I

104TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 1525

To amend the Solid Waste Disposal Act to require the Administrator of

the Environmental Protection Agency to establish a recycling credit system for carrying out recycling of used oil, and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

APRIL 7, 1995

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.

KLECZKA, Mr. LIPINSKI, Mrs. LOWEY, Mr. MCDERMOTT, Mr. MILLER

of California, Mr. MINETA, Mr. MORAN, Ms. PELOSI, Mr. ROMEROBARCELO ́, Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD, 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 the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to

establish a recycling credit system for carrying out recycling of used oil, 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,
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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Oil Recycling Incen3 tives Act’’.

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

5 The Congress finds the following:

6 (1) The generation of solid and hazardous

7 waste has grown to alarming proportions in the

8 United States. Each person in the United States

9 throws away 3.6 pounds of garbage every day—

10 enough annually to fill a convoy of 10-ton garbage

11 trucks 145,000 miles long, which is the equivalent of

12 half-way to the moon or roughly 7 times around the

13 equator.

14 (2) Frequently economic incentives are not suf15 ficient to encourage waste minimization and respon16 sible environmental behavior, and such incentives ac17 tually may favor increased waste generation and im18 proper behavior.

19 (3) A system of economic incentives targeted at

20 waste reduction and recycling together with respon21 sible regulation of recycling activity can reduce both

22 the amount and toxicity of materials entering the

23 environment.

24 (4) In particular, there is a need to encourage

25 greater recycling of used oils. Americans are improp26 erly pouring on the ground or into sewers, placing
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1 in landfills, or improperly burning over 400 million

2 gallons of such oil per year. This is equivalent to

3 more than 35 Exxon Valdez spills. In addition to

4 fouling the environment, this depletes oil resources

5 and increases the Nation’s reliance on foreign oil.

6 (5) The Administrator of the Environmental

7 Protection Agency requires additional statutory au8 thority to address situations in which economic in9 centives to encourage waste reduction and respon10 sible environmental behavior are not adequate.

11 SEC. 3. USED OIL RECYCLING REQUIREMENTS.

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle C of the Solid Waste Dis13 posal Act (42 U.S.C. 6921 et seq.) is amended by redesig14 nating sections 3015 through 3023 as sections 3016

15 through 3024, respectively, and by inserting after section

16 3014 the following new section:

17 ‘‘SEC. 3015. RECYCLING REQUIREMENTS FOR USED OIL.

18 ‘‘(a) GENERAL REQUIREMENT.—(1) During the pe19 riod beginning not later than 24 months after the date

20 of the enactment of the Oil Recycling Incentives Act and

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

22 of lubricating oil each year shall recycle, using a method

23 described in paragraph (2), an amount of used oil equal

24 to at least that amount of oil determined by—
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1 ‘‘(A) multiplying the lubricating oil produced

2 for domestic use or consumption or imported that

3 year by such person, by

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

5 Administrator under subsection (b).

6 ‘‘(2) A producer or importer of lubricating oil may

7 comply with this subsection—

8 ‘‘(A) by recycling used oil (in compliance with

9 the requirements of section 3014 and regulations

10 promulgated pursuant to such section) through re11 introducing the used oil into refinery production for

12 purposes of producing petroleum products;

13 ‘‘(B) by purchasing re-refined oil or re-refined

14 lubricant base stock from a facility having a permit

15 under section 3005 for purposes of producing lubri16 cating oil; or

17 ‘‘(C) by purchasing recycling credits under the

18 recycling credit system established pursuant to

19 subsection (c).

20 ‘‘(3) A producer or importer of lubricating oil shall

21 submit to the Administrator, under regulations promul22 gated by the Administrator, a report on the amount of

23 lubricating oil produced or imported in each calendar year

24 by such person. The report shall be submitted at least once

25 a year, but the Administrator also may require such in-
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1 terim reports under this paragraph as the Administrator

2 considers necessary.

3 ‘‘(4) For purposes of paragraph (1), a producer or

4 importer shall be treated as recycling 2 units of used oil

5 for each unit of re-refined oil or re-refined lubricant base

6 stock purchased as provided in paragraph (2)(B).

