James M. Jeffords: “I am happy to fully support this amendment, as modified. There are three significant modifications: First, a savings…”

“I am happy to fully support this amendment, as modified. There are three significant modifications: First, a savings clause has been added to make clear that this amendment to the Tax Code has no impact on anyone's liability under the Superfund statute or any other Federal or State environmental law. Just because a tax-entity receives a tax certification signifying that it is not subject to the UBIT tax does not mean that it can avoid environmental liability. Second, the amendment has been modified to include a definition of 'substantially complete.' An entity is eligible for a tax certification if its remedial actions at a brownfield site are complete or substantially complete. As originally drafted, the amendment did not include a definition of the key term 'substantially complete.' This could have created a loophole that allowed entities to get a tax advantage without fully cleaning up a property. The modification we have made fixes this problem by borrowing EPA's definition of 'construction complete' from the Superfund program to define this term. The third modification expands the public notice provision that was already in the amendment. It makes clear that not only must there be public notice, there must also be a meaningful opportunity for public comment. In addition, it makes clear the agency that makes the tax certification, whether EPA or a State agency, must respond to any significant public comments.”