I

103D CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 1810

To amend the Solid Waste Disposal Act to require producers and importers

of tires to recycle a certain percentage of scrap tires each year, to

require the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to

establish a recycling credit system for carrying out such recycling requirement, to establish a management and tracking system for such tires,

and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

APRIL 22, 1993

Mr. TORRES introduced the following bill; which was referred to the

Committee on Energy and Commerce

A BILL

To amend the Solid Waste Disposal Act to require producers

and importers of tires to recycle a certain percentage

of scrap tires each year, to require the Administrator

of the Environmental Protection Agency to establish a

recycling credit system for carrying out such recycling

requirement, to establish a management and tracking

system for such tires, 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 ‘‘Tire Recycling Incen5 tives Act’’.
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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

2 The Congress finds the following:

3 (1) The generation of solid and hazardous

4 waste has grown to alarming proportions in the

5 United States, with per capita disposal having in6 creased by 80 percent from 1960 to 1989. Each per7 son in the United States throws away 3.6 pounds of

8 garbage every day—enough annually to fill a convoy

9 of 10-ton garbage trucks 145,000 miles long, which

10 is the equivalent of half-way to the moon or roughly

11 7 times around the Equator.

12 (2) Frequently, economic incentives are not suf13 ficient to encourage waste minimization and respon14 sible environmental behavior, and such incentives ac15 tually may favor increased waste generation and im16 proper behavior.

17 (3) A system of economic incentives targeted at

18 waste reduction and recycling together with respon19 sible regulation of recycling activity can reduce both

20 the amount and toxicity of materials entering the

21 environment.

22 (4) The Administrator of the Environmental

23 Protection Agency requires additional statutory au24 thority to establish appropriate management and re25 cycling requirements and to address situations in

26 which economic incentives to encourage waste reduc-
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1 tion and responsible environmental behavior are not

2 adequate.

3 (5) There is a need to encourage greater recy4 cling of scrap tires. Americans generate more than

5 250 million scrap tires annually. Such scrap tires,

6 piled one on top of another, would be 98,000 Empire

7 State Buildings. Less than 30 percent of the cur8 rently generated scrap tires are recycled. Currently,

21 9 ⁄2 to 3 billion scrap tires are stockpiled across

10 America and these scrap tire dumps grow larger

11 every year. Such stockpiling is, itself, a potential

12 health concern.

13 (6) While wornout tire casings currently rep14 resent only 1.2 percent of the solid waste stream,

15 scrap tires present a special disposal/reuse challenge

16 because of their size, shape, and physical/chemical

17 nature.

18 (7) Scrap tires, when disposed of whole in a

19 landfill, have a unique tendency to rise back to the

20 surface, thus disrupting the landfill cap and allowing

21 water to infiltrate the landfill.

22 (8) Of the more than 250 million scrap tires

23 generated in the United States every year, 84.5 per24 cent are landfilled, stockpiled, or illegally dumped.
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1 (9) The whole scrap tires which are stockpiled

2 represent not only a waste of resources but also a

3 health hazard because they serve as an ideal breed4 ing ground for mosquitoes. According to the Envi5 ronmental Protection Agency, mosquito borne dis6 eases, like encephalitis and yellow fever, as a result

7 of stockpiled tires, cost an estimated $5,400,000 a

8 year.

9 (10) Further, fire hazards as a result of tire

10 stockpiles are both severe and wide-ranging. Such

11 scrap tire fires frequently result in air, surface, and

12 ground water pollution. The major problem of a

13 scrap tire fire hazard is the difficulty in extinguish14 ing the fire due to the fact that 75 percent of tire

15 space is void. This void space makes it difficult to

16 put out fires or quench the oxygen supply.

17 (11) In addition to the difficulty in putting tire

18 fires out, such fires represent a potential health and

19 environmental risk in the form of both liquid and

20 gaseous emissions from the tires. Burning tires emit

21 solvents and poly-nucleic aeromatic hydrocarbons

22 (PAHs)—many of which are carcinogenic. The tires

23 also melt while burning, releasing both sooty smoke

24 and oily liquids. The water used to extinguish the
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1 fire mobilizes these chemicals into the surface and

2 ground water.

3 (12) Estimated direct annual expenditures for

4 extinguishing tire fires are greater than $2,000,000.

5 One tire fire alone, in Winchester, Virginia, required

6 more than $5,000,000 for control and containment.

7 These estimates say nothing of the environmental

8 damage that must ultimately be paid for.

9 (13) The best way of eliminating the environ10 mental and health hazards associated with tire piles

11 is to minimize and ultimately eliminate the stock12 piling of tires.

13 (14) While adequate technology exists to signifi14 cantly reduce tire stockpiles, scrap tires are

15 underutilized because of adverse economics. It is

16 simply cheaper to throw them away than to recycle.

17 Until economic forces are reversed, tire stockpiling

18 will be the option of choice. Producers and importers

19 of tires are responsible for introduction of such tires

20 into commerce and therefore need to assure that

21 such tires are ultimately managed in a responsible

22 fashion.
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1 SEC. 3. REQUIREMENTS TO RECYCLE SCRAP TIRES.

