I

104TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 1288

To amend the Solid Waste Disposal Act to permit Governors to limit the

disposal of out-of-State solid waste in their States, and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

MARCH 22, 1995

Mr. BUYER introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee

on Commerce

A BILL

To amend the Solid Waste Disposal Act to permit Governors

to limit the disposal of out-of-State solid waste in their

States, 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 ‘‘Interstate Transpor5 tation of Municipal Waste Act of 1995’’.

6 SEC. 2. INTERSTATE TRANSPORTATION OF MUNICIPAL

7 WASTE.

8 Subtitle D of the Solid Waste Disposal Act (42

9 U.S.C. 6941 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end

10 the following new section:
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1 ‘‘INTERSTATE TRANSPORTATION OF MUNICIPAL WASTE

2 ‘‘SEC. 4011. (a) AUTHORITY TO RESTRICT OUT-OF3 STATE MUNICIPAL WASTE.—(1)(A) Except as provided in

4 subsection (b), if requested in writing by an affected local

5 government, a Governor may prohibit the disposal of out6 of-State municipal waste in any landfill or incinerator that

7 is subject to the jurisdiction of the Governor or the af8 fected local government.

9 ‘‘(B) Prior to submitting a request under this section,

10 the affected local government shall—

11 ‘‘(i) provide notice and opportunity for public

12 comment concerning any proposed request; and

13 ‘‘(ii) following notice and comment, take formal

14 action on any proposed request at a public meeting.

15 ‘‘(2) Beginning with calendar year 1995, a Governor

16 of a State may, with respect to landfills covered by the

17 exceptions provided in subsection (b)—

18 ‘‘(A) notwithstanding the absence of a request

19 in writing by the affected local government—

20 ‘‘(i) limit the quantity of out-of-State mu21 nicipal waste received for disposal at each land22 fill in the State to an annual quantity equal to

23 the quantity of out-of-State municipal waste re24 ceived for disposal at the landfill during the cal25 endar year 1993 or 1994, whichever is less; and
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1 ‘‘(ii) limit the disposal of out-of-State mu2 nicipal waste at landfills that received, during

3 calendar year 1993, documented shipments of

4 more than 50,000 tons of out-of-State munici5 pal waste representing more than 30 percent of

6 all municipal waste received at the landfill dur7 ing the calendar year, by prohibiting at each

8 such landfill the disposal, in any year, of a

9 quantity of out-of-State municipal waste that is

10 greater than 30 percent of all municipal waste

11 received at the landfill during calendar year

12 1993; and

13 ‘‘(B) if requested in writing by the affected

14 local government, prohibit the disposal of out-of15 State municipal waste in landfill cells that do not

16 meet the design and location standards and leachate

17 collection and ground water monitoring requirements

18 of State law and regulations in effect on January 1,

19 1993, for new landfills.

20 ‘‘(3)(A) In addition to the authorities provided in

21 paragraph (1)(A), beginning with calendar year 1997, a

22 Governor of any State, if requested in writing by the af23 fected local government, may further limit the disposal of

24 out-of-State municipal waste as provided in paragraph

25 (2)(A)(ii) by reducing the 30 percent annual quantity limi-
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1 tation to 20 percent in each of calendar years 1998 and

2 1999, and to 10 percent in each succeeding calendar year.

3 ‘‘(B)(i) A State may ban imports from large export4 ing States if the volumes of municipal solid waste exported

5 by those States did not meet reduction targets.

6 ‘‘(ii) A ban under clause (i) may prohibit imports

7 from States that export more than—

8 ‘‘(I) 3,500,000 tons in calendar year 1996;

9 ‘‘(II) 3,000,000 tons in calendar year 1997;

10 ‘‘(III) 3,000,000 tons in calendar year 1998;

11 ‘‘(IV) 2,500,000 tons in calendar year 1999;

12 ‘‘(V) 2,500,000 tons in calendar year 2000;

13 ‘‘(VI) 1,500,000 tons in calendar year 2001; or

14 ‘‘(VII) 1,500,000 tons in calendar year 2002;

15 ‘‘(VIII) 1,000,000 tons in any calendar year

16 after 2002,

17 excluding any volume legitimately covered by a host com18 munity agreement.

