20 U.S.C. § 3607 — Recovery of costs by United States

Page 1191 TITLE 20—EDUCATION § 3607 (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 pro- grams under this section at reasonable rates of pay, as established by the Secretary on the basis of prevailing wage rates in the lo- cation 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 sub- section (a)(2) which commenced before the avail- ability of loans under the Loan Program unless the local educational agency submits to the Sec- retary an application which— (A) meets the requirements of paragraph (1); and (B) contains assurances that any work al- ready 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 com- mittees 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 ap- plicant for and recipient of a loan; (2) describe the nature of the asbestos prob- lem 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 Pro- gram; and (5) specify the number of loan applications which were disapproved during the preceding calendar year and describe the reasons for such disapprovals. (Pub. L. 96–270, § 6, June 14, 1980, 94 Stat. 492.) § 3606. Standards and safety procedures (a) Establishment and distribution to designated State agency or unit; establishment of cri- teria for loan program eligibility (1) Within 120 days after the first meeting of the Task Force, and after consultation with the Task Force, the Secretary shall establish and distribute to the State agency or unit des- ignated under section 3603(a)(4) of this title— (A) procedures for testing the level of asbes- tos fibers in schools, including safety meas- ures to be followed in conducting such tests; (B) standards for evaluating (on the basis of such tests) the likelihood of the leakage of as- bestos fibers into the school environment; and (C) standards for determining which contrac- tors are qualified to carry out the testing and evaluation described in this paragraph. (2) After consulting with the Task Force, the Secretary shall establish criteria to be used for determining eligibility for loans under section 3605 of this title. The criteria shall be based on the assessment of the extent of the health haz- ards posed by the presence of asbestos fibers in schools, as determined in accordance with standards under paragraph (1)(B) of this sub- section. (b) Establishment of regulations After reviewing recommendations submitted to the Secretary by the Task Force under sec- tion 3602(e)(5) of this title, the Secretary, with the concurrence of the Task Force, shall by reg- ulation establish— (1) procedures to be used by local edu- cational agencies, in programs for which loans are made under section 3605 of this title, for— (A) containing and removing asbestos ma- terials in school buildings; (B) replacing the asbestos materials re- moved from school buildings with other ap- propriate building materials; and (C) restoring such school buildings to con- ditions comparable to those existing before asbestos containment or removal activities were undertaken; and (2) standards for determining which contrac- tors are qualified to carry out the activities referred to in paragraph (1). (c) Avoidance of duplication of similar activities of Environmental Protection Agency In carrying out his duties under this section, the Secretary shall avoid, to the maximum ex- tent practicable, duplicating similar activities undertaken by the Environmental Protection Agency. (Pub. L. 96–270, § 7, June 14, 1980, 94 Stat. 494.) § 3607. Recovery of costs by United States (a) Suit by United States on behalf of grant or loan recipient for recovery of costs of activi- ties of recipient; proceeds of judgment (1) As a condition of the award of any grant under section 3604 of this title or loan under sec- tion 3605 of this title, the recipient of any such grant or loan shall permit the United States to sue on behalf of such recipient any person deter- mined by the Attorney General to be liable to the recipient for the costs of any activities un- dertaken by the recipient under such sections. (2) The proceeds from any judgment recovered in any suit brought by the United States under paragraph (1) (or, if the recipient files a similar suit on its own behalf, the proceeds from any judgment recovered by the recipient in such suit) shall be used to repay to the United States, to the extent that the proceeds are sufficient to provide for such repayment, an amount equal to the sum of— (A) the amount of any grant made to the re- cipient under section 3604 of this title; (B) the amount outstanding on any loan made to the recipient under section 3605 of this title; and (C) an amount equal to the interest which would have been charged on such loan were the loan made by a commercial lender at pre- Page 1192 TITLE 20—EDUCATION § 3608 1 See References in Text note below. vailing interest rates (as determined by the Secretary). (b) Investigation and report by Attorney General respecting feasibility of recovery of costs from any person determined by Attorney General to be