Newsprint Recycling Incentives Act

Summary: Newsprint Recycling Incentives Act - Amends the Solid Waste Disposal Act to require producers or importers of newsprint to recycle an amount of newsprint equal to the amount determined by multiplying the amount of newsprint produced or imported annually by the recycling percentage established by the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).  Authorizes compliance with this Act by:  (1) recycling (through deinking) newsprint; (2) purchasing recycled newsprint to combine with shipments of virgin newsprint; or (3) purchasing recycling credits under this Act. 
Requires the recycling percentage to be at least 20 percent. Provides for increases in such percentage of two points annually for the next ten years. 
Requires the Administrator to promulgate regulations to allow newsprint producers or importers to create or purchase recycling credits. 
Applies recycling requirements to persons who produce or import more than ten tons of newsprint annually.  Sets the recycling percentage at 20 percent if the Administrator fails to promulgate such regulations. 
Prescribes civil penalties for violations of this Act. 
Directs the Administrator to submit to the Congress and implement a plan for the recycling of post-consumer high grade paper. 
Authorizes appropriations.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Newsprint Recycling Incentives 
Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds the following:
            (1) Of the total United States waste-stream of 145 million 
        metric tons per year, paper and related products compose 64 
        million metric tons, or 40 percent of the total.
            (2) Ninety percent of old newspaper waste in the United 
        States is not recycled and ends up in the waste-stream.
            (3) State and local newspaper recycling programs have 
        helped create a growing surplus of old newspaper waste and have 
        helped to bring about a collapse of the market for recycled 
        newsprint.
            (4) The current glut of old newspaper waste has caused the 
        market for old newspaper waste to decline from a price of $30 
        per ton to a cost or loss of $10 per ton.
            (5) The price of new newsprint does not reflect the 
        increasing cost to communities of disposal and landfilling of 
        old newspaper waste. Such cost currently is between $20 and $60 
        per ton, on average.
            (6) The cost of recycling old newspaper waste is 
        substantially less than the cost of disposal.
            (7) The demand for old newspaper waste needs to be 
        increased to provide both an outlet for the rapidly increasing 
        glut of old newspaper waste and stable markets for recyclers to 
        invest in de-inking facilities.
            (8) A minimum recycling requirement can be used to create a 
        market which accurately reflects the societal costs of old 
        newspaper waste.
            (9) The creation of an efficient market for recycled 
        newsprint requires that the cost of disposal be included in the 
        cost of unrecycled products.
            (10) The Administrator of the Environmental Protection 
        Agency requires additional statutory authority to increase 
        recycling of old newspaper waste and to stimulate demand.

SEC. 3. REQUIREMENTS TO RECYCLE NEWSPRINT.

    (a) In General.--Subtitle D of the Solid Waste Disposal Act (42 
U.S.C. 6941 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end thereof the 
following:

``SEC. 4011. NEWSPRINT RECYCLING REQUIREMENTS.

