I

103D CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 963

To amend the Solid Waste Disposal Act to authorize local governments

and Governors to restrict receipt of out-of-State municipal solid waste.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

FEBRUARY 18, 1993

Mr. BOUCHER (for himself, Mr. UPTON, Mr. BONIOR, Mr. TAUZIN, Mr. SLATTERY, Mr. BARTON of Texas, Mr. COLEMAN, Ms. NORTON, Mr.

SARPALIUS, Mr. SPRATT, Mr. SANDERS, and Mr. GILCHREST) introduced

the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and

Commerce

SEPTEMBER 8, 1993

Additional sponsors: Mr. COOPER, Mr. HENRY, Mr. ZELIFF, Mr. HOBSON,

Mr. MOLLOHAN, Mr. MCCLOSKEY, Mr. BLILEY, Mr. NEAL of North

Carolina, Mr. WISE, Mr. KILDEE, Mr. LEVIN, Ms. FURSE, Ms. MCKINNEY, Ms. DANNER, Mr. COSTELLO, Mr. BROWN of California, and Mr.

STUPAK

A BILL

To amend the Solid Waste Disposal Act to authorize local

governments and Governors to restrict receipt of outof-State municipal solid waste.

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 ‘‘Local Government

5 Interstate Waste Control Act’’.
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1 SEC. 2. INTERSTATE TRANSPORTATION AND DISPOSAL OF

2 MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE.

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle D of the Solid Waste Dis4 posal Act (42 U.S.C. 6941 et seq.) is amended by adding

5 at the end the following new section:

6 ‘‘SEC. 4011. INTERSTATE TRANSPORTATION AND DISPOSAL

7 OF MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE.

8 ‘‘(a) RESTRICTION ON RECEIPT OF OUT-OF-STATE

9 WASTE.—(1) Subject to subsection (f), the owner or oper10 ator of a landfill, incinerator, or other waste disposal facil11 ity in a State may not receive for disposal or incineration

12 any municipal solid waste generated outside the State un13 less the owner or operator obtains authorization to receive

14 such waste from the affected local government. Any such

15 authorization shall be granted by formal action at a meet16 ing and shall be recorded in writing in the official record

17 of the meeting. The local government shall notify the Gov18 ernor, adjoining local governments, and any adjoining In19 dian tribes of any authorization granted under this sub20 section. Subject to subsection (c), only 1 authorization per

21 facility is required under this subsection.

22 ‘‘(2) Prior to formal action with respect to authoriza23 tion to receive municipal solid waste generated outside the

24 State, the affected local government shall require and

25 make readily available to the Governor, adjoining local

26 governments, any adjoining Indian tribes, and other inter-
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1 ested persons for inspection and copying the following in2 formation from the owner or operator of the facility seek3 ing such authorization:

4 ‘‘(A) A brief description of the planned facility,

5 including facility size, ultimate waste capacity, and

6 anticipated monthly and yearly waste volumes to be

7 handled.

8 ‘‘(B) A map of the facility site indicating loca9 tion in relation to the local road system and topog10 raphy and hydrological features. This map shall in11 dicate any buffer zones to be acquired by the owner

12 or operator as well as all facility units.

13 ‘‘(C) A description of the current environmental

14 characteristics of the site, including information re15 garding ground water resources, and discussion of

16 alterations that may be necessitated by or occur as

17 a result of the facility.

18 ‘‘(D) A description of appropriate environ19 mental controls to be utilized on the site, including

20 runon/runoff management, air pollution control de21 vices, source separation procedures, methane mon22 itoring and control, landfill covers, liners or leachate

23 collection systems, and monitoring programs. This

24 description also shall include a discussion of any

25 waste residuals generated by the facility, including
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1 leachate or ash, and the planned management of

2 such residuals.

3 ‘‘(E) A description of site access controls to be

4 employed, roadway improvements to be made by the

5 owner or operator, and an estimate of the timing

6 and extent of increased local truck traffic.

7 ‘‘(F) A list of all required Federal, State, and

8 local permits.

