SECTION 1. Sections 23-19.14-1, 23-19.14-5, 23-19.14-7 and 23-19.14-9 of the General Laws in Chapter 23-19.14 entitled "Industrial Property Remediation and Reuse Act" are hereby amended to read as follows:

23-19.14-1. Legislative findings. -- It is recognized and acknowledged by the general assembly that:

(1) In Rhode Island, there are hundreds of sites that have varying degrees of contamination from hazardous materials;

(2) The contamination is often an obstacle to redevelopment due to the liability relating to the sites;

(3) Clean up standards and objectives must be consistent with a site's current and reasonably expected future use;

(4) Financial institutions are often cautious or unwilling to lend to businesses that wish to expand at or relocate to sites that have or are feared to be contaminated;

(5) Rhode Island's urban corridor contains nearly two hundred (200) many sites that have been found by federal or state programs to be contaminated;

(6) The following cities and towns have numerous known sites: Cranston (19), East Providence (24), Johnston (23), North Smithfield (26), Pawtucket (13), Providence (45), Warwick

(23), West Warwick (4), Woonsocket (4), and Central Falls (1). There are also many potential sites in these and other municipalities that may have been contaminated by historical industrial activities;

(7) Depositors Economic Protection Corporation (DEPCO) and its agents presently have a security interest in or direct control of over fifty (50) properties that are contaminated or are thought to be contaminated;

(8) Proper redevelopment and reuse of these properties would not only benefit the state's economy and the employment of those who live in the urban corridor, but would also benefit the state's environment; and,

(9) The redevelopment and reuse of these impacted sites will control and remove the existing contamination and will reduce the artificial economic incentive to develop previously undisturbed natural resources.

23-19.14-5. Environmental equity and public participation. -- (a) The department of environmental management shall consider the effects that clean-ups would have on the populations surrounding each site and shall consider the issues of environmental equity for low income and racial minority populations. The department of environmental management will develop and implement a process to ensure community involvement throughout the investigation and remediation of contaminated sites. That process shall include, but not be limited to, the following components:

(1) Notification to abutting residents when a work plan for a site investigation is proposed;

(2) Adequate availability of all public records concerning the investigation and clean-up of the site, including, where necessary, the establishment of informational repositories in the impacted community; and

(3) Notification to abutting residents, and other interested parties, when the investigation of the site is deemed complete by the department of environmental management.

(b) This community involvement process will be coordinated with the public notice and comment opportunity provided in section 23-19.14-11 when a final settlement agreement is proposed.

(c) The department of environmental management will develop and implement a process by which a person that is or may be affected by a release or threatened release of a hazardous material at a site located in the community in which the person works or resides may request the conduct of a site assessment; and a decision process, with objective criteria, specifying how the department will consider and appropriately respond to such requests.

(d) The department of environmental management will maintain, update not less than annually, and make available to the public a record of sites, by name and location, at which remedial actions have been completed in the previous year and are planned to be addressed under the state site remediation and Brownfields program in the upcoming year. The public record shall identify whether or not the site, on completion of the remedial action, will be suitable for unrestricted use and, if not, shall identify the institutional controls relied on in the remedy.

23-19.14-7. Exemptions to liability. -- The following parties are not responsible parties and shall not be held liable for costs or damages associated with a release of hazardous material and/or petroleum:

(1) Persons otherwise liable who can establish by a preponderance of the evidence that the release or threat of release of a hazardous substance and the damages resulting from that release or threat of release were caused solely by an act of God or an act of war;

(2) Persons who are defined as bona fide prospective purchasers and who enter an enforceable settlement agreement under section 23-19.14-10;

(3) Persons who maintain an indicia of ownership solely to protect a secured interest in land and are not operators; and

(4) Persons who are not operators and who act solely as custodial receivers or who can establish by a preponderance of evidence that they are an innocent landowner and the release or threat of release were caused solely by an act or omission of a third party other than an employer or agent of the defendant, or whose act or omission occurs in connection with a contractual relationship, existing directly or indirectly, with the defendant if the defendant establishes:

(i) He or she exercised due diligence in the acquisition of the site at the time of purchase and exercised due care with respect to the hazardous material and/or petroleum concerned, taking into consideration the characteristics of the hazardous material, in light of the facts and circumstances; and

(ii) He or she took precautions against foreseeable acts, or omissions of any third party and the consequences that could foreseeably result from those acts or omissions.

(5) A unit of state or local government which acquired ownership or control involuntarily through bankruptcy, tax delinquency, abandonment or other circumstances in which the government involuntarily acquires title by virtue of its function as sovereign; provided, however, that the unit of state or local government did not cause or contribute to the release or threatened release of a hazardous material at the site.