    ``(a) General Requirement.--(1) Beginning not later than 18 months 
after the date of the enactment of the Newsprint Recycling Incentives 
Act, a producer or importer of newsprint each year shall recycle, using 
a method described in paragraph (2), an amount of newsprint equal to at 
least that amount of newsprint determined by--
            ``(A) multiplying the newsprint produced or imported that 
        year by such person, by
            ``(B) the recycling percentage established by the 
        Administrator under subsection (b).
    ``(2) A producer or importer of newsprint may comply with this 
subsection--
            ``(A) by recycling, through de-inking, newsprint for 
        purposes of producing recycled newsprint;
            ``(B) by purchasing recycled newsprint for purposes of 
        combining with shipments of virgin newsprint; or
            ``(C) by purchasing recycling credits under the recycling 
        credit system established pursuant to subsection (c).
    ``(b) Recycling Percentage.--The Administrator each year shall 
establish a recycling percentage for use under subsection (a). The 
percentage applicable during the first year that the requirement 
established by subsection (a) is in effect shall be not less than 20 
percent. For each of the ten years thereafter, the recycling percentage 
shall be an additional 2 percentage points higher than the percentage 
of the previous year.
    ``(c) Credit System for Recycling Newsprint.--(1) Not later than 18 
months after the date of the enactment of the Newsprint Recycling 
Incentives Act, the Administrator shall promulgate regulations to 
establish a system under which (A) producers or importers of recycled 
newsprint may create credits for used newsprint recycling, and (B) 
producers or importers of newsprint (virgin or recycled) may purchase 
such recycling credits from such recyclers, for purposes of complying 
with subsection (a). The regulations shall include a mechanism or 
mechanisms (including an auction) for any allocation of credits that 
may be necessary. No person may create such credits, and no producer or 
importer of newsprint may purchase such credits, except in accordance 
with this subsection and the regulations promulgated under this 
subsection.
    ``(2) At a minimum, the regulations under subsection (c) shall 
include the following requirements:
            ``(A) The producer or importer of recycled newsprint shall 
        maintain records of the receipt of old newsprint and other 
        paper products for de-inking and subsequent recycling. Such 
        records shall be maintained for at least 2 years.
            ``(B) The producer of recycled newsprint shall notify the 
        Environmental Protection Agency of the producer's capacity to 
        recycle old newsprint. Such notification shall state the 
        overall newsprint capacity and that portion dedicated to de-
        inking and recycling.
            ``(C) The importer of recycled newsprint shall notify the 
        United States Customs Service of the amount of newsprint being 
        imported by the importer. Such notice shall be accompanied by a 
        certification verifying the accuracy of the notice. The 
        certification shall be made by the official responsible for 
        negotiating trade agreements of the country from which the 
        importer is shipping newsprint to the United States.
            ``(D) Producers or importers of newsprint shall maintain 
        records of sales of virgin and recycled newsprint, including 
        quantities and prices of recycled newsprint and sales or other 
        disposition of such recycling credits as may be used to 
        demonstrate compliance with the requirements of this section. 
        Such records shall be maintained for at least 2 years.
            ``(E) Producers and importers of newsprint shall report to 
        the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency 
        annually and on an interim quarterly basis--
                    ``(i) the amount of recycled content newsprint 
                produced or imported each year;
                    ``(ii) the number of credits purchased or otherwise 
                acquired from other producers or importers; and
                    ``(iii) the number of credits sold or otherwise 
                distributed to other producers or importers.
    ``(3) The Administrator may include such other requirements in the 
regulations under paragraph (1) with respect to qualifications for 
recyclers, importers, and producers; methods for auditing compliance 
with the system; and enforcement of the system; as the Administrator 
considers necessary or appropriate for administering the recycling 
credit system established under this subsection.
    ``(4) For purposes of this section, the term `recycling credit' 
means a legal record of a recycling activity undertaken in accordance 
with this subsection that represents an amount of newsprint recycled 
through de-inking for purposes of complying with this section.
    ``(d) Reports.--(1) Not later than 6 years after the date of the 
enactment of the Newsprint Recycling Incentives Act, the Administrator 
shall submit to Congress an interim report on the implementation of 
this section. The report shall include, at a minimum--
            ``(A) a discussion of the effects of the requirements of 
        this section on the newsprint and newspaper industry and on the 
        environment; and
            ``(B) an evaluation of the level of the recycling 
        percentage under subsection (b) and recommendations on whether, 
        and at what rate, the percentage should be increased in future 
        years above the percentage applicable under subsection (b).
    ``(2) Not later than 10 years after such date, the Administrator 
shall submit to Congress a final report on the implementation of this 
section. The report shall include an updated version of the discussion 
