I 

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 411

To direct the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to carry 

out certain authorities under an agreement with Canada respecting the 

importation of municipal solid waste, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 28, 2003

Mr. DINGELL (for himself, Mr. LEVIN, Mr. STUPAK, Mr. KILDEE, and Mr. 

ROGERS of Michigan) introduced the following bill; which was referred to 

the Committee on Energy and Commerce 

A BILL

To direct the Administrator of the Environmental Protection 

Agency to carry out certain authorities under an agreement with Canada respecting the importation of 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. CANADIAN TRANSBOUNDARY MOVEMENT OF 

4 MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE. 

5 (a) AMENDMENT.—Subtitle D of the Solid Waste 

6 Disposal Act (42 U.S.C. 6941 et seq.) is amended by add7 ing at the end the following new section: 
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1 ‘‘CANADIAN TRANSBOUNDARY MOVEMENT OF MUNICIPAL

2 SOLID WASTE

3 ‘‘SEC. 4011. (a) PROHIBITION.—No person shall im4 port, transport, or export municipal solid waste for final 

5 disposal or for incineration in violation of the Agreement 

6 Between the Government of the United States of America 

7 and the Government of Canada Concerning the 

8 Transboundary Movement of Hazardous Waste, or any 

9 regulations issued to implement and enforce such agree10 ment. 

11 ‘‘(b) ADMINISTRATOR’S AUTHORITY.—The Adminis12 trator shall perform the functions of the Designated Au13 thority of the United States with respect to the importa14 tion and exportation of municipal solid waste under the 

15 agreement described in subsection (a). Beginning imme16 diately upon the enactment of this section, the Adminis17 trator shall implement and enforce the notice and consent 

18 provisions of such agreement, as well as the other provi19 sions thereof. In considering whether to consent to the im20 portation of municipal solid waste under article 3(c) of 

21 such agreement, the Administrator shall—

22 ‘‘(1) give substantial weight to the views of the 

23 State or States into which the municipal solid waste 

24 is to be imported, and consider the views of the local 
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1 government with jurisdiction over the location where 

2 the waste is to be disposed; and 

3 ‘‘(2) consider the impact of the importation 

4 on—

5 ‘‘(A) continued public support for and ad6 herence to State and local recycling programs; 

7 ‘‘(B) landfill capacity as provided in com8 prehensive waste management plans; 

9 ‘‘(C) air emissions from increased vehicular 

10 traffic; 

11 ‘‘(D) road deterioration from increased ve12 hicular traffic; and 

13 ‘‘(E) public health and the environment. 

14 ‘‘(c) COMPLIANCE ORDERS.—(1) Whenever on the 

15 basis of any information the Administrator determines 

16 that any person has violated or is in violation of this sec17 tion, the Administrator may issue an order assessing a 

18 civil penalty for any past or current violation, requiring 

19 compliance immediately or within a specified time period, 

20 or both, or the Administrator may commence a civil action 

21 in the United States district court in the district in which 

22 the violation occurred for appropriate relief, including a 

23 temporary or permanent injunction.

24 ‘‘(2) Any order issued pursuant to this subsection 

25 shall state with reasonable specificity the nature of the vio-
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1 lation. Any penalty assessed in the order shall not exceed 

2 $25,000 per day of noncompliance for each violation. In 

3 assessing such a penalty, the Administrator shall take into 

4 account the seriousness of the violation and any good faith 

5 efforts to comply with applicable requirements. 

6 ‘‘(d) PUBLIC HEARING.—Any order issued under this 

7 section shall become final unless, not later than 30 days 

8 after the order is served, the person or persons named 

9 therein request a public hearing. Upon such request the 

10 Administrator shall promptly conduct a public hearing. In 

11 connection with any proceeding under this section the Ad12 ministrator may issue subpoenas for the attendance and 

13 testimony of witnesses and the production of relevant pa14 pers, books, and documents, and may promulgate rules for 

15 discovery procedures. 

16 ‘‘(e) VIOLATION OF COMPLIANCE ORDERS.—If a vio17 lator fails to take corrective action within the time speci18 fied in a compliance order, the Administrator may assess 

19 a civil penalty of not more than $25,000 for each day of 

20 continued noncompliance with the order.’’. 

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

22 of contents of such subtitle D is amended by adding at 

23 the end the following new item:

‘‘Sec. 4011. Canadian transboundary movement of municipal solid waste.’’.

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