Toxic Cleanup Equity and Acceleration Act of 1993

Summary: Toxic Cleanup Equity and Acceleration Act of 1993 - Amends the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA) to absolve municipalities or other persons of liability (other than to the President) for claims of contribution or other response costs for the generation, transportation, or arrangement for the transportation, treatment, or disposal of municipal solid waste or sewage sludge. 
Authorizes eligible persons (defined as persons against whom administrative or judicial actions are brought, or to whom notice is given of potential liability, for activities involving municipal solid waste or sewage sludge) to settle their liability with the President. 
Requires final settlements to:  (1) allocate to all activities for the management of municipal solid waste or sewage sludge a combined maximum of four percent of the total response costs for the facility; (2) require eligible persons to pay only equitable shares of the maximum percentage; (3) limit payments based on inability to pay, litigative risks, and other equitable factors; (4) permit in-kind services with regard to response actions in lieu of cash contributions; (5) limit a publicly owned treatment works' payments if it has promoted the reuse of sewage sludge through land application; and (6) be reached even if a person is liable under other CERCLA provisions. 
Authorizes the President to provide a covenant not to sue to persons who have entered into settlements.  Absolves such persons of liability for contributions or other response costs for matters addressed in settlements.  Reduces others' potential liability by the amount of a settlement, but bars discharging potentially responsible parties unless the settlement so provides. 
Applies settlement provisions to municipalities or treatment works who engage in municipal solid waste or sewage sludge management activities occurring 36 months after this Act's enactment date only if the eligible person is a:  (1) municipality and a qualified household hazardous waste collection program has been operating while such waste was collected and disposed; or (2) treatment works in compliance with the Federal Water Pollution Control Act. 
Makes this Act retroactively effective to all actions commenced before this Act's effective date unless a final court judgment or approval of a settlement agreement has been granted.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Toxic Cleanup Equity and 
Acceleration Act of 1993''.

SEC. 2. MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE AND SEWAGE SLUDGE.

    (a) Definitions.--Section 101 of the Comprehensive Environmental 
Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9601) is 
amended by adding the following new paragraphs at the end thereof:
            ``(39) The term `municipal solid waste' means all waste 
        materials generated by households, including single and 
        multiple residences, and hotels and motels. The term also 
        includes trash generated by commercial, institutional, and 
        industrial sources (a) when such materials are essentially the 
        same as waste normally generated by households, or (b) when 
        such waste materials were collected and disposed of with other 
        municipal solid waste or sewage sludge and, regardless of when 
        generated, would be considered conditionally exempt small 
        quantity generator waste under section 3001(d) of the Solid 
        Waste Disposal Act. Examples of municipal solid waste include 
        food and yard waste, paper, clothing, appliances, consumer 
        product packaging, disposable diapers, office supplies, 
        cosmetics, glass and metal food containers, school science 
        laboratory waste, and household hazardous waste (such as 
        painting, cleaning, gardening, and automotive supplies). The 
        term `municipal solid waste' does not include combustion ash 
        generated by resource recovery facilities or municipal 
        incinerators, or waste from manufacturing or processing 
        (including pollution control) operations not essentially the 
        same as waste normally generated by households.
            ``(40) The term `sewage sludge' refers to any solid, 
        semisolid, or liquid residue removed during the treatment of 
        municipal waste water, domestic sewage, or other waste waters 
        at or by a publicly owned treatment works.
            ``(41) The term `municipality' means any political 
        subdivision of a State and may include cities, counties, 
        villages, towns, townships, boroughs, parishes, schools, school 
        districts, sanitation districts, water districts, and other 
        local governmental entities. The term also includes any natural 
        person acting in his or her official capacity as an official, 
        employee, or agent of a municipality.''.
    (b) Section 113 of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, 
Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 is amended by adding the 
following new subsections at the end thereof:
    ``(m) Contribution Actions for Municipal Solid Waste and Sewage 
Sludge.--No municipality or other person shall be liable to any person 
other than the President for claims of contribution under this section 
or for other response costs, penalties, or damages under this Act for 
the generation, transportation, or arrangement for the transportation, 
treatment, or disposal of municipal solid waste or sewage sludge.
    ``(n) Public Right-of-Way.--In no event shall a municipality incur 
liability under this Act for the acts of owning or maintaining a public 
right-of-way over which hazardous substances are transported, or of 
granting a business license to a private party for the transportation, 
treatment, or disposal of municipal solid waste or sewage sludge. For 
the purposes of this subsection, `public right-of-way' includes, but is 
not limited to, roads, streets, flood control channels, or other public 
transportation routes, and pipelines used as a conduit for sewage or 
other liquid or semiliquid discharges.''.