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—(1) Subtitle D of the Solid Waste

3 Disposal Act (42 U.S.C. 6921 et seq.) is amended by add4 ing at the end the following new sections:

5 ‘‘SEC. 4011. RECYCLING REQUIREMENTS FOR SCRAP TIRES.

6 ‘‘(a) GENERAL REQUIREMENT.—(1) During the pe7 riod beginning not later than 24 months after the date

8 of the enactment of the Tire Recycling Incentives Act and

9 ending 10 years after such date, a producer or importer

10 of tires each year shall recycle, using a method described

11 in paragraph (2), an amount of scrap tires equal to at

12 least that amount of tires determined by—

13 ‘‘(A) multiplying the tires produced for domes14 tic use or consumption or imported that year by

15 such person, by

16 ‘‘(B) the recycling percentage established by the

17 Administrator under subsection (b).

18 ‘‘(2) A producer or importer of tires may comply with

19 this subsection by either or both of the following methods:

20 ‘‘(A) By recycling scrap tires in compliance

21 with the requirements of section 4012 and regula22 tions promulgated pursuant to such section through

23 reintroducing the recovered rubber into a manufac24 turing process for purposes of producing new tires

25 or by retreading old tire casings.
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1 ‘‘(B) By purchasing recycling credits under the

2 recycling credit system established pursuant to

3 subsection (c).

4 ‘‘(3) A producer or importer of tires shall submit to

5 the Administrator, under regulations promulgated by the

6 Administrator, a report on the amount of tires produced

7 or imported in each calendar year by such person. The

8 report shall be submitted at least once a year, but the Ad9 ministrator also may require such interim reports under

10 this paragraph as he considers necessary.

11 ‘‘(b) RECYCLING PERCENTAGE.—The Administrator

12 each year shall establish a recycling percentage for use

13 under subsection (a). The percentage applicable during

14 the first year that the requirement established by sub15 section (a) is in effect shall be a percentage that is 5 per16 centage points higher than the recycling rate for tires that

17 exists on the date of the enactment of the Tire Recycling

18 Incentives Act. Such recycling rate shall be determined by

19 using data for 1992 or the most recent year for which

20 data are available. For each of the 10 years thereafter,

21 the recycling percentage shall be an additional 5 percent22 age points higher than the percentage of the previous year.

23 Such recycling percentage shall go into effect automati24 cally and shall be published in the Federal Register.
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1 ‘‘(c) CREDIT SYSTEM FOR RECYCLING SCRAP

2 TIRES.—(1) Not later than 18 months after the date of

3 the enactment of the Tire Recycling Incentives Act, the

4 Administrator shall promulgate regulations to establish a

5 system under which (A) recyclers may create credits for

6 scrap tire recycling, and (B) producers or importers of

7 tires may purchase such recycling credits from such recy8 clers, for purposes of complying with subsection (a). No

9 person may create such credits, and no producer or im10 porter of tires may purchase such credits, except in ac11 cordance with this subsection and the regulations promul12 gated under this subsection. In developing the regulations,

13 the Administrator shall, to the maximum extent feasible,

14 allow for the use of records kept in the ordinary course

15 of business or other approaches that facilitate the simple,

16 rapid generation and exchange of credits without a case17 by-case approval.

18 ‘‘(2) At a minimum, the regulations under paragraph

19 (1) shall include each of the following requirements:

20 ‘‘(A) The owner or operator of any tire sale and

21 installation facility or any scrap tire collection facil22 ity shall keep receipts issued by any transporters

23 who take delivery of the scrap tires. The receipts

24 shall be kept for at least 3 years and shall show the

25 date, the quantity of scrap tires taken, and the
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1 transporter’s identification number. The owner or

2 operator shall show such receipts to the Adminis3 trator or to any State enforcing this section and sec4 tion 4012 upon demand. The owner or operator also

5 shall keep on file a copy of the contract or written

6 agreement between the owner or operator and the

7 transporter under which the transporter agrees to

8 take the scrap tires to a recycling facility.

9 ‘‘(B) The owner or operator of a scrap tire re10 cycling facility who obtains a permit in accordance

11 with section 4012(d) is the only person who may

12 create a recycling credit for the recycling credit sys13 tem. Recycling credits may be created through

14 shredding scrap tires, burning scrap tires for energy

15 recovery in a manner approved under Federal or

16 State law, reusing scrap tires through retreading,

17 utilizing crumb rubber made from scrap tires in an

18 asphalt road paving mix, recycling scrap tires by re19 covering rubber from the tires, or such other means

20 as may be identified by the Administrator. The

21 amount of recycling credit that may be created for

22 one scrap tire handled at a scrap tire recycling facil23 ity is as follows:

24 ‘‘(i) One-fourth of a credit for one tire

25 shredded.
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1 ‘‘(ii) One-fourth of a credit for one tire

2 burned after shredding.

3 ‘‘(iii) One-half of a credit for one whole

4 tire burned in an approved manner.

5 ‘‘(iv) Three-fourths of a credit for one tire

6 reused or recycled after shredding.

