Public Law 95–134

An Act to authorize certain appropriations for the territories of the United States, to amend certain Acts relating thereto, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

TITLE V

SEC. 501. In order to minimize the burden, caused by existing application and reporting procedures for certain grant-in-aid programs available to the Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, and the Government of the Northern Mariana Islands (hereafter referred to as "Insular Areas") it is hereby declared to be the policy of the Congress that: (a) Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, any department or agency of the Government of the United States which administers any Act of Congress which specifically provides for making grants to any Insular Area under which payments received may be used by such Insular Area only for certain specified purposes (other than direct payments to classes of individuals) may, acting through appropriate administrative authorities of such department or agency, consolidate any or all grants made to such area for any fiscal year or years.

(b) Any consolidated grant for any insular area shall not be less than the sum of all grants which such area would otherwise be entitled to receive for such year.

(c) The funds received under a consolidated grant shall be expended in furtherance of the programs and purposes authorized for any of the grants which are being consolidated, which are authorized under any of the Acts administered by the department or agency making the grant, and which would be applicable to grants for such programs and purposes in the absence of the consolidation, but the Insular Areas shall determine the proportion of the funds granted which shall be allocated to such programs and purposes. (d) Each department or agency making grants-in-aid shall, by regulations published in the Federal Register, provide the method by which any Insular Area may submit (i) a single application for a consolidated grant for any fiscal year period, but not more than one such application for a consolidated grant shall be required by any department or agency unless notice of such requirement is transmitted to the appropriate committees of the United States Congress together with a complete explanation of the necessity for requiring such additional applications and (ii) a single report to such department or agency with respect to each such consolidated grant: Provided, That nothing in this paragraph shall preclude such department or agency from providing adequate procedures for accounting, auditing, evaluating, and reviewing any programs or activities receiving benefits from any consolidated grant. The administering authority of any department or agency, in its discretion, may (i) waive any requirement for matching funds otherwise required by law to be provided by the Insular Area involved and (ii) waive the requirement that any Insular Area submit an application or report in writing with respect to any consolidated grant.

(48 U.S.C. 1469a) Enacted Oct. 15, 1977, P.L. 95-134. sec. 501, 91 Stat. 1164, 1165.

Asbestos School Hazard Detection and Control Act of 1980

(Public Law 96-270)

AN ACT To establish a program for the inspection of schools to detect the presence of hazardous asbestos materials, to provide loans to States or local educational agencies to contain or remove hazardous asbestos materials from schools and to replace such materials with other suitable building materials, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SHORT TITLE

SECTION 1. This Act may be cited as the "Asbestos School Hazard Detection and Control Act of 1980".

(20 U.S.C. 3601, note) Enacted June 14, 1980, P.L. 96-270, sec. 1, 94 Stat. 487.

FINDINGS AND PURPOSES

SEC. 2. (a) The Congress finds that—

(1) exposure to asbestos fibers has been identified over a long period of time and by reputable medical and scientific evidence as significantly increasing the incidence of cancer and other severe or fatal diseases, such as asbestosis;

(2) medical evidence has suggested that children may be particularly vulnerable to environmentally induced cancers;

(3) medical science has not established any minimum level of exposure to asbestos fibers which is considered to be safe to individuals exposed to the fibers;

(4) substantial amounts of asbestos, particularly in sprayed form, have been used in school buildings, especially during the period 1946 through 1972;

(5) partial surveys in some States have indicated that (A) in a number of school buildings materials containing asbestos fibers have become damaged or friable, causing asbestos fibers to be dislodged into the air, and (B) asbestos concentrations far exceeding normal ambient air levels have been found in school buildings containing such damaged materials;

(6) the presence in school buildings of friable or easily damaged asbestos creates an unwarranted hazard to the health of the school children and school employees who are exposed to such materials;

(7) the Department of Health and Human Services and the Environmental Protection Agency, as well as several States, have attempted to publicize the potential hazards to school children and employees from exposure to asbestos fibers, but there is no systematic program for identifying hazardous conditions in schools or for remedying those conditions;

(8) because there is no Federal health standard regulating the concentration of asbestos fibers in noncommercial workplace environments such as schools, school employees and students may be exposed to hazardous concentrations of asbestos fibers in the school buildings which they use each day;

(9) without an improved program of information distribution, technical and scientific assistance, and financial support, many local educational agencies and States will not be able to mitigate the potential asbestos hazards in their schools; and

(10) the effective regulation of interstate commerce for the protection of the public health requires the establishment of programs under this Act to identify and mitigate hazards from exposure to asbestos fibers and materials emitting such fibers. (b) It is the purpose of this Act to

(1) direct the Secretary of Education to establish a task force to assist States and local educational agencies to ascertain the extent of the danger to the health of school children and employees from asbestos materials in schools;

(2) require States receiving administrative funds for any applicable program (as defined under section 400(c)(1)(A) of the General Education Provisions Act) to prepare a plan describing the manner in which information relating to programs established under this Act shall be distributed to local educational agencies;

(3) provide scientific, technical, and financial assistance to State educational agencies and local educational agencies to enable them to conduct an asbestos detection program to identify asbestos hazards in schools;

(4) provide loans to local educational agencies for the mitigation of asbestos hazards which constitute an imminent hazard to the health and safety of school children and employees; and (5) assure that no employee of any local educational agency suffers any disciplinary action as a result of calling attention to potential asbestos hazards which may exist in schools. (20 U.S.C. 3601) Enacted June 14, 1980, P.L. 96-270, sec. 2, 94 Stat. 487, 488.

