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Union Calendar No. 130 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2491 

[Report No. 109–235] 

To amend the Solid Waste Disposal Act to authorize States to restrict 

receipt of foreign municipal solid waste and implement the Agreement 

Concerning the Transboundary Movement of Hazardous Waste between 

the United States and Canada, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 19, 2005 

Mr. GILLMOR (for himself, Mr. ROGERS of Michigan, Mr. DINGELL, Mr. STUPAK, and Mr. UPTON) introduced the following bill; which was referred 

to the Committee on Energy and Commerce 

SEPTEMBER 27, 2005 

Additional sponsors: Mr. SCHWARZ of Michigan, Mr. LEVIN, Mr. HOEKSTRA, 

Mr. KILDEE, Mrs. MILLER of Michigan, Ms. KILPATRICK of Michigan, 

Mr. EHLERS, and Mr. CAMP

SEPTEMBER 27, 2005 

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole 

House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on Mayb 19, 2005] 

A BILL 

To amend the Solid Waste Disposal Act to authorize States 

to restrict receipt of foreign municipal solid waste and 

implement the Agreement Concerning the Transboundary 
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Movement of Hazardous Waste between the United 

States and Canada, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘International Solid 

5 Waste Importation and Management Act of 2005’’. 

6 SEC. 2. INTERNATIONAL TRANSPORTATION AND DISPOSAL 

7 OF MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle D of the Solid Waste Dis9 posal Act (42 U.S.C. 6941 et seq.) is amended by adding 

10 after section 4010 the following new section: 

11 ‘‘SEC. 4011. INTERNATIONAL TRANSPORTATION AND DIS12 POSAL OF MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE. 

13 ‘‘(a) STATE AUTHORITY TO ADDRESS IMPORTATION

14 AND MANAGEMENT OF MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE.— 

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Until the date on which all 

16 final regulations issued by the Administrator to im17 plement and enforce the Agreement (including notice 

18 and consent provisions of the Agreement) become effec19 tive, a State may enact a law or laws or issue regula20 tions or orders imposing limitations on the receipt 

21 and disposal of foreign municipal solid waste within 

22 the State. Laws, regulations, and orders enacted or 

23 issued before that date may continue in effect accord24 ing to their terms after that date. 
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1 ‘‘(2) EFFECT ON INTERSTATE AND FOREIGN COM2 MERCE.—No State action taken as authorized by this 

3 section shall be considered to impose an undue burden 

4 on interstate and foreign commerce or to otherwise 

5 impair, restrain, or discriminate against interstate 

6 and foreign commerce. 

7 ‘‘(3) TRADE AND TREATY OBLIGATIONS.—Noth8 ing in this section affects, replaces, or amends prior 

9 law relating to the need for consistency with inter10 national trade obligations. 

11 ‘‘(b) AUTHORITY OF ADMINISTRATOR.— 

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Beginning immediately after 

13 the date of enactment of this section, the Adminis14 trator shall— 

15 ‘‘(A) perform the functions of the Des16 ignated Authority of the United States described 

17 in the Agreement with respect to the importation 

18 and exportation of municipal solid waste under 

19 the Agreement; and 

20 ‘‘(B) implement and enforce the notice and 

21 consent and other provisions of the Agreement. 

22 ‘‘(2) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 24 months 

23 after the date of enactment of this section, the Admin24 istrator shall issue final regulations with respect to 
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1 the Administrator’s responsibilities under paragraph 

2 (1). 

3 ‘‘(3) CONSENT TO IMPORTATION.—In considering 

4 whether to consent to the importation under article 

5 3(c) of the Agreement, the Administrator shall— 

6 ‘‘(A) give substantial weight to the views of 

7 the State or States into which the municipal 

8 solid waste is to be imported, and consider the 

9 views of the local government with jurisdiction 

10 over the location where the waste is to be dis11 posed; 

12 ‘‘(B) consider the impact of the importation 

13 on— 

14 ‘‘(i) continued public support for and 

15 adherence to State and local recycling pro16 grams; 

17 ‘‘(ii) landfill capacity as provided in 

18 comprehensive waste management plans; 

19 ‘‘(iii) air emissions from increased ve20 hicular traffic; and 

21 ‘‘(iv) road deterioration from increased 

22 vehicular traffic; and 

23 ‘‘(C) consider the impact of the importation 

24 on homeland security, public health, and the en25 vironment. 
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1 ‘‘(4) ACTIONS IN VIOLATION OF THE AGREE2 MENT.—No person shall import, transport, or export 

3 municipal solid waste for final disposal or for incin4 eration in violation of the Agreement. 

5 ‘‘(c) COMPLIANCE ORDERS.—(1) Whenever on the 

6 basis of any information the Administrator determines that 

7 any person has violated or is in violation of this section, 

8 the Administrator may issue an order assessing a civil pen9 alty for any past or current violation, requiring compliance 

10 immediately or within a specified time period, or both, or 

11 the Administrator may commence a civil action in the 

12 United States district court in the district in which the vio13 lation occurred for appropriate relief, including a tem14 porary or permanent injunction. 

15 ‘‘(2) Any order issued pursuant to this subsection shall 

16 state with reasonable specificity the nature of the violation. 

17 Any penalty assessed in the order shall not exceed $25,000 

18 per day of noncompliance for each violation. In assessing 

19 such a penalty, the Administrator shall take into account 

20 the seriousness of the violation and any good faith efforts 

21 to comply with applicable requirements. 

