I

104TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 1524

To amend the Solid Waste Disposal Act to require producers and importers

of tires to recycle a certain percentage of scrap tires each year, to

require the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to

establish a recycling credit system for carrying out such recycling requirement, to establish a management and tracking system for such tires,

and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

APRIL 7, 1993

Mr. TORRES (for himself, Mr. ACKERMAN, Mr. BEILENSON, Mr. BERMAN, Mr.

BONIOR, Mr. BROWN of California, Mr. BRYANT of Texas, Mr. DELLUMS,

Ms. ESHOO, Mr. EVANS, Mr. FATTAH, Mr. FAZIO of California, Mr.

FILNER, Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts, Mr. FROST, Ms. HARMAN, Mr.

LIPINSKI, Mrs. LOWEY, Mr. MCDERMOTT, Mr. MILLER of California, Mr.

MINETA, Mr. MORAN, Ms. PELOSI, Mr. ROMERO-BARCELO ́, Ms. ROYBALALLARD, Mrs. SCHROEDER, Mr. SERRANO, Mr. VENTO, Mr. WALSH, Ms.

WATERS, Mr. WAXMAN, Ms. WOOLSEY, and Mr. YATES) introduced the

following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Commerce

A BILL

To amend the Solid Waste Disposal Act to require producers

and importers of tires to recycle a certain percentage

of scrap tires each year, to require the Administrator

of the Environmental Protection Agency to establish a

recycling credit system for carrying out such recycling

requirement, to establish a management and tracking

system for such tires, and for other purposes.
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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 ‘‘Tire Recycling Incen5 tives Act’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

7 The Congress finds the following:

8 (1) The generation of solid and hazardous

9 waste has grown to alarming proportions in the

10 United States, with per capita disposal having in11 creased by 80 percent from 1960 to 1989. Each per12 son in the United States throws away 3.6 pounds of

13 garbage every day—enough annually to fill a convoy

14 of 10-ton garbage trucks 145,000 miles long, which

15 is the equivalent of half-way to the moon or roughly

16 7 times around the Equator.

17 (2) Frequently, economic incentives are not suf18 ficient to encourage waste minimization and respon19 sible environmental behavior, and such incentives ac20 tually may favor increased waste generation and im21 proper behavior.

22 (3) A system of economic incentives targeted at

23 waste reduction and recycling together with respon24 sible regulation of recycling activity can reduce both
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1 the amount and toxicity of materials entering the

2 environment.

3 (4) The Administrator of the Environmental

4 Protection Agency requires additional statutory au5 thority to establish appropriate management and re6 cycling requirements and to address situations in

7 which economic incentives to encourage waste reduc8 tion and responsible environmental behavior are not

9 adequate.

10 (5) There is a need to encourage greater recy11 cling of scrap tires. Americans generate more than

12 250 million scrap tires annually. Such scrap tires,

13 piled one on top of another, would be 98,000 Empire

14 State Buildings. Less than 30 percent of the cur15 rently generated scrap tires are recycled. Currently,

21 16 ⁄2 to 3 billion scrap tires are stockpiled across

17 America and these scrap tire dumps grow larger

18 every year. Such stockpiling is, itself, a potential

19 health concern.

20 (6) While wornout tire casings currently rep21 resent only 1.2 percent of the solid waste stream,

22 scrap tires present a special disposal/reuse challenge

23 because of their size, shape, and physical/chemical

24 nature.
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1 (7) Scrap tires, when disposed of whole in a

2 landfill, have a unique tendency to rise back to the

3 surface, thus disrupting the landfill cap and allowing

4 water to infiltrate the landfill.

5 (8) Of the more than 250 million scrap tires

6 generated in the United States every year, 84.5 per7 cent are landfilled, stockpiled, or illegally dumped.

8 (9) The whole scrap tires which are stockpiled

9 represent not only a waste of resources but also a

10 health hazard because they serve as an ideal breed11 ing ground for mosquitoes. According to the Envi12 ronmental Protection Agency, mosquito borne dis13 eases, like encephalitis and yellow fever, as a result

14 of stockpiled tires, cost an estimated $5,400,000 a

15 year.

16 (10) Further, fire hazards as a result of tire

17 stockpiles are both severe and wide-ranging. Such

18 scrap tire fires frequently result in air, surface, and

19 ground water pollution. The major problem of a

20 scrap tire fire hazard is the difficulty in extinguish21 ing the fire due to the fact that 75 percent of tire

22 space is void. This void space makes it difficult to

23 put out fires or quench the oxygen supply.

24 (11) In addition to the difficulty in putting tire

25 fires out, such fires represent a potential health and
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1 environmental risk in the form of both liquid and

2 gaseous emissions from the tires. Burning tires emit

3 solvents and poly-nucleic aeromatic hydrocarbons

4 (PAHs)—many of which are carcinogenic. The tires

5 also melt while burning, releasing both sooty smoke

6 and oily liquids. The water used to extinguish the

7 fire mobilizes these chemicals into the surface and

8 ground water.

9 (12) Estimated direct annual expenditures for

10 extinguishing tire fires are greater than $2,000,000.

11 One tire fire alone, in Winchester, Virginia, required

12 more than $5,000,000 for control and containment.

13 These estimates say nothing of the environmental

14 damage that must ultimately be paid for.

