[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 7]
[Senate]
[Pages 9949-9950]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




 BROWNFIELDS UTILIZATION, INVESTMENT, AND LOCAL DEVELOPMENT ACT OF 2015

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate 
proceed to the immediate consideration of Calendar No. 518, S. 1479.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the bill by title.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       A bill (S. 1479) to amend the Comprehensive Environmental 
     Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 to modify 
     provisions relating to grants, and for other purposes.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the bill.
  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the bill 
be read a third time and passed, and the motion to reconsider be 
considered made and laid upon the table.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The bill (S. 1479) was ordered to be engrossed for a third reading, 
was read the third time, and passed, as follows:

                                S. 1479

       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 ``Brownfields Utilization, 
     Investment, and Local Development Act of 2015'' or the 
     ``BUILD Act''.

     SEC. 2. EXPANDED ELIGIBILITY FOR NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS.

       Section 104(k)(1) of the Comprehensive Environmental 
     Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 
     9604(k)(1)) is amended--
       (1) in subparagraph (G), by striking ``or'' after the 
     semicolon;
       (2) in subparagraph (H), by striking the period at the end 
     and inserting a semicolon; and
       (3) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(I) an organization described in section 501(c)(3) of the 
     Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and exempt from taxation under 
     section 501(a) of that Code;
       ``(J) a limited liability corporation in which all managing 
     members are organizations described in subparagraph (I) or 
     limited liability corporations whose sole members are 
     organizations described in subparagraph (I);
       ``(K) a limited partnership in which all general partners 
     are organizations described in subparagraph (I) or limited 
     liability corporations whose sole members are organizations 
     described in subparagraph (I); or
       ``(L) a qualified community development entity (as defined 
     in section 45D(c)(1) of the Internal Revenue Code of 
     1986).''.

     SEC. 3. MULTIPURPOSE BROWNFIELDS GRANTS.

       Section 104(k) of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, 
     Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9604(k)) 
     is amended--
       (1) by redesignating paragraphs (4) through (9) and (10) 
     through (12) as paragraphs (5) through (10) and (13) through 
     (15), respectively;
       (2) in paragraph (3)(A), by striking ``subject to 
     paragraphs (4) and (5)'' and inserting ``subject to 
     paragraphs (5) and (6)''; and
       (3) by inserting after paragraph (3) the following:
       ``(4) Multipurpose brownfields grants.--
       ``(A) In general.--Subject to subparagraph (D) and 
     paragraphs (5) and (6), the Administrator shall establish a 
     program to provide multipurpose grants to an eligible entity 
     based on the considerations under paragraph (3)(C), to carry 
     out inventory, characterization, assessment, planning, or 
     remediation activities at 1 or more brownfield sites in a 
     proposed area.
       ``(B) Grant amounts.--
       ``(i) Individual grant amounts.--Each grant awarded under 
     this paragraph shall not exceed $950,000.
       ``(ii) Cumulative grant amounts.--The total amount of 
     grants awarded for each fiscal year under this paragraph 
     shall not exceed 15 percent of the funds made available for 
     the fiscal year to carry out this subsection.
       ``(C) Criteria.--In awarding a grant under this paragraph, 
     the Administrator shall consider the extent to which an 
     eligible entity is able--
       ``(i) to provide an overall plan for revitalization of the 
     1 or more brownfield sites in the proposed area in which the 
     multipurpose grant will be used;
       ``(ii) to demonstrate a capacity to conduct the range of 
     eligible activities that will be funded by the multipurpose 
     grant; and
       ``(iii) to demonstrate that a multipurpose grant will meet 
     the needs of the 1 or more brownfield sites in the proposed 
     area.
       ``(D) Condition.--As a condition of receiving a grant under 
     this paragraph, each eligible entity shall expend the full 
     amount of the grant not later than the date that is 3 years 
     after the date on which the grant is awarded to the eligible 
     entity unless the Administrator, in the discretion of the 
     Administrator, provides an extension.''.

     SEC. 4. TREATMENT OF CERTAIN PUBLICLY OWNED BROWNFIELD SITES.

       Section 104(k)(2) of the Comprehensive Environmental 
     Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 
     9604(k)(2)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
       ``(C) Exemption for certain publicly owned brownfield 
     sites.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law, an 
     eligible entity that is a governmental entity may receive a 
     grant under this paragraph for property acquired by that 
     governmental entity prior to January 11, 2002, even if the 
     governmental entity does not qualify as a bona fide 
     prospective purchaser (as that term is defined in section 
     101(40)), so long as the eligible entity has not caused or 
     contributed to a release or threatened release of a hazardous 
     substance at the property.''.

     SEC. 5. INCREASED FUNDING FOR REMEDIATION GRANTS.

       Section 104(k)(3)(A)(ii) of the Comprehensive Environmental 
     Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 
     9604(k)(3)(A)(ii)) is amended by striking ``$200,000 for each 
     site to be remediated'' and inserting ``$500,000 for each 
     site to be remediated, which limit may be waived by the 
     Administrator, but not to exceed a total of $650,000 for each 
     site, based on the anticipated level of contamination, size, 
     or ownership status of the site''.

     SEC. 6. ALLOWING ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS FOR GRANT RECIPIENTS.

