Superfund Liability Clarification Act - Amends the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 to exclude from liability as an "owner or operator" of a vessel or facility any mortgage lender, insured depository institution, or Federal lending institution (lender) that acquires such vessel or facility through foreclosure or that conducts a restructuring of a loan or other extension of credit with the owner of the vessel or facility, provided such lender complies with specified procedures or guidelines.
Specifies that "participation in the management of a vessel or facility" (by the lender) for purposes of such Act (in which case such exemption would not apply) does not include: (1) the sale of collateral; (2) actions taken by a lender to comply with such procedures or guidelines, including the conduct of a Phase I Environmental Audit of the vessel or facility; (3) actions taken by a lender to responsibly manage the vessel or facility upon learning of any contamination so as not to cause a release of a hazardous substance from or at the vessel or facility, or to harm the public health and safety or the environment, during any period while the lender is acting to administer or wind down the affairs of the owner or while diligently proceeding to pass title of the vessel or facility; or (4) the status of having the capacity to affect hazardous waste disposal management decisions of the vessel or facility, without actually making or influencing any such decisions.
Requires the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to assure that depository and lending institutions and mortgage lenders develop and implement adequate procedures to evaluate potential environmental risks that may arise from or at vessels or facilities subject to their lending and fiduciary activities.
States that the exclusion under such Act shall not affect the liability of a person who, by any act or omission, causes or contributes to a release or threatened release of a hazardous substance from or at a vessel or facility.
Specifies that a defendant who has acquired real property establishes a rebuttable presumption that he has made "all appropriate inquiry" within the meaning of such Act if he establishes that, immediately prior to or at the time of acquisition, he obtained or conducted a Phase I Environmental Audit of the real property which meets the requirements of such Act. Defines "Phase I Environmental Audit" as an investigation of the real property, conducted by a certified environmental professional, to determine or discover any indicators of the presence or likely presence of a release or threatened release of hazardous substances on the property and which consists of a review of: (1) the recorded chain of title documents; (2) aerial photographs, maps, and other appropriate historical information which may reflect prior uses of the property and which are reasonably obtainable through State or local government agencies; (3) recorded environmental cleanup liens against the property; (4) reasonably obtainable Federal, State, and local government records of sites or facilities where there has been a release of hazardous substances and which are likely to cause or contribute to a release or threatened release of hazardous substances on the property, and other specified environmental records; (5) a visual site inspection of the property and all facilities and improvements on the property; and (6) a visual site inspection of adjacent property, to the extent permitted by the owners or operators of such property.
Sets forth additional requirements with respect to the Phase I Environmental Audit.
Directs the Administrator to promulgate regulations to expedite the determination of the allocation of responsibility of a person claiming no liability with respect to a release based on the "innocent landowner defense." Authorizes the Administrator to grant a conditional release from liability to such person. Requires the Administrator to revoke the conditional release if any new information with respect to such person is obtained during the course of settlement proceedings in connection with such release and, in such case, to determine the allocation of responsibility of such person along with the other potentially responsible parties.
Requires that studies, investigations, and other activities regarding the Superfund evaluation process be streamlined with respect to sites that were used for similar purposes and that contain similar contamination.
Expresses the sense of the Congress that, in carrying out such Act, the Administrator should: (1) focus the conduct of removal and remedial actions on public health, safety, and environmental considerations, rather than on litigation, through means such as the more frequent use of the authority provided under such Act to enter into de minimis settlements; (2) further delineate priorities within the National Priority List for purposes of ensuring that the sites which present the greatest danger to the public health and welfare are cleaned up first; and (3) provide the Congress with a more accurate estimate of the long-term funding necessary to carry out such Act.
