I

103D CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 870

To amend the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and

Liability Act of 1980 to provide relief to local taxpayers, municipalities,

and small businesses regarding the cleanup of hazardous substances,

and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

FEBRUARY 4, 1993

Mr. TORRICELLI (for himself, Mr. DREIER, Mr. MOORHEAD, Mrs. ROUKEMA,

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey, Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts, Mr. GEJDENSON, Mr. COX, Mr. HORN, Mr. WELDON, Mr. KOPETSKI, Mr. PETERSON

of Minnesota, Mr. GALLO, Mr. KLECZKA, Mr. SHAYS, Mr. SISISKY, Mr.

SKAGGS, Mr. OBEY, Mr. PETE GEREN of Texas, Mrs. SCHROEDER, Mr.

KILDEE, Mr. MARTINEZ, Mr. DELLUMS, Ms. PELOSI, Mr. ANDREWS of

Maine, Mr. TORRES, Mr. BERMAN, Mrs. JOHNSON of Connecticut, Mr.

CRANE, Mr. BACCHUS of Florida, Mr. ANDREWS of New Jersey, Mr.

EVANS, Mr. PAYNE of New Jersey, Mr. MCKEON, Mr. DORNAN, Mr.

SCHUMER, Ms. DELAURO, Mr. HUNTER, Mr. FAZIO, and Mr. TRAFICANT) introduced the following bill; which was referred jointly to the

Committees on Energy and Commerce and Public Works and Transportation

A BILL

To amend the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 to provide relief

to local taxpayers, municipalities, and small businesses

regarding the cleanup of hazardous substances, 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,
2

•HR 870 IH

1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Toxic Cleanup Equity

3 and Acceleration Act of 1993’’.

4 SEC. 2. MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE AND SEWAGE SLUDGE.

5 (a) Section 101 of the Comprehensive Environmental

6 Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (42

7 U.S.C. 9601) is amended by adding the following new

8 paragraphs at the end thereof:

9 ‘‘(39) The term ‘municipal solid waste’ means

10 all waste materials generated by households, includ11 ing single and multiple residences, and hotels and

12 motels. The term also includes trash generated by

13 commercial, institutional, and industrial sources (A)

14 when such materials are essentially the same as

15 waste normally generated by households, or (B)

16 when such waste materials were collected and dis17 posed of with other municipal solid waste or sewage

18 sludge and, regardless of when generated, would be

19 considered conditionally exempt small quantity gen20 erator waste under section 3001(d) of the Solid

21 Waste Disposal Act. Examples of municipal solid

22 waste include food and yard waste, paper, clothing,

23 appliances, consumer product packaging, disposable

24 diapers, office supplies, cosmetics, glass and metal

25 food containers, school science laboratory waste, and

26 household hazardous waste (such as painting, clean-
3

•HR 870 IH

1 ing, gardening, and automotive supplies). The term

2 does not include combustion ash generated by re3 source recovery facilities or municipal incinerators,

4 or waste from manufacturing or processing (includ5 ing pollution control) operations not essentially the

6 same as waste normally generated by households.

7 ‘‘(40) The term ‘sewage sludge’ refers to any

8 solid, semisolid, or liquid residue removed during the

9 treatment of municipal waste water, domestic sew10 age, or other waste waters at or by a publicly owned

11 treatment works.

12 ‘‘(41) The term ‘municipality’ means any politi13 cal subdivision of a State and may include cities,

14 counties, villages, towns, townships, boroughs, par15 ishes, schools, school districts, sanitation districts,

16 water districts, and other local governmental enti17 ties. The term also includes any natural person act18 ing in his or her official capacity as an official, em19 ployee, or agent of a municipality.’’.

20 (b) Section 113 of the Comprehensive Environmental

21 Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 is

22 amended by adding the following new subsections at the

23 end thereof:

24 ‘‘(m) CONTRIBUTION ACTIONS FOR MUNICIPAL

25 SOLID WASTE AND SEWAGE SLUDGE.—No municipality
4

•HR 870 IH

1 or other person shall be liable to any person other than

2 the President for claims of contribution under this section

3 or for other response costs, penalties, or damages under

4 this Act for the generation, transportation, or arrange5 ment for the transportation, treatment, or disposal of mu6 nicipal solid waste or sewage sludge.