liable The Attorney General shall conduct an inves- tigation to determine whether, by using all available means, the United States should or could recover, from any person determined by the Attorney General to be liable for such costs, the amounts expended by the United States to carry out this chapter. Within one year after June 14, 1980, the Attorney General shall submit to the Congress a report containing the results of the study, together with any appropriate rec- ommendations. (c) Expeditious proceedings by Attorney General If the Attorney General determines in the re- port under subsection (b) that the United States should seek to recover the amounts expended by the United States to carry out this chapter, the Attorney General shall proceed in an expedi- tious manner to recover such amounts from the persons referred to in subsection (b). (Pub. L. 96–270, § 8, June 14, 1980, 94 Stat. 495.) § 3608. Employee protection No State or local educational agency receiving assistance under this chapter may discharge any employee or otherwise discriminate against any employee with respect to the employee’s com- pensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment because the employee has brought to the attention of the public information con- cerning any asbestos problem in the school buildings within the jurisdiction of such agency. (Pub. L. 96–270, § 9, June 14, 1980, 94 Stat. 496.) § 3609. Retained rights Except as otherwise provided in section 3607 of this title, nothing in this chapter shall— (1) affect the right of any party to seek legal redress in connection with the purchase or in- stallation of asbestos materials in schools or any claim of disability or death related to ex- posure to asbestos in a school setting; or (2) affect the rights of any party under any other law. (Pub. L. 96–270, § 10, June 14, 1980, 94 Stat. 496.) § 3610. Definitions For purposes of this chapter— (1) the term ‘‘asbestos’’ means— (A) chrysotile, amosite, or crocidolite; or (B) in fibrous form, tremolite, anthophyllite, or actinolite; (2) the term ‘‘Attorney General’’ means the Attorney General of the United States; (3) the term ‘‘imminent hazard to the health and safety’’ means, for purposes of section 3605 of this title, that an asbestos material is, ac- cording to standards established by the Sec- retary, friable or easily damaged, or within easy reach of students or otherwise suscep- tible to damage (including damage from water or air circulation) which could result in the dispersal of asbestos fibers into the school en- vironment; (4) the term ‘‘local educational agency’’ means— (A) any local educational agency as de- fined in section 198(a)(10) 1 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965; (B) the governing authority of any non- profit elementary or secondary school; (5) the term ‘‘nonprofit elementary or sec- ondary school’’ means— (A) any elementary or secondary school (as defined in section 198(a)(7) 1 of the Ele- mentary and Secondary Education Act of 1965) owned and operated by one or more nonprofit corporations or associations no part of the net earnings of which inures, or may lawfully inure, to the benefit of any pri- vate shareholder or individual, and (B) any school of any agency of the United States; (6) the term ‘‘school buildings’’ means— (A) structures suitable for use as class- rooms, laboratories, libraries, school eating facilities, or facilities used for the prepara- tion of food; (B) any gymnasium or other facility which is specially designed for athletic or rec- reational activities for an academic course in physical education; (C) other facilities used for the instruction of students, for research, or for the adminis- tration of educational or research programs; and (D) maintenance, storage, or utility facili- ties essential to the operation of the facili- ties described in subparagraphs (A) through (C) of this paragraph; (7) the term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Sec- retary of Education, or his designee; (8) the term ‘‘State’’ means each of the sev- eral States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, Amer- ican Samoa, the Virgin Islands, the Northern Mariana Islands, the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and the Office of Overseas Schools of the De- partment of Defense; and (9) the term ‘‘State educational agency’’ has the same meaning given such term by section 198(a)(17) 1 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965. (Pub. L. 96–270, § 11, June 14, 1980, 94 Stat. 496.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT Section 198 of the Elementary and Secondary Edu- cation Act of 1965, referred to in pars. (4)(A), (5)(A), and (9), is section 198 of Pub. L. 89–10, title I, as added by Pub. L. 95–561, title I, § 101(a), Nov. 1, 1978, 92 Stat. 2198, which was classified to section 2854 of this title prior to the general amendment of Pub. L. 89–10 by Pub. L. 100–297, Apr. 28, 1988, 102 Stat. 140. For definitions, see section 7801 of this title.