II

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 533

To amend the Solid Waste Disposal Act to authorize local governments

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

and for other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

MARCH 4, 1999

Mr. ROBB (for himself and Mr. WARNER), 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 local

governments and Governors to restrict receipt of outof-State municipal solid waste, 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 ‘‘Interstate Transpor5 tation of Municipal Solid Waste Control Act of 1999’’.
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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:

6 ‘‘SEC. 4011. INTERSTATE TRANSPORTATION AND DISPOSAL

7 OF MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE.

8 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section:

9 ‘‘(1) AFFECTED LOCAL GOVERNMENT.—The

10 term ‘affected local government’, with respect to a

11 landfill or incinerator, means—

12 ‘‘(A) the public body created by State law

13 for the area in which the facility is located or

14 proposed to be located—

15 ‘‘(i) having the responsibility to plan

16 for municipal solid waste management; and

17 ‘‘(ii) a majority of the members of

18 which are elected officials;

19 ‘‘(B) the elected officials of the city, town,

20 township, borough, county, or parish exercising

21 primary responsibility over municipal solid

22 waste management, land, or land use in the ju23 risdiction in which the facility is located or is

24 proposed to be located; or

25 ‘‘(C) with respect to a facility that is the

26 subject of a host community agreement entered
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1 into before the date of enactment of this sec2 tion, the entity described in subparagraph (B)

3 or (C) that is a party to the host community

4 agreement.

5 ‘‘(2) AFFECTED LOCAL SOLID WASTE PLAN6 NING UNIT.—The term ‘affected local solid waste

7 planning unit’ means a planning unit, established

8 under State law, that has—

9 ‘‘(A) jurisdiction over the geographic area

10 in which a facility for the treatment, inciner11 ation, or disposal of municipal waste is located;

12 and

13 ‘‘(B) authority relating to solid waste man14 agement planning.

15 ‘‘(3) DOCUMENTED SHIPMENT OF MUNICIPAL

16 SOLID WASTE.—The term ‘documented shipment of

17 municipal solid waste’ means a shipment of munici18 pal solid waste with respect to which information

19 is—

20 ‘‘(A) compiled by the owner or operator of

21 a landfill that received out-of-State municipal

22 solid waste, including—

23 ‘‘(i) the quantity of municipal solid

24 waste;

25 ‘‘(ii) the time of the shipment; and
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1 ‘‘(iii) the origin of the shipment; and

2 ‘‘(B) submitted to the State in which the

3 landfill is located.

4 ‘‘(4) HOST COMMUNITY AGREEMENT.—The

5 term ‘host community agreement’ means a written,

6 legally binding document or documents executed by

7 officials of an affected local government that specifi8 cally authorizes a landfill or incinerator to receive

9 out-of-State municipal solid waste.

10 ‘‘(5) INTERSTATE MSW LIST.—The term ‘inter11 state MSW list’ means a list published under sub12 section (e)(2)(d).

13 ‘‘(6) MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE.—

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

15 solid waste’ means refuse (and refuse-derived

16 fuel) generated by—

17 ‘‘(i) the general public; or

18 ‘‘(ii) a residential, commercial, institu19 tional, or industrial source.

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

21 solid waste’ includes—

22 ‘‘(i) combustible material such as

23 leather, paper, plastic, rubber, wood, yard

24 waste; and
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1 ‘‘(ii) noncombustible material such as

2 glass or metal.

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

4 solid waste’ does not include—

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

6 a hazardous waste under section 3001;

7 ‘‘(ii) solid waste, including contami8 nated soil and debris, resulting from—

9 ‘‘(I) a response action taken

10 under section 104 or 106 of the Com11 prehensive Environmental Response,

12 Compensation, and Liability Act of

13 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9604, 9606); or

14 ‘‘(II) a corrective action taken

15 under this Act;

16 ‘‘(iii) metal, pipe, glass, plastic, paper,

17 textile, or other material that has been

18 separated or diverted from municipal solid

19 waste (as otherwise defined in this para20 graph) and has been transported into a

21 State for the purpose of recycling or rec22 lamation;

23 ‘‘(iv) solid waste that is—

24 ‘‘(I) generated by an industrial

25 facility; and
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1 ‘‘(II) transported for the purpose

2 of treatment, storage, or disposal to a

3 facility that is owned or operated by

4 the generator of the waste, or is lo5 cated on property owned by the gener6 ator of the waste, or is located on

7 property owned by a company in

8 which the generator of the waste has

9 an ownership interest;

