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U.S. Code as of:
01/19/04
Section 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 administered 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 carrying out projects for -
(A) the containment or removal of any materials 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 materials removed from
school buildings with other appropriate building materials; and
(C) making repairs which the Secretary determines to be
necessary to restore school buildings to conditions comparable to
those existing before containment or removal activities 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 asbestos
level, as determined by the Secretary under section 3606(a)(2) of
this title.
(3) If the Secretary determines that an applicant 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 Secretary considers
appropriate to enable the applicant to carry out such projects.
(b) Loan agreements; required terms; additional terms and
conditions
Loans under this section shall be made pursuant to loan
agreements which shall provide for the following terms:
(1) The loan shall not bear any interest except 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 agreement.
(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 January 1, 1976
(1) No loan may be made under this section unless 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 information 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 educational agency, as determined under
preliminary testing which was conducted in accordance with the
standards established by the Secretary under section 3606(a)(1)
of this title, or, in the case of testing conducted before June
14, 1980, was conducted in a manner which substantially
conforms to such standards; and
(iii) the methods which will be used to contain or remove the
asbestos materials, in accordance 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) of this section); 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 educational 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;
(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 programs under this section at reasonable rates of
pay, as established by the Secretary on the basis of prevailing
wage rates in the location 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 subsection (a)(2) of this section which
commenced before the availability of loans under the Loan Program
unless the local educational agency submits to the Secretary an
application which -
(A) meets the requirements of paragraph (1); and
(B) contains assurances that any work already 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) of this section 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 committees 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 applicant for and recipient of a loan;
(2) describe the nature of the asbestos problem 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 Program; and
(5) specify the number of loan applications which were
disapproved during the preceding calendar year and describe the
reasons for such disapprovals.
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