Congress has been busy over the past few months introducing new "Brownfields" legislation-the following is a summary of the relevant portions of the most recent federal bills:
Brownfields and Environmental Cleanup Act
S.18, entitled the "Brownfields and Environmental Cleanup Act of 1997," was introduced by Senator Lautenberg (D-NJ) on January 21, 1997. This bill provides for grants of up to $200,000 each to states and localities to inventory and assess brownfield sites. It also establishes a revolving loan program for up to $500,000 per grant to finance cleanups. Under the bill, bona fide prospective purchasers who perform appropriate due diligence prior to acquisition, who are not responsible for the release of hazardous substances, and who do not impede any response action at the facility would not be held liable for response costs under Comp-rehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act ("CERCLA"). The bill is currently before the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works.
Superfund Cleanup Acceleration Act
S.8, a bill to reauthorize and amend CERCLA, entitled the "Superfund Cleanup Acceleration Act of 1997," was introduced by Senator Smith (R-NH) on January 21, 1997. Title I of the bill contains "Brownfields Revitalization" provisions which include grants to eligible entities of up to $100,000 per fiscal year or $200,000 in total for site characterization and assessment. Additionally, remediation grants of $150,000 per fiscal year or $300,000 in total would be available to capitalize revolving loan funds for response actions at brownfield sites.
Grant applications would have to include a description of the re-development plan for the area or areas in which the brownfield facilities are located along with an analysis demonstrating the potential of the grant to stimulate economic development on completion of the remediation. This analysis would include a projection of the number, type and skill level of jobs expected to be created at the facility and a projection of the amount of increased revenue that would accrue to federal, state and local governments.
Other criteria to be included in the analysis are the extent to which the grant would stimulate the availability of other funds for remediation and redevelopment, the potential for the development plan to stimulate economic development of the area, the relative increase in the fair market value of the area, the potential for creating new, or expanding existing, business and employment opportunities, and the potential for identifying and reducing health and environmental risks. The Administrator then would be required to establish a system that would include these criteria for ranking applications.
Under this bill, bona fide prospective purchasers would be immune from liability for a release or threatened release as owners or operators so long as they do not impede any response action or natural resource restoration at the site.
Additionally, the federal govern-ment would be authorized to impose a lien on the facility or obtain other assurances of payment for unrecovered response costs not exceeding the increase in fair market value of the property attributable to the response action at the time of a subsequent sale or other disposition of the property. This bill is currently before the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works.
Community Revitalization and Brownfields Cleanup Act
H.R.1120, entitled the "Community Revitalization and Brownfield Cleanup Act of 1997," was introduced by Representative Dingell (D-MI) on March 19, 1997 and is very similar to S.18. Endorsed by United States Environmental Protection Agency administrator Carol M. Browner, the bill would authorize $15 million per year for three years from the Superfund Trust Fund for grants to local governments for inventory and assessment of eligible brownfield sites. The local revolving loan funds would be capitalized with an additional $30 million per year for three years.
EPA would be required to provide technical, financial and other assistance to the states for the development or enhancement of state voluntary response programs. CERCLA liability protection would be granted to innocent landowners and prospective purchasers provided they do not impede the remediation at the site and they perform the appropriate due diligence prior to acquisition. This bill is currently before both the Committee on Commerce and the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.
Brownfields Remediation and Economic Development Act of 1997
Another significant House bill, the "Brownfields Remediation and Economic Development Act of 1997", H.R. 990, was introduced by Representative Quinn (R-NY) on March 6, 1997. This bill seeks to amend CERCLA to provide for the development and utilization of brownfields in cooperation with appropriate state and local entities. It includes provisions for EPA certification of state brownfield programs and for indemnity from CERCLA liability upon completion of any brownfield site remediation carried out under such a certified state program for owners, operators, lenders, developers, prospective purchasers and local governments for pollution not directly caused by their actions. This bill is also currently before the Committee on Commerce and the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.
Proposed Internal Revenue Code Amendment
There are three bills pending, S.235, H.R.505 and H.R.523, that seek to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to foster revitalization of brownfield areas. Senate bill S.235, introduced by Senator Moseley-Braun (D-IL) on January 30, 1997, would amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to encourage economic development and the cleanup of contaminated brownfield sites through the creation of additional empowerment zones and enterprise communities. The bill also allows for the deduction of cleanup costs for the taxable year in which they are paid or incurred at a "qualified contaminated site," as defined under the bill. The bill is currently before the Senate Committee on Finance. H.R. 505, introduced by Representative Rangel (D-NY) on February 4, 1997, contains virtually identical provisions to S.235. Finally, H.R. 523, entitled the "Brownfields Redevelopment Act of 1997," was introduced on February 4, 1997. It would amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow a credit for remediation of certain contaminated industrial sites and to allow the use of tax-exempt redevelopment bonds for such cleanup at qualified sites. Both H.R. 505 and H.R. 523 are now in the House Committee on Ways and Means.
We will be following federal and state brownfields measures closely; please contact our office for an update on the current status of these matters.