7 ‘‘(v) One credit for one whole tire reused

8 or recycled. Methods of reuse may include re9 treading, and methods of recycling may include

10 recovering rubber from the tire to produce tires

11 or an asphalt road paving mix. If the method

12 of recovery involves shredding or crumbling of

13 the whole tire, an additional one-fourth of a

14 credit may not be claimed under clause (i) or

15 (ii).

16 ‘‘(C) Each year a producer or importer of tires

17 shall keep records of the quantity of tires produced

18 or imported, the recycling of scrap tires carried out

19 to comply with subsection (a), the amount of recy20 cling credits purchased, the names of recyclers from

21 whom the credits were purchased and the dates of

22 the purchases, the price paid for the credits, and the

23 amount, if any, of recycling credits sold or carried

24 over from previous years. The regulations shall allow

25 for a two-year carryover of credits.
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1 ‘‘(3) The Administrator may include such other re2 quirements in the regulations under paragraph (1) with

3 respect to qualifications for recyclers, importers, and pro4 ducers, methods for auditing compliance with the system,

5 and enforcement of the system as the Administrator con6 siders necessary or appropriate for administering the recy7 cling credit system established under this subsection.

8 ‘‘(d) REPORTS.—(1) Not later than six years after

9 the date of the enactment of the Tire Recycling Incentives

10 Act, the Administrator shall submit to Congress an in11 terim report on the implementation of this section. The

12 report shall include, at a minimum—

13 ‘‘(A) a discussion of the effects of the require14 ments of this section on the tire industry, the scrap

15 tire recycling industry, and the environment, includ16 ing the extent of improper tire storage and disposal;

17 and

18 ‘‘(B) an evaluation of the level of the recycling

19 percentage under subsection (b) and recommenda20 tions on whether, and at what rate, the percentage

21 should be increased in future years above the per22 centage applicable under subsection (b).

23 ‘‘(2) Not later than 10 years after such date, the Ad24 ministrator shall submit to Congress a final report on the

25 implementation of this section. The report shall include
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1 an updated version of the discussion and evaluation re2 quired in the interim report, as well as such other findings

3 and recommendations with respect to the implementation

4 of this section as the Administrator considers appropriate.

5 ‘‘(3) Each year the Attorney General shall determine

6 the effects of the credit system established under sub7 section (c) on competition within the tire industry and the

8 scrap tire recycling industry and shall submit to Congress

9 a report on such determination. With respect to any cal10 endar year occurring after the system is established, the

11 determination shall be made, and the report submitted to

12 Congress, not later than 6 months after completion of an

13 audit of compliance with the system carried out by the

14 Administrator during that calendar year, or 6 months

15 after the end of that calendar year, whichever is earlier.

16 The report shall include recommendations for remediating

17 any anti-competitive effects of the credit system, including

18 effects that may be violations of the Sherman Act or the

19 Clayton Act.

20 ‘‘(e) REGULATIONS.—The Administrator shall pro21 mulgate regulations to implement this section not later

22 than 18 months after the date of the enactment of the

23 Tire Recycling Incentives Act. If the Administrator fails

24 to promulgate such regulations by that date, the recycling

25 percentage under subsection (b) shall be 60 percent until
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1 such time as the regulations are promulgated and shall

2 apply retroactively for each year the regulations are not

3 in effect.

4 ‘‘(f) CIVIL PENALTY.—(1) Whoever violates this sec5 tion shall be liable to the United States for a civil penalty

6 in an amount not to exceed $2500 for each such violation.

7 Such civil penalty shall be assessed by the Administrator

8 of the Environmental Protection Agency by an order made

9 on the record after opportunity for a hearing in accord10 ance with section 554 of title 5, United States Code. Be11 fore issuing such an order, the Administrator shall give

12 written notice to the person to be assessed a civil penalty

13 and provide such person an opportunity to request, within

14 15 days of the date the notice is received by such person,

15 a hearing on the order.

16 ‘‘(2) In determining the amount of a civil penalty,

17 the Administrator shall take into account the nature, cir18 cumstances, extent, and gravity of the violation or viola19 tions and, with respect to the violator, ability to pay, effect

20 on ability to continue to do business, any history of prior

21 violations under this section, the degree of culpability, and

22 such other matters as justice may require.

23 ‘‘(3) The Administrator may compromise, modify, or

24 remit, with or without conditions, any civil penalty which

25 may be imposed under this subsection. The amount of
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1 such penalty, when finally determined, or the amount

2 agreed upon in compromise, may be deducted from any

3 sums owing by the United States to the person charged.

4 ‘‘(4) Any person who requested in accordance with

5 this subsection a hearing respecting the assessment of a

6 civil penalty and who is aggrieved by an order assessing

7 a civil penalty may file a petition for judicial review of

8 such order with the United States Court of Appeals for

9 the District of Columbia Circuit or for any other circuit

10 in which such person resides or transacts business. Such

11 a petition may only be filed within the 30-day period be12 ginning on the date the order making such assessment was

13 issued.

