109th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 280
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:
Clerk.
109th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 280
AN ACT
To facilitate the provision of assistance by the Department of Housing
and Urban Development for the cleanup and economic redevelopment of brownfields.
END