10 ‘‘(v) solid waste generated incident to

11 the provision of service in interstate, intra12 state, foreign, or overseas air transpor13 tation;

14 ‘‘(vi) industrial waste that is not iden15 tical to municipal solid waste (as otherwise

16 defined in this paragraph) with respect to

17 the physical and chemical state and com18 position of the industrial waste;

19 ‘‘(vii) construction and demolition de20 bris;

21 ‘‘(viii) medical waste that is seg22 regated from or not mixed with municipal

23 solid waste (as otherwise defined in this

24 paragraph);
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1 ‘‘(ix) a material or product returned

2 from a dispenser or distributor to the man3 ufacturer for credit, evaluation, or possible

4 reuse; and

5 ‘‘(x) incinerator ash.

6 ‘‘(7) OUT-OF-STATE MUNICIPAL SOLID

7 WASTE.—The term ‘out-of-State municipal solid

8 waste’ means—

9 ‘‘(A) with respect to any State, municipal

10 solid waste generated outside the State; and

11 ‘‘(B) municipal solid waste generated out12 side the United States, unless the President de13 termines that treatment of the municipal solid

14 waste as out-of-State municipal solid waste

15 under this section would be inconsistent with

16 the North American Free Trade Agreement or

17 the Uruguay Round Agreements (as defined in

18 section 2 of the Uruguay Round Agreements

19 Act (19 U.S.C. 3501)).

20 ‘‘(8) OWNER OR OPERATOR.—The term ‘owner

21 or operator’, with respect to a landfill or incinerator,

22 does not include—

23 ‘‘(A) a State or affected local government

24 that owns or operates the landfill or incinerator,
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1 if the facility is located within the jurisdiction

2 of the State or the affected local government; or

3 ‘‘(B) a person that owns or operates a fa4 cility, if the facility receives only waste gen5 erated by the person.

6 ‘‘(9) SUPER EXPORTING STATE.—The term

7 ‘super exporting State’ means a State that, during

8 a calendar year, exports to other States in the ag9 gregate 6,000,000 tons or more of municipal solid

10 waste, as determined through reporting require11 ments under subsection (e).

12 ‘‘(b) AUTHORITY TO REGULATE OUT-OF-STATE MU13 NICIPAL SOLID WASTE.—

14 ‘‘(1) FREEZE AUTHORITY.—

15 ‘‘(A) IMMEDIATE AUTHORITY.—On or

16 after the date of enactment of this section, a

17 Governor of a State that imported more than

18 1,000,000 tons of municipal solid waste during

19 calendar year 1998 may restrict the quantity of

20 out-of-State municipal solid waste received for

21 disposal at each landfill during a calendar year

22 to the quantity of out-of-State municipal solid

23 waste received for disposal at the landfill during

24 1998.
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1 ‘‘(B) FUTURE AUTHORITY.—If a State

2 first imports more than 1,000,000 tons of mu3 nicipal solid waste in calendar year 1999, or

4 any calendar year thereafter, the Governor of a

5 State may restrict the quantity of out-of-State

6 municipal solid waste received for disposal at

7 each landfill during the following calendar year

8 and calendar years thereafter to the quantity of

9 out-of-State municipal solid waste received for

10 disposal at the landfill during the calendar year

11 in which the State first imported 1,000,000

12 tons.

13 ‘‘(2) PROHIBITION OF OUT-OF-STATE MUNICI14 PAL SOLID WASTE FROM SUPER EXPORTING

15 STATES.—Beginning in calendar year 2001, the

16 Governor of a State may establish a prohibition on

17 the importation of municipal solid waste during a

18 calendar year from a super exporting State.

19 ‘‘(3) EXCEPTIONS.—The Governor of a State

20 shall not take action under this subsection—

21 ‘‘(A) except as provided in paragraphs (2)

22 and (4), if the action—

23 ‘‘(i) would discriminate against any

24 particular landfill in the State; or
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1 ‘‘(ii) would discriminate against the

2 shipment of out-of-State municipal solid

3 waste on the basis of the State of origin;

4 or

5 ‘‘(B) if the action would be inconsistent

6 with State law.