14 ‘‘(5) If any person fails to pay an assessment of a

15 civil penalty—

16 ‘‘(A) after the order making the assessment has

17 become a final order and if such person does not file

18 a petition for judicial review of the order in accord19 ance with this section, or

20 ‘‘(B) after a court in an action brought under

21 this section has entered a final judgment in favor of

22 the Administrator,

23 the Attorney General shall recover the amount assessed

24 (plus interest at currently prevailing rates from the date

25 of the expiration of the 30-day period referred to in para-
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1 graph (4) or the date of such final judgment, as the case

2 may be) in an action brought in any appropriate district

3 court of the United States. In such an action, the validity,

4 amount, and appropriateness of such penalty shall not be

5 subject to review.

6 ‘‘(g) RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER LAW.—(1) The cre7 ation of any recycling credits by the owner or operator

8 of a scrap tire recycling facility in accordance with this

9 section shall not alter the status of scrap tires as a waste

10 that may be used as fuel in a qualifying small power pro11 duction facility or a qualifying cogeneration facility under

12 the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 791a et seq.).

13 ‘‘(2) For purposes of section 142(a)(6) of the Inter14 nal Revenue Code of 1986 (26 U.S.C. 142(a)(6)), a scrap

15 tire recycling or disposal facility shall be considered to be

16 a solid waste disposal facility.

17 ‘‘SEC. 4012. MANAGEMENT STANDARDS FOR SCRAP TIRES

18 AND SCRAP TIRE COLLECTION AND RECY19 CLING FACILITIES.

20 ‘‘(a) GENERAL REQUIREMENTS.—(1) Not later than

21 18 months after the date of enactment of the Tire Recy22 cling Incentives Act, the Administrator shall take each of

23 the following actions:

24 ‘‘(A) The Administrator shall publish in the

25 Federal Register a set of minimum requirements, to-
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1 gether with a model program for the purposes of use

2 by States implementing and enforcing the provisions

3 of this section. Such minimum requirements and

4 model program shall include provisions for collection,

5 transport, storage, financial assurance, and manage6 ment of scrap tires. In developing such provisions,

7 the Administrator’s first priority shall be to protect

8 public health and the environment, but in adhering

9 to that priority, he should not discourage environ10 mentally beneficial reuse, recovery, or recycling of

11 scrap tires.

12 ‘‘(B) The Administrator shall publish in the

13 Federal Register a procedure under which such min14 imum requirements shall be incorporated in the solid

15 waste management plan submitted to the Environ16 mental Protection Agency by such State under this

17 title. The Administrator may not approve a State

18 plan (or, if a State plan has already been approved

19 in a State, the portion of the plan for that State in20 corporating the minimum requirements under this

21 section) unless (i) the State has adopted all elements

22 of the model program developed under this section,

23 and (ii) the State has designated an agency or entity

24 to implement such program. In the case of a State

25 that adopts a program that is identical to the model
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1 program developed under this section and that con2 tains a designation of an agency or entity to imple3 ment the program, the portion of the plan required

4 under this section shall be deemed to be approved by

5 the Administrator upon receipt by the Administrator

6 of written notification of the adoption of such a pro7 gram.

8 ‘‘(C) The Administrator shall publish enabling

9 regulations under which States may implement and

10 enforce this section by adoption of the model pro11 gram and regulations. Such enabling regulations

12 shall specify the percentage of paving materials de13 scribed in subparagraph (D)(i) necessary for a State

14 to acquire in order to qualify for expedited review

15 under that subparagraph.

16 ‘‘(D) In reviewing and approving the State

17 Plan, the Administrator shall provide expedited re18 view to any State which does one of the following in

19 its plan:

20 ‘‘(i) Encourages the recycling of scrap tires

21 by requiring the relevant State highway author22 ity to use paving materials made from crumb

23 rubber from scrap tires for use in asphalt or

24 roadbed construction. Under the plan the State

25 highway authority (or its paving contractor)
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1 would be encouraged to acquire such paving

2 materials from a permitted tire recycler. In any

3 such case, the State may enter into contractual

4 arrangements to share in the revenue from the

5 sale of recycling credits under section 4011.

6 ‘‘(ii) Provides for directly acquiring and re7 cycling scrap tires for such paving materials in

8 the same manner as may be done directly by

9 the State highway authority. In any such case,

10 the State may obtain a permit to recycle such

11 tires and may generate and sell tire recycling

12 credits.

13 ‘‘(iii) Encourages the reuse of tires by re14 quiring that at least 20 percent of the tires pur15 chased each year by the State for motor vehi16 cles are retread tires.

17 ‘‘(b) MANAGEMENT STANDARDS.—Not later than 18

18 months after the date of enactment of the Tire Recycling

19 Incentives Act, the Administrator shall promulgate regula20 tions establishing standards for the purpose of minimizing

21 potential health and environmental damages from the im22 proper storage and disposal of scrap tires. States shall

23 adopt such standards in implementing and enforcing this

24 section. At a minimum, such standards shall provide for

25 each of the following:
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1 ‘‘(1) BANS.—(A) Not later than 24 months

2 after the date of enactment of the Tire Recycling In3 centives Act, the Administrator shall ban the dis4 posal of whole tires in land disposal facilities. As

5 part of the ban, the Administrator shall allow for the

6 land disposal of shredded tires, but only in a

7 monofill.

