[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5175 Introduced in House (IH)]







106th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 5175

    To provide relief to small businesses from liability under the 
 Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act 
                                of 1980.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 14, 2000

   Mr. Oxley (for himself, Mr. Boehlert, Mr. Holden, Mr. Cramer, Mr. 
  Bliley, Mr. Stenholm, Mr. Shimkus, Mr. Lipinski, Mr. Greenwood, Mr. 
    Condit, Mr. Sherwood, Mr. Barcia, and Mr. Upton) 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 provide relief to small businesses from liability under the 
 Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act 
                                of 1980.

    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 ``Small Business Liability Relief 
Act''.

SEC. 2. SMALL BUSINESS LIABILITY RELIEF.

    (a) Liability Exemptions.--Section 107 of the Comprehensive 
Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (42 
U.S.C. 9607) is amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(o) Small Business De Micromis Exemption.--
            ``(1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraphs (2) and 
        (3), a business entity that, during its 3 taxable years 
        preceding the date on which the business entity first receives 
        or received written notification from the President of its 
        potential liability under this section, (A) employed on average 
        not more than 100 full-time individuals (notwithstanding 
        fluctuations resulting from seasonal employment) or the 
        equivalent thereof, and (B) had, on average, annual revenues of 
        $3,000,000 or less, as reported to the Internal Revenue 
        Service, shall be liable under paragraph (3) or (4) of 
        subsection (a) to the United States or any other person 
        (including liability for contribution) for any response costs 
        incurred with respect to a facility only if the total of 
        material containing a hazardous substance that the business 
        entity arranged for disposal or treatment of, arranged with a 
        transporter for transport for disposal or treatment of, or 
        accepted for transport for disposal or treatment, at the 
        facility, was greater than 110 gallons of liquid material or 
        greater than 200 pounds of solid material.
            ``(2) Exception.--Paragraph (1) shall not apply if the 
        President determines that--
                    ``(A) the material containing a hazardous substance 
                referred to in paragraph (1) contributed or could 
                contribute significantly, individually or in the 
                aggregate, to the cost of the response action with 
                respect to the facility; or
                    ``(B) the business entity has failed to comply with 
                an administrative subpoena or any reasonable request 
                for information issued by the President under this Act, 
                or has impeded or is impeding the performance of a 
                response action with respect to the facility.
            ``(3) Time period covered.--Paragraph (1) shall only apply 
        to material that a business entity arranged for disposal or 
        treatment of, arranged with a transporter for transport for 
        disposal or treatment of, or accepted for transport for 
        disposal or treatment, at a facility before the date of the 
        enactment of the Small Business Liability Relief Act.
    ``(p) Municipal Solid Waste Exemption.--
            ``(1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (2), a 
        person may be liable for response costs under paragraph (3) or 
        (4) of subsection (a) for municipal solid waste at a facility 
        only if the person is not--
                    ``(A) an owner, operator, or lessee of residential 
                property from which all of the person's municipal solid 
                waste was generated with respect to the facility;
                    ``(B) a business entity that--
                            ``(i) during its 3 taxable years preceding 
                        the date on which the business entity first 
                        receives or received written notification from 
                        the President of its potential liability under 
                        this section, employed on average not more than 
                        100 full-time individuals (notwithstanding 
                        significant fluctuations resulting from 
                        seasonal employment), or the equivalent 
                        thereof; and
                            ``(ii) generated all of its municipal solid 
                        waste with respect to the facility; or
                    ``(C) an organization described in section 
                501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and 
                exempt from tax under section 501(a) of such Code that, 
                during its taxable year preceding the date on which the 
                organization first receives or received written 
                notification from the President of its potential 
                liability under this section, employed not more than 
                100 paid individuals at the location from which was 
                generated all of the municipal solid waste attributable 
                to the organization with respect to the facility.
            ``(2) Exception.--Notwithstanding paragraph (1), a person 
        may be liable under this section if the President determines 
        that the person has failed to substantially comply with an 
        administrative subpoena or any reasonable request for 
        information issued by the President under this Act, or has 
        impeded or is impeding the performance of a response action 
        with respect to the facility.
            ``(3) Definition of municipal solid waste.--
                    ``(A) In general.--For purposes of this subsection, 
                the term `municipal solid waste' means waste material--
                            ``(i) generated by a household (including a 
                        single or multifamily residence, hotel, or 
                        motel); and
                            ``(ii) generated by a commercial, 
                        institutional, or industrial source, to the 
                        extent that the waste material--
                                    ``(I) is essentially the same as 
                                waste normally generated by a 
                                household; or
                                    ``(II) is collected and disposed of 
                                with other municipal solid waste as 
                                part of normal municipal solid waste 
                                collection services and, with respect 
                                to each source from which the waste 
                                material is collected, qualifies for a 