7 ‘‘(n) PUBLIC RIGHT-OF-WAY.—In no event shall a

8 municipality incur liability under this Act for the acts of

9 owning or maintaining a public right-of-way over which

10 hazardous substances are transported, or of granting a

11 business license to a private party for the transportation,

12 treatment, or disposal of municipal solid waste or sewage

13 sludge. For the purposes of this subsection, ‘public right14 of-way’ includes, but is not limited to, roads, streets, flood

15 control channels, or other public transportation routes,

16 and pipelines used as a conduit for sewage or other liquid

17 or semiliquid discharges.’’.

18 (c) Section 122 of the Comprehensive Environmental

19 Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 is

20 amended by adding the following new subsection at the

21 end thereof:

22 ‘‘(n) SETTLEMENTS FOR GENERATORS AND TRANS23 PORTERS OF MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE OR SEWAGE

24 SLUDGE.—
5

•HR 870 IH

1 ‘‘(1) ELIGIBLE PERSONS.—The term ‘eligible

2 person’ under this subsection means any person

3 against whom an administrative or judicial action is

4 brought, or to whom notice is given of potential li5 ability under this Act, for the generation, transpor6 tation, or arrangement for the transportation, treat7 ment, or disposal of municipal solid waste or sewage

8 sludge. An eligible person who may be liable under

9 section 107(a)(1) or 107(a)(2) of this Act or for

10 substances other than municipal solid waste or sew11 age sludge is covered by the Toxic Cleanup Equity

12 and Acceleration Act of 1993 and the amendments

13 to this Act made by the Toxic Cleanup Equity and

14 Acceleration Act of 1993 to the extent that the per15 son is liable for the generation, transportation, or

16 arrangement for the transportation, treatment, or

17 disposal of municipal solid waste or sewage sludge.

18 ‘‘(2) NEGOTIATION OF SETTLEMENTS; MORATO19 RIUM.—Eligible persons under this subsection may

20 offer to settle their potential liability with the Presi21 dent by stating in writing their ability and willing22 ness to settle their potential liability in accordance

23 with this subsection. Upon receipt of such offer to

24 settle, neither the President nor any other person

25 shall take further administrative or judicial action
6

•HR 870 IH

1 against the eligible person, unless the President de2 termines that the eligible person’s offer or position

3 during negotiations is not in good faith or otherwise

4 not in accordance with this subsection or that the

5 matters addressed include liability not related to the

6 generation, transportation, or arrangement for the

7 transportation, treatment, or disposal of municipal

8 solid waste or sewage sludge. Nothing in this sub9 section shall limit or modify the President’s author10 ity under section 104(e).

11 ‘‘(3) TIMING.—Eligible persons may tender of12 fers under this subsection within 180 days after re13 ceiving a notice of potential liability or becoming

14 subject to administrative or judicial action, or within

15 180 days after a record of decision is issued for the

16 portion of the response action that is the subject of

17 the person’s settlement offer, whichever is later. If

18 the President notifies an eligible person that he or

19 she may be a potentially responsible party, no fur20 ther administrative or judicial action may be taken

21 by any party for 120 days against such person.

22 ‘‘(4) EXPEDITED FINAL SETTLEMENT.—The

23 President shall make a good faith effort to reach

24 final settlements as promptly as possible under this

25 subsection and such settlements shall—
7

•HR 870 IH

1 ‘‘(A) allocate to all generation, transpor2 tation, or arrangement for the transportation,

3 treatment, or disposal of municipal solid waste

4 or sewage sludge a combined total of no more

5 than 4 percent of the total response costs for

6 the facility; provided, however, that the Presi7 dent shall reduce this percentage when the

8 presence of municipal solid waste and sewage

9 sludge is not significant at the facility;

