§3149 — Title 42 The Public Health and Welfare | U.S. Code

Summary

Federal grants are available to eligible local groups that apply. The money can pay for public facilities and services, business development (including revolving loan funds), planning, technical help, training, and other work to fix long-term decline or sudden, severe job losses. Grants can only be given if a project clearly helps an area facing either severe unemployment or big economic changes. The area must have a comprehensive economic development plan and the project must fit that plan, except when the grant is for planning itself. Help can target communities harmed by things like military base closures or defense cuts, major disasters, changes from international trade, fishery failures, loss of manufacturing/tourism/natural-resource/blue-economy/agriculture jobs, steel industry shutdowns or layoffs, or reduced industrial water from drought or extreme heat. For disaster-related help, the agency can encourage hazard mitigation. The law also covers grants for places hurt by coal-industry contraction and for communities affected by nuclear plant shutdowns. Coal-related terms: "coal economy" means the whole coal supply chain (mining, coal-fired plants, transport/logistics, and manufacturing), and a "contraction event" means a closure or reduced activity in those industries. Areas may qualify if they were hurt by a contraction event in the last 25 years or expect to be hurt, shown by job loss, lower tax revenue, or other proof the Secretary accepts. For nuclear help, a "nuclear host community" is an eligible area tied to a plant that is not next to an operating plant, has spent fuel, and as of January 4, 2025 has stopped operating or told regulators it will stop. "Commission" means the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and "community advisory board," "decommission," and "licensee" use their regulatory meanings. The agency must set rules to keep revolving loan funds secure, may allow flexibility or liquidation of fund assets, and may help sell loans but cannot issue a federal guarantee; securities laws still apply.

Title 42, §3149

The Public Health and Welfare — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)On the application of an eligible recipient, the Secretary may make grants for development of public facilities, public services, business development (including funding of a revolving loan fund), planning, technical assistance, training, and any other assistance to alleviate long-term economic deterioration and sudden and severe economic dislocation and further the economic adjustment objectives of this subchapter.

(b)The Secretary may provide assistance under this section only if the Secretary determines that—

(1)the project will help the area to meet a special need arising from—

(A)actual or threatened severe unemployment; or

(B)economic adjustment problems resulting from severe changes in economic conditions; and

(2)the area for which a project is to be carried out has a comprehensive economic development strategy and the project is consistent with the strategy, except that this paragraph shall not apply to planning projects.

(c)Assistance under this section may include assistance provided for activities identified by communities, the economies of which are injured by—

(1)military base closures or realignments, defense contractor reductions in force, or Department of Energy defense-related funding reductions, for help in diversifying their economies through projects to be carried out on Federal Government installations or elsewhere in the communities;

(2)disasters or emergencies, in areas with respect to which a major disaster or emergency has been declared under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.), for post-disaster economic recovery;

(3)international trade, for help in economic restructuring of the communities;

(4)fishery failures, in areas with respect to which a determination that there is a commercial fishery failure has been made under section 1861a(a) of title 16;

(5)the loss of manufacturing, travel and tourism, natural resource-based, blue economy, or agricultural jobs, for reinvesting in and diversifying the economies of the communities;

(6)economic dislocation in the steel industry due to the closure of a steel plant, primary steel economy contraction events (including temporary layoffs and shifts to part-time work), or job losses in the steel industry or associated with the departure or contraction of the steel industry, for help in economic restructuring of the communities; or

(7)limited water for industrial consumption in areas impacted by decreased water supplies due to drought or extreme heat.

(d)(1)In this subsection:

(A)The term “coal economy” means the complete supply chain of coal-reliant industries, including—

(i)coal mining;

(ii)coal-fired power plants;

(iii)transportation or logistics; and

(iv)manufacturing.

(B)The term “contraction event” means the closure of a facility or a reduction in activity relating to a coal-reliant industry, including an industry described in any of clauses (i) through (iv) of subparagraph (A).

(2)On the application of an eligible recipient, the Secretary may make grants for projects in areas adversely impacted by a contraction event in the coal economy.

(3)(A)In carrying out this subsection, the Secretary shall determine the eligibility of an area based on whether the eligible recipient can reasonably demonstrate that the area—

(i)has been adversely impacted by a contraction event in the coal economy within the previous 25 years; or

(ii)will be adversely impacted by a contraction event in the coal economy.

(B)No regulation or other policy of the Secretary may limit the eligibility of an eligible recipient for a grant under this subsection based on the date of a contraction event except as provided in subparagraph (A)(i).

(C)For the purposes of this paragraph, an eligible recipient may demonstrate an adverse impact by demonstrating—

(i)a loss in employment;

(ii)a reduction in tax revenue; or

(iii)any other factor, as determined to be appropriate by the Secretary.

(e)(1)In this subsection:

(A)The term “Commission” means the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

(B)The term “community advisory board” means a community committee or other advisory organization that—

(i)primarily focuses on the economic impacts of decommissioning activities; and

(ii)aims to foster communication and information exchange between a licensee planning for and involved in decommissioning activities and members of the community that decommissioning activities may affect.

(C)The term “decommission” has the meaning given the term in section 50.2 of title 10, Code of Federal Regulations (or successor regulations).

