I 
108TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2827
To phase out the incineration of solid waste, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 23, 2003
Mr. ANDREWS introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on 
Transportation and Infrastructure, for a period to be subsequently deter-
mined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions 
as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To phase out the incineration of solid waste, and for other 
purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Stop Solid Waste In-
cineration Act of 2003’’. 
SEC. 2. STATE IMPLEMENTATION PLANS. 
(a) SUBMISSION OF PLANS.—Each State shall, after 
reasonable notice and public hearings, adopt and submit 
to the Administrator of the Environmental Protection
Agency (referred to in this Act as the ‘‘Administrator’’), 
within one year after the enactment of this Act, a 3-year 
implementation plan to achieve each of the following: 
(1) Increased recycling by at least 75 percent 
over the 3-year period. 
(2) Water source pollution reduction. 
(3) The restriction of landfill dumping to mate-
rials that are not recyclable or compostable. 
(4) The phasing out of incineration of solid 
waste within 4 years and 6 months after the enact-
ment of this Act. 
(5) A waste reduction rate of 10 percent. 
(6) An increase in composting of 10 percent. 
(b) PROCEDURES.—Each implementation plan sub-
mitted by a State under this Act shall be adopted by the 
State after reasonable notice and public hearing. No such 
plan may be implemented by the State until approved by 
the Administrator under this Act. Each such plan shall—
(1) include enforceable limitations and other 
control measures, means, or techniques, as well as 
schedules and timetables for compliance, as may be 
necessary or appropriate to meet the applicable re-
quirements of this Act;
(2) provide for establishment and operation of 
appropriate devices, methods, systems, and proce-
dures necessary to—
(A) monitor, compile, and analyze data on 
compliance with this Act; and 
(B) make such data available to the Ad-
ministrator; 
(3) include a program to provide for the en-
forcement of the measures described in paragraph 
(1); 
(4) provide for revision of such plan whenever 
the Administrator finds on the basis of information 
available to the Administrator that the plan is inad-
equate to comply with the requirements established 
under this Act; and 
(5) provide for consultation and participation 
by local political subdivisions affected by the plan. 
(c) ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY ACTION 
ON PLAN SUBMISSIONS.—
(1) COMPLETENESS OF PLAN SUBMISSIONS.—
(A) COMPLETENESS CRITERIA.—Within 6 
months after the date of the enactment of this 
Act, the Administrator shall promulgate min-
imum criteria that any plan submission must 
meet before the Administrator is required to act
on such submission under this subsection. The 
criteria shall be limited to the information nec-
essary to enable the Administrator to determine 
whether the plan submission complies with the 
provisions of this Act. 
(B) COMPLETENESS FINDING.—Within 6 
months after the Administrator’s receipt of a 
plan or plan revision under this Act, the Ad-
ministrator shall determine whether the plan or 
revision complies with this Act and approve or 
reject the plan or plan revision. If the plan is 
approved, the State shall begin implementation 
immediately. If the plan is rejected, the Envi-
ronmental Protection Agency will inform the 
State why the plan was rejected. That State 
then has 3 months to submit a new plan. 
(C) EFFECT OF FINDING OF INCOMPLETE-
NESS.—Where the Administrator determines 
that any part of a plan submission meets the 
requirements of this Act and approves such 
part and disapproves the plan in part, the State 
shall immediately implement the approved part 
or parts and submit a revised plan respecting 
the remaining parts within 3 months after the 
date of the Administrator’s disapproval.
(2) 
DEADLINE
FOR
ACTION.—Within 
months of a determination by the Administrator (or 
a determination deemed by operation of law) under 
paragraph (1) that a State has submitted a plan or 
plan revision (or, in the Administrator’s discretion, 
part thereof) that meets the minimum criteria estab-
lished pursuant to paragraph (1), if applicable (or, 
if those criteria are not applicable, within 12 months 
of submission of the plan or revision), the Adminis-
trator shall act on the submission in accordance with 
paragraph (3). 
(3) FULL AND PARTIAL APPROVAL AND DIS-
APPROVAL.—In the case of any submittal on which 
the Administrator is required to act under para-
graph (2), the Administrator shall approve such sub-
mittal as a whole if it meets all of the applicable re-
quirements of this Act. If a portion of the plan revi-
sion meets all the applicable requirements of this 
Act, the Administrator may approve the plan revi-
sion in part and disapprove the plan revision in part. 
The plan revision shall not be treated as meeting the 
requirements of this Act until the Administrator ap-
proves the entire plan revision as complying with the 
applicable requirements of this Act.
(4) CONDITIONAL
APPROVAL.—The Adminis-
trator may approve a plan revision based on a com-
mitment of the State to adopt specific enforceable 
measures by a date certain, but not later than 1 
year after the date of approval of the plan revision. 
Any such conditional approval shall be treated as a 
disapproval if the State fails to comply with such 
commitment. 
