II 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1198 

To amend the Solid Waste Disposal Act to authorize States to restrict 

receipt of foreign municipal solid waste, to implement the Agreement 

Concerning the Transboundary Movement of Hazardous Waste between 

the United States and Canada, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 8, 2005 

Ms. STABENOW (for herself and Mr. LEVIN) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and 

Public Works 

A BILL

To amend the Solid Waste Disposal Act to authorize States 

to restrict receipt of foreign municipal solid waste, to 

implement the Agreement Concerning the Transboundary 

Movement of Hazardous Waste between the United 

States and Canada, 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 ‘‘International Solid 

5 Waste Importation and Management Act of 2005’’. 
2 

•S 1198 IS

1 SEC. 2. FOREIGN MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle D of the Solid Waste Dis3 posal Act (42 U.S.C. 6941 et seq.) is amended by adding 

4 at the end the following: 

5 ‘‘SEC. 4011. CANADIAN MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE. 

6 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

7 ‘‘(1) AGREEMENT.—The term ‘Agreement’ 

8 means— 

9 ‘‘(A) the Agreement Concerning the 

10 Transboundary Movement of Hazardous Waste 

11 between the United States and Canada, signed 

12 at Ottawa on October 28, 1986 (TIAS 11099) 

13 and amended on November 25, 1992; and 

14 ‘‘(B) any regulations promulgated and or15 ders issued to implement and enforce that 

16 Agreement. 

17 ‘‘(2) FOREIGN MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE.—The 

18 term ‘foreign municipal solid waste’ means munic19 ipal solid waste that is generated outside of the 

20 United States. 

21 ‘‘(3) MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE.— 

22 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘municipal 

23 solid waste’ means— 

24 ‘‘(i) material discarded for disposal 

25 by— 
3

•S 1198 IS

1 ‘‘(I) households (including single 

2 and multifamily residences); and 

3 ‘‘(II) public lodgings such as ho4 tels and motels; and 

5 ‘‘(ii) material discarded for disposal 

6 that was generated by commercial, institu7 tional, and industrial sources, to the extent 

8 that the material— 

9 ‘‘(I)(aa) is essentially the same 

10 as material described in clause (i); or 

11 ‘‘(bb) is collected and disposed of 

12 with material described in clause (i) 

13 as part of a normal municipal solid 

14 waste collection service; and 

15 ‘‘(II) is not subject to regulation 

16 under subtitle C. 

17 ‘‘(B) INCLUSIONS.—The term ‘municipal 

18 solid waste’ includes— 

19 ‘‘(i) appliances; 

20 ‘‘(ii) clothing; 

21 ‘‘(iii) consumer product packaging; 

22 ‘‘(iv) cosmetics; 

23 ‘‘(v) debris resulting from construc24 tion, remodeling, repair, or demolition of a 

25 structure; 
4

•S 1198 IS

1 ‘‘(vi) disposable diapers; 

2 ‘‘(vii) food containers made of glass or 

3 metal; 

4 ‘‘(viii) food waste; 

5 ‘‘(ix) household hazardous waste; 

6 ‘‘(x) office supplies; 

7 ‘‘(xi) paper; and 

8 ‘‘(xii) yard waste. 

9 ‘‘(C) EXCLUSIONS.—The term ‘municipal 

10 solid waste’ does not include— 

11 ‘‘(i) solid waste identified or listed as 

12 a hazardous waste under section 3001, ex13 cept for household hazardous waste; 

14 ‘‘(ii) solid waste, including contami15 nated soil and debris, resulting from— 

16 ‘‘(I) a response action taken 

17 under section 104 or 106 of the Com18 prehensive Environmental Response, 

19 Compensation, and Liability Act (42 

20 U.S.C. 9604, 9606); 

21 ‘‘(II) a response action taken 

22 under a State law with authorities 

23 comparable to the authorities con24 tained in either of those sections; or 
5

•S 1198 IS

1 ‘‘(III) a corrective action taken 

2 under this Act; 

