Union Calendar No. 221

104TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 2036

[Report No. 104–454]

A BILL

To amend the Solid Waste Disposal Act to make

purposes.to provide needed flexibility, and for othercertain adjustments in the land disposal program

JANUARY 30, 1996

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Commitordered to be printed tee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, and
IB

Union Calendar No. 221

104TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 2036

[Report No. 104–454]

To amend the Solid Waste Disposal Act to make certain adjustments in

the land disposal program to provide needed flexibility, and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

JULY 13, 1995

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

on Commerce

JANUARY 30, 1996

Additional sponsors: Mr. PETE GEREN of Texas, Mr. BILBRAY, Mr. STUPAK,

Mr. COMBEST, and Mrs. LINCOLN

JANUARY 30, 1996

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 July 13, 1995]

A BILL

To amend the Solid Waste Disposal Act to make certain

adjustments in the land disposal program to provide

needed flexibility, 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 ‘‘Land Disposal Program

3 Flexibility Act of 1995’’.

4 SEC. 2. LAND DISPOSAL BAN.

5 Section 3004(g) of the Solid Waste Disposal Act (42

6 U.S.C. 6924(g)) is amended by adding the following after

7 paragraph (6):

8 ‘‘(7) Solid waste identified as hazardous based on one

9 or more characteristics alone shall not be subject to this sub10 section, any prohibitions under subsection (d), (e), or (f),

11 or any requirement (other than any applicable specific

12 method of treatment) promulgated under subsection (m) if

13 such waste—

14 ‘‘(A)(i) is managed in a treatment system which

15 subsequently discharges to waters of the United States

16 pursuant to a permit issued under section 402 of the

17 Clean Water Act (33 U.S.C. 1342); (ii) treated for the

18 purposes of the pretreatment requirements of section

19 307 of the Clean Water Act (33 U.S.C. 1317); (iii) or

20 managed in a zero discharge system that, prior to

21 any permanent land disposal, engages in Clean Water

22 Act-equivalent treatment as determined by the Ad23 ministrator;

24 ‘‘(B) no longer exhibits a hazardous characteris25 tic prior to management in any land-based solid

26 waste management unit;
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1 ‘‘(C) has met any applicable specific method of

2 treatment promulgated by the Administrator under

3 section 3004(m) (42 U.S.C. 6924(m)); and

4 ‘‘(D) would not generate toxic gases, vapors, or

5 fumes due to the presence of cyanide at the point of

6 generation when exposed to pH conditions between 2

7 and 12.5.

8 ‘‘(8) Not later than 5 years after the date of enactment

9 of this paragraph, the Administrator shall complete a study

10 of hazardous wastes managed pursuant to paragraph (7)

11 to characterize the risks to human health or the environ12 ment associated with such management. In conducting the

13 study, the Administrator shall evaluate the extent to which

14 the risks are adequately addressed under existing State or

15 Federal programs and whether unaddressed risks could be

16 better addressed under such Federal laws or programs.

17 Upon completion of such study or upon receipt of addi18 tional information, and as necessary to protect human

19 health and the environment, the Administrator may, after

20 notice and opportunity for comment, impose additional re21 quirements, including requirements under section

22 3004(m)(1) or defer management of such wastes to other

23 State or Federal programs or authorities. Compliance with

24 any treatment standards promulgated pursuant to section

25 3004(m)(1) may be determined either prior to management
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1 in, or after discharge from, a land-based unit as part of

2 a treatment system specified in subparagraph (A) of para3 graph (7). Nothing in this paragraph shall be construed to

4 modify, supplement, or otherwise affect the application or

5 authority of any other Federal law or the standards appli6 cable under any other Federal law.

7 ‘‘(9) Solid waste identified as hazardous based on one

8 or more characteristics alone shall not be subject to this sub9 section, any prohibition under subsection (d), (e), or (f),

10 or any requirement promulgated under subsection (m) of

11 this section if the waste no longer exhibits a hazardous char12 acteristic at the point of injection in any Class I injunction

13 well regulated under section 1422 of title XIV of the Public

14 Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300h–1).’’.

15 SEC. 3. GROUND WATER MONITORING.

16 (a) AMENDMENT OF SOLID WASTE DISPOSAL ACT.—

17 Section 4010(c) of the Solid Waste Disposal Act (42 U.S.C.

18 6949a(c)) is amended as follows:

19 (1) By striking ‘‘CRITERIA.—Not later’’ and in20 serting the following: ‘‘CRITERIA.—

21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later’’.