15 (13) The best way of eliminating the environ16 mental and health hazards associated with tire piles

17 is to minimize and ultimately eliminate the stock18 piling of tires.

19 (14) While adequate technology exists to signifi20 cantly reduce tire stockpiles, scrap tires are

21 underutilized because of adverse economics. It is

22 simply cheaper to throw them away than to recycle.

23 Until economic forces are reversed, tire stockpiling

24 will be the option of choice. Producers and importers

25 of tires are responsible for introduction of such tires
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1 into commerce and therefore need to assure that

2 such tires are ultimately managed in a responsible

3 fashion.

4 SEC. 3. REQUIREMENTS TO RECYCLE SCRAP TIRES.

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—(1) Subtitle D of the Solid Waste

6 Disposal Act (42 U.S.C. 6941 et seq.) is amended by add7 ing at the end the following new sections:

8 ‘‘SEC. 4011. RECYCLING REQUIREMENTS FOR SCRAP TIRES.

9 ‘‘(a) GENERAL REQUIREMENT.—(1) During the pe10 riod beginning not later than 24 months after the date

11 of the enactment of the Tire Recycling Incentives Act and

12 ending 10 years after such date, a producer or importer

13 of tires each year shall recycle, using a method described

14 in paragraph (2), an amount of scrap tires equal to at

15 least that amount of tires determined by—

16 ‘‘(A) multiplying the tires produced for domes17 tic use or consumption or imported that year by

18 such person, by

19 ‘‘(B) the recycling percentage established by the

20 Administrator under subsection (b).

21 ‘‘(2) A producer or importer of tires may comply with

22 this subsection by either or both of the following methods:

23 ‘‘(A) By recycling scrap tires in compliance

24 with the requirements of section 4012 and regula25 tions promulgated pursuant to such section through
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1 reintroducing the recovered rubber into a manufac2 turing process for purposes of producing new tires

3 or by retreading old tire casings.

4 ‘‘(B) By purchasing recycling credits under the

5 recycling credit system established pursuant to

6 subsection (c).

7 ‘‘(3) A producer or importer of tires shall submit to

8 the Administrator, under regulations promulgated by the

9 Administrator, a report on the amount of tires produced

10 or imported in each calendar year by such person. The

11 report shall be submitted at least once a year, but the Ad12 ministrator also may require such interim reports under

13 this paragraph as he considers necessary.

14 ‘‘(b) RECYCLING PERCENTAGE.—The Administrator

15 each year shall establish a recycling percentage for use

16 under subsection (a). The percentage applicable during

17 the first year that the requirement established by sub18 section (a) is in effect shall be a percentage that is 5 per19 centage points higher than the recycling rate for tires that

20 exists on the date of the enactment of the Tire Recycling

21 Incentives Act. Such recycling rate shall be determined by

22 using data for 1992 or the most recent year for which

23 data are available. For each of the 10 years thereafter,

24 the recycling percentage shall be an additional 5 percent25 age points higher than the percentage of the previous year.
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1 Such recycling percentage shall go into effect automati2 cally and shall be published in the Federal Register.

3 ‘‘(c) CREDIT SYSTEM FOR RECYCLING SCRAP

4 TIRES.—(1) Not later than 18 months after the date of

5 the enactment of the Tire Recycling Incentives Act, the

6 Administrator shall promulgate regulations to establish a

7 system under which (A) recyclers may create credits for

8 scrap tire recycling, and (B) producers or importers of

9 tires may purchase such recycling credits from such recy10 clers, for purposes of complying with subsection (a). No

11 person may create such credits, and no producer or im12 porter of tires may purchase such credits, except in ac13 cordance with this subsection and the regulations promul14 gated under this subsection. In developing the regulations,

15 the Administrator shall, to the maximum extent feasible,

16 allow for the use of records kept in the ordinary course

17 of business or other approaches that facilitate the simple,

18 rapid generation and exchange of credits without a case19 by-case approval.

20 ‘‘(2) At a minimum, the regulations under paragraph

21 (1) shall include each of the following requirements:

22 ‘‘(A) The owner or operator of any tire sale and

23 installation facility or any scrap tire collection facil24 ity shall keep receipts issued by any transporters

25 who take delivery of the scrap tires. The receipts
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1 shall be kept for at least 3 years and shall show the

2 date, the quantity of scrap tires taken, and the

3 transporter’s identification number. The owner or

4 operator shall show such receipts to the Adminis5 trator or to any State enforcing this section and sec6 tion 4012 upon demand. The owner or operator also

7 shall keep on file a copy of the contract or written

8 agreement between the owner or operator and the

9 transporter under which the transporter agrees to

10 take the scrap tires to a recycling facility.

11 ‘‘(B) The owner or operator of a scrap tire re12 cycling facility who obtains a permit in accordance

13 with section 4012(d) is the only person who may

14 create a recycling credit for the recycling credit sys15 tem. Recycling credits may be created through

16 shredding scrap tires, burning scrap tires for energy

17 recovery in a manner approved under Federal or

18 State law, reusing scrap tires through retreading,

19 utilizing crumb rubber made from scrap tires in an

20 asphalt road paving mix, recycling scrap tires by re21 covering rubber from the tires, or such other means

22 as may be identified by the Administrator. The

23 amount of recycling credit that may be created for

24 one scrap tire handled at a scrap tire recycling facil25 ity is as follows:
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1 ‘‘(i) One-fourth of a credit for one tire

2 shredded.