3 ‘‘(iii) recyclable material— 

4 ‘‘(I) that has been separated, at 

5 the source of the material, from waste 

6 destined for disposal; or 

7 ‘‘(II) that has been managed sep8 arately from waste destined for dis9 posal, including scrap rubber to be 

10 used as a fuel source; 

11 ‘‘(iv) a material or product returned 

12 from a dispenser or distributor to the man13 ufacturer or an agent of the manufacturer 

14 for credit, evaluation, and possible poten15 tial reuse; 

16 ‘‘(v) solid waste that is— 

17 ‘‘(I) generated by an industrial 

18 facility; and 

19 ‘‘(II) transported for the purpose 

20 of treatment, storage, or disposal to a 

21 facility (which facility is in compliance 

22 with applicable State and local land 

23 use and zoning laws and regulations) 

24 or facility unit— 
6

•S 1198 IS

1 ‘‘(aa) that is owned or oper2 ated by the generator of the 

3 waste; 

4 ‘‘(bb) that is located on 

5 property owned by the generator 

6 of the waste or a company with 

7 which the generator is affiliated; 

8 or 

9 ‘‘(cc) the capacity of which 

10 is contractually dedicated exclu11 sively to a specific generator; 

12 ‘‘(vi) medical waste that is segregated 

13 from or not mixed with solid waste; 

14 ‘‘(vii) sewage sludge or residuals from 

15 a sewage treatment plant; 

16 ‘‘(viii) combustion ash generated by a 

17 resource recovery facility or municipal in18 cinerator; or 

19 ‘‘(ix) waste from a manufacturing or 

20 processing (including pollution control) op21 eration that is not essentially the same as 

22 waste normally generated by households. 

23 ‘‘(b) MANAGEMENT OF FOREIGN MUNICIPAL SOLID

24 WASTE.— 

25 ‘‘(1) STATE ACTION.— 
7

•S 1198 IS

1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

2 paragraph (2) and subject to subparagraph (B), 

3 until the date on which the Administrator pro4 mulgates regulations to implement and enforce 

5 the Agreement (including notice and consent 

6 provisions of the Agreement), a State may 

7 enact 1 or more laws, promulgate regulations, 

8 or issue orders imposing limitations on the re9 ceipt and disposal of foreign municipal solid 

10 waste within the State. 

11 ‘‘(B) NO EFFECT ON EXISTING AUTHOR12 ITY.—A State law, regulation, or order that is 

13 enacted, promulgated, or issued before the date 

14 on which the Administrator promulgates regula15 tions under subparagraph (A)— 

16 ‘‘(i) may continue in effect after that 

17 date; and 

18 ‘‘(ii) shall not be affected by the regu19 lations promulgated by the Administrator. 

20 ‘‘(2) EFFECT ON INTERSTATE AND FOREIGN

21 COMMERCE.—No State action taken in accordance 

22 with this section shall be considered— 

23 ‘‘(A) to impose an undue burden on inter24 state or foreign commerce; or 
8

•S 1198 IS

1 ‘‘(B) to otherwise impair, restrain, or dis2 criminate against interstate or foreign com3 merce. 

4 ‘‘(3) TRADE AND TREATY OBLIGATIONS.—

5 Nothing in this section affects, replaces, or amends 

6 prior law relating to the need for consistency with 

7 international trade obligations. 

8 ‘‘(c) AUTHORITY OF ADMINISTRATOR.— 

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Beginning immediately 

10 after the date of enactment of this section, the Ad11 ministrator shall— 

12 ‘‘(A) perform the functions of the Des13 ignated Authority of the United States de14 scribed in the Agreement with respect to the 

15 importation and exportation of municipal solid 

16 waste under the Agreement; and 

17 ‘‘(B) implement and enforce the Agree18 ment (including notice and consent provisions 

19 of the Agreement). 