7 ‘‘(4) INCREASED RECEIPT OF WASTE.—

8 ‘‘(A) INCREASES OVER RESTRICTION ES9 TABLISHED UNDER PARAGRAPH (1).—

10 ‘‘(i) INCREASED QUANTITY.—The

11 Governor of a State described in paragraph

12 (1) may increase the annual quantity of

13 out-of-State waste to be received for dis14 posal at a landfill to a quantity that is

15 greater than the quantity of out-of-State

16 municipal solid waste to be imported under

17 a restriction under paragraph (1) if the

18 Governor receives a written request from

19 the affected local government to increase

20 the annual quantity of out-of-State munici21 pal solid waste to be disposed of at the

22 landfill that includes—

23 ‘‘(I) specific information outlin24 ing increases in the volume of out-of-
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1 State municipal solid waste to be re2 ceived;

3 ‘‘(II) documentation that there

4 has been opportunity for public com5 ment;

6 ‘‘(III) a description of the im7 pacts that the increase in volume

8 would have on local traffic patterns

9 and road capacity, including programs

10 to mitigate impact; and

11 ‘‘(IV) a description of benefits to

12 the affected local government that

13 would result from the increase in vol14 ume.

15 ‘‘(ii) FAILURE OF GOVERNOR TO RE16 SPOND.—The failure of a Governor to re17 spond to a request under this subpara18 graph within 60 days after the date of re19 ceipt of the request shall be deemed to be

20 an answer in the affirmative.

21 ‘‘(B) TERMINATION OF PROHIBITION OF

22 OUT-OF-STATE MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE FROM

23 SUPER EXPORTING STATES.—

24 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Governor of a

25 State that receives municipal solid waste
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1 from a super exporting State may termi2 nate a prohibition established under sub3 section (b)(2) if the Governor receives a

4 written request from an affected local gov5 ernment to continue receiving waste from a

6 super exporting State that contains—

7 ‘‘(I) documentation that there

8 has been an opportunity for public

9 comment; and

10 ‘‘(II) information on any impact

11 on the affected local government that

12 could result from leaving the prohibi13 tion in place.

14 ‘‘(ii) RESPONSE.—Not later than 60

15 days after the receipt of a request de16 scribed in clause (i), the Governor of a

17 State shall respond to the request.

18 ‘‘(C) AGREEMENT.—The Governor of a

19 State described in subparagraph (A) or (B)

20 may establish a higher restriction under para21 graph (1) or terminate a prohibition under

22 paragraph (2) if the owner or operator of the

23 landfill enters into a legally binding agreement

24 with the State that establishes a daily restric-
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1 tion on the quantity of out-of-State municipal

2 solid waste to be disposed of at the landfill.

3 ‘‘(5) BAN ON RECEIPT OF OUT-OF-STATE

4 WASTE.—No landfill may receive for disposal any

5 out-of-State municipal solid waste unless the out-of6 State municipal solid waste is received under—

7 ‘‘(A) an exemption under subsection (c); or

8 ‘‘(B) a host community agreement in ac9 cordance with subsection (d).

10 ‘‘(c) EXEMPTIONS.—The Governor of a State shall

11 not exercise the authority provided in subsection (b) with

12 respect to a facility if—

13 ‘‘(1) the out-of-State municipal solid waste is

14 generated in, and the landfill is located in, the same

15 bi-State level A metropolitan statistical area (as de16 fined and as listed by the Director of the Office of

17 Management and Budget as of the date of enact18 ment of this section); or

19 ‘‘(2) the quantity of out-of-State municipal solid

20 waste that is disposed of at the landfill does not ex21 ceed 10,000 tons per calendar year.

22 ‘‘(d) HOST COMMUNITY AGREEMENTS.—

23 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—

24 ‘‘(A) AUTHORIZATION.—Beginning on the

25 date of enactment of this section, the owner or
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1 operator of a landfill may not receive for dis2 posal any out-of-State municipal solid waste

3 unless—

4 ‘‘(i) the owner or operator applies for

5 and is granted authorization to receive the

6 waste from the affected local government;

7 or

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

9 this section, the owner or operator—

10 ‘‘(I) entered into a host commu11 nity agreement; or

12 ‘‘(II) otherwise obtained docu13 mented, legally binding authorization

14 from the affected local government to

15 receive out-of-State municipal solid

16 waste.

17 ‘‘(B) REQUIREMENTS FOR AUTHORIZA18 TION.—An authorization under subparagraph

19 (A) shall—

20 ‘‘(i) be granted by the affected local

21 government by formal action at a public

22 meeting; and

23 ‘‘(ii) be recorded in writing in the offi24 cial record of the meeting.
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1 ‘‘(2) INFORMATION.—Before taking formal ac2 tion with respect to granting authorization under

3 this subsection, the affected local government shall

4 require the owner or operator of the facility seeking

5 the authorization to submit to the affected local gov6 ernment the following information:

7 ‘‘(A) A brief description of the landfill, in8 cluding the size of, ultimate waste capacity of,

9 and the anticipated daily and yearly volume of

10 waste to be disposed of at the landfill, including

11 any planned expansion.

