[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 280 Referred in Senate (RFS)]
109th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 280
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
December 14, 2005
Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing,
and Urban Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
AN ACT
To facilitate the provision of assistance by the Department of Housing
and Urban Development for the cleanup and economic redevelopment of
brownfields.
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 Redevelopment
Enhancement Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.
(a) Findings.--The Congress finds that--
(1) returning the Nation's brownfield sites to productive
economic use could generate more than 550,000 additional jobs
and up to $2,400,000,000 in new tax revenues for cities and
towns;
(2) redevelopment of brownfield sites and reuse of
infrastructure at such sites will protect natural resources and
open spaces;
(3) lack of funding for redevelopment is a primary obstacle
impeding the reuse of brownfield sites;
(4) the Department of Housing and Urban Development is the
agency of the Federal Government that is principally
responsible for supporting community development and
encouraging productive land use in urban areas of the United
States;
(5) grants under the Brownfields Economic Development
Initiative of the Department of Housing and Urban Development
provide local governments with a flexible source of funding to
pursue brownfields redevelopment through land acquisition, site
preparation, economic development, and other activities;
(6) to be eligible for such grant funds, a community must
be willing to pledge community development block grant funds as
partial collateral for a loan guarantee under section 108 of
the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974, and this
requirement is a barrier to many local communities that are
unable or unwilling to pledge such block grant funds as
collateral; and
(7) by de-linking grants for brownfields development from
section 108 community development loan guarantees and the
related pledge of community development block grant funds, more
communities will have access to funding for redevelopment of
brownfield sites.
(b) Purpose.--The purpose of this Act is to provide cities and
towns with more flexibility for brownfields development, increased
accessibility to brownfields redevelopment funds, and greater capacity
to coordinate and collaborate with other government agencies--
(1) by providing additional incentives to invest in the
development and redevelopment of brownfield sites; and
(2) by de-linking grants for brownfields development from
community development loan guarantees and the related pledge of
community development block grant funds.
SEC. 3. BROWNFIELDS DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVE.
Title I of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 (42
U.S.C. 5301 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following new
section:
``SEC. 123. BROWNFIELDS DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVE.
``(a) In General.--The Secretary may make grants under this
section, on a competitive basis as specified in section 102 of the
Department of Housing and Urban Development Reform Act of 1989 (42
U.S.C. 3545), only to eligible public entities (as such term is defined
in section 108(o) of this title) and Indian tribes for carrying out
projects and activities to assist the development and redevelopment of
brownfield sites, which shall include mine-scarred lands.
``(b) Use of Grant Amounts.--Amounts from grants under this
section--
``(1) shall be used, as provided in subsection (a) of this
section, only for activities specified in section 108(a);
``(2) shall be subject to the same requirements that, under
section 101(c) and paragraphs (2) and (3) of section 104(b),
apply to grants under section 106; and
``(3) shall not be provided or used in a manner that
reduces the financial responsibility of any nongovernmental
party that is responsible or potentially responsible for
contamination on any real property and the provision of
assistance pursuant to this section shall not in any way
relieve any party of liability with respect to such
contamination, including liability for removal and remediation
costs.
``(c) Availability of Assistance.--The Secretary shall not require,
for eligibility for a grant under this section, that such grant amounts
be used only in connection or conjunction with projects and activities
assisted with a loan guaranteed under section 108.
``(d) Applications.--Applications for assistance under this section
shall be in the form and in accordance with procedures as shall be
established by the Secretary.
``(e) Selection Criteria and Leveraging.--The Secretary shall
establish criteria for awarding grants under this section, which may
include the extent to which the applicant has obtained other Federal,
State, local, or private funds for the projects and activities to be
assisted with grant amounts and such other criteria as the Secretary
considers appropriate. Such criteria shall include consideration of the
appropriateness of the extent of financial leveraging involved in the
projects and activities to be funded with the grant amounts.
``(f) Definition of Brownfield Site.--For purposes of this section,
the term `brownfield site' has the meaning given such term in section
101(39) of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and
Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9601(39)). Such term includes a site
that meets the requirements under subparagraph (D) of such section for
inclusion as a brownfield site for purposes of section 104(k) of such
Act (42 U.S.C. 9604(k)).
``(g) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be
appropriated for grants under this section such sums as may be
necessary for each of fiscal years 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2010.''.
SEC. 4. CLARIFICATION OF BROWNFIELDS REDEVELOPMENT AS ELIGIBLE CDBG
ACTIVITY.
(a) Technical Correction.--Subsection (a) of section 105 of the
Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5305(a)) is
amended--
(1) by striking paragraph (24) and all that follows through
the end of the subsection and inserting the new paragraph (24)
inserted by section 2(3) of Public Law 108-146 (117 Stat.
1883);
(2) by adding at the end (after the paragraph added by
paragraph (1) of this subsection) the new paragraph (20) added
by section 907(b)(1)(C) of Public Law 101-625 (104 Stat. 4388)
and redesignating such paragraph as paragraph (25); and
(3) by adding at the end (after the paragraphs added by
paragraphs (1) and (2) of this subsection) the new paragraph
(21) added by section 1012(f)(3)) of Public Law 102-550 (106
Stat. 3905) and redesignating such paragraph as paragraph (26).
(b) Brownfields Redevelopment Activities.--Section 105(a) of the
Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5305(a)), as
in effect pursuant to subsection (a) of this section, is amended--
(1) in paragraph (24) (as added by subsection (a)(1) of
this section), by striking ``and'' at the end;
(2) in paragraph (25) (as added by subsection (a)(2) of
this section), by striking the period at the end and inserting
a semicolon;
(3) in paragraph (26) (as added by subsection (a)(3) of
this section), by striking the period at the end and inserting
``; and''; and
(4) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
``(27) economic development and redevelopment activities
related to projects for brownfields sites (as such term is
defined in section 123(f)), in conjunction with the appropriate
environmental regulatory agencies, except that assistance
pursuant to this paragraph shall not be provided in a manner
that reduces the financial responsibility of any
nongovernmental party that is responsible or potentially
responsible for contamination on any real property and the
provision of assistance pursuant to this paragraph shall not in
any way relieve any party of liability with respect to such
contamination, including liability for removal and remediation
costs.''.
SEC. 5. TECHNICAL AMENDMENT TO ALLOW USE OF CDBG FUNDS TO ADMINISTER
RENEWAL COMMUNITIES.
Section 105(a)(13) of the Housing and Community Development Act of
1974 (42 U.S.C. 5305(a)(13)) is amended by inserting ``and renewal
communities'' after ``enterprise zones''.
SEC. 6. APPLICABILITY.
The amendments made by this Act shall apply only with respect to
amounts made available for fiscal year 2006 and fiscal years thereafter
for use under the provisions of law amended by this Act.
Passed the House of Representatives December 13, 2005.
Attest:
KAREN L. HAAS,
Clerk.