HR 5927 IH 101st CONGRESS 2d Session H. R. 5927 To clarify the liability of lending institutions under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980, to clarify the innocent landowner defense under that Act, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES October 25, 1990 Mr. OWENS of Utah introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce A BILL To clarify the liability of lending institutions under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980, to clarify the innocent landowner defense under that Act, and for other purposes. 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 `Superfund Liability Clarification Act'. SEC. 2. CLARIFICATION OF LIABILITY OF LENDERS UNDER COMPREHENSIVE ENVIRONMENTAL RESPONSE, COMPENSATION, AND LIABILITY ACT OF 1980. (a) FORECLOSURES AND LOAN WORKOUTS- Paragraph (20) of section 101 of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9601(20)) is amended-- (1) by designating the last sentence of subparagraph (A) as subparagraph (E) and transferring such subparagraph (E) to the end of paragraph (2); (2) by striking out `Such term' in such subparagraph (E) and inserting in lieu thereof `(i) The term `owner or operator' '; and (3) by adding at the end of such subparagraph (E) the following: `The exclusion of the preceding sentence shall apply to any mortgage lender, insured depository institution, or Federal lending institution who acquires the vessel or facility through foreclosure or who conducts a restructuring of a loan or other extension of credit with the owner of the vessel or facility, if such mortgage lender, insured depository institution, or Federal lending institution complies with procedures or guidelines imposed pursuant to clause (iii). For purposes of the exclusion in the first sentence of this subparagraph, the phrase `participation in the management of a vessel or facility' does not include-- `(I) selling collateral; `(II) actions taken by a mortgage lender, insured depository institution, or Federal lending institution to comply with procedures or guidelines imposed pursuant to clause (iii), including the conduct of a Phase I Environmental Audit of the vessel or facility (as such term is used in paragraph (35)(C) of this section); `(III) actions taken by a mortgage lender, insured depository institution, or Federal lending institution to responsibly manage the vessel or facility upon learning of any contamination so as not to cause a release of a hazardous substance from or at the vessel or facility or to harm the public health and safety or the environment, during any period while the lender or institution is acting to administer or wind down the affairs of the owner of the vessel or facility or while diligently proceeding to pass title of the vessel or facility; or `(IV) the status of having the capacity to affect hazardous waste disposal management decisions of the vessel or facility, without actually making or influencing any such decisions.'. (b) DEFINITIONS- Subparagraph (E) of section 101(20) of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9601(20)) is further amended by adding after clause (i) the following: `(ii) For purposes of this subparagraph: `(I) The acquisition of a vessel or facility through foreclosure means that the vessel or facility was acquired through conveyance pursuant to the terms of an extension of credit previously contracted, or through purchase at sales under judgment or decree, power of sale, or from a trustee, if such property was security for an extension of credit previously contracted. `(II) The term `extension of credit' includes lease transactions that are functionally equivalent to a secured loan and that are authorized by and comply with regulations issued by the appropriate Federal banking agency or State banking authority. `(III) The term `insured depository institution' has the meaning given such term by section 3 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act and includes an insured credit union and a leasing company that is an affiliate of an insured depository institution. The term also includes the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the National Credit Union Administrator Board, and the Resolution Trust Corporation, in such corporations' or Board's capacity as conservator, receivor, or liquidating agency for any insured despository institution described in the preceding sentence. `(IV) The term `mortgage lender' means a person who is regularly engaged in the business of making extensions of credit secured, in whole or in part, by real property to nonaffiliated parties. `(V) The term `Federal lending institution' includes any agency, department, or other unit of the United States Government not otherwise described in this clause which makes loans on the security of any vessel or facility, including economic and industrial development agencies. (c) ENVIRONMENTAL RESPONSIBILITIES- Subparagraph (E) of section 101(20) of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9601(20)) is further amended by adding after clause (ii) the following: `(iii) For purposes of this subparagraph, the Administrator, in consultation with each appropriate Federal banking agency, the National Credit Union Administration Board, and each Federal lending institution, shall take necessary actions to assure that depository and lending institutions develop and implement adequate procedures to evaluate potential environmental risks that may arise from or at vessels or facilities subject to their lending and fiduciary activities. The Administrator, in consultation with the Secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, shall promulgate guidelines to assure that mortgage lenders develop and implement equivalent procedures to evaluate potential environmental risks that may arise from or at vessels or facilities subject to their lending activities.'. (d) LIABILITY NOTWITHSTANDING EXCLUSION- Subparagraph (E) of section 101(20) of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9601(20)) is further amended by adding after clause (iii) the following: `(iv) Nothing in this subparagraph shall affect the liability under this Act of a person who, by any act or omission, causes or contributes to a release or threatened release of a hazardous substance from or at a vessel or facility.'