and evaluation required in the interim report, as well as such other 
findings and recommendations with respect to the implementation of this 
section as the Administrator considers appropriate.
    ``(e) Applicability.--This section applies to any person who 
produces or imports more than 10 tons of newsprint a year.
    ``(f) Regulations.--The Administrator shall promulgate regulations 
to implement this section not later than 18 months after the date of 
the enactment of the Newsprint Recycling Incentives Act. If the 
Administrator fails to promulgate such regulations by that date, the 
recycling percentage under subsection (b) shall be 20 percent until 
such time as the regulations are promulgated.
    ``(g) Civil Penalty.--
            ``(1) Whoever violates this section shall be liable to the 
        United States for a civil penalty in an amount not to exceed 
        $2,500 for each such violation. Such civil penalty shall be 
        assessed by the Administrator of the Environmental Protection 
        Agency by an order made on the record after opportunity for a 
        hearing in accordance with section 554 of title 5, United 
        States Code. Before issuing such an order, the Administrator 
        shall give written notice to the person to be assessed a civil 
        penalty and provide such person an opportunity to request, 
        within 15 days of the date the notice is received by such 
        person, a hearing on the order.
            ``(2) In determining the amount of a civil penalty, the 
        Administrator shall take into account the nature, 
        circumstances, extent, and gravity of the violation or 
        violations and, with respect to the violator, ability to pay, 
        effect on ability to continue to do business, any history of 
        prior violations under this section, the degree of culpability, 
        and such other matters as justice may require.
            ``(3) The Administrator may compromise, modify, or remit, 
        with or without conditions, any civil penalty which may be 
        imposed under this subsection. The amount of such penalty, when 
        finally determined, or the amount agreed upon in compromise, 
        may be deducted from any sums owing by the United States to the 
        person charged.
            ``(4) Any person who requested in accordance with this 
        subsection a hearing respecting the assessment of a civil 
        penalty and who is aggrieved by an order assessing a civil 
        penalty may file a petition for judicial review of such order 
        with the United States Court of Appeals for the District of 
        Columbia Circuit or for any other circuit in which such person 
        resides or transacts business. Such a petition may only be 
        filed within the 30-day period beginning on the date the order 
        making such assessment was issued.
            ``(5) If any person fails to pay an assessment of a civil 
        penalty--
                    ``(A) after the order making the assessment has 
                become a final order and if such person does not file a 
                petition for judicial review of the order in accordance 
                with this section, or
                    ``(B) after a court in an action brought under this 
                section has entered a final judgment in favor of the 
                Administrator,
        the Attorney General shall recover the amount assessed (plus 
        interest at currently prevailing rates from the date of the 
        expiration of the 30-day period referred to in paragraph (4) or 
        the date of such final judgment, as the case may be) in an 
        action brought in any appropriate district court of the United 
        States. In such an action, the validity, amount, and 
        appropriateness of such penalty shall not be subject to review.
    ``(h) High Grade Paper Recycling.--(1) Not later than three years 
after the date of the enactment of the Newsprint Recycling Incentives 
Act, the Administrator shall submit to Congress a plan, based on the 
experience with the implementation of this section, for the recycling 
of post-consumer high grade paper. The plan shall discuss the 
desirability and feasibility, in terms of environmental impacts 
resulting from reduced volume and economic impacts, of requiring the 
recycling of such paper, and the specific manner in which such 
recycling could be accomplished if the Administrator concludes that 
such recycling is feasible. The plan also shall include an incentive-
based method or methods for accomplishing the recycling, such as a 
credit system (as established under subsection (c)).
    ``(2) Not later than one year after the plan is submitted under 
paragraph (1), the Administrator shall begin to implement the plan. For 
purposes of implementing the plan, the Administrator is authorized to 
carry out any of the methods for accomplishing the recycling of the 
paper that are included in the plan.
    ``(3) For purposes of this subsection, the term `high grade paper', 
means printed or unprinted sheets, shavings, guillotined books, quire 
waste, and cuttings of sulphite or sulphate ledger, bond, and writing 
paper (and all other papers which have a similar fiber and filler 
content).
    (b) Technical Amendment.--The table of contents for subtitle D of 
the Solid Waste Disposal Act (contained in section 1001 of such Act) is 
amended by adding at the end thereof the following:

``Sec. 4011. Newsprint recycling requirements.''.

SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION.

    There is authorized to be appropriated to the Administrator of the 
Environmental Protection Agency $1,200,000 to carry out section 4011 of 
the Solid Waste Disposal Act (as added by section 3). Such funds shall 
be used to hire the equivalent of at least six additional full-time 
employees to carry out such provisions. Such funds shall remain 
available until expended.