II

103D CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 2126

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

MAY 18 (legislative day, MAY 16), 1994

Mr. ROBB 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 ‘‘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.—

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—

11 ‘‘(A) AUTHORIZATION.—Subject to sub12 sections (b) and (e), the owner or operator of

13 a facility that is a landfill or incinerator in a

14 State may not receive for disposal or inciner15 ation any out-of-State municipal solid waste un16 less the owner or operator obtains authorization

17 to receive the waste from the affected local gov18 ernment.

19 ‘‘(B) REQUIREMENTS FOR AUTHORIZA20 TION.—An authorization granted pursuant to

21 subparagraph (A) shall be—

22 ‘‘(i) granted by formal action at a

23 meeting;

24 ‘‘(ii) recorded in writing in the official

25 record of the meeting; and

26 ‘‘(iii) final.
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1 ‘‘(2) INFORMATION.—Prior to taking formal ac2 tion with respect to granting authorization to receive

3 out-of-State municipal solid waste pursuant to this

4 subsection, an affected local government shall re5 quire the owner or operator of the facility seeking

6 the authorization to provide the following informa7 tion (which the government shall make readily avail8 able to the Governor of the State, each adjoining

9 local government and Indian tribe, and any other in10 terested person for inspection and copying):

11 ‘‘(A) A brief description of the facility, in12 cluding the size of, ultimate waste capacity of,

13 and the anticipated monthly and yearly quan14 tities (expressed in terms of volume) of waste to

15 be handled by—

16 ‘‘(i) the facility as in existence on the

17 date of provision of the information; and

18 ‘‘(ii) the facility, including any

19 planned expansion.

20 ‘‘(B) A map of the facility site indicating

21 location in relation to the local road system and

22 topography and hydrogeological features. The

23 map shall indicate any buffer zones to be ac24 quired by the owner or operator as well as all

25 facility units.
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1 ‘‘(C) A description of the environmental

2 characteristics of the site, as in existence on the

3 date of provision of the information, including

4 information regarding ground water resources,

5 and a discussion of alterations in the character6 istics of the site that may be necessitated by, or

7 occur as a result of, the facility.

8 ‘‘(D) A description of appropriate environ9 mental controls to be used on the site, including

10 runon or runoff management (or both), air pol11 lution control devices, source separation proce12 dures (if any), methane monitoring and control,

13 landfill covers, liners or leachate collection sys14 tems, and monitoring programs. In addition,

15 the description shall include a description of

16 any waste residuals generated by the facility,

17 including leachate or ash, and the planned man18 agement of the residuals.

19 ‘‘(E) A description of site access controls

20 to be employed, and roadway improvements to

21 be made, by the owner or operator, and an esti22 mate of the timing and extent of increased local

23 truck traffic.

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

25 and local permits.
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1 ‘‘(G) Estimates of the personnel require2 ments of the facility, including information re3 garding the probable skill and education levels

4 required for jobs at the facility. To the extent

5 practicable, the information shall distinguish

6 between employment statistics for skill and edu7 cation levels required prior to operation of the

8 facility, and the statistics for the levels required

9 on or after the first day of operation of the fa10 cility.

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

12 State law to be provided with respect to any

13 violation of environmental laws (including regu14 lations) by the owner, the operator, and any

15 subsidiary of the owner or operator, the disposi16 tion of enforcement proceedings taken with re17 spect to the violation, and corrective action and

18 rehabilitation measures taken as a result of the

19 proceedings.

20 ‘‘(I) Any information that is required by

21 State law to be provided with respect to gifts

22 and contributions made by the owner and oper23 ator.

24 ‘‘(J) Any information that is required by

25 State law to be provided by the owner or opera-
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1 tor with respect to compliance by the owner or

2 operator with the State solid waste manage3 ment plan in effect pursuant to section 4007.

4 ‘‘(3) NOTIFICATION PRIOR TO FORMAL AC5 TION.—Prior to taking formal action with respect to

6 granting authorization to receive out-of-State munic7 ipal solid waste pursuant to this subsection, an af8 fected local government shall—

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

10 governments, and any adjoining Indian tribes,

11 of the proposed action;

12 ‘‘(B)(i) publish notice of the action in a

13 newspaper of general circulation at least 30

14 days before holding a hearing and again at

15 least 15 days before holding the hearing; or

16 ‘‘(ii) if State law provides for an alternate

17 form of public notification, provide such notifi18 cation concerning the action; and

19 ‘‘(C) provide an opportunity for public

20 comment on the action, including at least 1

21 public hearing, in accordance with State law.