9 ‘‘(G) Estimates of the personnel requirements

10 of the facility, including information regarding the

11 probable skill and education levels required for jobs

12 at the facility. This information should distinguish

13 between employment statistics for pre- and post14 operational levels.

15 ‘‘(H) Such information as is required by State

16 law to be provided with respect to any violations of

17 environmental laws or regulations by the owner, the

18 operator, and their subsidiaries, the disposition of

19 enforcement proceedings taken with respect to such

20 violations, and corrective action and rehabilitation

21 measures taken as a result of such proceedings.

22 ‘‘(I) Such information as is required by State

23 law to be provided with respect to gifts and con24 tributions by the owner and operator.
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1 ‘‘(J) Such information as is required by State

2 law to be provided by the owner or operator with re3 spect to compliance by the owner or operator with

4 the State solid waste management plan in effect pur5 suant to section 4007.

6 ‘‘(3) Prior to formal action with respect to authoriza7 tion to receive municipal solid waste generated outside the

8 State, the affected local government shall notify the Gov9 ernor, adjoining local governments, and any adjoining In10 dian tribes, and publish notice of the action in a news11 paper of general circulation at least 30 days before the

12 hearing and again at least 15 days before the hearing, and

13 provide an opportunity for public comment, including at

14 least 1 public hearing, in accordance with State law.

15 ‘‘(b) LIMITATIONS ON APPLICABILITY.—

16 ‘‘(1) LANDFILLS IN OPERATION.—Subsection

17 (a) does not apply to an owner or operator of a land18 fill that—

19 ‘‘(A) on the date of the enactment of this

20 section, was in compliance with all applicable

21 State laws and regulations relating to design

22 and location standards, leachate collection,

23 ground water monitoring, and financial assur24 ance for closure and post-closure care and cor25 rective action; and
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1 ‘‘(B) during calendar year 1991, accepted,

2 in accordance with State law as in effect during

3 such calendar year, documented shipments of

4 municipal solid waste generated outside the

5 State, or, before the date of the enactment of

6 this section, entered into a host agreement or

7 otherwise obtained authorization to accept such

8 waste from the affected local government.

9 ‘‘(2) LANDFILLS UNDER CONSTRUCTION OR IN

10 PLANNING PROCESS.—(A) Subject to subparagraph

11 (B), subsection (a) does not apply to a person who—

12 ‘‘(i) is planning to own or operate a land13 fill; and

14 ‘‘(ii) before the date of the enactment of

15 this section, entered into a host agreement or

16 otherwise obtained authorization from the af17 fected local government to accept at such land18 fill municipal solid waste generated outside the

19 county or the State in which the landfill is

20 located.

21 ‘‘(B) The limitation on applicability contained

22 in subparagraph (A) shall terminate if the landfill,

23 before or after construction, fails to meet all State

24 laws and regulations relating to design and location

25 standards, leachate collection, ground water monitor-
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1 ing, or financial assurance for closure and post clo2 sure care and corrective action.

3 ‘‘(3) INCINERATORS AND OTHER FACILITIES.—

4 Subsection (a) does not apply to either of the follow5 ing:

6 ‘‘(A) An owner or operator of an inciner7 ator or other waste disposal facility (other than

8 a landfill) that, during calendar year 1991, ac9 cepted documented shipments of municipal solid

10 waste generated outside the State or, before the

11 date of the enactment of this section, entered

12 into a host agreement or otherwise obtained au13 thorization to accept such waste from the af14 fected local government.

15 ‘‘(B) A person who is planning to own or

16 operate an incinerator or other waste disposal

17 facility (other than a landfill) and who, before

18 the date of the enactment of this section, en19 tered into a host agreement or otherwise ob20 tained authorization from the affected local gov21 ernment to accept municipal solid waste gen22 erated outside the State at such incinerator or

23 facility.

24 ‘‘(c) TREATMENT OF EXPANSIONS OF FACILITIES.—
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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para2 graph (2), the expansion of a landfill, incinerator, or

3 other waste disposal facility shall be considered, for

4 purposes of subsection (a), to be a separate facility

5 requiring authorization in order to accept waste gen6 erated outside the State.