7 ‘‘(5) Nothing in this section shall prohibit a producer

8 or importer from entering into an agreement with a sub9 sidiary or division of such producer or importer—

10 ‘‘(A) for purposes of treating oil recycled by

11 such subsidiary or division as being recycled by the

12 producer or importer for purposes of meeting the re13 cycling requirement of this section; or

14 ‘‘(B) for purposes of obtaining recycling credits

15 created by such subsidiary or division.

16 ‘‘(6) For purposes of paragraph (2)(A), the amount

17 of used oil that is recycled as provided in that paragraph

18 shall be determined on the basis of the records of the

19 amount of used oil received by the producer or importer.

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

21 each year shall establish a recycling percentage for use

22 under subsection (a). The percentage applicable during

23 the first year that the requirement established by sub24 section (a) is in effect shall be a percentage that is 2 per25 centage points higher than the recycling rate for lubricat-
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1 ing oil that exists on the date of the enactment of this

2 section. Such recycling rate shall be determined by using

3 data for 1990 or the most recent year for which data are

4 available. For each of the 10 years thereafter, the recy5 cling percentage shall be an additional 2 percentage points

6 higher than the recycling percentage of the previous year.

7 Such recycling percentage shall go into effect automati8 cally and shall be published in the Federal Register.

9 ‘‘(c) CREDIT SYSTEM FOR RECYCLING USED OIL.—

10 (1) Not later than 18 months after the date of the enact11 ment of the Oil Recycling Incentives Act, the Adminis12 trator shall promulgate regulations to establish a system

13 under which (A) recyclers may create credits for used oil

14 recycling, and (B) producers or importers of lubricating

15 oil may purchase such recycling credits from such recy16 clers, for purposes of complying with subsection (a). No

17 person may create such credits, and no producer or im18 porter of lubricating oil may purchase such credits, except

19 in accordance with this subsection and the regulations pro20 mulgated under this subsection. In developing the regula21 tions, the Administrator shall, to the maximum extent fea22 sible, allow for the use of records kept in the ordinary

23 course of business or other approaches that facilitate the

24 simple, rapid generation and exchange of credits without

25 a case-by-case approval.
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1 ‘‘(2) At a minimum, the regulations under paragraph

2 (1) shall include the following requirements:

3 ‘‘(A) The following records shall be kept by a

4 recycler for at least 3 years:

5 ‘‘(i) A record of the quantities of used oil

6 received for recycling, together with the prices

7 paid to transporters or owners or operators of

8 collection centers.

9 ‘‘(ii) A record of the quantities of recycled

10 oil sold or otherwise distributed in commerce,

11 and the destinations of such recycled oil. Part

12 of such record shall be a record of the quan13 tities and price of re-refined oil sold to produc14 ers or importers of lubricating oil for the pur15 pose of complying with subsection (a).

16 ‘‘(iii) A record of the sale or other disposi17 tion of recycling credits, including the name

18 and address of the producers and importers the

19 credits were sold to, the price charged, and the

20 amount of credits sold.

21 ‘‘(B) The recycler shall sell or otherwise distrib22 ute in commerce the recycled oil as specification

23 used oil, off-specification or industrial specification

24 used oil, or re-refined oil (as defined by the Adminis25 trator). The recycler shall maintain records of the
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1 tests certifying that the oil meets the standards for

2 one of those categories of oil or fuel, along with

3 records of the destination of the oil or fuel by cat4 egory.

5 ‘‘(C) Each year a producer or importer of lubri6 cating oil shall keep records of the quantity of lubri7 cating oil produced or imported, the recycling of

8 used oil carried out to comply with subsection (a),

9 the amount of re-refined oil or lubricant base stock

10 purchased to comply with subsection (a), the amount

11 of recycling credits purchased (including the names

12 of recyclers from whom the credits were purchased

13 and the dates of the purchases), the price paid for

14 the credits, and the amount (if any) of recycling

15 credits sold or carried over from previous years. The

16 regulations shall allow for a 2-year carryover of

17 credits.