10 ‘‘(B) require an eligible person under this

11 subsection to pay only for his or her equitable

12 share of the maximum 4 percent portion of re13 sponse costs described in subparagraph (A);

14 ‘‘(C) limit an eligible person’s payments

15 based on such person’s inability to pay,

16 litigative risks, public interest considerations,

17 precedential value, and equitable factors;

18 ‘‘(D) permit an eligible person to provide

19 in-kind services with regard to the response ac20 tion in lieu of cash contributions and to be

21 credited at market rates for such services;

22 ‘‘(E) limit a publicly owned treatment

23 works’ payments if it has promoted the bene24 ficial reuse of sewage sludge through land appli25 cation when the basis of liability arises from
8

•HR 870 IH

1 sewage sludge generated 36 months after the

2 date of enactment of this subsection or there3 after; and

4 ‘‘(F) be reached even in the event that an

5 eligible person may be liable under sections

6 107(a)(1) or 107(a)(2) of this Act or for sub7 stances other than municipal solid waste or

8 sewage sludge.

9 ‘‘(5) COVENANT NOT TO SUE.—The President

10 may provide a covenant not to sue with respect to

11 the facility concerned to any person who has entered

12 into a settlement under this subsection unless such

13 a covenant would be inconsistent with the public in14 terest as determined under subsection (f) of this sec15 tion.

16 ‘‘(6) EFFECT OF AGREEMENT.—A person that

17 has resolved his or her liability to the United States

18 under this subsection shall not be liable for claims

19 of contribution or for other response costs, penalties,

20 or damages under this Act regarding matters ad21 dressed in the settlement. Such settlement does not

22 discharge any of the other potentially responsible

23 parties unless its terms so provide, but it reduces

24 the potential liability of the others by the amount of

25 the settlement.
9

•HR 870 IH

1 ‘‘(7) DE MINIMIS SETTLEMENTS.—Nothing in

2 this subsection shall alter or diminish a person’s

3 ability to reach a settlement with the President

4 under subsection (g) of this section.

5 ‘‘(o) FUTURE DISPOSAL PRACTICES.—This sub6 section applies only to the generation, transportation, or

7 arrangement for the transportation, treatment, or disposal

8 of municipal solid waste or sewage sludge occurring 36

9 months after the date of enactment of this subsection. Be10 ginning at such time and with regard to such future mu11 nicipal solid waste or sewage sludge, eligible persons who

12 are municipalities or operators of publicly owned treat13 ment works may assert the provisions of subsection (n)

14 only under the following circumstances:

15 ‘‘(1) if liability arises from municipal solid

16 waste collected and disposed of 36 months or later

17 after the date of enactment of this subsection and

18 the eligible person is a municipality, a qualified

19 household hazardous waste collection program must

20 have been operating while the municipal solid waste

21 was collected and disposed of; or

22 ‘‘(2) if liability arises from sewage sludge gen23 erated 36 months or later after the date of enact24 ment of this subsection and the eligible person is an

25 owner or operator of a publicly owned treatment
10

•HR 870 IH

1 works, a qualified publicly owned treatment works

2 must have been operating while the sewage sludge

3 was generated at such treatment works.

4 ‘‘(3) The term ‘qualified household hazardous

5 waste collection program’ means a program that in6 cludes—

7 ‘‘(A) at least semiannual, well-publicized

8 collections at conveniently located collections

9 points with an intended goal of participation by

10 ten percent of community households;

11 ‘‘(B) a public education program that iden12 tifies both hazardous household products and

13 safer substitutes (source reduction);

14 ‘‘(C) efforts to collect hazardous waste

15 from conditionally exempt small quantity gen16 erators under section 3001(d) of the Solid

17 Waste Disposal Act, with an intended goal of

18 collecting wastes from 20 percent of such gen19 erators doing business within the jurisdiction of

20 the municipality; and

21 ‘‘(D) a comprehensive plan, which may include

22 regional compacts or joint ventures, that outlines

23 how the program will be accomplished.

