HR 644
2-27-07, House Agreed to Bill by Voice Vote
Referred to Senate Committee on Banking, Housing & Urban Affairs

110th CONGRESS
1st Session

H. R. 644

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

February 28, 2007

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 2008 through 2012.'.

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

2008 and fiscal years thereafter for use under the provisions of law amended by this Act.

Passed the House of Representatives February 27, 2007.

Attest:

LORRAINE C. MILLER,

Clerk.

END