18 ‘‘(3) The Administrator may include such other re19 quirements in the regulations under paragraph (1) with

20 respect to qualifications for recyclers, importers, and pro21 ducers; methods for auditing compliance with the system;

22 and enforcement of the system; as the Administrator con23 siders necessary or appropriate for administering the recy24 cling credit system established under this subsection.
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1 ‘‘(4) The Administrator shall include in the regula2 tions under paragraph (1) a procedure by which an inter3 ested party may petition the Administrator for credits to

4 be created under the credit system for recycling of used

5 oil using new technology. The Administrator shall deter6 mine, after public notice and opportunity for comment, the

7 amount of credit that may be created by new technologies

8 for which petitions are granted under this paragraph.

9 ‘‘(d) REPORTS.—(1) Not later than 6 years after the

10 date of the enactment of the Oil Recycling Incentives Act,

11 the Administrator shall submit to Congress an interim re12 port on the implementation of this section. The report

13 shall include, at a minimum—

14 ‘‘(A) a discussion of the effects of the require15 ments of this section on the lubricating oil industry,

16 the used oil recycling industry, and on the environ17 ment; and

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

19 percentage under subsection (b) and recommenda20 tions on whether, and at what rate, the percentage

21 should be increased in future years above the per22 centage applicable under subsection (b).

23 ‘‘(2) Not later than 10 years after such date, the Ad24 ministrator shall submit to Congress a final report on the

25 implementation of this section. The report shall include
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1 an updated version of the discussion and evaluation re2 quired in the interim report, as well as such other findings

3 and recommendations with respect to the implementation

4 of this section as the Administrator considers appropriate.

5 ‘‘(e) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section:

6 ‘‘(1) The term ‘producer’ with respect to lubri7 cating oil means any person who produces a lubri8 cant base stock from crude oil. Such production does

9 not include the re-refining of used oil.

10 ‘‘(2) The term ‘importer’ with respect to lubri11 cating oil means any person who imports a lubricant

12 base stock.

13 ‘‘(3) The term ‘lubricant base stock’ means oil

14 from which lubricating oil is made after introduction

15 of additives.

16 ‘‘(4) The terms ‘used oil collection center’, ‘col17 lection center’, and ‘generator’ mean any facility or

18 entity that collects, stores, accumulates, or otherwise

19 generates used oil, including a service station dealer

20 (as defined in section 101(37) of the Comprehensive

21 Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liabil22 ity Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9601(37)), an auto parts

23 retailer, or municipality. Such term does not include

24 an individual who generates used oil by removing

25 such oil from the engine of a light duty motor vehi-
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1 cle or household appliance owned or operated by

2 such individual and used only for personal purposes.

3 ‘‘(5) The term ‘recycler’ means an owner or op4 erator of a used oil recycling facility.

5 ‘‘(6) The term ‘recycling credit’ means a legal

6 record of a recycling activity undertaken in accord7 ance with subsection (c) that represents an amount

8 of used oil recycled for purposes of complying with

9 subsection (a).

10 ‘‘(7) The terms ‘used oil recycling facility’ and

11 ‘recycling facility’ mean a facility with a permit

12 under section 3005 that re-refines or reprocesses

13 used oil.

14 ‘‘(f) APPLICABILITY.—This section applies to any

15 person who produces or imports more than 100,000 gal16 lons of lubricating oil a year.

17 ‘‘(g) REGULATIONS.—The Administrator shall pro18 mulgate regulations to implement this section not later

19 than 18 months after the date of the enactment of the

20 Oil Recycling Incentives Act. If the Administrator fails to

21 promulgate such regulations by that date, the recycling

22 percentage under subsection (b) shall be 40 percent until

23 such time as the regulations are promulgated.’’.
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1 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS AMENDMENT.—The table

2 of contents for subtitle C of the Solid Waste Disposal Act

3 (contained in section 1001) is amended—

4 (1) by redesignating the items relating to sec5 tions 3015 through 3023 as sections 3016 through

6 3024, respectively; and

7 (2) by inserting after the item relating to sec8 tion 3014 the following new item:

‘‘Sec. 3015. Recycling requirements for used oil.’’.

Æ