. (e) REGULATIONS- The Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency shall promulgate regulations to carry out the amendments made by this section. (f) EFFECTIVE DATE- The amendments made by this section shall take effect on the date of the enactment of this Act. SEC. 3. CLARIFICATION OF INNOCENT LANDOWNER DEFENSE UNDER COMPREHENSIVE ENVIRONMENTAL RESPONSE, COMPENSATION, AND LIABILITY ACT OF 1980. (a) CLARIFICATION- Section 101(35) of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9601(35)) is amended by redesignating subparagraphs (C) and (D) as subparagraphs (D) and (E), respectively, and inserting after subparagraph (B), the following: `(C)(i) A defendant who has acquired real property establishes a rebuttable presumption that he has made all appropriate inquiry within the meaning of subparagraph (B) if he establishes that, immediately prior to or at the time of acquisition, he obtained or conducted a Phase I Environmental Audit of the real property which meets the requirements of this subparagraph. `(ii) For purposes of this subparagraph, the term `certified environmental professional' means an individual or an entity managed or controlled by such individual who is certified by the Environmental Protection Agency under regulations promulgated by the Administrator as being qualified to conduct one or more aspects of a Phase I Environmental Audit, through academic training, occupational experience, training approved by the Environmental Protection Agency, or a combination thereof (in the case of an individual) or through meeting standards approved by the Environmental Protection Agency (in the case of an entity). Such term may include engineers, environmental consultants, and attorneys. For purposes of this subparagraph, the term `Phase I Environmental Audit' means an investigation of the real property, conducted by a certified environmental professional, to determine or discover any indications of the presence or likely presence of a release or threatened release of hazardous substances on the real property and which consists of a review of each of the following sources of information concerning the previous ownership and uses of the real property: `(I) Recorded chain of title documents regarding the real property, including all deeds, easements, leases, restrictions, and covenants for a period of 50 years. `(II) Aerial photographs, maps, and other appropriate historical information which may reflect prior uses of the real property and which are reasonably obtainable through State or local government agencies. `(III) Recorded environmental cleanup liens against the real property which have arisen pursuant to Federal, State, and local statutes. `(IV) Reasonably obtainable Federal, State, and local government records of sites or facilities where there has been a release of hazardous substances and which are likely to cause or contribute to a release or threatened release of hazardous substances on the real property, including investigation reports for such sites or facilities; Federal, State, and local environmental reports required by law; reasonably obtainable Federal, State, and local government environmental records of activities likely to cause or contribute to a release or a threatened release of hazardous substances on the real property, including landfill and other disposal location records, underground storage tank records, hazardous waste handler and generator records and spill reporting records; and such other reasonably obtainable Federal, State, and local government environmental records which report incidents or activities which are likely to cause or contribute to a release or threatened release of hazardous substances on the real property. `(V) A visual site inspection of the real property and all facilities and improvements on the real property, and a visual inspection of immediately adjacent properties from the real property, including an investigation of any chemical use, storage, treatment and disposal practices on the property. Such visual inspection shall include notation of discolored soil, stressed or discolored vegetation, any sheen on water, dead or sick animals, strange smells, and the presence of any barrel, tank, container, or sump. `(VI) A visual site inspection of adjacent property, to the extent permitted by the owners or operators of such property. `(iii) For purposes of clause (ii), a record shall be considered to be reasonably obtainable if the record, a copy of the record, or a reasonable facsimile of the record is obtainable from a government agency by request within 30 days after submission of a request. `(iv) No presumption shall arise under clause (i) unless the defendant has maintained a compilation of the information reviewed in the course of the Phase I Environmental Audit. `(v) Notwithstanding any other provision of this paragraph, if the Phase I Environmental Audit reveals the presence or likely presence of a release or threatened release of hazardous substances on the real property to be acquired, no presumption shall arise under clause (i) with respect to such release or threatened release unless the defendant has taken reasonable steps, in accordance with current technology available, existing regulations, and generally acceptable engineering practices, as may be necessary to confirm the absence of such release or threatened release.'. (b) REGULATIONS- The Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency shall promulgate regulations to carry out the amendment made by this section. (c) EFFECTIVE DATE- The amendment made by this section shall take effect on the date of the enactment of this Act. SEC. 4. EXPEDITED ALLOCATION OF RESPONSIBILITY WITH RESPECT TO INNOCENT LANDOWNERS. Section 122(e) of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9622(e)) is amended by adding at the end of paragraph (3) the following new subparagraph: `(F) The Administrator shall promulgate regulations to expedite the determination of the allocation of responsibility of a person claiming no liability with respect to a release on the basis of the exception to liability provided in section 107(b)(3) (popularly referred to as the `innocent landowner defense'). The expedited determination shall be based on the information obtained pursuant to subparagraph (B). Notwithstanding the nonbinding nature of other allocations of responsibility under this paragraph, after technical and legal review of information obtained pursuant to subparagraph (B) with respect to a person, and not later than 120 days after receipt of such information, the Administrator may grant a conditional release from liability to such person. If any new information with respect to such person is obtained during the course of settlement proceedings in connection with such release, the Administrator shall revoke the conditional release of the person and shall determine the allocation of responsibility of such person along with the other potentially responsible parties.'. SEC. 5. STREAMLINED SUPERFUND SITE EVALUATION PROCESS. Section 104(b)(1) of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9604(b)(1)) is amended by adding at the end the following: `Studies, investigations, and other activities carried out under this subsection shall be streamlined with respect to sites that were used for similar purposes and that contain similar contamination.'. SEC. 6. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON SUPERFUND CLEANUP. It is the sense of Congress that, in carrying out the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9601 et seq.), the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency should-- (1) focus the conduct of removal and remedial actions on public health, safety, and environment considerations, rather than on litigation, through means such as the more frequent use of the authority provided under section 122(g) of such Act to enter into de minimis settlements; (2) further delineate priorities within the National Priority List, for purposes of ensuring that the sites which present the greatest danger to the public health and welfare are cleaned up first; and (3) provide Congress with a more accurate estimate of the long-term funding necessary to carry out such Act.
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Transportation and Hazardous Materials.
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