7 ‘‘(2) EXCEPTION.—A landfill, incinerator, or

8 other waste disposal facility may be expanded for

9 purposes of receiving waste generated outside the

10 State without an authorization under subsection (a)

11 to accept such waste at the expansion only if—

12 ‘‘(A) with respect to a facility for which

13 the owner or operator has obtained authoriza14 tion as described in subsection (a) or in para15 graph (1), (2), or (3) of subsection (b), at the

16 time the owner or operator obtained such au17 thorization—

18 ‘‘(i) the owner or operator owned or

19 possessed an option to purchase the land

20 on which the expansion of the facility is

21 proposed to occur; and

22 ‘‘(ii) the area of expansion of the fa23 cility was indicated in documents filed with

24 the affected local government before ob25 taining such authorization; or
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1 ‘‘(B) with respect to a facility described in

2 paragraph (1) or (3) of subsection (b) for which

3 the owner or operator is not required to obtain

4 authorization, the owner or operator, during

5 calendar year 1991, owned or possessed an op6 tion to purchase the land on which the expan7 sion of the facility is proposed to occur.

8 ‘‘(d) RESTRICTION ON LOCAL GOVERNMENT CON9 TROL BY GOVERNOR.—In any case in which an affected

10 local government is considering granting an authorization

11 to receive municipal solid waste generated outside the

12 State, and the disposal or incineration of such waste pre13 cludes the use of solid waste management capacity that

14 is identified under the State plan to be used for disposal

15 or incineration of municipal solid waste generated within

16 the region (identified under section 4006(a)) in which the

17 local government is located, the Governor may prohibit the

18 affected local government from granting the authorization.

19 ‘‘(e) AUTHORITY OF GOVERNOR TO RESTRICT OUT20 OF-STATE MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE.—

21 ‘‘(1)(A) Except as provided in paragraph (5), if

22 requested in writing by both an affected local gov23 ernment, and an affected local solid waste planning

24 unit (if such a local solid waste planning unit exists

25 under State law), a Governor may, with respect to
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1 landfills to which subsection (a) does not apply (as

2 set forth in paragraphs (1) and (2) of subsection

3 (b)), limit the amount of out-of-State municipal solid

4 waste received for disposal at each such landfill in

5 the State to an amount equal to the amount of out6 of-State municipal solid waste received for disposal

7 at the landfill during calendar year 1991 or any 12

8 consecutive months between January 1, 1991, and

9 June 30, 1992, whichever is less, as determined by

10 the Governor in submitting information under para11 graph (4).

12 ‘‘(B) Prior to submitting a request under this

13 section to limit the disposal of out-of-State munici14 pal solid waste, the affected local government and

15 the affected local solid waste planning unit, if any,

16 shall—

17 ‘‘(i) provide notice and opportunity for

18 public comment concerning any such proposed

19 request; and

20 ‘‘(ii) following notice and comment, take

21 formal action upon any such proposed request

22 at a public meeting.

23 ‘‘(3) In responding to requests by affected local

24 governments under paragraph (1)(A), the Governor

25 shall respond in a consistent manner that does not
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1 discriminate against any particular landfill within

2 the State and does not discriminate against any

3 shipments of out-of-State municipal solid waste on

4 the basis of State of origin.

5 ‘‘(4)(A) Any Governor who intends to exercise

6 the authority provided in this subsection shall, with7 in 60 days after the date of enactment of this sec8 tion, submit to the Administrator information docu9 menting the amount of out-of-State municipal solid

10 waste received for disposal in the Governor’s State

11 during calendar year 1991 and the first six months

12 of calendar year 1992.

13 ‘‘(B) Upon receipt of such information, the Ad14 ministrator shall notify the Governor of each State

15 and the public and shall provide a comment period

16 of not less than 30 days.

17 ‘‘(C) Not later than 120 days after the date of

18 enactment of this section, the Administrator shall

19 publish a list of the amount of out-of-State munici20 pal solid waste that was received at each landfill to

21 which subsection (a) does not apply (as set forth in

22 paragraphs (1) and (2) of subsection (b)) for dis23 posal in the State during calendar year 1991 and

24 the first six months of calendar year 1992, as deter-
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1 mined by the Governor in submitting information

2 under subparagraph (A).