22 (2) By adding at the end the following new

23 paragraphs:

24 ‘‘(2) ADDITIONAL REVISIONS.—Subject to para25 graph (3), the requirements of the criteria described
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1 in paragraph (1) relating to ground water monitor2 ing shall not apply to an owner or operator of a new

3 municipal solid waste landfill unit, an existing mu4 nicipal solid waste landfill unit, or a lateral expan5 sion of a municipal solid waste landfill unit, that dis6 poses of less than 20 tons of municipal solid waste

7 daily, based on an annual average, if—

8 ‘‘(A) there is no evidence of ground water

9 contamination from the municipal solid waste

10 landfill unit or expansion; and

11 ‘‘(B) the municipal solid waste landfill unit

12 or expansion serves—

13 ‘‘(i) a community that experiences an

14 annual interruption of at least 3 consecu15 tive months of surface transportation that

16 prevents access to a regional waste manage17 ment facility; or

18 ‘‘(ii) a community that has no prac19 ticable waste management alternative and

20 the landfill unit is located in an area that

21 annually receives less than or equal to 25

22 inches of precipitation.

23 ‘‘(3) PROTECTION OF GROUND WATER RE24 SOURCES.—
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1 ‘‘(A) MONITORING REQUIREMENT.—A State

2 may require ground water monitoring of a solid

3 waste landfill unit that would otherwise be ex4 empt under paragraph (2) if necessary to protect

5 ground water resources and ensure compliance

6 with a State ground water protection plan,

7 where applicable.

8 ‘‘(B) METHODS.—If a State requires

9 ground water monitoring of a solid waste land10 fill unit under subparagraph (A), the State may

11 allow the use of a method other than the use of

12 ground water monitoring wells to detect a release

13 of contamination from the unit.

14 ‘‘(C) CORRECTIVE ACTION.—If a State finds

15 a release from a solid waste landfill unit, the

16 State shall require corrective action as appro17 priate.

18 ‘‘(4) NO-MIGRATION EXEMPTION.—

19 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Ground water monitor20 ing requirements may be suspended by the Direc21 tor of an approved State for a landfill operator

22 if the operator demonstrates that there is no po23 tential for migration of hazardous constituents

24 from the unit to the uppermost aquifer during
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1 the active life of the unit and the post-closure

2 care period.

3 ‘‘(B) CERTIFICATION.—A demonstration

4 under subparagraph (A) shall be certified by a

5 qualified ground-water scientist and approved by

6 the Director of an approved State.

7 ‘‘(C) GUIDANCE.—Not later than 6 months

8 after the date of enactment of this paragraph, the

9 Administrator shall issue a guidance document

10 to facilitate small community use of the no mi11 gration exemption under this paragraph.’’.

12 (b) REINSTATEMENT OF REGULATORY EXEMPTION.—

13 It is the intent of section 4010(c)(2) of the Solid Waste Dis14 posal Act, as added by subsection (a), to immediately rein15 state subpart E of part 258 of title 40, Code of Federal

16 Regulations, as added by the final rule published at 56 Fed17 eral Register 50798 on October 9, 1991.

18 SEC. 4. TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS TO SOLID WASTE DIS19 POSAL ACT.

20 The Solid Waste Disposal Act is amended as follows:

21 (1) In section 3001(d)(5) by striking ‘‘under sec22 tion 3001’’ and inserting ‘‘under this section’’.

23 (2) By inserting a semicolon at the end of sec24 tion 3004(q)(1)(C).
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1 (3) In section 3004(g), by striking ‘‘subpara2 graph (A) through (C)’’ in paragraph (5) and insert3 ing ‘‘subparagraphs (A) through (C)’’.

4 (4) In section 3004(r)(2)(C), by striking

5 ‘‘pertroleum-derived’’ and inserting ‘‘petroleum-de6 rived’’.

7 (5) In section 3004(r)(3) by inserting after

8 ‘‘Standard’’ the word ‘‘Industrial’’.

9 (6) In section 3005(a), by striking

10 ‘‘polycholorinated’’ and inserting ‘‘polychlorinated’’.

11 (7) In section 3005(e)(1), by inserting a comma

12 at the end of subparagraph (C).

13 (8) In section 4007(a), by striking ‘‘4003’’ in

14 paragraphs (1) and (2)(A) and inserting ‘‘4003(a)’’.