22 ‘‘(4) NOTIFICATION OF ACTION.—The local gov23 ernment shall notify the Governor, adjoining local

24 governments, and any adjoining Indian tribes of an

25 authorization granted under this subsection.
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1 ‘‘(b) LIMITATIONS ON APPLICABILITY.—

2 ‘‘(1) LANDFILLS AND INCINERATORS IN OPER3 ATION OR UNDER CONSTRUCTION.—Subsection (a)

4 shall not apply to an owner or operator of a facility

5 that is a landfill or incinerator with respect to the

6 landfill or incinerator if—

7 ‘‘(A)(i) during the 1-year period preceding

8 the date of enactment of this section, the owner

9 or operator received at the landfill or inciner10 ator, in accordance with State law (as in effect

11 during the 1-year period), documented ship12 ments (within the meaning of paragraph (2)) of

13 out-of-State municipal solid waste; or

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

15 section, entered into a host agreement or other16 wise obtained legally binding, documented au17 thorization from the affected local government

18 to accept out-of-State municipal solid waste;

19 and

20 ‘‘(B)(i) with respect to a landfill, the land21 fill is in compliance with all applicable Federal

22 and State laws (including regulations) relating

23 to design and location standards, leachate col24 lection, ground water monitoring, and financial
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1 assurance for closure and post-closure care and

2 corrective action; or

3 ‘‘(ii) with respect to an incinerator, the in4 cinerator is in compliance with the applicable

5 requirements of section 129 of the Clean Air

6 Act (42 U.S.C. 7429) and applicable State laws

7 and regulations relating to facility design.

8 ‘‘(2) DOCUMENTATION OF SHIPMENT.—For

9 purposes of paragraph (1)(A)(i), a shipment of mu10 nicipal solid waste shall be considered a documented

11 shipment if the owner or operator of the landfill or

12 incinerator concerned provides documentation of the

13 shipment (including the quantity, time, and place of

14 the shipment) to the Governor of the State in which

15 the landfill or incinerator is located.

16 ‘‘(c) AUTHORITY OF GOVERNOR TO RESTRICT OUT17 OF-STATE MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE DISPOSED OF AT

18 LANDFILLS.—

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—

20 ‘‘(A) LIMITATIONS ON EXEMPTED LAND21 FILLS.—

22 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—In response to a

23 written request by each of an affected local

24 government and an affected local solid

25 waste planning unit (if the local solid
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1 waste planning unit exists under State

2 law), a Governor may limit the quantity of

3 out-of-State municipal solid waste received

4 for disposal, during a 1-year period, at a

5 landfill described in clause (ii) to a quan6 tity equal to the quantity of out-of-State

7 municipal solid waste received for disposal

8 at the landfill during the 1-year period pre9 ceding the date of enactment of this sec10 tion.

11 ‘‘(ii) LANDFILL.—The landfill re12 ferred to in clause (i) shall be a landfill in

13 the State, the owner or operator of which

14 is exempt, under subsection (b), from the

15 requirements of subsection (a) on the basis

16 of receiving shipments as described in sub17 section (b)(1)(A)(i).

18 ‘‘(B) PROCEDURAL REQUIREMENTS FOR

19 REQUEST.—Prior to submitting a request under

20 this subsection to limit the disposal of out-of

21 State municipal solid waste, an affected local

22 government and the affected local solid waste

23 planning unit, if any, shall—
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1 ‘‘(i) provide notice and an opportunity

2 for public comment concerning the pro3 posed request; and

4 ‘‘(ii) after providing the notice and

5 opportunity for public comment, take for6 mal action concerning the proposed request

7 at a public meeting.

8 ‘‘(2) RESPONSE BY GOVERNOR.—With respect

9 to requests made by affected local governments

10 under paragraph (1)(A), the Governor shall respond

11 in a consistent manner that does not discriminate

12 against any—

13 ‘‘(A) particular landfill within the State; or

14 ‘‘(B) shipment of out-of-State municipal

15 solid waste on the basis of State of origin.