3 ‘‘(ii) One-fourth of a credit for one tire

4 burned after shredding.

5 ‘‘(iii) One-half of a credit for one whole

6 tire burned in an approved manner.

7 ‘‘(iv) Three-fourths of a credit for one tire

8 reused or recycled after shredding.

9 ‘‘(v) One credit for one whole tire reused

10 or recycled. Methods of reuse may include re11 treading, and methods of recycling may include

12 recovering rubber from the tire to produce tires

13 or an asphalt road paving mix. If the method

14 of recovery involves shredding or crumbling of

15 the whole tire, an additional one-fourth of a

16 credit may not be claimed under clause (i) or

17 (ii).

18 ‘‘(C) Each year a producer or importer of tires

19 shall keep records of the quantity of tires produced

20 or imported, the recycling of scrap tires carried out

21 to comply with subsection (a), the amount of recy22 cling credits purchased, the names of recyclers from

23 whom the credits were purchased and the dates of

24 the purchases, the price paid for the credits, and the

25 amount, if any, of recycling credits sold or carried
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1 over from previous years. The regulations shall allow

2 for a two-year carryover of credits.

3 ‘‘(3) The Administrator may include such other re4 quirements in the regulations under paragraph (1) with

5 respect to qualifications for recyclers, importers, and pro6 ducers, methods for auditing compliance with the system,

7 and enforcement of the system as the Administrator con8 siders necessary or appropriate for administering the recy9 cling credit system established under this subsection.

10 ‘‘(d) REPORTS.—(1) Not later than six years after

11 the date of the enactment of the Tire Recycling Incentives

12 Act, the Administrator shall submit to Congress an in13 terim report on the implementation of this section. The

14 report shall include, at a minimum—

15 ‘‘(A) a discussion of the effects of the require16 ments of this section on the tire industry, the scrap

17 tire recycling industry, and the environment, includ18 ing the extent of improper tire storage and disposal;

19 and

20 ‘‘(B) an evaluation of the level of the recycling

21 percentage under subsection (b) and recommenda22 tions on whether, and at what rate, the percentage

23 should be increased in future years above the per24 centage applicable under subsection (b).
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1 ‘‘(2) Not later than 10 years after such date, the Ad2 ministrator shall submit to Congress a final report on the

3 implementation of this section. The report shall include

4 an updated version of the discussion and evaluation re5 quired in the interim report, as well as such other findings

6 and recommendations with respect to the implementation

7 of this section as the Administrator considers appropriate.

8 ‘‘(3) Each year the Attorney General shall determine

9 the effects of the credit system established under sub10 section (c) on competition within the tire industry and the

11 scrap tire recycling industry and shall submit to Congress

12 a report on such determination. With respect to any cal13 endar year occurring after the system is established, the

14 determination shall be made, and the report submitted to

15 Congress, not later than 6 months after completion of an

16 audit of compliance with the system carried out by the

17 Administrator during that calendar year, or 6 months

18 after the end of that calendar year, whichever is earlier.

19 The report shall include recommendations for remediating

20 any anti-competitive effects of the credit system, including

21 effects that may be violations of the Sherman Act or the

22 Clayton Act.

23 ‘‘(e) REGULATIONS.—The Administrator shall pro24 mulgate regulations to implement this section not later

25 than 18 months after the date of the enactment of the
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1 Tire Recycling Incentives Act. If the Administrator fails

2 to promulgate such regulations by that date, the recycling

3 percentage under subsection (b) shall be 60 percent until

4 such time as the regulations are promulgated and shall

5 apply retroactively for each year the regulations are not

6 in effect.

7 ‘‘(f) CIVIL PENALTY.—(1) Whoever violates this sec8 tion shall be liable to the United States for a civil penalty

9 in an amount not to exceed $2500 for each such violation.

10 Such civil penalty shall be assessed by the Administrator

11 of the Environmental Protection Agency by an order made

12 on the record after opportunity for a hearing in accord13 ance with section 554 of title 5, United States Code. Be14 fore issuing such an order, the Administrator shall give

15 written notice to the person to be assessed a civil penalty

16 and provide such person an opportunity to request, within

17 15 days of the date the notice is received by such person,

18 a hearing on the order.

19 ‘‘(2) In determining the amount of a civil penalty,

20 the Administrator shall take into account the nature, cir21 cumstances, extent, and gravity of the violation or viola22 tions and, with respect to the violator, ability to pay, effect

23 on ability to continue to do business, any history of prior

24 violations under this section, the degree of culpability, and

25 such other matters as justice may require.
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1 ‘‘(3) The Administrator may compromise, modify, or

2 remit, with or without conditions, any civil penalty which

3 may be imposed under this subsection. The amount of

4 such penalty, when finally determined, or the amount

5 agreed upon in compromise, may be deducted from any

6 sums owing by the United States to the person charged.

7 ‘‘(4) Any person who requested in accordance with

8 this subsection a hearing respecting the assessment of a

9 civil penalty and who is aggrieved by an order assessing

10 a civil penalty may file a petition for judicial review of

11 such order with the United States Court of Appeals for

12 the District of Columbia Circuit or for any other circuit

13 in which such person resides or transacts business. Such

14 a petition may only be filed within the 30-day period be15 ginning on the date the order making such assessment was

16 issued.

