20 U.S.C. § 3604 — Asbestos hazards detection program

Page 1189 TITLE 20—EDUCATION § 3604 ing before the containment or removal ac- tivities referred to in subparagraph (B) were undertaken; and (4) designates a State agency or other ad- ministrative unit with the responsibility for submitting to the Secretary the reports de- scribed in subsection (b) of this section and provides assurances that such agency or unit shall carry out the duties specified under sub- section (b). (b) Reporting requirements respecting plan im- plementation Not later than six months after the submis- sion of the plan described in subsection (a), and each six months thereafter during the two-year period beginning on June 14, 1980, the State agency or unit designated under paragraph (4) of subsection (a) shall submit to the Secretary a report which describes the actions taken by the State in accordance with its plan under such subsection. (Pub. L. 96–270, § 4, June 14, 1980, 94 Stat. 490.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT Section 1221 of this title, referred to in subsec. (a), was amended generally by Pub. L. 103–382, title II, § 211, Oct. 20, 1994, 108 Stat. 3912, and, as so amended, no longer contains a subsec. (c)(1)(A). However, the term ‘‘applicable program’’ is defined in subsec. (c)(1) of that section. § 3604. Asbestos hazards detection program (a) Grants to local and State educational agen- cies for Federal share; duration of granting authority; amount of Federal share (1)(A) The Secretary may make grants to local educational agencies for the Federal share of the costs of carrying out an asbestos detection pro- gram meeting the standards established by the Secretary under section 3606(a)(1) of this title. Grants may be made under this section only during the two-year period beginning on June 14, 1980. (B) The Secretary may make grants to State educational agencies for the Federal share of the costs of carrying out any asbestos detection pro- gram if— (i) the State, through the State educational agency or some other appropriate State agen- cy, is making grants to local educational agencies for asbestos hazard detection pro- grams, and (ii) such programs meet the standards estab- lished by the Secretary under section 3606(a)(1) of this title. (C) Grants may be made under this section only during the two-year period beginning after June 14, 1980. (2) Subject to the second sentence of this para- graph, the Federal share of the costs referred to in paragraph (1) shall be 50 percent. Upon a de- termination by the Secretary that an applicant has limited fiscal resources and would be unable to participate in the program under this section without receiving from the Federal Government, as its Federal share of such costs, an amount greater than the amount permitted under the first sentence of this paragraph, the Secretary may increase the Federal share which may be paid to such applicant by such amount as the Secretary considers appropriate to permit the applicant to participate in the program. (b) Application for grants; procedures applicable for approval; programs completed before January 1, 1976; determinations respecting amount of grant (1) No grant may be made under this section unless an application has been submitted to and approved by the Secretary, after consultation with the Task Force. The Secretary may not ap- prove an application unless the application— (A) contains a description of the methods to be used by the local educational agency, or in the case of an application by the State edu- cational agency the methods to be used by the local educational agencies receiving grants from the State, to determine whether haz- ardous concentrations of asbestos fibers or materials emitting such fibers exist in school buildings under the jurisdiction of such agen- cy; (B) contains an estimate of the total cost of the detection program, including such detailed descriptions of the costs of each component of the program as the Secretary may require; (C) designates the party which shall conduct the testing for the detection program and de- scribes such party’s qualifications for con- ducting such testing; (D) contains assurances that the program shall be carried out in accordance with stand- ards established by the Secretary under sec- tion 3606(a)(1) of this title and that any party employed to conduct such testing shall satisfy the competency standards established under such section; and (E) contains such other information or as- surances as the Secretary may require. (2) The Secretary shall provide the Task Force with a copy of any application submitted to the Secretary under paragraph (1). (3) No grant may be awarded by the Secretary under this section for asbestos hazards detection programs conducted before June 14, 1980, unless the applicant has submitted an application to the Secretary— (A) containing the information required under paragraph (1); and (B) providing assurances that any program for which a grant is sought was carried out in a manner which substantially conforms to the requirements established by the Secretary under section 3606(a)(1) of this title. No grant may be awarded under this section for any asbestos hazards detection program com- pleted before January 1, 1976. (4) After reviewing the application submitted under this section, together with any rec- ommendations made by the Task Force, the Sec- retary shall determine the amount of any grant to be awarded under this section. Funds may be awarded by the Secretary for the administrative costs incurred in the preparation and super- vision of the asbestos detection program and for the following activities: (A) Visual inspections of school buildings. Page 1190 TITLE 20—EDUCATION § 3605 (B) The sampling of building and insulation materials. (C) Appropriate tests to determine the level of asbestos content in suspected materials, and tests determined to be essential to detect the likelihood of imminent danger to persons within school buildings. (c) Reporting requirements for recipients Local and State educational agencies receiv- ing grants under this section shall file a report with the Secretary, not later than 120 days after the award of such grant, describing the detec- tion activities which were undertaken, the re- sults of the asbestos detection program, and plans for mitigating any imminent hazards which were detected by the testing. The report shall include a detailed accounting of the funds used to carry out the detection program. (d) Availability of appropriated funds for edu- cation and technical assistance programs During the period in which grants may be made under this section, not more than 20 per- cent of the funds appropriated to carry out this section may be made available by the Secretary to the Task Force to conduct education and technical assistance programs related to the de- tection of asbestos hazards in school buildings and the implementation of appropriate actions to mitigate such hazards. (Pub. L. 96–270, § 5, June 14, 1980, 94 Stat. 491.) § 3605. Asbestos Hazards Control Loan Program (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 admin- istered by the Secretary in accordance with this section. (2) The Secretary may make loans under this section to local educational agencies in an amount equal to 50 percent of the costs of car- rying out projects for— (A) the containment or removal of any ma- terials 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 mate- rials removed from school buildings with other appropriate building materials; and (C) making repairs which the Secretary de- termines to be necessary to restore school buildings to conditions comparable to those existing before containment or removal activi- ties 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 as- bestos level, as determined by the Secretary under section 3606(a)(2) of this title. (3) If the Secretary determines that an appli- cant 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 Sec- retary considers appropriate to enable the appli- cant to carry out such projects. (b) Loan agreements; required terms; additional terms and conditions Loans under this section shall be made pursu- ant to loan agreements which shall provide for the following terms: (1) The loan shall not bear any interest ex- cept 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 agree- ment. (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 Jan- uary 1, 1976 (1) No loan may be made under this section un- less 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 informa- tion 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 edu- cational agency, as determined under pre- liminary testing which was conducted in ac- cordance with the standards established by the Secretary under section 3606(a)(1) of this title, or, in the case of testing conducted be- fore June 14, 1980, was conducted in a man- ner which substantially conforms to such standards; and (iii) the methods which will be used to con- tain or remove the asbestos materials, in ac- cordance 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 edu- cational 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;