(D)The term “licensee” has the meaning given the term in section 50.2 of title 10, Code of Federal Regulations (or successor regulations).

(E)The term “nuclear host community” means an eligible recipient that has been economically impacted, or reasonably demonstrates to the satisfaction of the Secretary that it will be economically impacted, by a nuclear power plant licensed by the Commission that—

(i)is not co-located with an operating nuclear power plant;

(ii)is at a site with spent nuclear fuel; and

(iii)as of January 4, 2025—

(I)has ceased operations; or

(II)has provided a written notification to the Commission that it will cease operations.

(2)On the application of an eligible recipient, the Secretary may make grants—

(A)to assist with economic development in nuclear host communities; and

(B)to fund community advisory boards in nuclear host communities.

(3)In carrying out this subsection, to the maximum extent practicable, the Secretary shall implement the recommendations described in the report submitted to Congress under section 108 of the Nuclear Energy Innovation and Modernization Act (Public Law 115–439; 132 Stat. 5577) entitled “Best Practices for Establishment and Operation of Local Community Advisory Boards Associated with Decommissioning Activities at Nuclear Power Plants”.

(4)The Secretary shall establish a methodology to ensure, to the maximum extent practicable, geographic diversity among grant recipients under this subsection.

(f)(1)The Secretary shall promulgate regulations to maintain the proper operation and financial integrity of revolving loan funds established by recipients with assistance under this section.

(2)The Secretary may—

(A)at the request of a grantee, amend and consolidate grant agreements governing revolving loan funds to provide flexibility with respect to lending areas and borrower criteria;

(B)assign or transfer assets of a revolving loan fund to third party for the purpose of liquidation, and the third party may retain assets of the fund to defray costs related to liquidation; and

(C)take such actions as are appropriate to enable revolving loan fund operators to sell or securitize loans (except that the actions may not include issuance of a Federal guaranty by the Secretary).

(3)An action taken by the Secretary under this subsection with respect to a revolving loan fund shall not constitute a new obligation if all grant funds associated with the original grant award have been disbursed to the recipient.

(4)(A)No securities issued pursuant to paragraph (2)(C) shall be treated as exempted securities for purposes of the Securities Act of 1933 (15 U.S.C. 77a et seq.) or the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78a et seq.), unless exempted by rule or regulation of the Securities and Exchange Commission.

(B)Except as provided in subparagraph (A), no provision of this subsection or any regulation promulgated by the Secretary under this subsection supersedes or otherwise affects the application of the securities laws (as the term is defined in section 3(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78c(a))) or the rules, regulations, or orders of the Securities and Exchange Commission or a self-regulatory organization under that Commission.

(g)In providing assistance pursuant to subsection (c)(2), if appropriate and as applicable, the Secretary may encourage hazard mitigation in assistance provided pursuant to such subsection.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

The Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, referred to in subsec. (c)(2), is Pub. L. 93–288, May 22, 1974, 88 Stat. 143, which is classified principally to chapter 68 (§ 5121 et seq.) of this title. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see

Short Title

note set out under section 5121 of this title and Tables. section 108 of the Nuclear Energy Innovation and Modernization Act, referred to in subsec. (e)(3), is section 108 of Pub. L. 115–439, title I, Jan. 14, 2019, 132 Stat. 5577, which is not classified to the Code. The Securities Act of 1933, referred to in subsec. (f)(4)(A), is title I of act

May 27, 1933, ch. 38, 48 Stat. 74, which is classified generally to subchapter I (§ 77a et seq.) of chapter 2A of Title 15, Commerce and Trade. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see section 77a of Title 15 and Tables. The Securities Exchange Act of 1934, referred to in subsec. (f)(4)(A), is act

June 6, 1934, ch. 404, 48 Stat. 881, which is classified principally to chapter 2B (§ 78a et seq.) of Title 15, Commerce and Trade. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see section 78a of Title 15 and Tables.

Amendments

2025—Subsec. (c)(5). Pub. L. 118–272, § 2219(1)(B)(i), inserted “, travel and tourism, natural resource-based, blue economy, or agricultural” after “manufacturing”. Subsec. (c)(6), (7). Pub. L. 118–272, § 2219(1)(A), (B)(ii), (C), added pars. (6) and (7). Subsecs. (d) to (g). Pub. L. 118–272, § 2219(2), (3), added subsecs. (d) and (e) and redesignated former subsecs. (d) and (e) as (f) and (g), respectively. 2018—Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 115–254 added subsec. (e). 2004—Subsec. (c)(5). Pub. L. 108–373, § 207(a), added par. (5). Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 108–373, § 207(b), added subsec. (d) and struck out heading and text of former subsec. (d). Text read as follows: “(1) In general.—Subject to paragraph (2), an eligible recipient of a grant under this section may directly expend the grant funds or may redistribute the funds to public and private entities in the form of a grant, loan, loan guarantee, payment to reduce interest on a loan guarantee, or other appropriate assistance. “(2) Limitation.—Under paragraph (1), an eligible recipient may not provide any grant to a private for-profit entity.”

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

Section effective Feb. 11, 1999, see section 105 of Pub. L. 105–393, set out as a note under section 3121 of this title.

§3149 Grants for economic adjustment