17 ‘‘(5) If any person fails to pay an assessment of a

18 civil penalty—

19 ‘‘(A) after the order making the assessment has

20 become a final order and if such person does not file

21 a petition for judicial review of the order in accord22 ance with this section, or

23 ‘‘(B) after a court in an action brought under

24 this section has entered a final judgment in favor of

25 the Administrator,
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1 the Attorney General shall recover the amount assessed

2 (plus interest at currently prevailing rates from the date

3 of the expiration of the 30-day period referred to in para4 graph (4) or the date of such final judgment, as the case

5 may be) in an action brought in any appropriate district

6 court of the United States. In such an action, the validity,

7 amount, and appropriateness of such penalty shall not be

8 subject to review.

9 ‘‘(g) RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER LAW.—(1) The cre10 ation of any recycling credits by the owner or operator

11 of a scrap tire recycling facility in accordance with this

12 section shall not alter the status of scrap tires as a waste

13 that may be used as fuel in a qualifying small power pro14 duction facility or a qualifying cogeneration facility under

15 the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 791a et seq.).

16 ‘‘(2) For purposes of section 142(a)(6) of the Inter17 nal Revenue Code of 1986 (26 U.S.C. 142(a)(6)), a scrap

18 tire recycling or disposal facility shall be considered to be

19 a solid waste disposal facility.

20 ‘‘SEC. 4012. MANAGEMENT STANDARDS FOR SCRAP TIRES

21 AND SCRAP TIRE COLLECTION AND RECY22 CLING FACILITIES.

23 ‘‘(a) GENERAL REQUIREMENTS.—(1) Not later than

24 18 months after the date of enactment of the Tire Recy-
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1 cling Incentives Act, the Administrator shall take each of

2 the following actions:

3 ‘‘(A) The Administrator shall publish in the

4 Federal Register a set of minimum requirements, to5 gether with a model program for the purposes of use

6 by States implementing and enforcing the provisions

7 of this section. Such minimum requirements and

8 model program shall include provisions for collection,

9 transport, storage, financial assurance, and manage10 ment of scrap tires. In developing such provisions,

11 the Administrator’s first priority shall be to protect

12 public health and the environment, but in adhering

13 to that priority, he should not discourage environ14 mentally beneficial reuse, recovery, or recycling of

15 scrap tires.

16 ‘‘(B) The Administrator shall publish in the

17 Federal Register a procedure under which such min18 imum requirements shall be incorporated in the solid

19 waste management plan submitted to the Environ20 mental Protection Agency by such State under this

21 title. The Administrator may not approve a State

22 plan (or, if a State plan has already been approved

23 in a State, the portion of the plan for that State in24 corporating the minimum requirements under this

25 section) unless (i) the State has adopted all elements
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1 of the model program developed under this section,

2 and (ii) the State has designated an agency or entity

3 to implement such program. In the case of a State

4 that adopts a program that is identical to the model

5 program developed under this section and that con6 tains a designation of an agency or entity to imple7 ment the program, the portion of the plan required

8 under this section shall be deemed to be approved by

9 the Administrator upon receipt by the Administrator

10 of written notification of the adoption of such a pro11 gram.

12 ‘‘(C) The Administrator shall publish enabling

13 regulations under which States may implement and

14 enforce this section by adoption of the model pro15 gram and regulations. Such enabling regulations

16 shall specify the percentage of paving materials de17 scribed in subparagraph (D)(i) necessary for a State

18 to acquire in order to qualify for expedited review

19 under that subparagraph.

20 ‘‘(D) In reviewing and approving the State

21 Plan, the Administrator shall provide expedited re22 view to any State which does one of the following in

23 its plan:

24 ‘‘(i) Encourages the recycling of scrap tires

25 by requiring the relevant State highway author-
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1 ity to use paving materials made from crumb

2 rubber from scrap tires for use in asphalt or

3 roadbed construction. Under the plan the State

4 highway authority (or its paving contractor)

5 would be encouraged to acquire such paving

6 materials from a permitted tire recycler. In any

7 such case, the State may enter into contractual

8 arrangements to share in the revenue from the

9 sale of recycling credits under section 4011.

10 ‘‘(ii) Provides for directly acquiring and re11 cycling scrap tires for such paving materials in

12 the same manner as may be done directly by

13 the State highway authority. In any such case,

14 the State may obtain a permit to recycle such

15 tires and may generate and sell tire recycling

16 credits.

17 ‘‘(iii) Encourages the reuse of tires by re18 quiring that at least 20 percent of the tires pur19 chased each year by the State for motor vehi20 cles are retread tires.

21 ‘‘(b) MANAGEMENT STANDARDS.—Not later than 18

22 months after the date of enactment of the Tire Recycling

23 Incentives Act, the Administrator shall promulgate regula24 tions establishing standards for the purpose of minimizing

25 potential health and environmental damages from the im-
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1 proper storage and disposal of scrap tires. States shall

2 adopt such standards in implementing and enforcing this

3 section. At a minimum, such standards shall provide for

4 each of the following:

5 ‘‘(1) BANS.—(A) Not later than 24 months

6 after the date of enactment of the Tire Recycling In7 centives Act, the Administrator shall ban the dis8 posal of whole tires in land disposal facilities. As

9 part of the ban, the Administrator shall allow for the

10 land disposal of shredded tires, but only in a

11 monofill.

