Common Sense Hazardous Waste Facilities Siting and Permitting Act of 1996

Summary: Common Sense Hazardous Waste Facilities Siting and Permitting Act of 1996 - Amends the Solid Waste Disposal Act to add to standards applicable to hazardous waste treatment, storage, and disposal facilities under the Act and under State and local law the requirement that States and local permitting authorities develop siting criteria which, at a minimum, impose restrictions on facility location:  (1) within specified distances of densely populated areas or schools, churches, day care centers, or other buildings frequented by persons under age 18; (2) on or within specified distances of aquifers or recharge areas used as sources of drinking or irrigation water, bodies of water, or prime farm land (as defined in this Act); and (3) based upon environmental redlining (selection of sites predominantly on the basis of the income of residents in the surrounding area). 
Requires States and local permitting authorities to develop siting procedures which meet specified minimum standards concerning the application process, host community advisory committee recommendations, official consent of the host community, and a restricted appeals process.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Common Sense Hazardous Waste 
Facilities Siting and Permitting Act of 1996''.

SEC. 2. AMENDMENT OF SOLID WASTE DISPOSAL ACT.

    (a) In General.--Subtitle C of the Solid Waste Disposal Act (42 
U.S.C. 6921 and following) is amended by adding the following new 
section at the end thereof:

``SEC. 3024. SITING OF NEW OR EXPANDED HAZARDOUS WASTE FACILITIES.