8 ‘‘(B) Not later than 12 months after the date

9 of enactment of the Tire Recycling Incentives Act,

10 the Administrator shall promulgate regulations to

11 ban the intentional infliction of damage on tire cas12 ings that is done to preclude a tire casing from

13 being used in retreading, including slashing of tire

14 casings. The ban shall apply to importers and manu15 facturers of tire casings, owners and operators of

16 tire sale and installation facilities, and transporters

17 covered by paragraph (5). An importer or manufac18 turer of tire casings shall not be held liable in any

19 court of law for damages resulting from subsequent

20 failure of retreaded tires if such a tire is retreaded

21 by a recycler creating recycling credits through re22 treading under section 4011(c).

23 ‘‘(2) INVENTORY; TIRE ADVISORY BOARD.—(A)

24 Not later than 12 months after the date of enact25 ment of the Tire Recycling Incentives Act, each
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1 State shall conduct an inventory of scrap tire collec2 tion facilities, including existing tire piles, dumps,

3 and landfills with above-ground storage of old tires,

4 or any other scrap tire storage of more than 1,000

5 tires. Such inventory shall be provided to the Admin6 istrator and shall be made available by such State

7 to the public for comment. At a minimum, the in8 ventory shall include an estimate of the number of

9 tires in each scrap tire pile, an estimate of the total

10 amount of scrap tires at the site, a description of the

11 site characteristics, including proximity to the 100-

12 year flood plain, and surface water run-on/run-off

13 characteristics, along with current management

14 practices at the site. The inventory shall include the

15 name of the owner or operator of each such site.

16 ‘‘(B) Not later than 12 months after the date

17 of the enactment of the Tire Recycling Incentives

18 Act, each State shall convene a tire advisory board

19 of public and private interests. Such board shall

20 have at least 3 members and shall help coordinate

21 the State’s efforts under this section.

22 ‘‘(3) ABATEMENT.—In consultation with the

23 owner or operator of the scrap tire collection facility,

24 the tire advisory board, and the State public health

25 authorities, the State shall, within 18 months of the
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1 date of enactment of the Tire Recycling Incentives

2 Act, develop a scrap tire abatement plan. The overall

3 abatement plan for the State inventory of sites shall

4 reflect the following parameters in such priorities as

5 determined by the State:

6 ‘‘(A) Overall size of tire collection site.

7 ‘‘(B) Risk to public health or the environ8 ment, including fire hazard.

9 ‘‘(C) Proximity to populated areas.

10 ‘‘(D) Other factors.

11 In developing an abatement strategy for individual

12 sites, the States may use the enforcement authorities

13 of section 4013.

14 ‘‘(4) SALE AND INSTALLATION FACILITIES.—

15 Any facility which distributes more than 1,000 tires

16 annually into commerce for final installation onto

17 motor vehicles shall enter into an agreement with a

18 licensed tire hauler. No person operating such tire

19 sale or installation facilities shall give, sell, donate or

20 otherwise provide scrap tires to any other person or

21 entity than a licensed tire hauler.

22 ‘‘(5) TRANSPORTATION IDENTIFICATION NUM23 BER.—(A) Except as provided in subparagraph (B),

24 no person may transport scrap tires from a tire sale

25 or installation facility or scrap tire collection facility
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1 unless that person has obtained a scrap tire Trans2 portation Identification Number from the authority

3 designated by the State in its State plan. The Ad4 ministrator shall promulgate such standards and

5 recordkeeping requirements as are appropriate to as6 sure that scrap tires which are collected, trans7 ported, and ultimately stored, recycled or disposed of

8 can be correctly accounted for under this section and

9 section 4011.

10 ‘‘(B) The prohibition in subparagraph (A) does

11 not apply to any of the following:

12 ‘‘(i) A trash hauler, such as a municipal

13 solid waste collection truck, carrying fewer than

14 50 scrap tires.

15 ‘‘(ii) A recyclables hauler, such as an auto

16 dismantling yard, carrying fewer than 50 scrap

17 tires.

18 ‘‘(iii) An individual transporting fewer

19 than 10 scrap tires.

20 ‘‘(iv) A person transporting products de21 rived from tires.

22 ‘‘(v) A person transporting scrap tires for

23 appropriate agricultural purposes, as defined by

24 the Administrator.
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1 ‘‘(vi) A business that generates and trans2 ports its own scrap tires.

3 ‘‘(c) SCRAP TIRE COLLECTION FACILITIES.—

4 ‘‘(1) PERMIT GUIDELINES.—The Administrator

5 shall publish guidelines for the State to use to issue

6 permits to scrap tire collection facilities. Permit

7 guidelines shall provide for effective regulatory con8 trol of scrap tires from the point of origination to

9 final disposition. Permit guidelines shall also provide

10 examples of cases in which class permits and permits

11 for mobile equipment are appropriate.

12 ‘‘(2) OPERATION REQUIREMENTS.—The Admin13 istrator shall promulgate regulations or publish

14 guidelines that shall include each of the following re15 quirements for the operation of such facilities:

16 ‘‘(A) The regulations or guidelines shall

17 limit the maximum size of both existing and fu18 ture scrap tire piles at scrap tire collection fa19 cilities. For existing tire piles subject to the re20 quirements of the inventory and abatement

21 plan, the maximum square area of such existing

22 piles shall be 10,000 square feet, with a height

23 limit of 40 feet and provision for adequate fenc24 ing, as determined by the Administrator, to pre25 vent additions to the pile. For such new tire
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1 piles as may be required in the abatement pro2 gram, or until recycling facilities are in oper3 ation, any new tire piles shall be limited to

4 5,000 square feet, with a maximum height of

5 20 feet.

