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[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2491 Introduced in House (IH)]

  1st Session
                                H. R. 2491

 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

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 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 Movement of Hazardous Waste between the 
           United States and Canada, and for other purposes.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``International Solid Waste 
Importation and Management Act of 2005''.

SEC. 2. INTERNATIONAL TRANSPORTATION AND DISPOSAL OF MUNICIPAL SOLID 
              WASTE.

    (a) In General.--Subtitle D of the Solid Waste Disposal Act (42 
U.S.C. 6941 et seq.) is amended by adding after section 4010 the 
following new section:

``SEC. 4011. INTERNATIONAL TRANSPORTATION AND DISPOSAL OF MUNICIPAL 
              SOLID WASTE.

    ``(a) State Authority To Address Importation and Management of 
Municipal Solid Waste.--
            ``(1) In general.--
                    ``(A) Until the date on which the regulations, 
                issued by the Administrator, to implement and enforce 
                the Agreement (including notice and consent provisions 
                of the Agreement) become effective, a State may enact a 
                law or laws or issue regulations or orders imposing 
                limitations on the receipt and disposal of foreign 
                municipal solid waste within the State.
                    ``(B) A State shall undergo all required public 
                notification, hearing, comment, and consent processes 
                when exercising the grant of authority provided in 
                paragraph (A) as required by State law.
            ``(2) Effect on interstate and foreign commerce.--No State 
        action taken as authorized by this section shall be considered 
        to impose an undue burden on interstate and foreign commerce or 
        to otherwise impair, restrain, or discriminate against 
        interstate and foreign commerce.
            ``(3) Trade and treaty obligations.--State authorities 
        granted under this section shall be implemented consistent with 
        international trade obligations pursuant to 19 U.S.C. 3312.
    ``(b) Authority of Administration.--
            ``(1) In general.--Beginning immediately after the date of 
        enactment of this section, the Administration shall--
                    ``(A) perform the functions of the Designated 
                Authority of the United States described in the 
                Agreement with respect to the importation and 
                exportation of municipal solid waste under the 
                Agreement; and
                    ``(B) not later than 24 months after the date of 
                enactment, implement and enforce the notice and consent 
                provisions of the Agreement, as well as the provisions 
                thereof.
            ``(2) Consent to importation.--In considering whether to 
        consent to the importation under article 3(c) of the Agreement, 
        the Administrator shall--
                    ``(A) give substantial weight to the views of the 
                State or States into which the municipal solid waste is 
                to be imported, and consider the views of the local 
                government with jurisdiction over the location where 
                the waste is to be disposed;
                    ``(B) consider the impact of the importation on--
                            ``(i) continued public support for and 
                        adherence to State and local recycling 
                        programs;
                            ``(ii) landfill capacity as provided in 
                        comprehensive waste management plans;
                            ``(iii) air emissions from increased 
                        vehicular traffic; and
                            ``(iv) road deterioration from increased 
                        vehicular traffic; and
                    ``(C) consider the impact of the importation on 
                homeland security, public health, and the environment.
            ``(3) Actions in violation of the agreement.--No person 
        shall import, transport, or export municipal solid waste for 
        final disposal or for incineration in violation of the 
        Agreement Between the Government of the United States of 
        America and the Government of Canada Concerning the 
        Transboundary Movement of Hazardous Waste, or any laws, orders, 
        or regulations issued to implement and enforce such agreement.
    ``(c) Compliance Orders.--
            ``(1) Whenever on the basis of any information the 
        Administrator determines that any person has violated or is in 
        violation of this section, the Administrator may issue an order 
        assessing a civil penalty for any past or current violation, 
        requiring compliance immediately or within a specified time 
        period, or both, or the Administrator may commence a civil 
        action in the United States district court in the district in 
        which the violation occurred for appropriate relief, including 
        a temporary or permanent injunction.
            ``(2) Any order issued pursuant to this subsection shall 
        state with reasonable specificity the nature of the violation. 
        Any penalty assessed in the order shall not exceed $25,000 per 
        day of noncompliance for each violation. In assessing such a 
        penalty, the Administrator shall take into account the 
        seriousness of the violation and any good faith efforts to 
        comply with applicable requirements.
    ``(d) Public Hearing.--Any order issued under this section shall 
become final unless, not later than 30 days after the order is served, 
the person or persons named therein request a public hearing. Upon such 
request the Administrator shall promptly conduct a public hearing. In 
connection with any proceeding under this section the Administrator may 
issue subpoenas for the attendance and testimony of witnesses and the 
production of relevant papers, books, and documents, and may promulgate 
rules for discovery procedures.
    ``(e) Violation of Compliance Orders.--If a violator fails to take 