(5) CALLS
FOR
PLAN
REVISIONS.—Whenever 
the Administrator finds that the applicable imple-
mentation plan for any area is substantially inad-
equate to comply with any requirement of this Act, 
the Administrator shall require the State to revise 
the plan as necessary to correct such inadequacies. 
The Administrator shall notify the State of the inad-
equacies, and may establish reasonable deadlines 
(not to exceed 6 months after the date of such no-
tice) for the submission of such plan revisions. Such 
findings and notice shall be public. 
(6) CORRECTIONS.—Whenever the Adminis-
trator determines that the Administrator’s action 
approving, disapproving, or promulgating any plan 
or plan revision (or part thereof) was in error, the 
Administrator may in the same manner as the ap-
proval, disapproval, or promulgation revise such ac-
tion as appropriate without requiring any further 
submission from the State. Such determination and 
the basis thereof shall be provided to the State and 
public. 
(d) PLAN REVISIONS.—Each revision to an imple-
mentation plan submitted by a State under this Act shall 
be adopted by such State after reasonable notice and pub-
lic hearing. The Administrator shall not approve a revision 
of a plan if the revision would not comply with any appli-
cable requirement of this Act. 
(e) SANCTIONS.—The Administrator may apply any 
of the sanctions listed in section 2 whenever the Adminis-
trator makes a finding, disapproval, or determination 
under section 2(a) in relation to any plan. 
(f) FEDERAL IMPLEMENTATION PLANS.—The Ad-
ministrator shall promulgate a Federal implementation 
plan at any time within 2 years after the Administrator—
(1) finds that a State has failed to make a re-
quired submission or finds that the plan or plan re-
vision submitted by the State does not satisfy the 
minimum criteria established under this Act; or 
(2) disapproves a State implementation plan 
submission in whole or in part, 
unless the State corrects the deficiency, and the Adminis-
trator approves the plan or plan revision, before the Ad-
ministrator promulgates such Federal implementation 
plan. 
SEC. 3. SANCTIONS. 
(a) STATE FAILURE.—For any implementation plan 
or plan revision required under this part or required in 
response to a finding of substantial inadequacy as de-
scribed in section 1, if the Administrator—
(1) finds that a State has failed to submit a 
plan, or to submit 1 or more of the elements (as de-
termined by the Administrator) required by the pro-
visions of this Act; 
(2) disapproves in whole or in part a plan sub-
mission under section 1; and 
(3) finds that any requirement of an approved 
plan (or approved part of a plan) is not being imple-
mented, 
unless such deficiency has been corrected within 18 
months after the finding, disapproval, or determination re-
ferred to in paragraphs (1), (2), and (3), the sanctions 
referred to in subsection (b) shall apply until the Adminis-
trator determines that the State has come into compliance. 
(b) SANCTIONS.—(1) The Administrator may impose 
a prohibition, applicable to a State, on the approval by 
the Secretary of Transportation of any projects or the 
awarding by the Secretary of any grants, under title 23,
United States Code, other than projects or grants for safe-
ty where the Secretary determines, based on accident or 
other appropriate data submitted by the State, that the 
principal purpose of the project is an improvement in safe-
ty to resolve a demonstrated safety problem and likely will 
result in a significant reduction in, or avoidance of, acci-
dents. Such prohibition shall become effective upon the se-
lection by the Administrator of this sanction. 
(2) In addition to safety, projects or grants that may 
be approved by the Secretary, notwithstanding the prohi-
bition in paragraph (1), are the following—
(A) capital programs for public transit; 
(B) construction or restriction of certain roads 
or lanes solely for the use of passenger buses or high 
occupancy vehicles; 
(C) highway ramp metering, traffic signaliza-
tion, and related programs that improve traffic flow; 
(D) fringe and transportation corridor parking 
facilities serving multiple occupancy vehicle pro-
grams or transit operations; 
(E) programs to limit or restrict vehicle use in 
downtown areas or other areas of emission con-
centration particularly during periods of peak use, 
through road use charges, tolls, parking surcharges,
or other pricing mechanisms, vehicle restricted zones 
or periods, or vehicle registration programs; and 
(F) programs for breakdown and accident scene 
management, nonrecurring congestion, and vehicle 
information systems, to reduce congestion. 
SEC. 4. INCENTIVES. 
(a) GRANT PROGRAM.—The Administrator is author-
ized to make grants to each State that phases out the in-
cineration of solid waste prior to the deadline established 
under this Act. Such grants are to be used for the purpose 
of finding alternative, environmental friendly means of 
solid waste disposal. The Administrator may make grants 
under this subsection in the amount of—
(1) $60,000,000 to States that phase out the 
incineration of solid waste within 1 year after the 
enactment of this Act; 
(2) $40,000,000 to States that phase out the 
incineration of solid waste within 2 years after the 
enactment of this Act; and 
(3) $25,000,000 to States that phase out the 
incineration of solid waste within 3 years after the 
enactment of this Act. 
(b) INTERSTATE WASTE AUTHORITY.—On the date 
that a State phases out the incineration of solid waste,
such State shall have the authority to limit or restrict the 
importation of solid waste in such State.
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