6 ‘‘(B) The regulations or guidelines shall re7 quire a ban on open burning within 50 feet of

8 a scrap tire pile, along with a requirement that

9 a 50-foot fire lane be maintained around each

10 pile.

11 ‘‘(C) The regulations or guidelines shall in12 clude guidance on vegetation, rodent, and mos13 quito control at such facilities as may be appro14 priate.

15 ‘‘(3) FLOOD PLAIN, WETLAND, SHORELINE,

16 AND RAVINE REQUIREMENTS.—The Administrator

17 shall establish different requirements in regulations

18 or guidelines for scrap tire collection facilities lo19 cated in a 100-year flood plain and such other areas

20 where water resources are critical, such as wetlands,

21 shorelines, and ravines.

22 ‘‘(4) EMERGENCY PLANNING REQUIREMENTS.—

23 The Administrator shall publish guidelines for

24 States to follow in making plans for emergencies in25 volving scrap tire collection facilities. The guidelines
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1 shall require States to establish contingency plans

2 for handling an emergency. Such plans shall be de3 veloped in consultation with the tire advisory board,

4 the State fire marshal, and local fire departments.

5 ‘‘(5) EMERGENCY MANUAL.—The owner or op6 erator of a scrap tire collection facility shall prepare

7 and maintain at the facility an emergency prepared8 ness manual containing the following elements:

9 ‘‘(A) A list of names and numbers of per10 sons to be contacted in the event of a fire,

11 flood, or other emergency involving the tire fa12 cility.

13 ‘‘(B) A list of the emergency response

14 equipment present at the facility, its location,

15 and how it should be used in the event of a fire

16 or other emergency.

17 ‘‘(C) A description of the procedures that

18 should be followed in the event of a fire at the

19 facility, including procedures to contain and dis20 pose of the oily material generated by the com21 bustion of large numbers of tires.

22 The procedures in the emergency preparedness man23 ual shall be followed in the event of an emergency

24 at the facility. The emergency preparedness manual
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1 shall be updated once a year, upon changes in oper2 ations at the facility, or if required by the State.

3 ‘‘(6) EMERGENCY NOTIFICATION AND RE4 PORTS.—The owner or operator of a scrap tire col5 lection facility shall immediately notify the State in

6 the event of a fire or other emergency at the facility

7 with potential off-site impacts. Within 2 weeks of

8 any emergency involving potential off-site impact,

9 the owner or operator of the facility shall submit to

10 the State a report on the emergency. This report

11 shall set forth the origins of the emergency, the ac12 tions that were taken to deal with the emergency,

13 the results of the actions that were taken, and an

14 analysis of the success or failure of the actions.

15 ‘‘(7) OPERATIONAL RECORD.—The Adminis16 trator shall promulgate regulations or publish guide17 lines requiring the owner or operator of a scrap tire

18 collection facility to maintain records of the number

19 of scrap tires received at the facility, stored at the

20 facility, and shipped from the facility. Records shall

21 also be kept of the amount of tire-derived products

22 received, stored, or shipped from the facility. At the

23 completion of an abatement increment, or a report24 ing period, the responsible owner or operator shall

25 submit to the State a record of the approximate
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1 number of scrap tires remaining in the facility; the

2 amount of tire-derived products stored at the facil3 ity; and the number of scrap tires or amount of tire4 derived products received at the facility and shipped

5 from the facility during the abatement increment or

6 reporting period. For scrap tires and tire-derived

7 products shipped to another location, the date and

8 the amount shipped must be included.

9 ‘‘(8) INSPECTION.—At the completion of each

10 abatement increment or reporting period the owner

11 or operator of a scrap tire collection facility shall no12 tify the State so that an inspection of the tire facil13 ity may be conducted to certify the completion of the

14 required abatement or permit operating conditions.

15 ‘‘(9) OPERATION, CLOSURE, AND POST-CLO16 SURE.—The Administrator shall publish guidelines

17 for adoption by the State regulatory authority re18 quiring that all facilities regulated under this section

19 have appropriate financial responsibility or insurance

20 to maintain the facility for at least five years after

21 the facility is closed.

22 ‘‘(10) EXEMPTIONS.—The permitting require23 ments of this section shall not apply to any of the

24 following:
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1 ‘‘(A) A tire retailer who stores no more

2 than 500 scrap tires on the business premises.

3 ‘‘(B) A retreading business that stores no

4 more than 15 percent of the amount of used

5 tires retreaded annually on the business prem6 ises.

7 ‘‘(C) A business such as an auto disman8 tling facility that does not remove tires from ve9 hicles as its main activity, if no more than

10 1,500 unmounted scrap tires are kept on the

11 business premises in any month.

12 ‘‘(D) A permitted sanitary landfill that

13 stores no more than 10,000 scrap tires at the

14 landfill site.