12 ‘‘(B) Not later than 12 months after the date

13 of enactment of the Tire Recycling Incentives Act,

14 the Administrator shall promulgate regulations to

15 ban the intentional infliction of damage on tire cas16 ings that is done to preclude a tire casing from

17 being used in retreading, including slashing of tire

18 casings. The ban shall apply to importers and manu19 facturers of tire casings, owners and operators of

20 tire sale and installation facilities, and transporters

21 covered by paragraph (5). An importer or manufac22 turer of tire casings shall not be held liable in any

23 court of law for damages resulting from subsequent

24 failure of retreaded tires if such a tire is retreaded
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1 by a recycler creating recycling credits through re2 treading under section 4011(c).

3 ‘‘(2) INVENTORY; TIRE ADVISORY BOARD.—(A)

4 Not later than 12 months after the date of enact5 ment of the Tire Recycling Incentives Act, each

6 State shall conduct an inventory of scrap tire collec7 tion facilities, including existing tire piles, dumps,

8 and landfills with above-ground storage of old tires,

9 or any other scrap tire storage of more than 1,000

10 tires. Such inventory shall be provided to the Admin11 istrator and shall be made available by such State

12 to the public for comment. At a minimum, the in13 ventory shall include an estimate of the number of

14 tires in each scrap tire pile, an estimate of the total

15 amount of scrap tires at the site, a description of the

16 site characteristics, including proximity to the 100-

17 year flood plain, and surface water run-on/run-off

18 characteristics, along with current management

19 practices at the site. The inventory shall include the

20 name of the owner or operator of each such site.

21 ‘‘(B) Not later than 12 months after the date

22 of the enactment of the Tire Recycling Incentives

23 Act, each State shall convene a tire advisory board

24 of public and private interests. Such board shall
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1 have at least 3 members and shall help coordinate

2 the State’s efforts under this section.

3 ‘‘(3) ABATEMENT.—In consultation with the

4 owner or operator of the scrap tire collection facility,

5 the tire advisory board, and the State public health

6 authorities, the State shall, within 18 months of the

7 date of enactment of the Tire Recycling Incentives

8 Act, develop a scrap tire abatement plan. The overall

9 abatement plan for the State inventory of sites shall

10 reflect the following parameters in such priorities as

11 determined by the State:

12 ‘‘(A) Overall size of tire collection site.

13 ‘‘(B) Risk to public health or the environ14 ment, including fire hazard.

15 ‘‘(C) Proximity to populated areas.

16 ‘‘(D) Other factors.

17 In developing an abatement strategy for individual

18 sites, the States may use the enforcement authorities

19 of section 4013.

20 ‘‘(4) SALE AND INSTALLATION FACILITIES.—

21 Any facility which distributes more than 1,000 tires

22 annually into commerce for final installation onto

23 motor vehicles shall enter into an agreement with a

24 licensed tire hauler. No person operating such tire

25 sale or installation facilities shall give, sell, donate or
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1 otherwise provide scrap tires to any other person or

2 entity than a licensed tire hauler.

3 ‘‘(5) TRANSPORTATION IDENTIFICATION NUM4 BER.—(A) Except as provided in subparagraph (B),

5 no person may transport scrap tires from a tire sale

6 or installation facility or scrap tire collection facility

7 unless that person has obtained a scrap tire Trans8 portation Identification Number from the authority

9 designated by the State in its State plan. The Ad10 ministrator shall promulgate such standards and

11 recordkeeping requirements as are appropriate to as12 sure that scrap tires which are collected, trans13 ported, and ultimately stored, recycled or disposed of

14 can be correctly accounted for under this section and

15 section 4011.

16 ‘‘(B) The prohibition in subparagraph (A) does

17 not apply to any of the following:

18 ‘‘(i) A trash hauler, such as a municipal

19 solid waste collection truck, carrying fewer than

20 50 scrap tires.

21 ‘‘(ii) A recyclables hauler, such as an auto

22 dismantling yard, carrying fewer than 50 scrap

23 tires.

24 ‘‘(iii) An individual transporting fewer

25 than 10 scrap tires.
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1 ‘‘(iv) A person transporting products de2 rived from tires.

3 ‘‘(v) A person transporting scrap tires for

4 appropriate agricultural purposes, as defined by

5 the Administrator.

6 ‘‘(vi) A business that generates and trans7 ports its own scrap tires.

8 ‘‘(c) SCRAP TIRE COLLECTION FACILITIES.—

9 ‘‘(1) PERMIT GUIDELINES.—The Administrator

10 shall publish guidelines for the State to use to issue

11 permits to scrap tire collection facilities. Permit

12 guidelines shall provide for effective regulatory con13 trol of scrap tires from the point of origination to

14 final disposition. Permit guidelines shall also provide

15 examples of cases in which class permits and permits

16 for mobile equipment are appropriate.