TASK FORCE

SEC. 3. (a)(1) There is established a task force to be known as the Asbestos Hazards School Safety Task Force (hereinafter in this Act referred to as "Task Force"). The Task Force shall be composed of ten members, who shall be appointed by the Secretary within 30 days after the effective date of this Act, as follows:

(A) One representative of the Department of Education, recommended by the Secretary of Education.

(B) One representative of the Department of Health and Human Services.

(C) One representative of the National Cancer Institute. (D) One representative of the Environmental Protection Agency, recommended by the Administrator of such agency. (E) One representative of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences.

(F) One representative of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, recommended by the Secretary of Labor.

(G) Four representatives from among organizations concerned with education and health.

Members of the Task Force shall be individuals who have knowledge of the medical problems associated with exposure to asbestos, or individuals who are familiar with procedures for the following

activities: the containment or removal of asbestos from buildings; the replacement of asbestos materials removed from school buildings with other appropriate building materials; and the restoration of such buildings to conditions comparable to those existing before such containment or removal was carried out.

(2) The Secretary shall designate a chairman of the Task Force from among its members.

(3) Members shall be appointed for the life of the Task Force. Any vacancy in the Task Force shall be filled in the same manner in which the original appointment was made.

(b)(1) The Task Force shall meet, no later than 30 days after the appointment of its members, at the call of the chairman of the Task Force.

(2) Five members of the Task Force shall constitute a quorum for purposes of conducting the business of the Task Force, but a lesser number may hold hearings.

(c)(1) Members of the Task Force who are not full-time officers or employees of the Federal Government shall receive compensation at a rate determined by the Secretary, but not to exceed the daily equivalent of the maximum annual rate of pay in effect for grade GS-16 of the General Schedule, for each day (including traveltime) during which they are engaged in the performance of the duties of the Task Force.

(2) While away from their homes or regular places of business in the performance of the duties of the Task Force, all members of the Task Force shall be allowed travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of subsistence, in the same manner as persons employed intermittently in the Government service are allowed expenses under section 5703 of title 5, United States Code.

(d)(1) Upon request of the Task Force, the Secretary shall make available to the Task Force personnel of the Department of Education to assist the Task Force in carrying out its duties.

(2) The Task Force may use the United States mails in the same manner and upon the same conditions as other departments and agencies of the United States.

(e) The duties of the Task Force shall include

(1) the compilation of medical, scientific, and technical information explaining

(A) the health and safety hazards associated with asbestos materials; and

(B) the means of identifying, sampling, and testing materials suspected of emitting asbestos fibers;

(2) the distribution of the information described in paragraph (1) (in any appropriate form such as pamphlets, reports, or instructions) to State educational agencies and to local educational agencies for the purpose of assisting such agencies in carrying out activities described in this Act;

(3) the review of applications for grants and loans under sections 5 and 6 of this Act, and the submission to the Secretary of recommendations respecting the approval or disapproval of such applications;

(4) the review of any guidelines established by the Environmental Protection Agency for identifying those schools in which exposure to asbestos fibers constitutes a health problem and for taking appropriate corrective actions at such schools,

in order to determine whether any modifications of such guidelines should be recommended to the Secretary under paragraph (5); and

(5) providing the Secretary with assistance in formulating standards and procedures under section 7 of this Act by

(A) submitting to the Secretary relevant information concerning the results of the review made under paragraph (4) of this subsection; and

(B) recommending such modifications to the guidelines referred to in such paragraph as the Task Force considers appropriate.

In carrying out its duties under this subsection, the Task Force shall avoid, to the maximum extent practicable, duplicating similar activities undertaken by the Environmental Protection Agency.

(f) The Task Force shall cease to exist at the end of the 18-day period beginning on the date that the authority of the Secretary to make loans under section 6 has expired.

(20 U.S.C. 3602) Enacted June 14, 1980, P.L. 96-270, sec. 3, 94 Stat. 488-490.

STATE PLAN

SEC. 4. (a) Not later than six months after the effective date of this Act, the State educational agency of any State which receives administrative funds for any applicable program (as defined under section 400(c)(1)(A) of the General Education Provisions Act) shall submit to the Secretary a plan which

(1) describes the manner in which the State, not later than nine months after the effective date of this Act, shall distribute to local educational agencies within that State's jurisdiction information describing

(A) the programs established under this Act;

(B) the health hazards associated with exposure to asbestos fibers; and

(C) the procedures established by the Secretary under section 7 for carrying out activities under programs under this Act, and such other relevant information regarding such activities as the State considers desirable;

(2) contains a general description of the content of the information to be distributed in accordance with paragraph (1) and provides assurances that the State shall continually revise such information and distribute such revised material to local educational agencies to ensure that such agencies have available to them the most recent material available with regard to the matters referred to in paragraph (1);

(3) describes the procedures to be used by the State for maintaining records on—

(A) the presence of asbestos materials in school buildings of local educational agencies;

(B) the asbestos detection, containment, or removal activities conducted by local educational agencies (including activities relating to the replacement of the asbestos materials removed from school buildings with other appropriate building materials); and

(C) repairs made to restore school buildings to conditions comparable to those existing before the containment or removal activities referred to in subparagraph (B) were undertaken; and