(6) A person that owns real property that is contiguous to or otherwise similarly situated with respect to, and that is or may be contaminated by a release or threatened release of a hazardous material from, real property that is not owned by that person shall not be considered to be a responsible party for the site solely by reason of the contamination if:

(i) the person did not cause, contribute, or consent to the release or threatened release;

(ii) the person is not:

(A) potentially liable, or affiliated with any other person that is potentially liable, for response costs at the site through any direct or indirect familial relationship or any contractual, corporate, or financial relationship (other than a contractual, corporate, or financial relationship that is created by a contract for the sale of goods or services); or

(B) the result of a reorganization of a business entity that was potentially liable;

(iii) the person takes reasonable steps to:

(A) stop any continuing release;

(B) prevent any threatened future release; and

(C) prevent or limit human, environmental, or natural resource exposure to any hazardous substance released on or from property owned by that person;

(iv) the person provides full cooperation, assistance, and access to persons that are authorized to conduct response actions or natural resource restoration at the site from which there has been a release or threatened release (including the cooperation and access necessary for the installation, integrity, operation, and maintenance of any complete or partial response action or natural resource restoration at the site);

(v) the person:

(A) is in compliance with any land use restrictions established or relied on in connection with the response action at the site; and

(B) does not impede the effectiveness or integrity of any institutional control employed in connection with a response action; and

(vi)_the person provides all legally required notices with respect to the discovery or release of any hazardous substances at the facility.

To qualify as a person described in this section, a person must establish by a preponderance of the evidence that the conditions in clauses (i) through (vi) have been met.

23-19.14-9. Priority sites for economic development. -- The Upon application, the executive director of the Rhode Island economic development corporation may identify certify Brownfield sites as properties of critical economic concern, as defined by section 42-117-3(3). These properties of critical economic concern shall be entitled to the benefits of chapter 117 of title 42 including, but not limited to, expedited investigation of these properties, expedited design of appropriate remedial actions for these properties and, to the greatest extent possible, expedited implementation of remedial actions at these properties. The Rhode Island economic development corporation is authorized and empowered, with the approval of the governor, to use up to one half ( 1/2) of the amounts contained from time to time in the tire site remediation account created pursuant to chapter 63 of this title as a revolving fund for the purposes of making loans for the investigation of and/or design of remedial actions for projects of critical economic concern and related purpose as determined by the Rhode Island economic development corporation to recipients of certificates of critical economic concern and who are designated by the director of the Rhode Island economic development corporation and consistent with the purposes of this chapter. Loan repayments shall be repaid to the tire site remediation account on a schedule established by agreement between the loan recipient and the director of the Rhode Island economic development corporation.

SECTION 2. Chapter 23-19.14 of the General Laws entitled "Industrial Property Remediation and Reuse Act" is hereby amended by adding thereto the following section:

23-19.14-5.1. Brownfields program revitalization and continuous improvement. -- (a) The economic development corporation and the department of environmental management shall prepare and submit a joint report to the general assembly no later than December 1, 2002, recommending methods of ensuring that Rhode Island Brownfields projects have access to comprehensive environmental insurance at a reasonable cost. The report should include a determination of whether or not the state should seek funding to purchase insurance or develop a risk sharing pool, an indemnity pool, or other insurance mechanism to provide financing for remedial actions. The report should include an evaluation of the available options for providing cost-cap coverage at an affordable rate to projects with remedial costs under one million dollars ($1,000,000).

(b) The department of environmental management and the Rhode Island economic policy council shall prepare and submit a joint report to the general assembly no later than December 1, 2002, evaluating the costs and benefits of establishing a licensed environmental professional program in Rhode Island. The report should include an assessment of the time that would be required to develop and implement such a program. In researching the report, the department and the Rhode Island economic policy council should consult the Rhode Island society of environmental professionals and other appropriate bodies.

(c) The economic development corporation and the department of environmental management shall prepare and submit a joint report to the general assembly no later than December 1, 2002, outlining and detailing a program for compliance with the requirements of section 42-64-29 of the general laws.

SECTION 3. Section 42-64-29 of the General Laws in Chapter 42-64 entitled "Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation" is hereby amended to read as follows:

42-64-29. Inventory of development sites. -- (a) The corporation, in coordination with the statewide planning program, shall maintain an inventory of potential sites for development and act as a clearinghouse for investors and businesses that want to expand or locate in Rhode Island.

(b) Further, the corporation, in coordination with Rhode Island municipalities and local or regional development agencies, shall promote the re-use of abandoned and distressed industrial properties in the State, specifically those designated as Brownfield's and certified mill buildings.

(c) The corporation shall create a program of marketing for underutilized or abandoned sites as identified by the department of environmental management in section 23-19-14.5(d).

(d) The corporation shall, in cooperation with the department of environmental management, assist prospective Brownfield redevelopment developers in identifying and securing public and private funding sources for Brownfield redevelopment projects.

SECTION 4. This act shall take effect upon passage.