corrective action within the time specified in a compliance order, the 
Administrator may assess a civil penalty of not more than $25,000 for 
each day of continued noncompliance with the order.''.
    ``(f) Definitions.--For purposes of this section:
            ``(1) Foreign municipal solid waste.--The term `foreign 
        municipal solid waste' means municipal solid waste generated 
        outside of the United States.
            ``(2) Municipal solid waste.--
                    ``(A) Waste included.--Except as provided in 
                subparagraph (B), the term `municipal solid waste' 
                means--
                            ``(i) all waste materials discarded for 
                        disposal by households, including single and 
                        multifamily residences, and hotels and motels; 
                        and
                            ``(ii) all waste materials discarded for 
                        disposal that were generated by commercial, 
                        institutional, municipal, and industrial 
                        sources, to the extent such materials--
                                    ``(I) are essentially the same as 
                                materials described in clause (i); and
                                    ``(II) were collected and disposed 
                                of with other municipal solid waste 
                                described in clause (i) or subclause 
                                (I) of this clause as part of normal 
                                municipal solid waste collection 
                                services, except that this subclause 
                                does not apply to hazardous materials 
                                other than hazardous materials that, 
                                pursuant to regulations issued under 
                                section 3001(d), are not subject to 
                                regulation under subtitle C.
                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, and 
                household hazardous waste. Such term shall include 
                debris resulting from construction, remodeling, repair, 
                or demolition of structures.
                    ``(B) Waste not included.--The term `municipal 
                solid waste' does not include any of the following:
                            ``(i) Any solid waste identified or listed 
                        as a hazardous waste under section 3001, except 
                        for household hazardous waste.
                            ``(ii) Any solid waste, including 
                        contaminated soil and debris, resulting from--
                                    ``(I) a response action taken under 
                                section 104 or 106 of the Comprehensive 
                                Environmental Response, Compensation, 
                                and Liability Act (42 U.S.C. 9604 or 
                                9606);
                                    ``(II) a reponse action taken under 
                                a State law with authorities comparable 
                                to the authorities of such section 104 
                                or 106; or
                                    ``(III) a corrective action taken 
                                under this Act.
                            ``(iii) Recyclable materials that have been 
                        separated, at the source of the waste, from 
                        waste otherwise destined for disposal or that 
                        have been managed separately from waste 
                        destined for disposal.
                            ``(iv) Scrap rubber to be used as a fuel 
                        source.
                            ``(v) Materials and products returned from 
                        a dispenser or distributor to the manufacturer 
                        or an agent of the manufacturer for credit, 
                        evaluation, and possible reuse.
                            ``(vi) Any solid waste that is--
                                    ``(I) generated by an industrial 
                                facility; and
                                    ``(II) transported for the purpose 
                                of treatment, storage, or disposal to a 
                                facility or unit thereof that is owned 
                                or operated by the generator of the 
                                waste, located on property owned by the 
                                generator or a company with which the 
                                generator is affiliated, or the 
                                capacity of which is contractually 
                                dedicated exclusively to a specific 
                                generator, so long as the disposal area 
                                complies with local and State land use 
                                and zoning regulations applicable to 
                                the disposal site.
                            ``(vii) Any medical waste that is 
                        segregated from or not mixed with solid waste.
                            ``(viii) Sewage sludge and residuals from 
                        any sewage treatment plant.
                            ``(ix) 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.''.
            ``(3) Agreement.--The term `Agreement' means--
                    ``(A) the Agreement Concerning the Transboundary 
                Movement of Hazardous Waste between the United States 
                and Canada, signed at Ottawa on October 28, 1986 (TIAS 
                11099) and amended on November 25, 1992; and
                    ``(B) any regulations promulgated to implement and 
                enforce that Agreement.
    (b) Table of Contents Amendment.--The table of contents of the 
Solid Waste Disposal Act (42 U.S.C. prec. 6901) is amended by adding 
after the item relating to section 4010 the following new item:

``Sec. 4011. International transportation and disposal of municipal 
                            solid waste.''.
                                 <all>
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