(1) As used in this section:

Ask a legal question, get an answer ASAP!
Click here to chat with a lawyer about your rights.

(a) ‘Environmental action’ means activities undertaken to:

(A) Determine if a release has occurred or may occur, if the release or potential release poses a significant threat to human health or the environment or if additional remedial actions may be required at the site;

(B) Conduct a remedial investigation and a feasibility study;

(C) Plan for remedial action or removal action; or

(D) Conduct a remedial action or removal action at a site.

(b) ‘Facility,’ ‘hazardous substance,’ ‘release,’ ‘remedial action’ and ‘removal’ have the meanings given those terms in ORS § 465.200.

(c) ‘Substantial public benefit’ includes, but is not limited to:

(A) The generation of funding or other resources facilitating substantial remedial action at a facility in accordance with this section;

(B) A commitment to perform substantial remedial action at a facility in accordance with this section;

(C) Productive reuse of a vacant or abandoned industrial or commercial facility; or

(D) Development of a facility by a municipality or a nonprofit organization to address an important public purpose.

(2) There is created within the State Treasury a revolving fund known as the Brownfields Redevelopment Fund, separate and distinct from the General Fund. Interest earned by the fund shall be credited to the fund. Moneys in the Brownfields Redevelopment Fund are continuously appropriated to the Oregon Business Development Department and shall be used to fund loans and grants for environmental actions on properties that are brownfields, as defined in ORS § 285A.185.

(3)(a) Subject to paragraph (b) of this subsection, when making a loan or grant for an environmental action, the Oregon Business Development Department shall give priority to persons who, at the time of applying for the loan or grant, are not liable under ORS § 465.255 for a release of a hazardous substance at the property at which the environmental action is to be conducted. No more than 60 percent of the total amount of the Brownfields Redevelopment Fund in any biennium shall be awarded to persons who are liable with respect to the subject property under ORS § 465.255. A person is not eligible to receive a loan or grant from moneys in the Brownfields Redevelopment Fund if the person has knowingly violated applicable laws or regulations or has knowingly violated or failed to comply with an order of the Department of Environmental Quality, if such action or inaction has resulted in one or more of the following:

(A) Contribution to or exacerbation of existing contamination at the facility;

(B) Release of a hazardous substance at the facility; or

(C) Interference with necessary investigation or remedial actions at the facility.

(b) Notwithstanding paragraph (a) of this subsection:

(A) When making a grant to a municipality, the Oregon Business Development Department shall give priority to municipalities that provide matching funds from a loan under this section, from another source or from both.

(B) When making a grant to an entity that is not a municipality, the department shall require that:

(i) The recipient is not liable for the subject property under ORS § 465.255;

(ii) The environmental action provides a substantial public benefit; and

(iii) The recipient provides matching funds from a loan under this section, from another source or from both.

(c) The department may establish by rule circumstances in which the department may waive or subsidize the interest on a short-term loan.

(4) When making a loan or grant for an environmental action, the department shall consider:

(a) The extent to which actual or perceived contamination prevents the property from being fully utilized;

(b) The need for providing public assistance, after considering the difficulty of obtaining financing from other sources or of obtaining financing at reasonable rates and terms;

(c) The degree to which redevelopment of the property provides opportunity for achieving protection of human health or the environment by reducing or eliminating the contamination of the property and for contributing to the economic health and diversity of the area;

(d) The probability of the success of the intended use or the degree to which redevelopment of the property provides a public purpose following remediation of the property;

(e) Compliance with the land use plan of the local government with jurisdiction over the property; and

(f) Endorsement from the local government with jurisdiction over the property.

(5) Before making a loan or grant decision pursuant to this section, the Oregon Business Development Department shall consult with the Department of Environmental Quality.

(6) The Oregon Business Development Department may use a portion of the Brownfields Redevelopment Fund to:

(a) Pay for administrative costs of environmental actions;

(b) Pay for administrative costs associated with administering the program and fund; and

(c) Satisfy contracts entered into as required to ensure that environmental reviews are conducted in a manner consistent with existing environmental cleanup laws and rules.

(7) The department shall adopt rules necessary to carry out the requirements of this section. The department shall develop procedures to ensure that activities for which loans or grants are made are consistent with existing environmental cleanup laws and rules. [1997 c.738 § 3; 2001 c.96 § 2; 2005 c.81 § 2; 2007 c.804 § 11; 2009 c.830 § 21]