3 ‘‘(5) A Governor may not exercise the authority

4 granted under this subsection if such action would

5 be inconsistent with State law or would result in the

6 violation of or failure to perform any provision of—

7 ‘‘(i) a written, legally binding contract, in8 cluding a host agreement, that was lawfully en9 tered into by the owner or operator of a landfill

10 and the affected local government and which

11 authorizes the landfill to receive municipal solid

12 waste generated outside the jurisdiction of the

13 affected local government; or

14 ‘‘(ii) a written, legally binding contract for

15 disposal at a landfill of municipal solid waste

16 generated outside the State in which the landfill

17 is located that was in effect on May 31, 1992.

18 ‘‘(f) CONTINUED APPLICABILITY OF SECTION CONDI19 TIONED ON CERTAIN LANDFILL REQUIREMENTS.—Sub20 sections (a) through (e) of this section shall not apply

21 after January 1, 1997, in a State unless each operating

22 municipal solid waste landfill in the State—

23 ‘‘(1) meets the design and location standards

24 that are applicable to landfills constructed on and

25 after October 1993; or
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1 ‘‘(2) is on an enforceable schedule—

2 ‘‘(A) to stop receiving waste by January 1,

3 2000; and

4 ‘‘(B) to implement a closure plan.

5 ‘‘(g) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section:

6 ‘‘(1) The term ‘affected local government’, with

7 respect to a landfill, incinerator, or other waste dis8 posal facility, means the elected officials of the city,

9 town, borough, county, or parish in which the facil10 ity is located. Within 90 days after enactment of this

11 section, the Governor of each State shall designate

12 and publish notice of which entity listed in the pre13 ceding sentence shall serve as the affected local gov14 ernment for purposes of actions taken under this

15 section after the date of publication of such notice.

16 No such designation shall affect host agreements

17 concluded before the date of publication of such no18 tice. If the Governor fails to make such designation,

19 the affected local government shall be the city, town,

20 borough, county, parish, or other public body created

21 by or pursuant to State law with primary jurisdic22 tion over the use of the land on which the facility

23 is located or proposed to be located.

24 ‘‘(2) The term ‘affected local solid waste plan25 ning unit’ means a political subdivision of a State
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1 with authority relating to solid waste management

2 planning in accordance with state law.

3 ‘‘(3) The term ‘out-of-State municipal solid

4 waste’, with respect to a State, means municipal

5 solid waste generated outside of the State.

6 ‘‘(4) The term ‘municipal solid waste’ means

7 solid waste that is refuse (and refuse-derived fuel)

8 generated by the general public and from residential,

9 commercial, institutional, and industrial sources con10 sisting of paper, wood, yard wastes, food wastes,

11 plastics, leather, rubber, and other combustible ma12 terials and noncombustible materials such as metal,

13 glass, and rock. The term does not include—

14 ‘‘(A) hazardous waste or waste containing

15 polychlorinated biphenyls;

16 ‘‘(B) industrial waste;

17 ‘‘(C) medical waste;

18 ‘‘(D) recyclable materials that have been

19 separated from waste otherwise destined for

20 disposal (either at the source of the waste or at

21 processing facilities) or that have been managed

22 separately from waste destined for disposal; and

23 ‘‘(E) materials and products returned from

24 a dispenser or distributor to the manufacturer
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1 or its agent for credit, evaluation, and possible

2 reuse.

3 ‘‘(5) The term ‘host agreement’ means a writ4 ten, legally binding agreement, lawfully entered into

5 between an owner or operator of a landfill or incin6 erator and an affected local government that author7 izes the landfill or incinerator to receive municipal

8 solid waste generated outside the jurisdiction of the

9 affected local government.’’.

10 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS AMENDMENT.—The table

11 of contents of the Solid Waste Disposal Act is amended

12 by adding at the end of the items relating to subtitle D

13 the following new item:

‘‘Sec. 4011. Interstate transportation and disposal of municipal solid waste.’’.

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