15 ‘‘(E) A person using scrap tires on an ag16 ricultural site for legitimate agricultural pur17 poses.

18 ‘‘(F) A person who has entered into a

19 scrap tire facility cleanup agreement and is

20 doing work specified by the agreement.

21 ‘‘(d) SCRAP TIRE RECYCLING FACILITIES.—The Ad22 ministrator shall promulgate regulations for the State to

23 use to issue permits to scrap tire recycling facilities. The

24 regulations shall include requirements with respect to the

25 operation of such facilities and shall include such record-
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1 keeping requirements as are necessary to implement this

2 section and section 4011.

3 ‘‘(e) FEDERAL RESPONSIBILITY.—

4 ‘‘(1) REMEDIATION OF TIRE PILES ON PUBLIC

5 LANDS.—The Secretary of the Interior, together

6 with the heads of all Federal departments and agen7 cies with responsibilities for public lands or military

8 installations, shall determine the extent of scrap tire

9 piles on such lands or installations and shall develop

10 and implement a plan within 18 months after the

11 date of enactment of the Tire Recycling Incentives

12 Act to remediate such tire piles. The requirements

13 developed in the plan shall also apply to the Na14 tional Railroad Passenger Corporation.

15 ‘‘(2) PROCUREMENT GUIDELINE.—(A) The Ad16 ministrator, in consultation with the Secretary of

17 Energy, the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of

18 Transportation, the Administrator of the Federal

19 Highway Administration, and the Administrator of

20 General Services (as appropriate), shall develop a

21 guideline for procuring items that make use of rub22 ber from scrap or used tires, including asphalt made

23 from crumb rubber from scrap tires, retread tires,

24 and tires made utilizing crumb rubber from scrap

25 tires.
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1 ‘‘(B) Such procurement guideline shall require

2 that, in the procurement of such items, the heads of

3 the Federal departments covered by the guideline

4 shall procure such an item if the item is available at

5 the same (or lower) cost as alternative items made

6 from rubber other than rubber from scrap or used

7 tires. The cost of such an item shall be determined

8 in accordance with standards developed by the Na9 tional Institute for Standards and Technology under

10 paragraph (3).

11 ‘‘(C) If the Administrator fails to issue the pro12 curement guideline within 24 months after the date

13 of the enactment of the Tire Recycling Incentives

14 Act, then the head of each Federal department shall

15 procure items containing 75 percent or more of post16 consumer scrap rubber from scrap tires if such post17 consumer scrap rubber is reasonably available within

18 a reasonable period of time at a reasonable price and

19 meets reasonable performance standards of the de20 partment.

21 ‘‘(3) COST STANDARDS.—The Secretary of

22 Commerce, acting through the Director of the Na23 tional Institute of Standards and Technology, shall

24 develop and publish standards for determining, for

25 purposes of complying with the procurement guide-
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1 line under paragraph (2), the life-cycle costs and

2 benefits of asphalt made from crumb rubber from

3 scrap tires, retread tires, tires made utilizing crumb

4 rubber from scrap tires, and other items that make

5 use of rubber from scrap or used tires, as compared

6 with items that make use of rubber other than rub7 ber from scrap or used tires. The standards shall be

8 used by Federal departments covered by the pro9 curement guideline developed under paragraph (2)

10 and by States in the portion of the State plan incor11 porating the requirements under this section. The

12 standards under this paragraph shall be developed in

13 consultation with the Secretary of Transportation

14 not later than 18 months after the date of the enact15 ment of the Tire Recycling Incentives Act.

16 ‘‘(4) DETERMINATIONS BY SECRETARY OF

17 TRANSPORTATION.—(A) The Secretary of Transpor18 tation, in consultation with the Administrator and

19 through the use of data available from the Environ20 mental Protection Agency, the Department of

21 Transportation, and States, shall determine each of

22 the following:

23 ‘‘(i) Whether there are any direct worker

24 environmental health effects relating to asphalt
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1 made from crumb rubber from scrap tires, and

2 what those health effects are.

3 ‘‘(ii) The recyclability of asphalt road sur4 faces made from crumb rubber from scrap tires.

5 ‘‘(iii) The estimated life of existing asphalt

6 road surfaces made from crumb rubber from

7 scrap tires.

8 ‘‘(B) Not later than 6 months after the date of

9 the enactment of the Tire Recycling Incentives Act,

10 the Secretary of Transportation shall submit to Con11 gress a plan for making the determinations required

12 by subparagraph (A). Not later than 18 months

13 after such date, the Secretary shall complete the de14 terminations and submit to Congress a report on the

15 determinations.

16 ‘‘(C) Unless and until the Secretary of Trans17 portation determines otherwise, the estimated life of

18 asphalt road surfaces made from crumb rubber from

19 scrap tires is deemed to be twice that of conven20 tional asphalt road surfaces.