       Paragraph (5) of section 104(k) of the Comprehensive 
     Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 
     1980 (42 U.S.C. 9604(k)) (as redesignated by section 3(1)) is 
     amended--
       (1) in subparagraph (B)--
       (A) in clause (i)--
       (i) by striking subclause (III); and
       (ii) by redesignating subclauses (IV) and (V) as subclauses 
     (III) and (IV), respectively;
       (B) by striking clause (ii);
       (C) by redesignating clause (iii) as clause (ii); and
       (D) in clause (ii) (as redesignated by subparagraph (C)), 
     by striking ``Notwithstanding clause (i)(IV)'' and inserting 
     ``Notwithstanding clause (i)(III)''; and
       (2) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(E) Administrative costs.--
       ``(i) In general.--An eligible entity may use up to 8 
     percent of the amounts made available under a grant or loan 
     under this subsection for administrative costs.
       ``(ii) Restriction.--For purposes of clause (i), the term 
     `administrative costs' does not include--

       ``(I) investigation and identification of the extent of 
     contamination;
       ``(II) design and performance of a response action; or
       ``(III) monitoring of a natural resource.''.

     SEC. 7. SMALL COMMUNITY TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE GRANTS.

       Paragraph (7)(A) of section 104(k) of the Comprehensive 
     Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 
     1980 (42 U.S.C. 9604(k)) (as redesignated by section 3(1)) is 
     amended--
       (1) by striking ``The Administrator may provide,'' and 
     inserting the following:
       ``(i) Definitions.--In this subparagraph:

       ``(I) Disadvantaged area.--The term `disadvantaged area' 
     means an area with an annual median household income that is 
     less than 80 percent of the State-wide annual median 
     household income, as determined by the latest available 
     decennial census.
       ``(II) Small community.--The term `small community' means a 
     community with a population of not more than 15,000 
     individuals, as determined by the latest available decennial 
     census.

       ``(ii) Establishment of program.--The Administrator shall 
     establish a program to provide grants that provide,''; and
       (2) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(iii) Small or disadvantaged community recipients.--

       ``(I) In general.--Subject to subclause (II), in carrying 
     out the program under clause (ii), the Administrator shall 
     use not more than $600,000 of the amounts made available to 
     carry out this paragraph to provide grants to States that 
     receive amounts under section

[[Page 9950]]

     128(a) to assist small communities, Indian tribes, rural 
     areas, or disadvantaged areas in achieving the purposes 
     described in clause (ii).
       ``(II) Limitation.--Each grant awarded under subclause (I) 
     shall be not more than $7,500.''.

     SEC. 8. WATERFRONT BROWNFIELDS GRANTS.

       Section 104(k) of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, 
     Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9604(k)) 
     is amended by inserting after paragraph (10) (as redesignated 
     by section 3(1)) the following:
       ``(11) Waterfront brownfield sites.--
       ``(A) Definition of waterfront brownfield site.--In this 
     paragraph, the term `waterfront brownfield site' means a 
     brownfield site that is adjacent to a body of water or a 
     federally designated floodplain.
       ``(B) Requirements.--In providing grants under this 
     subsection, the Administrator shall--
       ``(i) take into consideration whether the brownfield site 
     to be served by the grant is a waterfront brownfield site; 
     and
       ``(ii) give consideration to waterfront brownfield 
     sites.''.

     SEC. 9. CLEAN ENERGY BROWNFIELDS GRANTS.

       Section 104(k) of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, 
     Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9604(k)) 
     (as amended by section 8) is amended by inserting after 
     paragraph (11) the following:
       ``(12) Clean energy projects at brownfield sites.--
       ``(A) Definition of clean energy project.--In this 
     paragraph, the term `clean energy project' means--
       ``(i) a facility that generates renewable electricity from 
     wind, solar, or geothermal energy; and
       ``(ii) any energy efficiency improvement project at a 
     facility, including combined heat and power and district 
     energy.
       ``(B) Establishment.--The Administrator shall establish a 
     program to provide grants--
       ``(i) to eligible entities to carry out inventory, 
     characterization, assessment, planning, feasibility analysis, 
     design, or remediation activities to locate a clean energy 
     project at 1 or more brownfield sites; and
       ``(ii) to capitalize a revolving loan fund for the purposes 
     described in clause (i).
       ``(C) Maximum amount.--A grant under this paragraph shall 
     not exceed $500,000.''.

     SEC. 10. TARGETED FUNDING FOR STATES.

       Paragraph (15) of section 104(k) of the Comprehensive 
     Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 
     1980 (42 U.S.C. 9604(k)) (as redesignated by section 3(1)) is 
     amended by adding at the end the following:
       ``(C) Targeted funding.--Of the amounts made available 
     under subparagraph (A) for a fiscal year, the Administrator 
     may use not more than $2,000,000 to provide grants to States 
     for purposes authorized under section 128(a), subject to the 
     condition that each State that receives a grant under this 
     subparagraph shall have used at least 50 percent of the 
     amounts made available to that State in the previous fiscal 
     year to carry out assessment and remediation activities under 
     section 128(a).''.

     SEC. 11. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

       (a) Brownfields Revitalization Funding.--Paragraph (15)(A) 
     of section 104(k) of the Comprehensive Environmental 
     Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 
     9604(k)) (as redesignated by section 3(1)) is amended by 
     striking ``2006'' and inserting ``2018''.
       (b) State Response Programs.--Section 128(a)(3) of the 
     Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and 
     Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9628(a)(3)) is amended by 
     striking ``2006'' and inserting ``2018''.

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