    ``(a) Definitions.--For purposes of this section:
            ``(1) Application.--The term `application' means an 
        application filed with a State or local permitting authority 
        for approval to site a new or expanded hazardous waste 
        facility.
            ``(2) Densely populated area.--The term `densely populated 
        area' means an incorporated place or census designated place 
        ``(defined by the Census Bureau) with a population density of 
        at least 1,500 people per square mile as determined by the 
        decennial census.
            ``(3) Environmental redlining.--The term `environmental 
        redlining' means the selection of sites for new or expanded 
        hazardous waste facilities based predominantly on the income of 
        the majority of residents of real property surrounding the new 
        or expanded hazardous waste facility site.
            ``(4) Host community.--The term `host community' means the 
        incorporated place or census designated place of a State in 
        which a new or expanded hazardous waste facility is proposed to 
        be located.
            ``(5) New or expanded hazardous waste facility.--The term 
        `new or expanded hazardous waste facility' means a hazardous 
        waste treatment, storage, or disposal facility--
                    ``(A) the construction of which commences after the 
                enactment of this section, or
                    ``(B) the expansion of the physical capacity of 
                which commences after January 1, 2000.
        For the purposes of this paragraph, the term `commence', when 
        used with respect to a facility, refers to the issuance of all 
        applicable permits for such facility under other provisions of 
        Federal, State, and local law.
            ``(6) Official.--The term `official' means the elected 
        executive official(s) of the host community if it is 
        incorporated, or the county executive official or officials if 
        it is a census designated place.
            ``(7) Person.--The term `person' means an individual, 
        corporation, partnership, limited partnership, limited 
        liability company, or any other lawful business entity that 
        plans to operate a new or expanded hazardous waste facility.
            ``(8) Prime farm land.--The term `prime farm land' means 
        real property on which crop yields exceed the State's annual 
        average (as determined by the United States Department of 
        Agriculture) of units per acre by at least 15 percent for 5 
        consecutive or nonconsecutive years of the past 10 years.
            ``(9) Permitting authority.--The term `permitting 
        authority' means the State or local authority having 
        jurisdiction under State or local law over the siting and 
        permitting of new or expanded hazardous waste facilities.
            ``(10) Public place.--The term `public place' means any 
        structure the general public may access at least 40 hours per 
        week.
            ``(11) Units.--The term `units' means the pertinent crop 
        measure used by the United States Department of Agriculture for 
        reporting services for historical data.
    ``(b) Siting Criteria.--In addition to the standards applicable 
under section 3004, and under State and local law, each State or local 
permitting authority shall develop, not longer than 1 year after 
enactment of this Act, hazardous waste facility siting criteria, which, 
at a minimum, are consistent with each of the following:
            ``(1) Demographic criteria.--New or expanded hazardous 
        waste facilities shall not be located within a 10-mile radius 
        of densely populated areas or within 2,600 feet of any school, 
        church, day care center, or other building or site at which 
        persons under the age of 18 are frequently present.
            ``(2) Topographic-atmospheric-geologic criteria.--New or 
        expanded hazardous waste facilities shall not be located on or 
        within any of the following areas:
                    ``(A) On shallow aquifers or recharge areas for 
                shallow aquifers that are or may reasonably be expected 
                to be used for drinking water or cropland irrigation.
                    ``(B) Within at least 200 feet of streams, rivers, 
                ponds, lakes, reservoirs, or other bodies of water that 
                are in existence for at least 21 consecutive days.
                    ``(C) On prime farm land.
            ``(3) Redlining.--The siting of new or expanded hazardous 
        waste facilities shall not be based on environmental redlining.
    ``(c) Siting Procedures.--In addition to any procedures otherwise 
applicable under this Act or other applicable law, each State or local 
permitting authority shall develop hazardous waste facility siting 
procedures, which, at a minimum, are consistent with the following:
            ``(1) Application process.--Each application shall contain 
        written assurances that the following procedures have been, or 
        will be, carried out:
                    ``(A)(i) The person shall publish an announcement 
                of the intent to file an application to site a new or 
                expanded hazardous waste facility, specifying the exact 
                location of the proposed site, in 2 newspapers of 
                general circulation 30 to 90 days before the filing of 
                the application.
                    ``(ii) One of the 2 newspapers of general 
                circulation shall be the newspaper with the largest 
                circulation of the incorporated place or census 
                designated place wherein the new or expanded hazardous 
                waste facility is proposed to be sited.
                    ``(iii) The announcement of intent to file an 
                application to site a new or expanded hazardous waste 
                facility shall be published in a type size not smaller 
                than the majority of the text type used on the front 
                page of the newspaper.
                    ``(B) The person shall submit to the permitting 
                authority and to the official of the host community, a 
                prospectus that detailed the criteria for the selection 
                of the site and the nature of the waste management 
                activities conducted at the planned facility. A copy of 
                the prospectus shall be made available at a public 
                place in the host community by the official of the host 
                community.
                    ``(C) The person shall submit to the permitting 
                authority and to the official of the host community a 
                detailed analysis and reporting of each of the 
                following:
                            ``(i) The area in which the new or expanded 
                        hazardous waste facility is to be located.
                            ``(ii) The process by which the area was 
                        selected.
                            ``(iii) A description of the technologies 
                        to be used at the facility.
                            ``(iv) A comprehensive treatment analysis 
                        of the hazardous waste to be managed at the 
                        facility.
                            ``(v) The annual capacity of the new or 
                        expanded hazardous waste facility.
                            ``(vi) The expected origin of the waste 
                        accepted at the new or expanded hazardous waste 
                        facility.
                            ``(vii) The quantity of waste the person 
                        intends to receive.
                            ``(viii) The prospects for future expansion 
                        of the hazardous waste facility.
                            ``(ix) Whether the person, its parent 
                        company, officers, corporate principals, or any 
                        entity owned, controlled, or operated by the 
                        entity has any pending or unresolved 
                        environmental violations of this Act.
                    ``(D) The official of the host community shall 
                establish a host community advisory committee of 
                individuals with representation from opponents and 
                supporters of the location of the new or expanded 
                hazardous waste facility within 60 days of the filing 
                of the application.
                    ``(E) The host community advisory committee shall 
                conduct 1 public meeting on the planned hazardous waste 
                facility within 90 days of the establishment of the 
                host advisory committee.
                    ``(F) Upon the completion of the procedures 
                described in subparagraphs (A) through (E), the person 
                filing the application has requested the official of 
                the host community for consent to site the facility in 
                the host community.
            ``(2) Recommendation of the host community advisory 
        committee.--The host community advisory committee shall submit 
        a nonbinding written recommendation to the official of the host 
        community within 30 days of the written request of the person 
        filing the application, which reflects the opinion of the 
        majority of the members of the host community advisory 
        committee.
            ``(3) Consent of the official of the host community.--(A) 
        The official of the host community shall file his consent or a 
        statement withholding consent with the permitting authority 
        within 10 days of the submission of the host community advisory 
        committee's recommendations.
            ``(B) The official of the host community shall include in 
        his consent or statement withholding consent, the criteria upon 
        which his consent, or lack thereof, is based.
            ``(4) Appeals process.--The number of appeals of the 
        permitting authority's final ruling on the application to site 
        new or expanded hazardous waste facilities shall not exceed one 
        (1).''.
    (b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents for subtitle C of the 
Solid Waste Disposal Act is amended by adding the following new item 
after the item relating to section 3023:

``Sec. 3024. Siting of new or expanded hazardous waste facilities.''.