21 ‘‘SEC. 4013. ENFORCEMENT AND PENALTIES FOR SCRAP

22 TIRE REQUIREMENTS.

23 ‘‘(a) ABATEMENT AUTHORITIES.—For the purposes

24 of enforcing the scrap tire abatement provisions of section

25 4012, States are authorized to enter into consent agree-
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1 ments with the owner or operator of any scrap tire collec2 tion facility for proper management and abatement of

3 scrap tires. If the owner or operator of a scrap tire collec4 tion facility does not agree to enter into a consent agree5 ment, the State or a county government, acting with the

6 consent of the State, is authorized to obtain an abatement

7 order from a court of competent jurisdiction for the pur8 poses of taking temporary control of the scrap tire facility

9 and conducting the cleanup and collecting the abatement

10 costs through the United States Claims Court. A court

11 may not issue an abatement order if the owner or operator

12 of such a facility shows justifiable cause for refusing to

13 enter into a consent agreement. States are also authorized

14 to levy fines of $1,000 per day on scrap tire facilities not

15 complying with sections 4011 and 4012. Notwithstanding

16 any other provision of law, in the case of an abandoned

17 scrap tire collection facility, the State or a county govern18 ment may seize the property, perform the cleanup, and

19 dispose of the property.

20 ‘‘(b) TIRE SALES AND INSTALLATION FACILITIES

21 PENALTIES.—Any tire sale or installation facility which

22 is not exempt under sections 4011 and 4012 may be fined

23 up to $100 per day for managing scrap tires in violation

24 of such sections.
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1 ‘‘(c) LANDFILLS.—Any landfill which is found to

2 knowingly violate the prohibition on land disposal by

3 landfilling more than 100 whole tires in any month shall

4 be subject to a $5,000 fine for each 100 tires (or incre5 ment thereof) over that limit disposed of in a month.

6 ‘‘(d) TIRE COLLECTION AND RECYCLING FACILITIES

7 PENALTIES.—Any tire collection or recycling facility de8 termined to be in noncompliance with section 4011 or sec9 tion 4012 shall be subject to fines of $1,000 per day for

10 each violation.’’.

11 (2) The table of contents for subtitle D (contained

12 in section 1001) is amended by adding at the end the fol13 lowing new items:

‘‘Sec. 4011. Recycling requirements for scrap tires.

‘‘Sec. 4012. Management standards for scrap tires and scrap tire collection and

recycling facilities.

‘‘Sec. 4013. Enforcement and penalties for scrap tire requirements.’’.

14 (b) DEFINITIONS.—Section 1004 of the Solid Waste

15 Disposal Act is amended by adding the following at the

16 end thereof:

17 ‘‘(42) The term ‘producer’ with respect to tires means

18 any person who produces tires for an automobile, motor19 cycle, truck, trailer, semitrailer or combination, or truck

20 tractor. Such production does not include retreading tires.

21 ‘‘(43) The term ‘importer’ with respect to tires means

22 any person who imports tires, either individually or as part

23 of an automobile or other vehicle.
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1 ‘‘(44) The term ‘scrap tire’ means a tire from an

2 automobile, motorcycle, truck, trailer, semitrailer or com3 bination, or truck tractor, that is no longer usable for the

4 original purpose.

5 ‘‘(45) The term ‘scrap tire collection facility’ means

6 any facility or entity that voluntarily or involuntarily col7 lects, stores, or otherwise accumulates scrap tires in

8 amounts in excess of 1,000 tires a year, including an auto

9 parts retailer or municipality.

10 ‘‘(46) The term ‘recycler’ means with respect to tires

11 the owner or operator of a tire recycling facility who has

12 a permit under section 4012.

13 ‘‘(47) The term ‘recycling credit’ means with respect

14 to tires a legal record of a recycling activity undertaken

15 in accordance with section 4012 that represents scrap

16 tires recycled for purposes of complying with that section

17 and section 4011.

18 ‘‘(48) The term ‘tire sale and installation facility’

19 means any facility which sells or installs more than 1,000

20 tires for operation on the highways of the United States.

21 ‘‘(49) The term ‘tire-derived product’ means a prod22 uct made from the usable materials produced from the

23 chemical or physical processing of a scrap tire. Such term

24 does not include ash from burning a scrap tire.
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1 ‘‘(50) The term ‘tire fuel’ means tires used to produce

2 heat in an energy recovery combustion device designed to

3 burn fossil fuels (including coal, oil, and natural gas), re4 gardless of the size or shape of the tire upon entering the

5 combustion device.

6 ‘‘(51) The term ‘tire-derived fuel’ means tire fuel that

7 is composed of shredded tires from which 95 percent of

8 the metal has been removed.

9 ‘‘(52) The term ‘abatement increment’ means a pe10 riod of time not greater than six months and not less than

11 one month, as specified in an abatement plan, during

12 which a specified number of scrap tires will be removed

13 from a scrap tire collection facility and processed in ac14 cordance with section 4011.

15 ‘‘(53) The term ‘shredded tire’ means a scrap tire

16 reduced to chips no larger than 2 inches by 2 inches.

17 ‘‘(54) The term ‘crumb rubber’ means rubber from

18 a scrap tire that is separated from the steel fabric and

19 other contaminants of the tire, and reduced, with or with20 out processing agents, into particles of specified sizes and

21 shapes.

22 ‘‘(55) The term ‘asphalt road paving mix’ includes

23 surface treatments, interlayers, and crack sealants.’’.
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1 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There

2 are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be

3 necessary to carry out the amendments made by this Act.

Æ

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