                                small business de micromis exemption 
                                under subsection (o).
                    ``(B) Examples.--Examples of municipal solid waste 
                under subparagraph (A) include food and yard waste, 
                paper, clothing, appliances, consumer product 
                packaging, disposable diapers, office supplies, 
                cosmetics, glass and metal food containers, elementary 
                or secondary school science laboratory waste, and 
                household hazardous waste.
                    ``(C) Exclusions.--The term `municipal solid waste' 
                does not include--
                            ``(i) combustion ash generated by resource 
                        recovery facilities or municipal incinerators; 
                        or
                            ``(ii) waste material from manufacturing or 
                        processing operations (including pollution 
                        control operations) that is not essentially the 
                        same as waste normally generated by households.
            ``(4) Costs and fees.--A person that commences a 
        contribution action under section 113 shall be liable to the 
        defendant for all reasonable costs of defending the action, 
        including all reasonable attorney's fees and expert witness 
        fees, if the defendant is not liable for contribution based on 
        an exemption under this subsection or subsection (o).''.
    (b) Expedited Settlement for De Minimis Contributions and Limited 
Ability To Pay.--
            (1) Parties eligible.--Section 122(g) of such Act (42 
        U.S.C. 9622(g)) is amended--
                    (A) in paragraph (1) by redesignating subparagraph 
                (B) as subparagraph (E);
                    (B) by striking ``(g)'' and all that follows 
                through the period at the end of paragraph (1)(A) and 
                inserting the following:
    ``(g) Expedited Final Settlement.--
            ``(1) Parties eligible.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The President shall, as 
                expeditiously as practicable, notify of eligibility for 
                a settlement, and offer to reach a final administrative 
                or judicial settlement with, each potentially 
                responsible party that, in the judgment of the 
                President, meets 1 or more of the conditions set forth 
                in subparagraphs (B), (C), and (E).
                    ``(B) De minimis contribution.--The condition for 
                settlement under this subparagraph is that the 
                liability of the potentially responsible party is for 
                response costs based on paragraph (3) or (4) of 
                subsection (a) of section 107 and the potentially 
                responsible party's contribution of hazardous 
                substances at a facility is de minimis. For the 
                purposes of this subparagraph, a potentially 
                responsible party's contribution shall be considered to 
                be de minimis only if the President determines that 
                each of the following criteria are met:
                            ``(i) The quantity of material containing a 
                        hazardous substance contributed by the 
                        potentially responsible party to the facility 
                        is minimal relative to the total quantity of 
                        material containing hazardous substances at the 
                        facility. The quantity of a potentially 
                        responsible party's contribution shall be 
                        presumed to be minimal if the quantity is 1 
                        percent or less of the total quantity of 
                        material containing hazardous substances at the 
                        facility, unless the Administrator establishes 
                        a different threshold based on site-specific 
                        factors.
                            ``(ii) The material containing a hazardous 
                        substance contributed by the potentially 
                        responsible party does not present toxic or 
                        other hazardous effects that are significantly 
                        greater than the toxic or other hazardous 
                        effects of other material containing hazardous 
                        substances at the facility.
                    ``(C) Reduction in settlement amount based on 
                limited ability to pay.--
                            ``(i) In general.--The condition for 
                        settlement under this subparagraph is that the 
                        potentially responsible party is a natural 
                        person or a small business and demonstrates to 
                        the President an inability or a limited ability 
                        to pay response costs.
                            ``(ii) Considerations.--In determining 
                        whether or not a demonstration is made under 
                        clause (i) by a small business, the President 
shall take into consideration the ability of the small business to pay 
response costs and still maintain its basic business operations, 
including consideration of the overall financial condition of the small 
business and demonstrable constraints on the ability of the small 
business to raise revenues.
                            ``(iii) Information.--A small business 
                        requesting settlement under this subparagraph 
                        shall promptly provide the President with all 
                        relevant information needed to determine the 
                        ability of the small business to pay response 
                        costs.
                            ``(iv) Alternative payment methods.--If the 
                        President determines that a small business is 
                        unable to pay its total settlement amount at 
                        the time of settlement, the President shall 
                        consider such alternative payment methods as 
                        may be necessary or appropriate.
                    ``(D) Additional conditions for expedited 
                settlements.--
                            ``(i) Waiver of claims.--The President 
                        shall require, as a condition for settlement 
                        under this paragraph, that a potentially 
                        responsible party waive all of the claims 
                        (including a claim for contribution under 
                        section 113) that the party may have against 
                        other potentially responsible parties for 
                        response costs incurred with respect to the 
                        facility, unless the President determines that 
                        requiring a waiver would be unjust.
                            ``(ii) Failure to comply.--The President 