19 ‘‘(4)(A) Any limitation imposed by the Governor

20 under paragraph (2)(A)—

21 ‘‘(i) shall be applicable throughout the State;

22 ‘‘(ii) shall not discriminate against any particu23 lar landfill within the State; and
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1 ‘‘(iii) shall not discriminate against any ship2 ments of out-of-State municipal waste on the basis

3 of State of origin.

4 ‘‘(B) In responding to requests by affected local gov5 ernments under paragraphs (1)(A) and (2)(B), the Gov6 ernor shall respond in a manner that does not discriminate

7 against any particular landfill within the State and does

8 not discriminate against any shipments of out-of-State

9 municipal waste on the basis of State of origin.

10 ‘‘(5)(A) Any Governor who intends to exercise the au11 thority provided in this paragraph shall, within 120 days

12 after the date of enactment of this section, submit to the

13 Administrator information documenting the quantity of

14 out-of-State municipal waste received for disposal in the

15 State of the Governor during calendar years 1993 and

16 1994.

17 ‘‘(B) On receipt of the information submitted pursu18 ant to subparagraph (A), the Administrator shall notify

19 the Governor of each State and the public and shall pro20 vide a comment period of not less than 30 days.

21 ‘‘(C) Not later than 60 days after receipt of informa22 tion from a Governor under subparagraph (A), the Admin23 istrator shall determine the quantity of out-of-State mu24 nicipal waste that was received at each landfill covered by

25 the exceptions provided in subsection (b) for disposal in
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1 the State of the Governor during calendar years 1993 and

2 1994, and provide notice of the determination to the Gov3 ernor of each State. A determination by the Administrator

4 under this subparagraph shall be final and not subject to

5 judicial review.

6 ‘‘(D) Not later than 180 days after the date of enact7 ment of this section, the Administrator shall publish a list

8 of the quantity of out-of-State municipal waste that was

9 received during calendar years 1993 and 1994 at each

10 landfill covered by the exceptions provided in subsection

11 (b) for disposal in each State in which the Governor in12 tends to exercise the authority provided in this paragraph,

13 as determined in accordance with subparagraph (C).

14 ‘‘(b) EXCEPTIONS TO AUTHORITY TO PROHIBIT

15 OUT-OF-STATE MUNICIPAL WASTE.—The authority to

16 prohibit the disposal of out-of-State municipal waste pro17 vided under subsection (a)(1) shall not apply to—

18 ‘‘(1) landfills in operation on the date of enact19 ment of this section that—

20 ‘‘(A) received during calendar year 1993

21 documented shipments of out-of-State munici22 pal waste; and

23 ‘‘(B) are in compliance with all applicable

24 State laws (including any State rule or regula25 tion) relating to design and location standards,
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1 leachate collection, ground water monitoring,

2 and financial assurance for closure and post3 closure and corrective action;

4 ‘‘(2) proposed landfills that, prior to January 1,

5 1993, received—

6 ‘‘(A) an explicit authorization as part of a

7 host community agreement from the affected

8 local government to receive municipal waste

9 generated out-of-State; and

10 ‘‘(B) a notice of decision from the State to

11 grant a construction permit; or

12 ‘‘(3) incinerators in operation on the date of en13 actment of this section that—

14 ‘‘(A) received, during calendar year 1993,

15 documented shipments of out-of-State munici16 pal waste;

17 ‘‘(B) are in compliance with the applicable

18 requirements of section 129 of the Clean Air

19 Act (42 U.S.C. 7429); and

20 ‘‘(C) are in compliance with all applicable

21 State laws (including any State rule or regula22 tion) relating to facility design and operations.

23 ‘‘(c) DENIAL OF PERMITS ON GROUND OF LACK OF

24 NEED.—
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1 ‘‘(1) DENIAL.—A State may deny a permit for

2 the construction or operation of a new landfill or in3 cinerator or a major modification of an existing

4 landfill or incinerator if—

5 ‘‘(A) the State has approved a State or

6 local comprehensive solid waste management

7 plan developed under Federal or State law; and

8 ‘‘(B) the denial is based on the State’s de9 termination, pursuant to a State law authoriz10 ing such denial, that there is not a local or re11 gional need of the landfill or incinerator in the

12 State.

13 ‘‘(2) UNDUE BURDEN.—A denial of a permit

14 under paragraph (1) shall not be considered to im15 pose an undue burden on interstate commerce or to

16 otherwise impair, restrain, or discriminate against

17 interstate commerce.