    (c) Section 122 of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, 
Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 is amended by adding the 
following new subsection at the end thereof:
    ``(n) Settlements for Generators and Transporters of Municipal 
Solid Waste or Sewage Sludge.--
            ``(1) Eligible persons.--The term `eligible person' under 
        this subsection means any person against whom an administrative 
        or judicial action is brought, or to whom notice is given of 
        potential liability under this Act, for the generation, 
        transportation, or arrangement for the transportation, 
        treatment, or disposal of municipal solid waste or sewage 
        sludge. An eligible person who may be liable under section 
        107(a)(1) or 107(a)(2) of this Act or for substances other than 
        municipal solid waste or sewage sludge is covered by the Toxic 
        Cleanup Equity and Acceleration Act of 1993 and the amendments 
        to this Act made by the Toxic Cleanup Equity and Acceleration 
        Act of 1993 to the extent that the person is liable for the 
        generation, transportation, or arrangement for the 
        transportation, treatment, or disposal of municipal solid waste 
        or sewage sludge.
            ``(2) Negotiation of settlements; moratorium.--Eligible 
        persons under this subsection may offer to settle their 
        potential liability with the President by stating in writing 
        their ability and willingness to settle their potential 
        liability in accordance with this subsection. Upon receipt of 
        such offer to settle, neither the President nor any other 
        person shall take further administrative or judicial action 
        against the eligible person, unless the President determines 
        that the eligible person's offer or position during 
        negotiations is not in good faith or otherwise not in 
        accordance with this subsection or that the matters addressed 
        include liability not related to the generation, 
        transportation, or arrangement for the transportation, 
        treatment, or disposal of municipal solid waste or sewage 
        sludge. Nothing in this subsection shall limit or modify the 
        President's authority under section 104(e) (42 U.S.C. 9604(e)).
            ``(3) Timing.--Eligible persons may tender offers under 
        this subsection within one hundred and eighty days after 
        receiving a notice of potential liability or becoming subject 
        to administrative or judicial action, or within one hundred and 
        eighty days after a record of decision is issued for the 
        portion of the response action that is the subject of the 
        person's settlement offer, whichever is later. If the President 
        notifies an eligible person that he or she may be a potentially 
        responsible party, no further administrative or judicial action 
        may be taken by any party for one hundred and twenty days 
        against such person.
            ``(4) Expedited final settlement.--The President shall make 
        a good faith effort to reach final settlements as promptly as 
        possible under this subsection and such settlements shall--
                    ``(A) allocate to all generation, transportation, 
                or arrangement for the transportation, treatment, or 
                disposal of municipal solid waste or sewage sludge a 
                combined total of no more than 4 percent of the total 
                response costs for the facility; Provided, however, 
                That the President shall reduce this percentage when 
                the presence of municipal solid waste and sewage sludge 
                is not significant at the facility;
                    ``(B) require an eligible person under this 
                subsection to pay only for his or her equitable share 
                of the maximum 4 percent portion of response costs 
                described in subparagraph (A);
                    ``(C) limit an eligible person's payments based on 
                such person's inability to pay, litigative risks, 
                public interest considerations, precedential value, and 
                equitable factors;
                    ``(D) permit an eligible person to provide in-kind 
                services with regard to the response action in lieu of 
                cash contributions and to be credited at market rates 
                for such services;
                    ``(E) limit a publicly owned treatment works' 
                payments if it has promoted the beneficial reuse of 
                sewage sludge through land application when the basis 
                of liability arises from sewage sludge generated 
                thirty-six months after the date of enactment of this 
                subsection or thereafter; and
                    ``(F) be reached even in the event that an eligible 
                person may be liable under sections 107(a)(1) or 
                107(a)(2) of this Act or for substances other than 
                municipal solid waste or sewage sludge.
            ``(5) Covenant not to sue.--The President may provide a 
        covenant not to sue with respect to the facility concerned to 
        any person who has entered into a settlement under this 
        subsection unless such a covenant would be inconsistent with 
        the public interest as determined under subsection (f) of this 
        section.
            ``(6) Effect of agreement.--A person that has resolved his 
        or her liability to the United States under this subsection 
        shall not be liable for claims of contribution or for other 
        response costs, penalties, or damages under this Act regarding 
        matters addressed in the settlement. Such settlement does not 
        discharge any of the other potentially responsible parties 
        unless its terms so provide, but it reduces the potential 
        liability of the others by the amount of the settlement.
            ``(7) De minimis settlements.--Nothing in this subsection 
        shall alter or diminish a person's ability to reach a 
        settlement with the President under subsection (g) of this 
        section.
