[Section 2303 of P.L. 100–297 (102 Stat. 324) repealed title IV of this Act] TITLE V—ASBESTOS SCHOOL HAZARD ABATEMENT 1 SEC. 501. [20 U.S.C. 4011 note] SHORT TITLE. This title may be cited as the "Asbestos School Hazard Abatement Act of 1984". SEC. 502. [20 U.S.C. 4011] FINDINGS AND PURPOSES. (a) FINDINGS.-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 concentration 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 remedying hazardous conditions in schools; (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 a 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 title to mitigate hazards from exposure to asbestos fibers and materials emitting such fibers. (b) PURPOSE.-It is the purpose of this title to— 1 The Asbestos School Hazard Abatement Act of 1984 (20 U.S.C. 4011-4021) consists of title V of the Education for Economic Security Act (Public Law 98-377; Aug. 11, 1984; 98 Stat. 1267) and the amendments made by subsequent enactments. (1) direct the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to establish a program 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) provide continuing scientific and technical assistance to State and local agencies to enable them to identify and abate asbestos hazards in schools; (3) provide financial assistance for the abatement of asbestos threats to the health and safety of school children or employees; and (4) 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. SEC. 503. [20 U.S.C. 4012] ASBESTOS HAZARD ABATEMENT PROGRAM. (a) ABATEMENT PROGRAM.-There is hereby established a program within the Environmental Protection Agency to be known as the Asbestos Hazards Abatement Program (hereinafter in this title referred to as "Program"). (b) DUTIES.-The duties of the Administrator in implementing and effectuating the Program shall include— (1) the compilation of medical, scientific, and technical information including, but not limited to (A) the health and safety hazards associated with as bestos materials; (B) the means of identifying, sampling, and testing materials suspected of emitting asbestos fibers; and (C) the means of abating the threat posed by asbestos and asbestos containing materials; (2) the distribution of the information described in paragraph (1) (in any appropriate form such as pamphlets, reports, or instructions) to State and local educational agencies and to other institutions, including parent and employee organizations, for the purpose of carrying out activities described in this title; (3) not later than November 15 of each year for which this title is authorized, the development and distribution of applications, or notifications to all local educational agencies of the availability of application forms including information for obtaining such forms; and (4) the review of applications for financial assistance, and the approval or disapproval of such applications, in accordance with the provisions of section 505. SEC. 504. [20 U.S.C. 4013] STATE RECORDS AND PRIORITY LISTS. (a) RECORDS.-The Governor of each State shall maintain records on (1) the presence of asbestos materials in school buildings of local educational agencies; (2) the asbestos detection and abatement activities and other response actions 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 (3) repairs made to restore school buildings to conditions comparable to those which existed before the abatement activities referred to in paragraph (2) were undertaken. (b) PRIORITY LIST. (1) Each year, in accordance with procedures established by the Administrator, the Governor of each State shall (A) submit to the Administrator a priority list of all schools under the authority of a local educational agency within the State, without regard to the public or private nature of the school involved, that are candidates for abatement activities and other response actions; and (B) forward to the Administrator for each candidate for abatement activities and other response actions all applications for financial assistance prepared by the local educational agencies in accordance with the provisions of section 505;1 and (2) The priority list shall rank the potential candidates for abatement action based on the nature and magnitude of the existing and potential exposure presented by the asbestos materials. (3) For each school listed, the Governor shall certify that the statement of need contained in the application for assistance accurately reflects the financial resources available to the local educational agency for the asbestos abatement program. (4) For the purpose of determining the adequacy of the financial resources available to a local educational agency for the abatement of asbestos threats the Governor shall, to the extent practicable, consider the following: (A) A measure of financial need used by the State in which the local educational agency is located. (B) The estimated per capita income of the locality of such agency or of those directly or indirectly providing financial support for such agency. (C) The extent to which the local school millage rate falls above or below (i) the millage rate average of the State and (ii) the millage rate of other local educational agencies with comparable enrollment, per capita income, and resource base. (D) The ratio, expressed as a percentage, of the estimated cost of the project to the total budget of the local educational agency. (E) The borrowing capacity of the local educational agency. (F)2 Any additional costs to the local educational agency of meeting the special needs of disadvantaged students. (G) Any other factor that demonstrates that the local educational agency has limited financial resources. SEC. 505. [20 U.S.C. 4014] FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE. (a) ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.-There is hereby established within the Environmental Protection Agency an Asbestos Hazards Abatement Assistance Program (hereinafter in this Act referred to as the "Assistance Program"), which shall be administered in accordance with this section. 