16 ‘‘(3) LIMITATION ON AUTHORITY OF GOV17 ERNOR.—A Governor may not exercise the authority

18 granted under this subsection if the action would be

19 inconsistent with State law or would result in the

20 violation of or failure to perform any provision of a

21 written, legally binding contract for disposal of out22 of-State municipal solid waste at a landfill executed

23 prior to the date of enactment.

24 ‘‘(d) EXISTING AGREEMENTS.—
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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Nothing in this section is

2 intended to affect an agreement in effect on the date

3 of enactment of this section or other State law in ef4 fect on the date of enactment of this section (except

5 as expressly provided otherwise in this section).

6 ‘‘(2) AVAILABILITY OF CONTRACTS.—The

7 owner or operator of a landfill or incinerator that is

8 exempt, under subsection (b), from the requirements

9 of subsection (a), shall make available for inspection

10 by the public, in the affected local community, a

11 copy of each contract that the owner or operator has

12 entered into for the disposal of out-of-State munici13 pal solid waste at that landfill or incinerator. The

14 owner or operator may redact any proprietary infor15 mation contained in such a copy of a contract, but

16 shall ensure that at least information relating to the

17 volume of out-of-State municipal solid waste to be

18 received, the source of the waste, and the duration

19 of the contract, is apparent in the copy.

20 ‘‘(e) APPLICABILITY.—

21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para22 graph (2), this section applies in and to each State.

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

24 may exercise the option to become exempt from the

25 requirements of this section if the State—
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1 ‘‘(A) notifies the Administrator (in a man2 ner prescribed by the Administrator) that the

3 State is exercising the option; and

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

5 reject the applicability of this section, makes

6 specific reference to this section.

7 ‘‘(3) ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF EXEMPTION.—On

8 receipt of a notification by a State pursuant to para9 graph (2)(A), the Administrator shall take such ac10 tion as is appropriate to acknowledge the exemption

11 of the State from the requirements of this section.

12 ‘‘(f) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section:

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

14 term ‘affected local government’, used with respect

15 to a landfill or incinerator, means the elected offi16 cials of the city, town, borough, county, or parish,

17 with primary jurisdiction over the use of the land on

18 which the facility is located or proposed to be lo19 cated.

20 ‘‘(2) AFFECTED LOCAL SOLID WASTE PLAN21 NING UNIT.—The term ‘affected local solid waste

22 planning unit’ means a political subdivision of a

23 State with authority relating to solid waste manage24 ment planning in accordance with State law.
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1 ‘‘(3) HOST AGREEMENT.—The term ‘host

2 agreement’ means a written, legally binding agree3 ment, lawfully entered into between an owner or op4 erator of a landfill or incinerator and an affected

5 local government that authorizes the landfill or in6 cinerator to receive municipal solid waste generated

7 outside the jurisdiction of the affected local govern8 ment.

9 ‘‘(4) MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE.—

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

11 solid waste’ means solid waste that is refuse (or

12 refuse-derived fuel) generated by the general

13 public or from residential, commercial, institu14 tional, or industrial sources and that consists of

15 paper, wood, yard wastes, food wastes, plastics,

16 leather, rubber, or other combustible materials

17 or noncombustible materials such as metal,

18 glass, and rock.

19 ‘‘(B) EXCLUSIONS.—The term does not in20 clude—

21 ‘‘(i) hazardous waste or waste con22 taining polychlorinated biphenyls;

23 ‘‘(ii) industrial waste;

24 ‘‘(iii) medical waste;
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1 ‘‘(iv) recyclable materials that have

2 been separated from waste otherwise des3 tined for disposal (either at the source of

4 the waste or at processing facilities) or

5 that have been managed separately from

6 waste destined for disposal; and

7 ‘‘(v) materials and products returned

8 from a dispenser or distributor to the man9 ufacturer or an agent of the manufacturer

10 for credit, evaluation, and possible reuse.

11 ‘‘(5) OUT-OF-STATE MUNICIPAL SOLID

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

13 waste’, used with respect to a State, means munici14 pal solid waste generated outside of the State.

15 ‘‘(6) OWNER OR OPERATOR.—The term ‘owner

16 or operator’, used with respect to a landfill or incin17 erator, does not include—

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

19 that owns or operates the landfill or incinerator,

20 if the facility is located within the jurisdiction

21 of the State or the affected local government; or

22 ‘‘(B) a person who owns or operates a fa23 cility, if the facility receives only waste gen24 erated by the person.’’.
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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 new item:

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

Æ