    ``(o) Future Disposal Practices.--This subsection applies only to 
the generation, transportation, or arrangement for the transportation, 
treatment, or disposal of municipal solid waste or sewage sludge 
occurring thirty-six months after the date of enactment of this 
subsection. Beginning at such time and with regard to such future 
municipal solid waste or sewage sludge, eligible persons who are 
municipalities or operators of publicly owned treatment works may 
assert the provisions of section 122(n) only under the following 
circumstances:
            ``(1) if liability arises from municipal solid waste 
        collected and disposed of thirty-six months or later after the 
        date of enactment of this subsection and the eligible person is 
        a municipality, a qualified household hazardous waste 
        collection program must have been operating while the municipal 
        solid waste was collected and disposed; or
            ``(2) if liability arises from sewage sludge generated 
        thirty-six months or later after the date of enactment of this 
        subsection and the eligible person is an owner or operator of a 
        publicly owned treatment works, a qualified publicly owned 
        treatment works must have been operating while the sewage 
        sludge was generated at such treatment works.
            ``(3) The term `qualified household hazardous waste 
        collection program' means a program that includes--
                    ``(A) at least semiannual, well-publicized 
                collections at conveniently located collection points 
                with an intended goal of participation by 10 percent of 
                community households;
                    ``(B) a public education program that identifies 
                both hazardous household products and safer substitutes 
                (source reduction);
                    ``(C) efforts to collect hazardous waste from 
                conditionally exempt small quantity generators under 
                section 3001(d) of the Solid Waste Disposal Act, with 
                an intended goal of collecting wastes from 20 percent 
                of such generators doing business within the 
                jurisdiction of the municipality; and
                    ``(D) a comprehensive plan, which may include 
                regional compacts or joint ventures, that outlines how 
                the program will be accomplished.
            ``(4) A person that operates a `qualified household 
        hazardous waste collection program' and collects hazardous 
        waste from conditionally exempt small quantity generators under 
        section 3001(d) of the Solid Waste Disposal Act must transport 
        or arrange to transport such waste in accordance with the Solid 
        Waste Disposal Act and must dispose of such waste at a 
        hazardous waste treatment, storage or disposal facility with a 
        permit under section 3005 of the Solid Waste Disposal Act (42 
        U.S.C. 6925), but such person is otherwise deemed to be 
        handling only household waste under the Solid Waste Disposal 
        Act when it operates a qualified household hazardous waste 
        collection program.
            ``(5) Nothing in this Act is intended to prohibit a 
        municipality from assessing fees to persons whose waste is 
        accepted during household hazardous waste collections, or shall 
        prohibit a municipality from refusing to accept waste that the 
        municipality believes is being disposed of in violation of the 
        Solid Waste Disposal Act.
            ``(6) The term `qualified publicly owned treatment works' 
        means a publicly owned treatment works that complies with 
        section 405 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 
        U.S.C. 1345).
            ``(7) The President may determine that a household 
        hazardous waste collection program or a publicly owned 
        treatment works is not qualified under this subsection. Minor 
        instances of noncompliance do not render a household hazardous 
        waste collection program or publicly owned treatment works 
        unqualified under this subsection.
            ``(8) If the President determines that a household 
        hazardous waste collection program is not qualified, the 
        provisions of section 122(n) shall not apply, but only with 
        regard to the municipal solid waste disposed of during the 
        period of disqualification.
            ``(9) If a municipality or operator of a publicly owned 
        treatment works is notified by the President or by a State with 
        a program approved under section 402(b) of the Federal Water 
        Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1342(b)) that its publicly 
        owned treatment works is not in compliance with the 
        requirements for paragraph (6) of this subsection, and if such 
        noncompliance is not remedied within twelve months, the 
        provisions of section 122(n) shall not apply, but only with 
        regard to the sewage sludge generated or disposed of during the 
        period of noncompliance.''.
    (d) Section 122(g)(1)(A)(i) of the Comprehensive Environmental 
Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 is amended by 
inserting the following sentence at the end solid waste and sewage 
sludge, not the overall quantity of municipal solid waste and sewage 
sludge.''.
    (e) Nothing in this section shall modify the meaning or 
interpretation of the Solid Waste Disposal Act.
    (f) Nothing in this section shall modify a State's ability under 
the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability 
Act of 1980 to carry out actions authorized in such Act and to enter 
into a contract or cooperative agreement with the President to carry 
out such actions.
    (g) The settlement procedures and bar on judicial and 
administrative proceedings addressed in this section shall apply even 
if any constituent component of municipal solid waste or sewage sludge 
may be considered a hazardous substance under the Comprehensive 
Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 when 
the constituent component exists apart from municipal solid waste or 
sewage sludge.
    (h) This Act and the amendments made by this section shall apply to 
each municipality and other person against whom administrative or 
judicial action has been commenced before the effective date of this 
Act, unless a final court judgment has been rendered against such 
municipality or other person or final court approval of a settlement 
agreement including such municipality or other person as a party has 
been granted. If a final court judgment has been rendered or court-
approved settlement agreement has been reached that does not resolve 
all contested issues, such amendments shall apply to all contested 
issues not expressly resolved by such court judgment or settlement 
agreement.