17 ‘‘(2) OPERATION REQUIREMENTS.—The Admin18 istrator shall promulgate regulations or publish

19 guidelines that shall include each of the following re20 quirements for the operation of such facilities:

21 ‘‘(A) The regulations or guidelines shall

22 limit the maximum size of both existing and fu23 ture scrap tire piles at scrap tire collection fa24 cilities. For existing tire piles subject to the re25 quirements of the inventory and abatement
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1 plan, the maximum square area of such existing

2 piles shall be 10,000 square feet, with a height

3 limit of 40 feet and provision for adequate fenc4 ing, as determined by the Administrator, to pre5 vent additions to the pile. For such new tire

6 piles as may be required in the abatement pro7 gram, or until recycling facilities are in oper8 ation, any new tire piles shall be limited to

9 5,000 square feet, with a maximum height of

10 20 feet.

11 ‘‘(B) The regulations or guidelines shall re12 quire a ban on open burning within 50 feet of

13 a scrap tire pile, along with a requirement that

14 a 50-foot fire lane be maintained around each

15 pile.

16 ‘‘(C) The regulations or guidelines shall in17 clude guidance on vegetation, rodent, and mos18 quito control at such facilities as may be appro19 priate.

20 ‘‘(3) FLOOD PLAIN, WETLAND, SHORELINE,

21 AND RAVINE REQUIREMENTS.—The Administrator

22 shall establish different requirements in regulations

23 or guidelines for scrap tire collection facilities lo24 cated in a 100-year flood plain and such other areas
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1 where water resources are critical, such as wetlands,

2 shorelines, and ravines.

3 ‘‘(4) EMERGENCY PLANNING REQUIREMENTS.—

4 The Administrator shall publish guidelines for

5 States to follow in making plans for emergencies in6 volving scrap tire collection facilities. The guidelines

7 shall require States to establish contingency plans

8 for handling an emergency. Such plans shall be de9 veloped in consultation with the tire advisory board,

10 the State fire marshal, and local fire departments.

11 ‘‘(5) EMERGENCY MANUAL.—The owner or op12 erator of a scrap tire collection facility shall prepare

13 and maintain at the facility an emergency prepared14 ness manual containing the following elements:

15 ‘‘(A) A list of names and numbers of per16 sons to be contacted in the event of a fire,

17 flood, or other emergency involving the tire fa18 cility.

19 ‘‘(B) A list of the emergency response

20 equipment present at the facility, its location,

21 and how it should be used in the event of a fire

22 or other emergency.

23 ‘‘(C) A description of the procedures that

24 should be followed in the event of a fire at the

25 facility, including procedures to contain and dis-
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1 pose of the oily material generated by the com2 bustion of large numbers of tires.

3 The procedures in the emergency preparedness man4 ual shall be followed in the event of an emergency

5 at the facility. The emergency preparedness manual

6 shall be updated once a year, upon changes in oper7 ations at the facility, or if required by the State.

8 ‘‘(6) EMERGENCY NOTIFICATION AND RE9 PORTS.—The owner or operator of a scrap tire col10 lection facility shall immediately notify the State in

11 the event of a fire or other emergency at the facility

12 with potential off-site impacts. Within 2 weeks of

13 any emergency involving potential off-site impact,

14 the owner or operator of the facility shall submit to

15 the State a report on the emergency. This report

16 shall set forth the origins of the emergency, the ac17 tions that were taken to deal with the emergency,

18 the results of the actions that were taken, and an

19 analysis of the success or failure of the actions.

20 ‘‘(7) OPERATIONAL RECORD.—The Adminis21 trator shall promulgate regulations or publish guide22 lines requiring the owner or operator of a scrap tire

23 collection facility to maintain records of the number

24 of scrap tires received at the facility, stored at the

25 facility, and shipped from the facility. Records shall
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1 also be kept of the amount of tire-derived products

2 received, stored, or shipped from the facility. At the

3 completion of an abatement increment, or a report4 ing period, the responsible owner or operator shall

5 submit to the State a record of the approximate

6 number of scrap tires remaining in the facility; the

7 amount of tire-derived products stored at the facil8 ity; and the number of scrap tires or amount of tire9 derived products received at the facility and shipped

10 from the facility during the abatement increment or

11 reporting period. For scrap tires and tire-derived

12 products shipped to another location, the date and

13 the amount shipped must be included.

14 ‘‘(8) INSPECTION.—At the completion of each

15 abatement increment or reporting period the owner

16 or operator of a scrap tire collection facility shall no17 tify the State so that an inspection of the tire facil18 ity may be conducted to certify the completion of the

19 required abatement or permit operating conditions.

20 ‘‘(9) OPERATION, CLOSURE, AND POST-CLO21 SURE.—The Administrator shall publish guidelines

22 for adoption by the State regulatory authority re23 quiring that all facilities regulated under this section

24 have appropriate financial responsibility or insurance
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1 to maintain the facility for at least five years after

2 the facility is closed.

3 ‘‘(10) EXEMPTIONS.—The permitting require4 ments of this section shall not apply to any of the

5 following:

6 ‘‘(A) A tire retailer who stores no more

7 than 500 scrap tires on the business premises.

8 ‘‘(B) A retreading business that stores no

9 more than 15 percent of the amount of used

10 tires retreaded annually on the business prem11 ises.

12 ‘‘(C) A business such as an auto disman13 tling facility that does not remove tires from ve14 hicles as its main activity, if no more than

15 1,500 unmounted scrap tires are kept on the

16 business premises in any month.

