Small Business Liability Relief and Brownfields Revitalization Act
Became Public Law No: 107-118.
Congressional Research Service
Official summary
Version 00 · Introduced in House · Sep 10, 2001
Small Business Liability Relief and Brownfields Revitalization Act - Small Business Liability Protection Act - Amends the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA) to provide (with exceptions) that persons shall be liable for response costs at a National Priorities List (NPL) facility as non-owners or operators only if the total of material containing a hazardous substance that the business arranged for disposal, transport, or treatment of, or accepted for transport, was greater than specified amounts.Exempts a person from liability for response costs (with exceptions) at a NPL facility for municipal solid waste (MSW) as a non-owner or operator if the person is an owner, operator, or lessee of residential property from which all of the person's MSW was generated, or a certain small business or small charitable tax-exempt organization that generated all its MSW, with respect to the facility concerned.Makes nongovernmental entities that commence a contribution action liable to the defendant for all reasonable legal costs if the defendant is not liable based on the above-described exemptions.Revises conditions for de minimis settlements.Brownfields Revitalization and Environmental Restoration Act of 2001 - Provides grants for inventorying, characterizing, assessing, remediating, and conducting planning related to brownfield sites. Defines a "brownfield site," with exceptions, as real property, the expansion, redevelopment, or reuse of which is complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance or pollutant. Includes certain petroleum- or controlled substance-contaminated sites and mine-scarred land.Exempts from liability under CERCLA certain owners of real property contiguous to property on which there has been a hazardous substance release or threatened release that is not owned by such persons.Absolves from liability for response actions bona fide prospective purchasers to the extent liability at a facility for a release or threat thereof is based solely on ownership or operation of a facility. Gives a lien to the United States for unrecovered response costs in any case for which the owner is not liable by reason of this section and the facility's fair market value has increased above that which existed before the action was taken.Deems a person, with respect to defenses to liability of an owner of after-acquired property, to have undertaken appropriate inquiry into the property's previous ownership and uses if the person demonstrates that inquiries were undertaken in accordance with specified requirements.Authorizes the Administrator to award grants to States or Indian tribes for response programs comprised of elements including survey and inventory of brownfield sites, public participation opportunities, oversight and enforcement authorities, and certification mechanisms.Restricts authority to take enforcement actions under CERCLA in cases of hazardous substance releases addressed by a State response plan. Authorizes the President to bring enforcement actions in certain instances where there is migration of contamination across State lines or onto Federal property, or there is an imminent and substantial endangerment to public health or welfare or the environment and additional response actions are likely to be necessary.Makes restrictions on the President's authority to take such actions applicable only at sites in States that maintain and publicize a record of sites at which response actions have been completed in the previous year and are planned to be addressed under the State response program in the upcoming year. Applies enforcement action requirements only to response actions conducted after February 15, 2001.Provides conditions for deferral by the President of final listing of an eligible NPL response site.
Received in the Senate, read twice, considered, read the third time, and passed without amendment by Unanimous Consent. (consideration: CR S14063-14064)
Passed/agreed to in Senate: Received in the Senate, read twice, considered, read the third time, and passed without amendment by Unanimous Consent.(consideration: CR S14063-14064)
Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by voice vote. (text: CR 12/19/2001 H10893-10899)
Passed/agreed to in House: On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by voice vote.(text: CR 12/19/2001 H10893-10899)
DEBATE - The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate on H.R. 2869.
Considered under suspension of the rules. (consideration: CR 12/19/2001 H10892-10904)
Mr. Gillmor moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Environment and Hazardous Materials.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment.
Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
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Source last updated: Aug 1, 2026. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
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