1 Subsection (b) of section 5 of Public Law 101-637 (104 Stat. 4590) struck out subparagraph (C) and should have amended subparagraph (B) by striking out "; and" and inserting a period in lieu thereof. 2 So in original. Indentation is wrong. (b) APPLICATION SUBMISSION.-(1) Applications for financial assistance shall be submitted by a local educational agency to the Governor, or the Governor's designee, who shall establish a priority list based on the criteria of section 504(b)(2). (2) Pursuant to section 504, the Governor shall submit applications, together with the Governor's report and priority list, to the Administrator who shall review and rank such applications pursuant to section 505(c)(2) and propose financing pursuant to the criteria of section 504(b)(4). The Administrator shall approve or disapprove applications for financial assistance no later than April 30 of each year. (3) Within sixty days of receipt of the information described in section 504(b)(1), the Secretary of the Department of Education shall review such information and, in the Secretary's discretion, provide to the Administrator comments and recommendations based upon the needs of local educational agencies for financial assistance. Within sixty days of receipt of the Secretary's report, or expiration of the time allowed for such report, the Administrator shall approve or disapprove applications for financial assistance. (c) REVIEW OF APPLICATION.-(1) The Administrator shall provide financial assistance on a school-by-school basis to local educational agencies in accordance with other provisions of this section to carry out projects for (A) abating the threat posed by materials containing asbestos to the health and safety of children or employees; (B) replacing the asbestos materials removed from school buildings with other appropriate building materials; and (C) restoring school buildings to conditions comparable to those existing before abatement activities were undertaken pursuant to this section. (2) The Administrator shall review and list in priority order applications for financial assistance. In ranking applications, the Administrator shall consider (A) the priority assigned to the abatement program by the Governor pursuant to section 504(b)(2); and (B)(i) the likelihood of release of asbestos fibers into a school environment; (ii) any other evidence of the risk caused by the presence of asbestos including, but not limited to, situations in which there is a substantial quantity of dry loose asbestos-containing material on horizontal surfaces or asbestos-containing material is substantially deteriorated or damaged, and there is asbestoscontaining material in an air plenum or in a high traffic area, confined space, or within easy reach of a passerby; (iii) the extent to which the corrective action proposed by the applicant will reduce the exposure of school children and school employees; and (iv) the extent to which the corrective action proposed by the applicant uses the least burdensome methods which protect human health and the environment. (3) In determining whether an applicant is eligible for assistance, and the nature and amount of financial assistance, the Administrator shall consider the financial resources available to the applicant as certified by the Governor pursuant to section 504(b)(4). (d) LIMITATION.-In no event shall financial assistance be provided under this title to an applicant if— (1) the Administrator determines that such applicant has resources adequate to support an appropriate asbestos materials abatement program; or (2) the applicant is not in compliance with title II of the Toxic Substances Control Act (15 U.S.C. 2641 et seq.). (e) AMOUNT OF LOAN OR GRANT.-(1) An applicant for financial assistance may be granted a loan of up to 100 percent of the costs of an abatement program or, if the Administrator determines the applicant is unable to undertake and complete an asbestos materials abatement program with a loan, such applicant may also receive a grant (alone or in combination with a loan) not to exceed 50 percent of the total costs of abatement, in the amount which the Administrator deems necessary. (2) In approving any grant, the Administrator shall state with particularity the reasons why the applicant is unable to undertake and complete the abatement program with loan funds. (f) LOAN AGREEMENT.-Loans under this section shall be made pursuant to agreements which shall provide for the following: (1) the loan shall not bear interest; (2) the loan shall have a maturity period of not more than twenty years (as determined by the Administrator) and shall be repayable during such period at such times and in such amounts as the Administrator may specify in the loan agreement; (3) repayment shall be made to the Secretary of the Treasury for deposit in the Asbestos Trust Fund established by section 5 of the Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act (Public Law 99-519; 20 U.S.C. 4022); and (4) such other terms and conditions that the Administrator determines necessary to protect the financial interest of the United States. (g) APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS. (1) No financial assistance may be provided under this section unless an application has been submitted to the Administrator in accordance with such procedures as may be developed by the Administrator. (2) The Administrator shall not approve an unless (A) the application contains such information as the Administrator may require, including but not limited to information describing (i) the nature and extent of the asbestos problem for which the assistance is sought; (ii) the asbestos content of the material to be abated; (iii) the methods which will be used to abate the asbestos materials; (iv) the amount and type of financial assistance requested; (v) a description of the financial resources of the local educational agency; and (vi) a justification for the type and amount of the financial assistance requested. (B) the application contains a certification that— |