18 ‘‘(d) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section:

19 ‘‘(1) The term ‘affected local government’

20 means—

21 ‘‘(A) the public body authorized by State

22 law to plan for the management of municipal

23 solid waste, a majority of the members of which

24 are elected officials, for the area in which the
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1 landfill or incinerator is located or proposed to

2 be located; or

3 ‘‘(B) if there is not such body created by

4 State law, the elected officials of the city, town,

5 township, borough, county, or parish selected by

6 the Governor and exercising primary respon7 sibility over municipal solid waste management

8 or the use of land in the jurisdiction in which

9 the facility is located or proposed to be located.

10 ‘‘(2) The term ‘affected local solid waste plan11 ning unit’ means a political subdivision of a State

12 with authority relating to solid waste management

13 planning in accordance with State law.

14 ‘‘(3) With respect to a State, the term ‘out-of15 State municipal waste’ means municipal waste gen16 erated outside the State. To the extent that it is

17 consistent with the United States-Canada Free

18 Trade Agreement and the General Agreement on

19 Tariffs and Trade, the term shall include municipal

20 waste generated outside the United States.

21 ‘‘(4) The term ‘host community agreement’

22 means a written, legally binding document or docu23 ments executed by duly authorized officials of the af24 fected local government that specifically authorizes a
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1 landfill or incinerator to receive municipal solid

2 waste generated out-of-State.

3 ‘‘(5) The term ‘municipal waste’ means refuse

4 (and refuse-derived fuel) generated by the general

5 public or from a residential, commercial, institu6 tional, or industrial source (or any combination

7 thereof), consisting of paper, wood, yard wastes,

8 plastics, leather, rubber, or other combustible or

9 noncombustible materials such as metal or glass (or

10 any combination thereof). The term ‘municipal

11 waste’ does not include—

12 ‘‘(A) any solid waste identified or listed as

13 a hazardous waste under section 3001;

14 ‘‘(B) any solid waste, including contami15 nated soil and debris, resulting from a response

16 action taken under section 104 or 106 of the

17 Comprehensive Environmental Response, Com18 pensation, and Liability Act (42 U.S.C. 9604,

19 9606) or a corrective action taken under this

20 Act;

21 ‘‘(C) any metal, pipe, glass, plastic, paper,

22 textile, or other material that has been sepa23 rated or diverted from municipal waste and has

24 been transported into the State for the purpose

25 of recycling or reclamation;
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1 ‘‘(D) any solid waste that is—

2 ‘‘(i) generated by an industrial facil3 ity; and

4 ‘‘(ii) transported for the purpose of

5 treatment, storage, or disposal to a facility

6 that is owned or operated by the generator

7 of the waste, or is located on property

8 owned by the generator or a company with

9 which the generator is affiliated;

10 ‘‘(E) any solid waste generated incident to

11 the provision of service in interstate, intrastate,

12 foreign, or overseas air transportation;

13 ‘‘(F) any industrial waste that is not iden14 tical to municipal waste with respect to the

15 physical and chemical state of the industrial

16 waste, and composition, including construction

17 and demolition debris;

18 ‘‘(G) any medical waste that is segregated

19 from or not mixed with municipal waste; or

20 ‘‘(H) any material or product returned

21 from a dispenser or distributor to the manufac22 turer for credit, evaluation, or possible reuse.’’.
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1 SEC. 3. TABLE OF CONTENTS AMENDMENT.

2 The table of contents of the Solid Waste Disposal Act

3 is amended by adding at the end of the items relating to

4 subtitle D the following new item:

‘‘Sec. 4011. Interstate transportation of municipal waste.’’.

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