17 ‘‘(D) A permitted sanitary landfill that

18 stores no more than 10,000 scrap tires at the

19 landfill site.

20 ‘‘(E) A person using scrap tires on an ag21 ricultural site for legitimate agricultural pur22 poses.

23 ‘‘(F) A person who has entered into a

24 scrap tire facility cleanup agreement and is

25 doing work specified by the agreement.
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1 ‘‘(d) SCRAP TIRE RECYCLING FACILITIES.—The Ad2 ministrator shall promulgate regulations for the State to

3 use to issue permits to scrap tire recycling facilities. The

4 regulations shall include requirements with respect to the

5 operation of such facilities and shall include such record6 keeping requirements as are necessary to implement this

7 section and section 4011.

8 ‘‘(e) FEDERAL RESPONSIBILITY.—

9 ‘‘(1) REMEDIATION OF TIRE PILES ON PUBLIC

10 LANDS.—The Secretary of the Interior, together

11 with the heads of all Federal departments and agen12 cies with responsibilities for public lands or military

13 installations, shall determine the extent of scrap tire

14 piles on such lands or installations and shall develop

15 and implement a plan within 18 months after the

16 date of enactment of the Tire Recycling Incentives

17 Act to remediate such tire piles. The requirements

18 developed in the plan shall also apply to the Na19 tional Railroad Passenger Corporation.

20 ‘‘(2) PROCUREMENT GUIDELINE.—(A) The Ad21 ministrator, in consultation with the Secretary of

22 Energy, the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of

23 Transportation, the Administrator of the Federal

24 Highway Administration, and the Administrator of

25 General Services (as appropriate), shall develop a
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1 guideline for procuring items that make use of rub2 ber from scrap or used tires, including asphalt made

3 from crumb rubber from scrap tires, retread tires,

4 and tires made utilizing crumb rubber from scrap

5 tires.

6 ‘‘(B) Such procurement guideline shall require

7 that, in the procurement of such items, the heads of

8 the Federal departments covered by the guideline

9 shall procure such an item if the item is available at

10 the same (or lower) cost as alternative items made

11 from rubber other than rubber from scrap or used

12 tires. The cost of such an item shall be determined

13 in accordance with standards developed by the Na14 tional Institute for Standards and Technology under

15 paragraph (3).

16 ‘‘(C) If the Administrator fails to issue the pro17 curement guideline within 24 months after the date

18 of the enactment of the Tire Recycling Incentives

19 Act, then the head of each Federal department shall

20 procure items containing 75 percent or more of post21 consumer scrap rubber from scrap tires if such post22 consumer scrap rubber is reasonably available within

23 a reasonable period of time at a reasonable price and

24 meets reasonable performance standards of the de25 partment.
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1 ‘‘(3) COST STANDARDS.—The Secretary of

2 Commerce, acting through the Director of the Na3 tional Institute of Standards and Technology, shall

4 develop and publish standards for determining, for

5 purposes of complying with the procurement guide6 line under paragraph (2), the life-cycle costs and

7 benefits of asphalt made from crumb rubber from

8 scrap tires, retread tires, tires made utilizing crumb

9 rubber from scrap tires, and other items that make

10 use of rubber from scrap or used tires, as compared

11 with items that make use of rubber other than rub12 ber from scrap or used tires. The standards shall be

13 used by Federal departments covered by the pro14 curement guideline developed under paragraph (2)

15 and by States in the portion of the State plan incor16 porating the requirements under this section. The

17 standards under this paragraph shall be developed in

18 consultation with the Secretary of Transportation

19 not later than 18 months after the date of the enact20 ment of the Tire Recycling Incentives Act.

21 ‘‘(4) DETERMINATIONS BY SECRETARY OF

22 TRANSPORTATION.—(A) The Secretary of Transpor23 tation, in consultation with the Administrator and

24 through the use of data available from the Environ25 mental Protection Agency, the Department of
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1 Transportation, and States, shall determine each of

2 the following:

3 ‘‘(i) Whether there are any direct worker

4 environmental health effects relating to asphalt

5 made from crumb rubber from scrap tires, and

6 what those health effects are.

7 ‘‘(ii) The recyclability of asphalt road sur8 faces made from crumb rubber from scrap tires.

9 ‘‘(iii) The estimated life of existing asphalt

10 road surfaces made from crumb rubber from

11 scrap tires.

12 ‘‘(B) Not later than 6 months after the date of

13 the enactment of the Tire Recycling Incentives Act,

14 the Secretary of Transportation shall submit to Con15 gress a plan for making the determinations required

16 by subparagraph (A). Not later than 18 months

17 after such date, the Secretary shall complete the de18 terminations and submit to Congress a report on the

19 determinations.