20 ‘‘(2) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 2 years 

21 after the date of enactment of this section, the Ad22 ministrator shall promulgate final regulations with 

23 respect to the responsibilities of the Administrator 

24 under paragraph (1). 
9

•S 1198 IS

1 ‘‘(3) CONSENT TO IMPORTATION.—In consid2 ering whether to consent to the importation of Cana3 dian municipal solid waste under article 3(c) of the 

4 Agreement, the Administrator shall— 

5 ‘‘(A) give substantial weight to the views of 

6 each State into which the foreign municipal 

7 solid waste is to be imported, and consider the 

8 views of the local government with jurisdiction 

9 over the location at which the waste is to be 

10 disposed; 

11 ‘‘(B) consider the impact of the importa12 tion on— 

13 ‘‘(i) continued public support for and 

14 adherence to State and local recycling pro15 grams; 

16 ‘‘(ii) landfill capacity as provided in 

17 comprehensive waste management plans; 

18 ‘‘(iii) air emissions from increased ve19 hicular traffic; and 

20 ‘‘(iv) road deterioration from in21 creased vehicular traffic; and 

22 ‘‘(C) consider the impact of the importa23 tion on— 

24 ‘‘(i) homeland security; 

25 ‘‘(ii) public health; and 
10

•S 1198 IS

1 ‘‘(iii) the environment. 

2 ‘‘(4) ACTIONS IN VIOLATION OF THE AGREE3 MENT.—No person shall import, transport, or export 

4 municipal solid waste for final disposal or for incin5 eration in violation of the Agreement. 

6 ‘‘(d) COMPLIANCE ORDERS.— 

7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If, on the basis of any in8 formation, the Administrator determines that any 

9 person has violated or is in violation of this section, 

10 the Administrator may— 

11 ‘‘(A) issue an order assessing a civil pen12 alty for any past or current violation, requiring 

13 compliance immediately or within a specified 

14 time period, or both; or 

15 ‘‘(B) commence a civil action in the United 

16 States district court in the district in which the 

17 violation occurred for appropriate relief, includ18 ing a temporary or permanent injunction. 

19 ‘‘(2) SPECIFICITY.—Any order issued pursuant 

20 to this subsection shall state with reasonable speci21 ficity the nature of the violation. 

22 ‘‘(3) MAXIMUM AMOUNT OF PENALTY.—Any 

23 penalty assessed in an order described in paragraph 

24 (1) shall not exceed $25,000 per day of noncompli25 ance for each violation. 
11

•S 1198 IS

1 ‘‘(4) PENALTY ASSESSMENT.—In assessing a 

2 penalty under paragraph (1), the Administrator 

3 shall take into account the seriousness of the viola4 tion and any good faith efforts to comply with appli5 cable requirements. 

6 ‘‘(e) PUBLIC HEARING.— 

7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Any order issued under 

8 this section shall become final unless, not later than 

9 30 days after the date on which the order is served, 

10 1 or more persons named in the order request a 

11 public hearing. 

12 ‘‘(2) PROCEDURE FOR HEARING.—The Admin13 istrator— 

14 ‘‘(A) shall promptly conduct a public hear15 ing on receipt of a request under paragraph (1); 

16 ‘‘(B) in connection with any proceeding 

17 under this section, may issue subpoenas for the 

18 attendance and testimony of witnesses and the 

19 production of relevant papers, books, and docu20 ments; and 

21 ‘‘(C) may promulgate rules for discovery 

22 procedures. 

23 ‘‘(f) VIOLATION OF COMPLIANCE ORDERS.—If a vio24 lator fails to take corrective action within the time speci25 fied in a compliance order issued under this section, the 
12

•S 1198 IS

1 Administrator may assess a civil penalty of not more than 

2 $25,000 for each day of continued noncompliance with the 

3 order.’’. 

4 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of con5 tents of the Solid Waste Disposal Act (42 U.S.C. prec. 

6 6901) is amended by adding after the item relating to sec7 tion 4010 the following:

‘‘Sec. 4011. Foreign municipal solid waste’’.

Æ