22 ‘‘(d) PUBLIC HEARING.—Any order issued under this 

23 section shall become final unless, not later than 30 days 

24 after the order is served, the person or persons named there25 in request a public hearing. Upon such request the Adminis-
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1 trator shall promptly conduct a public hearing. In connec2 tion with any proceeding under this section the Adminis3 trator may issue subpoenas for the attendance and testi4 mony of witnesses and the production of relevant papers, 

5 books, and documents, and may promulgate rules for dis6 covery procedures. 

7 ‘‘(e) VIOLATION OF COMPLIANCE ORDERS.—If a viola8 tor fails to take corrective action within the time specified 

9 in a compliance order, the Administrator may assess a civil 

10 penalty of not more than $25,000 for each day of continued 

11 noncompliance with the order. 

12 ‘‘(f) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section: 

13 ‘‘(1) AGREEMENT.—The term ‘Agreement’ 

14 means— 

15 ‘‘(A) the Agreement Concerning the 

16 Transboundary Movement of Hazardous Waste 

17 between the United States and Canada, signed at 

18 Ottawa on October 28, 1986 (TIAS 11099) and 

19 amended on November 25, 1992; and 

20 ‘‘(B) any regulations promulgated and or21 ders issued to implement and enforce that Agree22 ment. 

23 ‘‘(2) FOREIGN MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE.—The 

24 term ‘foreign municipal solid waste’ means municipal 

25 solid waste generated outside of the United States. 
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1 ‘‘(3) MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE.— 

2 ‘‘(A) WASTE INCLUDED.—Except as pro3 vided in subparagraph (B), the term ‘municipal 

4 solid waste’ means— 

5 ‘‘(i) all waste materials discarded for 

6 disposal by households, including single and 

7 multifamily residences, and hotels and mo8 tels; and 

9 ‘‘(ii) all waste materials discarded for 

10 disposal that were generated by commercial, 

11 institutional, municipal, and industrial 

12 sources, to the extent such materials— 

13 ‘‘(I) are essentially the same as 

14 materials described in clause (i); and 

15 ‘‘(II) were collected and disposed 

16 of with other municipal solid waste de17 scribed in clause (i) or subclause (I) of 

18 this clause as part of normal munic19 ipal solid waste collection services, ex20 cept that this subclause does not apply 

21 to hazardous materials other than haz22 ardous materials that, pursuant to reg23 ulations issued under section 3001(d), 

24 are not subject to regulation under sub25 title C. 
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1 Examples of municipal solid waste include 

2 food and yard waste, paper, clothing, appli3 ances, consumer product packaging, dispos4 able diapers, office supplies, cosmetics, glass 

5 and metal food containers, and household 

6 hazardous waste. Such term shall include 

7 debris resulting from construction, remod8 eling, repair, or demolition of structures. 

9 ‘‘(B) WASTE NOT INCLUDED.—The term 

10 ‘municipal solid waste’ does not include any of 

11 the following: 

12 ‘‘(i) Any solid waste identified or listed 

13 as a hazardous waste under section 3001, 

14 except for household hazardous waste. 

15 ‘‘(ii) Any solid waste, including con16 taminated soil and debris, resulting from— 

17 ‘‘(I) a response action taken under 

18 section 104 or 106 of the Comprehen19 sive Environmental Response, Com20 pensation, and Liability Act (42 

21 U.S.C. 9604 or 9606); 

22 ‘‘(II) a response action taken 

23 under a State law with authorities 

24 comparable to the authorities of such 

25 section 104 or 106; or 
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1 ‘‘(III) a corrective action taken 

2 under this Act. 

3 ‘‘(iii) Recyclable materials that have 

4 been separated, at the source of the waste, 

5 from waste otherwise destined for disposal 

6 or that have been managed separately from 

7 waste destined for disposal. 

8 ‘‘(iv) Scrap rubber to be used as a fuel 

9 source. 

10 ‘‘(v) Materials and products returned 

11 from a dispenser or distributor to the man12 ufacturer or an agent of the manufacturer 

13 for credit, evaluation, and possible reuse. 

14 ‘‘(vi) Any solid waste that is— 

15 ‘‘(I) generated by an industrial 

16 facility; and 

17 ‘‘(II) transported for the purpose 

18 of treatment, storage, or disposal to a 

19 facility or unit thereof that is owned or 

20 operated by the generator of the waste, 

21 located on property owned by the gen22 erator or a company with which the 

23 generator is affiliated, or the capacity 

24 of which is contractually dedicated ex25 clusively to a specific generator, so 
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1 long as the disposal area complies with 

2 local and State land use and zoning 

3 regulations applicable to the disposal 

4 site. 

5 ‘‘(vii) Any medical waste that is seg6 regated from or not mixed with solid waste. 

7 ‘‘(viii) Sewage sludge and residuals 

8 from any sewage treatment plant. 

9 ‘‘(ix) Combustion ash generated by re10 source recovery facilities or municipal in11 cinerators, or waste from manufacturing or 

12 processing (including pollution control) op13 erations not essentially the same as waste 

14 normally generated by households.’’. 

15 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS AMENDMENT.—The table of 

16 contents of the Solid Waste Disposal Act (42 U.S.C. prec. 

17 6901) is amended by adding after the item relating to sec18 tion 4010 the following new item: 

‘‘Sec. 4011. International transportation and disposal of municipal solid waste.’’. 

Union Calendar No. 130 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2491 

[Report No. 109–235] 

A BILL 

To amend the Solid Waste Disposal Act to authorCanada, and for other purposes. ardous Waste between the United States and cerning the Transboundary Movement of Haz- solid waste and implement the Agreement Con- ize States to restrict receipt of foreign municipal 

SEPTEMBER 27, 2005 

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Comand ordered to be printed mittee of the Whole House on the State of the Union,