24 ‘‘(4) A person that operates a ‘qualified house25 hold hazardous waste collection program’ and col-
11

•HR 870 IH

1 lects hazardous waste from conditionally exempt

2 small quantity generators under section 3001(d) of

3 the Solid Waste Disposal Act must transport or ar4 range to transport such waste in accordance with

5 the Solid Waste Disposal Act and must dispose of

6 such waste at a hazardous waste treatment, storage

7 or disposal facility with a permit under section 3005

8 of the Solid Waste Disposal Act (42 U.S.C. 6925),

9 but such person is otherwise deemed to be handling

10 only household waste under the Solid Waste Dis11 posal Act when it operates a qualified household

12 hazardous waste collection program.

13 ‘‘(5) Nothing in this Act is intended to prohibit

14 a municipality from assessing fees to persons whose

15 waste is accepted during household hazardous waste

16 collections, or shall prohibit a municipality from re17 fusing to accept waste that the municipality believes

18 is being disposed of in violation of the Solid Waste

19 Disposal Act.

20 ‘‘(6) The term ‘qualified publicly owned treat21 ment works’ means a publicly owned treatment

22 works that complies with section 405 of the Federal

23 Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1345).

24 ‘‘(7) The President may determine that a

25 household hazardous waste collection program or a
12

•HR 870 IH

1 publicly owned treatment works is not qualified

2 under this subsection. Minor instances of noncompli3 ance do not render a household hazardous waste col4 lection program or publicly owned treatment works

5 unqualified under this subsection.

6 ‘‘(8) If the President determines that a house7 hold hazardous waste collection program is not

8 qualified, the provisions of subsection (n) shall not

9 apply, but only with regard to the municipal solid

10 waste disposed of during the period of disqualifica11 tion.

12 ‘‘(9) If a municipality or operator of a publicly

13 owned treatment works is notified by the President

14 or by a State with a program approved under sec15 tion 402(b) of the Federal Water Pollution Control

16 Act (33 U.S.C. 1342(b)) that its publicly owned

17 treatment works is not in compliance with the re18 quirements of paragraph (6) of this subsection, and

19 if such noncompliance is not remedied within twelve

20 months, the provisions of subsection (n) shall not

21 apply, but only with regard to the sewage sludge

22 generated or disposed of during the period of non23 compliance.’’.

24 (d) Section 122(g)(1)(A)(i) of the Comprehensive En25 vironmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of
13

•HR 870 IH

1 1980 is amended by inserting the following sentence at

2 the end thereof: ‘‘The amount of hazardous substances in

3 municipal solid waste and sewage sludge shall refer to the

4 quantity of hazardous substances which are constituents

5 within municipal solid waste and sewage sludge, not the

6 overall quantity of municipal solid waste and sewage

7 sludge.’’.

8 (e) Nothing in this section shall modify the meaning

9 or interpretation of the Solid Waste Disposal Act.

10 (f) Nothing in this section shall modify a State’s abil11 ity under the Comprehensive Environmental Response,

12 Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 to carry out ac13 tions authorized in such Act and to enter into a contract

14 or cooperative agreement with the President to carry out

15 such actions.

16 (g) The settlement procedures and bar on judicial

17 and administrative proceedings addressed in this section

18 shall apply even if any constituent component of municipal

19 solid waste or sewage sludge may be considered a hazard20 ous substance under the Comprehensive Environmental

21 Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 when

22 the constituent component exists apart from municipal

23 solid waste or sewage sludge.

24 (h) This Act and the amendments made by this sec25 tion shall apply to each municipality and other person
14

•HR 870 IH

1 against whom administrative or judicial action has been

2 commenced before the effective date of this Act, unless

3 a final court judgment has been rendered against such

4 municipality or other person or final court approval of a

5 settlement agreement including such municipality or other

6 person as a party has been granted. If a final court judg7 ment has been rendered or court-approved settlement

8 agreement has been reached that does not resolve all con9 tested issues, such amendments shall apply to all con10 tested issues not expressly resolved by such court judg11 ment or settlement agreement.

Æ