Superfund Recycling Act of 1995

Summary: Superfund Recycling Act of 1995 - Amends the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 to absolve persons (other than owners or operators) who arranged for the recycling of certain recyclable materials (spent electric lamps and fly ash, bottom ash, slag, and flue gas emission control waste generated primarily from combustion of coal or other fossil fuels when these materials are recycled, beneficially used, or used as raw materials for manufacturing another product) from liability for costs of environmental response actions. 
Considers transactions involving such materials to be arranging for recycling if the person arranging the transaction can demonstrate that:  (1) a market existed for the material; (2) a substantial portion of the material was made available for use as a feedstock for the manufacture of a new saleable product; (3) the material, or product to be made from the material, could have been a replacement or substitute for a virgin raw material, or a product made from a virgin raw material, respectively; and (4) in the case of transactions occurring at least 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the person exercised reasonable care to determine that the facility where the recyclable material would be handled, processed, reclaimed, or otherwise managed by another person (the consuming facility) was in compliance with substantive provisions of Federal, State, and local environmental laws and regulations or compliance orders or decrees. 
Makes the exemptions from liability under this Act inapplicable if the person had an objectively reasonable basis to believe at the time of the recycling transaction that:  (1) the material would not be recycled; (2) the material would be incinerated; or (3) for transactions occurring during the 90-day period beginning on enactment of this Act, the consuming facility was not in compliance with substantive environmental laws and regulations or compliance orders or decrees.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Superfund Recycling Act of 1995''.

SEC. 2. PURPOSES.

    The purposes of this Act are--
            (1) to promote reuse and recycling of recyclable materials 
        in furtherance of the goals of waste minimization and natural 
        resource conversation while protecting human health and the 
        environment;
            (2) to level the playing field between the use of virgin 
        materials and recycled materials; and
            (3) to remove inappropriate and unnecessary disincentives 
        and impediments to recycling.

SEC. 3. CLARIFICATION OF LIABILITY UNDER CERCLA FOR RECYCLING 
              TRANSACTIONS.

    (a) Clarification of Liability.--Title I of the Comprehensive 
Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (42 
U.S.C. 9601 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following new 
section:

``SEC. 127. RECYCLING TRANSACTIONS.

    ``(a) Liability Clarification.--As provided in subsections (b) and 
(c), a person who arranged for the recycling of recyclable material 
shall not be liable under section 107(a)(3) or 107(a)(4).
    ``(b) Recyclable Material Defined.--For purposes of this section, 
the term `recyclable material' means spent electric lamps, including 
fluorescent and other types of lamps, and fossil fuel combustion 
materials described in section 3001(b)(3)(A)(i) of the Solid Waste 
Disposal Act when those lamps and materials are recycled, beneficially 
used, or used as a raw material for manufacturing another product. The 
Administrator may add other materials to this definition by regulation.
    ``(c) Transactions Involving Recyclable Material.--(1) Transactions 
involving recyclable material shall constitute arranging for recycling 
if the person who arranged for the transaction (by selling recyclable 
material or otherwise arranging for the recycling of recyclable 
material) can demonstrate by a preponderance of the evidence that the 
following criteria, where applicable, were met at the time of the 
transaction:
            ``(A) A market existed for the recyclable material.
            ``(B) A substantial portion of the recyclable material was 
        made available for use as a feedstock for the manufacture of a 
        new salable product.
            ``(C) The recyclable material could have been a replacement 
        or substitute for a virgin raw material, or the product made 
        from the recyclable material could have been a replacement or 
        substitute for a product made, in whole or in part, from a 
        virgin raw material.
            ``(D) For transactions occurring 90 days or more after the 
        date of the enactment of this section, the person exercised 
        reasonable care to determine that the facility where the 
        recyclable material would
         be handled, processed, reclaimed, or otherwise managed by 
another person (hereinafter in this section referred to as a `consuming 
facility') was in compliance with substantive (not procedural or 
administrative) provisions of any Federal, State, or local 
environmental law or regulation, or compliance order or decree issued 
pursuant thereto, applicable to the handling, processing, reclamation, 
storage, or other management activities associated with the recyclable 
material. For purposes of this subparagraph, the determination of 
whether reasonable care was exercised shall be made using criteria that 
include (i) the ability of the person to detect the nature of the 
consuming facility's operations concerning its handling, processing, 
reclamation, storage, or other management activities associated with 
the recyclable material; and (ii) the result of inquiries made to the 
appropriate Federal, State, or local environmental agency (or agencies) 
regarding the consuming facility's past and current compliance with 
substantive (not procedural or administrative) provisions of any 
Federal, State, or local environmental law or regulation, or compliance 
order or decree issued pursuant thereto, applicable to the handling, 
processing, reclamation, storage, or other management activities 
associated with the recyclable material.
    ``(2) For the purposes of this subsection, a requirement to obtain 
a permit applicable to the handling, processing, reclamation, storage, 
or other management activity associated with the recyclable materials 
shall be considered to be a substantive provision.
    ``(d) Exclusions.--(1) Subsection (c) shall not apply if the person 
had an objectively reasonable basis to believe at the time of the 
recycling transaction--
            ``(A) that the recyclable material would not be recycled;
            ``(B) that the recyclable material would be burned for 
        incineration; or
            ``(C) for transactions occurring during the 90-day period 
        beginning on the date of the enactment of this section, that 
        the consuming facility was not in compliance with a substantive 
        (not a procedural or administrative) provision of any Federal, 
        State, or local environmental law or regulation, or compliance 
        order or decree issued pursuant thereto, applicable to the 
        handling, processing, reclamation, storage, or other management 
        activities associated with the recyclable material.
    ``(2) For purposes of this subsection, the determination of whether 
the person had an objectively reasonable basis for belief shall be made 
using criteria that include the size of the person's business, 
customary industry practices, and the ability of the person to detect 
the nature of the consuming facility's operations concerning its 
handling, processing, reclamation, storage, or other management 
activities associated with the recyclable material.
    ``(e) Effect on Other Liability.--Nothing in this section shall be 
deemed to affect the liability of a person under paragraph (1) or (2) 
of section 107(a).
    ``(f) Regulations.--The President may, under section 115, 
promulgate any regulations necessary to implement this section.
    ``(g) Effect on Pending or Concluded Actions.--The exemptions 
provided in this section shall not affect any concluded judicial or 
administrative action or any pending judicial action initiated by the 
United States before the date of the enactment of this section.
    ``(h) Liability for Attorneys' Fees for Certain Action.--Any person 
who commences an action in contribution against a person who is not 
liable by operation of this section shall be liable to that person for 
all reasonable costs of defending that action, including all reasonable 
attorneys' and expert witness fees.
    ``(i) Relationship to Liability Under Other Laws.--Nothing in this 
section shall affect--
            ``(1) liability under any other Federal, State, or local 
        statute or regulation promulgated pursuant to any such statute, 
        including any requirements promulgated by the Administrator 
        under the Solid Waste Disposal Act; or
            ``(2) the authority of the Administrator to promulgate 
        regulations under any other statute, including the Solid Waste 
        Disposal Act.''.
    (b) Technical Amendment.--The table of contents for title I of such 
Act is amended by adding at the end the following new item:

``Sec. 127. Recycling transactions.''.