12 ‘‘(B) A map of the landfill site depicting—

13 ‘‘(i) the location of the landfill in rela14 tion to the local transportation facilities;

15 ‘‘(ii) topography and hydrogeological

16 features of the site on which the landfill is

17 located;

18 ‘‘(iii) buffer zones to be acquired and

19 preserved by the owner or operator; and

20 ‘‘(iv) all units of the landfill.

21 ‘‘(C) A description of the environmental

22 characteristics of the site, as in existence on the

23 date on which the information is submitted,

24 including—
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1 ‘‘(i) information regarding ground

2 water sources; and

3 ‘‘(ii) a description of alterations in the

4 characteristics of the site that may be ne5 cessitated by or occur as a result of the

6 landfill.

7 ‘‘(D) A description of appropriate environ8 mental controls to be used at the landfill,

9 including—

10 ‘‘(i) run-on and run-off management;

11 ‘‘(ii) air pollution control devices;

12 ‘‘(iii) source separation procedures;

13 ‘‘(iv) methane monitoring and control;

14 ‘‘(v) landfill covers, liners, or leachate

15 collection systems; and

16 ‘‘(vi) monitoring programs, including

17 programs to screen incoming waste for

18 waste described in subsection (a)(5)(C).

19 ‘‘(E) A description of—

20 ‘‘(i) any waste residuals generated by

21 the landfill, including leachate or ash; and

22 ‘‘(ii) the planned management of the

23 residuals.

24 ‘‘(F) A description of site access controls

25 to be employed, including—
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1 ‘‘(i) transportation improvements to

2 be made by the owner or operator;

3 ‘‘(ii) an estimate of the timing and ex4 tent of increased local truck traffic, based

5 on the expected tonnage to be received at

6 the landfill on a daily basis; and

7 ‘‘(iii) a description of methods to be

8 employed to prevent queuing of waste de9 livery vehicles on public transportation fa10 cilities.

11 ‘‘(G) A list of all required Federal, State,

12 and local permits.

13 ‘‘(H) Any information that is required by

14 State law to be provided with respect to any

15 violation of environmental laws by the owner or

16 operator (including any subsidiary of the owner

17 or operator), including—

18 ‘‘(i) the disposition of enforcement

19 proceedings taken with respect to the viola20 tions; and

21 ‘‘(ii) corrective action and rehabilita22 tion measures taken as a result of the pro23 ceedings.

24 ‘‘(3) NOTIFICATION BEFORE FORMAL AC25 TION.—Before taking formal action with respect to
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1 an application for authorization under this sub2 section, an affected local government shall—

3 ‘‘(A) notify the Governor, adjoining local

4 governments in the State, and any adjoining In5 dian tribes of the proposed action;

6 ‘‘(B) make available to the Governor of the

7 State, each adjoining local government and In8 dian tribe within the State, and any other inter9 ested person the information submitted by an

10 owner or operator under paragraph (2);

11 ‘‘(C) inform the public of the action—

12 ‘‘(i) by publishing notice of the action

13 in a newspaper of general circulation at

14 least 30 days before holding a hearing and

15 again at least 15 days before taking formal

16 action at a public meeting; or

17 ‘‘(ii) if State law provides for an alter18 native form of public notification, by pro19 viding that alternative public notification

20 concerning the action; and

21 ‘‘(D) provide an opportunity for public

22 comment on the action, including at least 1

23 public hearing, in accordance with State law.
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1 ‘‘(4) NOTICE OF ACTION.—The affected local

2 government shall provide notice of an authorization

3 granted under this subsection to—

4 ‘‘(A) the Governor of the State;

5 ‘‘(B) adjoining local governments in the

6 State; and

7 ‘‘(C) any adjoining Indian tribes.

8 ‘‘(e) ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS.—

9 ‘‘(1) REPORTS BY OWNERS AND OPERATORS.—

10 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90

11 days after the date of enactment of this section

12 and on April 1 of each year thereafter, the

13 owner or operator of each landfill receiving out14 of-State municipal solid waste shall submit to

15 the affected local government, and to the Gov16 ernor of the State in which the landfill is lo17 cated, information specifying the quantity and

18 the State of origin of out-of-State municipal

19 solid waste received for disposal during the pre20 ceding calendar year.

