Comprehensive Economic and Environmental Recovery Act of 1995

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

Title I: Voluntary Environmental Cleanup

Title II: National Environmental Business Development

Program

Title III: National Environmental Response, Remediation, and

Restoration Training Programs

Subtitle A: National Environmental Response

Training Program

Subtitle B: National Environmental Remediation

and Restoration Training Program

Title IV: National Environment-Related Employment Program

Comprehensive Economic and Environmental Recovery Act of 1995 - Title I: Voluntary Environmental Cleanup - Authorizes innocent landowners or responsible owners to submit cleanup plans for affected sites to the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency for approval.

Defines: (1) an "affected site" as a facility that has environmental contamination that could prevent its use, development, reuse, or redevelopment and is limited in scope and can be comprehensively characterized and readily analyzed; (2) an "innocent landowner" as a person who intends to own or who owns an affected site and did not contribute to any contamination or the release of hazardous substances; and (3) a "responsible owner" as a person who owns an affected site on which industrial activities take place.

Establishes a Cleanup Loan Fund to provide funding to persons undertaking the development and implementation of approved cleanup plans.

Requires liens in favor of the United States to arise on contaminated property subject to a loan.

Authorizes civil actions to enforce loan agreements.

Provides for the annual transfer of a specified amount of funds from the Hazardous Substance Superfund to the Cleanup Loan Fund.

Amends the Internal Revenue Code to include within the tax deduction allowed for trade and business expenses all amounts paid or incurred in preparing and implementing cleanup plans.

Title II: National Environmental Business Development Program - Exempts wages paid to an owner-employee (any employee who is a principal shareholder) of an employer which is a new environmental business from social security taxes. Makes such exemption inapplicable to amounts after the first $100,000 paid to such employee.

Defines a "new environmental business" as any corporation which: (1) is a small business concern; (2) meets requirements similar to those under the Internal Revenue Code for targeted urban areas; (3) is a new business for the calendar year; and (4) during such year, trains and certifies environmental response employees and emergency responders, employs such individuals, or performs environmental assessments, remediation, or restoration. Provides for a similar exemption from social security taxes for self-employed new environmental businesses.

Terminates such exemptions after 2000.

Title III: National Environmental Response, Remediation, and Restoration Training Programs - Subtitle A: National Environmental Response Training Program - Directs the Secretary of Labor to establish a National Environmental Response Training Program for purposes of: (1) training and certifying targeted urban area residents who are unemployed and underemployed to become environmental response employees and emergency responders; and (2) providing grants to environmental training providers.

Requires the Secretaries of Labor and Education to develop an academic or work-site experience curriculum cooperatively with local educational agencies to enable 11th and 12th grade students to become environmental response employees or emergency responders. Provides for grants to communities for purposes of implementing such curriculum.

Subtitle B: National Environmental Remediation and Restoration Training Program - Directs the Administrator to establish an education and training program in qualified institutions of higher education to enable qualified individuals to acquire career training in environmental engineering, environmental sciences, or environmental project management as it relates to hazardous waste response, cleanup, and restoration.

Makes eligible for such program persons who have a high school diploma or its equivalence, are enrolled in or accepted into a qualified institution of higher education, and reside in targeted areas.

Directs the Secretaries of Defense and Energy and the Administrator to provide grants to qualified institutions of higher education, subject to certain conditions. Requires such institutions to use such funds for purposes of establishing consortium programs to provide education and training in environmental restoration to qualified individuals.

Title IV: National Environment-Related Employment Program - Requires Federal agencies authorized to award contracts to carry out environmental or emergency response to give preference to firms that: (1) meet the requirements of the contract; (2) are located in a targeted urban area; and (3) have a payroll in which at least 25 percent of their certified environmental response employees and responders reside in a targeted urban area or, in cases where availability of certified environmental response employees and responders does not allow firms to comply, actively participate in a youth apprenticeship program.