                        may decline to offer a settlement to a 
                        potentially responsible party under this 
                        paragraph if the President determines that the 
                        potentially responsible party has failed to 
                        comply with any request for access or 
                        information or an administrative subpoena 
                        issued by the President under this Act or has 
                        impeded or is impeding the performance of a 
                        response action with respect to the facility.
                            ``(iii) Responsibility to provide 
                        information and access.--A potentially 
                        responsible party that enters into a settlement 
                        under this paragraph shall not be relieved of 
                        the responsibility to provide any information 
                        or access requested in accordance with 
                        subsection (e)(3)(B) or section 104(e).'';
                    (C) in subparagraph (E) of paragraph (1) (as 
                redesignated by subparagraph (A))--
                            (i) by redesignating clauses (i) through 
                        (iii) as subclauses (I) through (III), 
                        respectively, and by moving such subclauses and 
                        the matter following subclause (III) (as so 
                        redesignated) 2 ems to the right;
                            (ii) by striking ``(E) The potentially 
                        responsible party'' and inserting the 
                        following:
                    ``(E) Owners of real property.--
                            ``(i) In general.--The condition for 
                        settlement this subparagraph is that the 
                        potentially responsible party''; and
                            (iii) by striking ``This subparagraph (B)'' 
                        and inserting the following:
                            ``(ii) Applicability.--Clause (i)''; and
                    (D) by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(F) Basis of determination.--If the President 
                determines that a potentially responsible party is not 
                eligible for settlement under this paragraph, the 
                President shall provide the reasons for the 
                determination in writing to any potentially responsible 
                party that requests a settlement under this paragraph.
                    ``(G) No judicial review.--A determination by the 
                President under this paragraph shall not be subject to 
                judicial review.
                    ``(H) Definition of small business.--In this 
                paragraph, the term `small business' means a business 
                entity that, during its 3 taxable years preceding the 
                date on which the business entity first receives or 
                received written notification from the President of its 
                potential liability under section 107, employed on 
                average not more than 100 full-time individuals 
                (notwithstanding fluctuations resulting from seasonal 
                employment) or the equivalent thereof.''.
            (2) Settlement offers.--Such section 122(g) is further 
        amended--
                    (A) by redesignating paragraph (6) as paragraph 
                (9); and
                    (B) by inserting after paragraph (5) the following:
            ``(6) Settlement offers.--
                    ``(A) Notification and offer.--As soon as 
                practicable after receipt of sufficient information to 
                make a determination, the President shall--
                            ``(i) notify any person that the President 
                        determines is eligible under paragraph (1) of 
                        the person's eligibility for an expedited 
                        settlement; and
                            ``(ii) submit a written settlement offer to 
                        such person.
                    ``(B) Information.--At the time at which the 
                President submits an offer under this subsection, the 
                President shall make available, at the request of the 
                recipient of the offer, to the recipient any 
                information available under section 552 of title 5, 
                United States Code, on which the President bases the 
                settlement offer, and if the settlement offer is based 
                in whole or in part on information not available under 
                that section, so inform the recipient.
            ``(7) Litigation moratorium.--
                    ``(A) In general.--No person that has received 
                notification from the President under paragraph (6) 
                that the person is eligible for an expedited settlement 
                with respect to a facility under paragraph (1) shall be 
                named as a defendant in any action under this Act for 
                recovery of response costs (including an action for 
                contribution) with respect to the facility during the 
                period--
                            ``(i) beginning on the date on which the 
                        person receives from the President written 
                        notice of the person's potential liability and 
                        notice that the person is a party that may 
                        qualify for an expedited settlement with 
                        respect to the facility; and
                            ``(ii) ending on the earlier of--
                                    ``(I) the date that is 90 days 
                                after the date on which the President 
                                tenders a written settlement offer to 
                                the person with respect to the 
                                facility; or
                                    ``(II) the date that is 1 year 
                                after receipt of notice from the 
                                President that the person may qualify 
                                for an expedited settlement with 
                                respect to the facility.
                    ``(B) Suspension of period of limitation.--The 
                period of limitation under section 113(g) applicable to 
                a claim against a person described in subparagraph (A) 
                for response costs, natural resource damages, or 
                contribution shall be suspended during the period 
                described in subparagraph (A).
            ``(8) Notice of settlement.--After a settlement under this 
        subsection becomes final with respect to a facility, the 
        President shall promptly notify potentially responsible parties 
        at the facility that have not resolved their liability to the 
        United States of the settlement.''.
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