21 ‘‘(B) PENALTY.—An owner or an operator

22 that submits a report under this paragraph con23 tains false or misleading information shall be

24 subject to criminal penalties.

25 ‘‘(2) REPORTS BY THE STATES.—
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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 120

2 days after the date of enactment of this section

3 and on May 1 of each year thereafter, each

4 State shall publish and make available to the

5 Administrator and the public, a report that

6 discloses—

7 ‘‘(i) the quantity of out-of-State mu8 nicipal solid waste received for disposal in

9 the State during the preceding calendar

10 year; and

11 ‘‘(ii) the quantity of municipal solid

12 waste exported for disposal during the pre13 ceding calendar year.

14 ‘‘(B) CONTENTS.—Each report under this

15 subparagraph (A) shall contain information

16 on—

17 ‘‘(i) the quantity of municipal solid

18 waste received or exported;

19 ‘‘(ii) the State of origin of the munici20 pal solid waste;

21 ‘‘(iii) the State receiving the munici22 pal solid waste;

23 ‘‘(iv) the identity of the generator of

24 the municipal solid waste; and
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1 ‘‘(v) the date of the shipment of the

2 municipal solid waste.

3 ‘‘(C) INTERSTATE MSW LIST.—

4 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Not later than

5 June 1 of each year, the Administrator

6 shall publish a list that discloses, for each

7 State—

8 ‘‘(I) the quantity of out-of-State

9 municipal solid waste received at fa10 cilities in each State during the pre11 ceding calendar year; and

12 ‘‘(II) the quantities of municipal

13 solid waste exported from each State

14 in the preceding calendar year.

15 ‘‘(ii) RELIANCE ON REPORTS BY THE

16 STATES.—In preparing the interstate

17 MSW list—

18 ‘‘(I) the Administrator shall col19 late and publish only the information

20 contained in reports submitted by

21 States under paragraph (2); and

22 ‘‘(II) the Administrator shall not

23 be required to—

24 ‘‘(aa) gather additional in25 formation;
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1 ‘‘(bb) verify data provided

2 by the States; or

3 ‘‘(cc) arbitrate or otherwise

4 entertain or resolve disputes be5 tween States or other parties

6 concerning interstate shipments

7 of municipal solid waste.

8 ‘‘(D) NO JUDICIAL REVIEW.—The contents

9 of an interstate MSW list or process of prepar10 ing an interstate MSW list shall not be subject

11 to judicial review.

12 ‘‘(3) SAVINGS PROVISION.—Nothing in this sub13 section preempts any State requirement that re14 quires more frequent reporting of information.

15 ‘‘(f) STATE IMPORT FEE.—

16 ‘‘(1) AUTHORITY.—Beginning in calendar year

17 2001, a State that imports municipal solid waste

18 may impose and collect a fee on the importation of

19 out-of-State municipal solid waste for disposal in a

20 landfill in the State.

21 ‘‘(2) AMOUNT OF STATE IMPORT FEE.—

22 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The amount of a

23 State import fee charged under this paragraph

24 shall not be greater than $3 per ton of munici25 pal solid waste.
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1 ‘‘(B) EXCEPTION.—Beginning in 2002, a

2 State that allows continued importation of

3 waste from a super exporting State may charge

4 additional fees on that imported municipal solid

5 waste as follows:

6 ‘‘(i) In calendar year 2002, $25 per

7 ton.

8 ‘‘(ii) In calendar year 2003, $50 per

9 ton.

10 ‘‘(iii) In calendar year 2004 and in

11 each succeeding calendar year, $100 per

12 ton.

13 ‘‘(g) APPLICABILITY.—

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para15 graph (2), this section applies in and to each State.

16 ‘‘(2) REJECTION OF APPLICABILITY.—A State

17 may exercise the option to become exempt from the

18 requirements of this section if the State—

19 ‘‘(A) notifies the Administrator (in a man20 ner prescribed by the Administrator) that the

21 State is exercising the option; and

22 ‘‘(B) in taking any appropriate action to

23 reject the applicability of this section, makes

24 specific reference to this section.’’.
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1 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS AMENDMENT.—The table

2 of contents of the Solid Waste Disposal Act (42 U.S.C.

3 prec. 6901) is amended by adding at the end of the items

4 relating to subtitle D the following:

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

Æ