[CPEO-BIF] S. 350 Section by Section

[Lenny Siegel <lsiegel@cpeo.org>]

[This is the proponents' section-by-section analysis of S. 350.]

BROWNFIELDS REVITALIZATION AND ENVIRONMENTAL RESTORATION AMENDMENTS ACT
OF 2001

TITLE I - Brownfield Revitalization Funding

Sec. 101 - Brownfields

This section adds a new section 128 to CERCLA that codifies and builds
on EPA's brownfield program.  It provides funding to State and local
governments to identify and clean up properties that are abandoned or
underutilized because of unresolved environmental concerns.  For the
grant and loan provisions, $150,000,000 for each of fiscal years
2002-2006 is authorized to be appropriated.  
For site assessment and characterization of individual brownfield sites,
state and local governments are eligible to receive grants of up to
$200,000, or up to $350,000 at the President's discretion.   These
grants are to be awarded based on a ranking criteria outlined in the
bill.  In addition, EPA is authorized to provide grants of up to $1
million to state and local governments to set up a Revolving Loan Fund
(RLF).  Remediation grants may be made out of the RLF, at the discretion
of the eligible entity, based on certain considerations outlined in the
bill. 

TITLE II -- Brownfield Liability Clarifications

Sec. 201 - Contiguous Properties

The bill creates a new section 107(o) that provides liability protection
for landholders whose property may be contaminated by a contiguous
contaminated site if they did not contribute to the contamination, as
long as they cooperated with federal or state enforcement authorities
and provide facility access for site cleanup activities. 

Sec. 202 - Prospective Purchasers and Windfall Liens 

This section adds a new section 107(p) that provides liability relief
for purchasers of contaminated property who did not contribute to the
contamination if they do not impede the performance of a cleanup or
restoration at a site they acquire after enactment, exercise appropriate
care with respect to hazardous substances, provide cooperation and
access to persons authorized to clean up the site, and conducted
appropriate inquiries prior to the purchase.  This section authorizes
the United States to place liens on properties at which unrecovered
response costs exist and at which the fair market value of the property
was enhanced by the federal cleanup.

Sec. 203 - Innocent Landholders 

CERCLA section 101(35)(B) currently provides an affirmative defense for
innocent owners of real property who based on whether they made an
appropriate inquiry, had no reason to know of any release or threatened
release of a hazardous substance that was disposed of on, in, or at the
facility prior to the date of purchase.  This section amends section
101(35)(B) to clarify the obligations of any party who seeks to use the
defense.  The bill provides that the appropriate inquiry requirement is
satisfied by conducting an environmental site assessment that meets
specific standards to be promulgated by the Administrator within two
years of enactment or as provided in interim standards outlined in the
bill.

TITLE III -- State Response Programs
	
Sec. 301 - State Finality

This section adds a new CERCLA section 129, authorizing EPA to provide
funding to States to establish and enhance state programs when the State
program meets the elements enumerated in the bill, states are making
reasonable progress toward meeting the elements, or states have entered
into an MOA with EPA.  $50,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2002-2006 is
authorized to be appropriated to carry out these provisions.

This section also provides finality for cleanups conducted under a State
program by precluding subsequent federal Superfund enforcement by the
President except: (1) at the State's request, (2) if the contamination
has migrated across a State line or onto federal property, (3) if the
Administrator determines that an imminent and substantial endangerment
to public health or welfare or the environment exists, after considering
the response actions already taken at the site and that additional
on-site response actions are necessary, or (4) if new information as to
the site conditions or contamination is discovered. 

States are required to maintain and update a public record of sites, in
order for sites cleaned up under a State program to be eligible for
funding or for the bar on enforcement.  The public record must include
the name and location of a site, whether the site will be suitable for
unrestricted use after completion of the cleanup, and what institutional
controls will be employed at the site.  The record is to include sites
at which response actions have been completed in the previous year and
sites at which response actions are planned for the upcoming year.  This
record is to be updated not less than annually.

Sec. 302 - Additions to the NPL

New section 105(i) requires the President to defer listing an eligible
response site on the NPL at a the  request of a State, if the State or
other party is cleaning up a site under a State program or if the State
is pursuing a cleanup agreement.  The President may list a deferred site
on the NPL, after 1 year from proposed listing, if the State is not
making reasonable progress toward completing the response action.

-- 


Lenny Siegel
Director, Center for Public Environmental Oversight
c/o PSC, 222B View St., Mountain View, CA 94041
Voice: 650/961-8918 or 650/969-1545
Fax: 650/968-1126
lsiegel@cpeo.org
http://www.cpeo.org

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