PRINTER'S NO. 941
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
SENATE BILL
No.
782
Session of
2023
INTRODUCED BY MILLER, COSTA, FONTANA, COLLETT, SCHWANK, DILLON,
KANE AND J. WARD, JUNE 23, 2023
REFERRED TO ENVIRONMENTAL RESOURCES AND ENERGY, JUNE 23, 2023
AN ACT
Amending the act of May 19, 1995 (P.L.43, No.4), entitled "An
act providing grants for conducting assessments of industrial
sites; establishing a fund; providing for funding; and
imposing duties upon the Department of Community and Economic
Development," further providing for grants and loans;
providing for industrial sites cleanup financial assistance;
making an interfund transfer; providing for transitional
provisions; and making a repeal.
The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1. Section 2 of the act of May 19, 1995 (P.L.43,
No.4), known as the Industrial Sites Environmental Assessment
Act, is amended to read:
Section 2. Grants and loans.
(a) Grants for conducting environmental assessments of
industrial sites.--The department shall make grants to [all of
the following:
(1) Municipalities,] municipalities, municipal or other
local authorities, nonprofit economic development agencies
and similar agencies to conduct environmental assessments,
remediation and demolition of industrial sites located in
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municipalities which have been designated by the department
as distressed communities under the act of July 2, 1984
(P.L.520, No.105), known as the Business Infrastructure
Development Act.
[(2) Cities of the first class, second class, second
class A and third class and any borough with a population
large enough for the borough to qualify to be chartered as a
city under provisions of the act of June 23, 1931 (P.L.932,
No.317), known as The Third Class City Code, to conduct
environmental assessment and remediation of industrial sites
on which industrial activity was conducted prior to the
effective date of this act.]
(a.1) Performance-based loans for remediation.--
(1) The department may make performance-based loans to
applicants for projects related to remediation and demolition
of any of the following:
(i) Brownfield sites.
(ii) Nonhazardous waste or debris. This subparagraph
includes waste tire recycling.
(2) A loan awarded under this subsection may be forgiven
to the extent that performance measures and other
requirements are accomplished by the loan recipient in
accordance with the loan agreement between the recipient and
the department.
(3) For the loans, the department in cooperation with
the Department of Environmental Protection shall establish
all of the following:
(i) Eligibility. Loans shall be restricted to
persons [who] that did not cause or contribute to the
contamination on property used for industrial activity
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[on or before the effective date of this act] and [who]
that propose to undertake a voluntary cleanup of the
property.
(ii) Performance measures. This subparagraph
includes all of the following:
(A) Method to dispose of the waste or debris.
(B) Number of jobs related to the disposal.
(C) Resulting economic benefit to the
Commonwealth.
(D) Method of demolition.
(iii) Related requirements.
(4) Loans under this subsection shall be included in the
annual financing strategy of the department.
(b) Source.--
(1) Grants under subsection (a) shall be made from the
Industrial Sites Environmental Assessment and Cleanup Fund.
(2) Loans under subsection (a.1) shall be made from the
Industrial Sites Environmental Assessment and Cleanup Fund.
Money collected from repayment of loans under subsection
(a.1) shall be deposited in the Industrial Sites
Environmental Assessment and Cleanup Fund.
(c) Limitation on amount of grant or loan.--There shall be
no limit on the dollar amount of a grant or loan under this
section.
Section 2. The act is amended by adding a section to read:
Section 3.1. Industrial sites cleanup financial assistance.
(a) Requirements.--
(1) In addition to the grants and loans authorized under
section 2, the Industrial Sites Environmental Assessment and
Cleanup Fund shall provide financial assistance to persons
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that did not cause or contribute to the contamination on
property used for industrial activity and that propose to
undertake a voluntary cleanup of the property. Cleanup may
include demolition of structures on the property.
(2) The financial assistance shall be in an amount of up
to 75% of the costs incurred for completing an environmental
study and implementing a cleanup plan by an eligible
applicant.
(3) Financial assistance may be in the form of grants as
provided in this section or low-interest loans, to be lent at
a rate not to exceed 2%.
(4) There shall be no limit on the dollar amount of a
grant or loan made under this section.
(b) Grants.--Grants may be made to political subdivisions or
their instrumentalities or local economic development agencies
for the purposes of this section if the grantee owns the site on
which the cleanup is being conducted and the grantee is
overseeing the cleanup.
(c) Loans.--Loans meeting the requirements of subsection (a)
may be made to the following categories of applicants:
(1) Local economic development agencies.
(2) Political subdivisions or their instrumentalities.
(3) Other persons determined to be eligible by the
department.
(d) Priority for financial assistance.--The department shall
take all of the following factors into consideration when
determining which applicants shall receive financial assistance
under this section:
(1) The benefit of the remedy to public health, safety
and the environment.
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(2) The permanence of the remedy.
(3) The cost effectiveness of the remedy in comparison
with other alternatives.
(4) The financial condition of the applicant.
(5) The financial or economic distress of the area in
which the cleanup is being conducted.
(6) The potential for economic development.
(e) Interagency consultation.--The department shall consult
with the Department of Environmental Protection when determining
priorities for funding under this section.
(f) Terms and conditions.--
(1) The department shall have the power to set terms and
conditions applicable to loans and grants it deems
appropriate. The department may consider such factors as it
deems relevant, including:
(i) Current market interest rates.
(ii) The necessity to maintain the money in the fund
in a financially sound manner.
(2) Loans may be made based upon the ability to repay
from future revenue to be derived from the cleanup, by a
mortgage or other collateral or on any other fiscal matters
which the department deems appropriate.
(g) Repayment.--Money received by the department as
repayment of outstanding loans shall be deposited into the fund.
Any interest earned by money in the fund shall remain in the
fund.
(h) Annual report.--The department shall on October 1 of
each year report to the General Assembly on the grants, loans,
expenditures and commitments made from the fund. The annual
report shall include an evaluation of the effectiveness of the
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fund in recycling industrial and commercial sites. The
evaluation shall include any recommendation for additional
changes if necessary to improve the effectiveness of the fund in
recycling such sites.
(i) Definitions.--Except for "department," the words and
phrases used in this section shall have the meanings given to
them under section 103 of the act of May 19, 1995 (P.L.4, No.2),
known as the Land Recycling and Environmental Remediation
Standards Act.
Section 3. Within 30 days of the effective date of this
section, the State Treasurer shall transfer the sum of
$20,000,000 from the General Fund to the Industrial Sites
Environmental Assessment and Cleanup Fund.
Section 4. Any money remaining in the Industrial Sites
Cleanup Fund on the effective date of this section shall be
transferred to the Industrial Sites Environmental Assessment and
Cleanup Fund.
Section 5. Any loan or obligation required by law to be paid
to the Industrial Sites Cleanup Fund shall, on or after the
effective date of this section, be paid to the Industrial Sites
Environmental Assessment and Cleanup Fund.
Section 6. A reference in any act to the Industrial Sites
Environmental Assessment Fund shall be deemed to be a reference
to the Industrial Sites Environmental Assessment and Cleanup
Fund.
Section 7. Repeals are as follows:
(1) The General Assembly finds that the repeal under
paragraph (2) is necessary to effectuate this act.
(2) Section 702 of the act of May 19, 1995 (P.L.4,
No.2), known as the Land Recycling and Environmental
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Remediation Standards Act, is repealed.
Section 8. This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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