(a) Establishment; administration; loans to local educational agencies for share of project costs; project criteria; increase in amount of loans

(1) There is established within the Department of Education an Asbestos Hazards Control Loan Program (hereinafter in this chapter referred to as the “Loan Program”), which shall be administered by the Secretary in accordance with this section.

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(2) The Secretary may make loans under this section to local educational agencies in an amount equal to 50 percent of the costs of carrying out projects for—

(A) the containment or removal of any materials containing asbestos in school buildings in which such materials pose an imminent hazard to the health and safety of children or employees;

(B) the replacement of the asbestos materials removed from school buildings with other appropriate building materials; and

(C) making repairs which the Secretary determines to be necessary to restore school buildings to conditions comparable to those existing before containment or removal activities were undertaken under subparagraph (A).

Loans may be made under this section only for projects affecting more than 2,500 square feet of surface and in which the asbestos material to be contained or removed consists of a minimum asbestos level, as determined by the Secretary under section 3606(a)(2) of this title.

(3) If the Secretary determines that an applicant has limited fiscal resources and would be unable to carry out the projects described in paragraph (2) without receiving a loan under this section for an amount greater than the amount permitted under such paragraph, the Secretary may increase the amount of the loan payable to such applicant to an amount the Secretary considers appropriate to enable the applicant to carry out such projects.

(b) Loan agreements; required terms; additional terms and conditions

Loans under this section shall be made pursuant to loan agreements which shall provide for the following terms:

(1) The loan shall not bear any interest except as otherwise provided under paragraph (5).

(2) The loan shall have a maturity period of not more than 20 years (as determined by the Secretary) and shall be repayable during such period at such times and in such amounts as the Secretary may specify in the loan agreement.

(3) Repayment of the loan shall be made to the Secretary of the Treasury for deposit in the general fund of the Treasury.

Such loans shall be subject to such other terms and conditions as the Secretary may establish for the protection of the financial interest of the United States and in furtherance of the purposes of this chapter.

(c) Application for loans; procedures applicable for approval; projects completed before January 1, 1976

(1) No loan may be made under this section unless an application has been submitted to and approved by the Secretary, after consultation with the Task Force, within the two-year period beginning on June 14, 1980. The Secretary may not approve an application unless—

(A) the application contains such information as the Secretary may require, including information describing—

(i) the nature of the asbestos problem for which the loan is sought;

(ii) the asbestos content of the material to be contained or removed by the local educational agency, as determined under preliminary testing which was conducted in accordance with the standards established by the Secretary under section 3606(a)(1) of this title, or, in the case of testing conducted before June 14, 1980, was conducted in a manner which substantially conforms to such standards; and

(iii) the methods which will be used to contain or remove the asbestos materials, in accordance with section 3606(b) of this title, and any other pertinent details relating to the project or projects to be conducted by the applicant (as described in subsection (a)(2)); and

(B) the application contains assurances that—

(i) any employee engaged in any activity to carry out programs under this section shall be notified in writing by the local educational agency conducting the program of the hazards of working with asbestos, and shall be required to utilize all appropriate safety procedures to minimize health risks;

(ii) no child or school employee shall be permitted in the vicinity of any asbestos containment or removal activity; and

(iii) the local educational agency shall pay employees engaged in containment, removal, or replacement activities to carry out programs under this section at reasonable rates of pay, as established by the Secretary on the basis of prevailing wage rates in the location of such work.

(2) The Secretary shall provide the Task Force with a copy of any application submitted to the Secretary under paragraph (1).

(3) No loans may be made by the Secretary under this section for projects described in subsection (a)(2) which commenced before the availability of loans under the Loan Program unless the local educational agency submits to the Secretary an application which—

(A) meets the requirements of paragraph (1); and

(B) contains assurances that any work already completed by the applicant has been carried out in substantial conformity with section 3606(b) of this title.

No loan may be awarded under this section for any project described in subsection (a)(2) which was completed before January 1, 1976.

(d) Reporting requirements for Secretary

During each of the three calendar years after 1980, the Secretary shall submit before February 1 of such year a report to the appropriate committees of the House of Representatives and the Senate, which shall—

(1) describe the number of loans made in the preceding calendar year and specify each applicant for and recipient of a loan;

(2) describe the nature of the asbestos problem of each applicant;

(3) describe the types of programs for which loans were made;

(4) specify the estimated total costs of such programs to the recipients of loans and specify the amount of loans made under the Loan Program; and

(5) specify the number of loan applications which were disapproved during the preceding calendar year and describe the reasons for such disapprovals.