20 ‘‘(C) Unless and until the Secretary of Trans21 portation determines otherwise, the estimated life of

22 asphalt road surfaces made from crumb rubber from

23 scrap tires is deemed to be twice that of conven24 tional asphalt road surfaces.
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1 ‘‘SEC. 4013. ENFORCEMENT AND PENALTIES FOR SCRAP

2 TIRE REQUIREMENTS.

3 ‘‘(a) ABATEMENT AUTHORITIES.—For the purposes

4 of enforcing the scrap tire abatement provisions of section

5 4012, States are authorized to enter into consent agree6 ments with the owner or operator of any scrap tire collec7 tion facility for proper management and abatement of

8 scrap tires. If the owner or operator of a scrap tire collec9 tion facility does not agree to enter into a consent agree10 ment, the State or a county government, acting with the

11 consent of the State, is authorized to obtain an abatement

12 order from a court of competent jurisdiction for the pur13 poses of taking temporary control of the scrap tire facility

14 and conducting the cleanup and collecting the abatement

15 costs through the United States Claims Court. A court

16 may not issue an abatement order if the owner or operator

17 of such a facility shows justifiable cause for refusing to

18 enter into a consent agreement. States are also authorized

19 to levy fines of $1,000 per day on scrap tire facilities not

20 complying with sections 4011 and 4012. Notwithstanding

21 any other provision of law, in the case of an abandoned

22 scrap tire collection facility, the State or a county govern23 ment may seize the property, perform the cleanup, and

24 dispose of the property.

25 ‘‘(b) TIRE SALES AND INSTALLATION FACILITIES

26 PENALTIES.—Any tire sale or installation facility which
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1 is not exempt under sections 4011 and 4012 may be fined

2 up to $100 per day for managing scrap tires in violation

3 of such sections.

4 ‘‘(c) LANDFILLS.—Any landfill which is found to

5 knowingly violate the prohibition on land disposal by

6 landfilling more than 100 whole tires in any month shall

7 be subject to a $5,000 fine for each 100 tires (or incre8 ment thereof) over that limit disposed of in a month.

9 ‘‘(d) TIRE COLLECTION AND RECYCLING FACILITIES

10 PENALTIES.—Any tire collection or recycling facility de11 termined to be in noncompliance with section 4011 or sec12 tion 4012 shall be subject to fines of $1,000 per day for

13 each violation.’’.

14 (2) The table of contents for subtitle D (contained

15 in section 1001) is amended by adding at the end the fol16 lowing new items:

‘‘Sec. 4011. Recycling requirements for scrap tires.

‘‘Sec. 4012. Management standards for scrap tires and scrap tire collection and

recycling facilities.

‘‘Sec. 4013. Enforcement and penalties for scrap tire requirements.’’.

17 (b) DEFINITIONS.—Section 1004 of the Solid Waste

18 Disposal Act is amended by adding the following at the

19 end thereof:

20 ‘‘(42) The term ‘producer’ with respect to tires means

21 any person who produces tires for an automobile, motor22 cycle, truck, trailer, semitrailer or combination, or truck

23 tractor. Such production does not include retreading tires.
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1 ‘‘(43) The term ‘importer’ with respect to tires means

2 any person who imports tires, either individually or as part

3 of an automobile or other vehicle.

4 ‘‘(44) The term ‘scrap tire’ means a tire from an

5 automobile, motorcycle, truck, trailer, semitrailer or com6 bination, or truck tractor, that is no longer usable for the

7 original purpose.

8 ‘‘(45) The term ‘scrap tire collection facility’ means

9 any facility or entity that voluntarily or involuntarily col10 lects, stores, or otherwise accumulates scrap tires in

11 amounts in excess of 1,000 tires a year, including an auto

12 parts retailer or municipality.

13 ‘‘(46) The term ‘recycler’ means with respect to tires

14 the owner or operator of a tire recycling facility who has

15 a permit under section 4012.

16 ‘‘(47) The term ‘recycling credit’ means with respect

17 to tires a legal record of a recycling activity undertaken

18 in accordance with section 4012 that represents scrap

19 tires recycled for purposes of complying with that section

20 and section 4011.

21 ‘‘(48) The term ‘tire sale and installation facility’

22 means any facility which sells or installs more than 1,000

23 tires for operation on the highways of the United States.

24 ‘‘(49) The term ‘tire-derived product’ means a prod25 uct made from the usable materials produced from the
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1 chemical or physical processing of a scrap tire. Such term

2 does not include ash from burning a scrap tire.

3 ‘‘(50) The term ‘tire fuel’ means tires used to produce

4 heat in an energy recovery combustion device designed to

5 burn fossil fuels (including coal, oil, and natural gas), re6 gardless of the size or shape of the tire upon entering the

7 combustion device.

8 ‘‘(51) The term ‘tire-derived fuel’ means tire fuel that

9 is composed of shredded tires from which 95 percent of

10 the metal has been removed.

11 ‘‘(52) The term ‘abatement increment’ means a pe12 riod of time not greater than six months and not less than

13 one month, as specified in an abatement plan, during

14 which a specified number of scrap tires will be removed

15 from a scrap tire collection facility and processed in ac16 cordance with section 4011.

17 ‘‘(53) The term ‘shredded tire’ means a scrap tire

18 reduced to chips no larger than 2 inches by 2 inches.

19 ‘‘(54) The term ‘crumb rubber’ means rubber from

20 a scrap tire that is separated from the steel fabric and

21 other contaminants of the tire, and reduced, with or with22 out processing agents, into particles of specified sizes and

23 shapes.

24 ‘‘(55) The term ‘asphalt road paving mix’ includes

25 surface treatments, interlayers, and crack sealants.’’.
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1 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There

2 are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be

3 necessary to carry out the amendments made by this Act.

Æ

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