, evaluation, development, and demonstration 
        projects. Each project under this paragraph'';
            (2) in paragraph (5)(B) by inserting ``or other appropriate 
        sites'' after ``section 104'';
            (3) in paragraph (5)(E) by striking ``10 sites at which a 
        response may be undertaken under section 104'' and insert in 
        lieu thereof ``suitable sites'';
            (4) by striking paragraph (6); and
            (5) in paragraph (8)--
                    (A) by inserting after the first sentence the 
                following: ``As part of such technology transfer 
                program, the Administrator shall strive to enter into 
                agreements with the Department of Defense, the 
                Department of Energy, and other Federal agencies to 
                ensure the effective transfer to those agencies and 
                their contractors of technologies potentially 
                applicable to remediation or containment of hazardous 
                substances at sites owned or operated by such 
                agencies.''; and
                    (B) by striking ``for such information'' and 
                inserting ``for information collected under this 
                paragraph''.
    (d) Section 311(d) of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, 
Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9660(d)) is 
amended--
            (1) by striking the last sentence of paragraph (1);
            (2) by amending paragraph (2) to read as follows:
            ``(2) Responsibilities of centers.--The responsibilities of 
        each hazardous substance research center established under this 
        subsection shall include, but not be limited to, the conduct of 
        research and training, and the provision of technical 
        assistance and technology transfer to local, State, and 
        regional entities, relating to the manufacture, use, 
        transportation, disposal, treatment, effects, detection, 
        characterization, and management of hazardous substances, and 
        publication and dissemination of information related 
        thereto.'';
            (3) in paragraph (7) by inserting ``or the acquisition, 
        expansion, remodeling, or alteration of an existing building 
        (including site grading and improvement and architect fees)'' 
        after ``any building''; and
            (4) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
            ``(11) Funding levels.--Subject to the availability of 
        appropriations, the Administrator shall maintain funding for 
        each hazardous substance research center established under this 
        subsection at a level not less than that funded in fiscal year 
        1999 until such time as the Administrator completes the next 
        competitive selection process for the centers.''.
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