I
104TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 2443
To amend subtitle D of the Solid Waste Disposal Act, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
SEPTEMBER 29, 1995
Mr. PAXON (for himself, Mr. FRISA, Mr. MANTON, Mr. TOWNS, Mr. SOLO-
MON, Mr. HOUGHTON, Mrs. KELLY, Mr. BOEHLERT, Mr. KING, Mr.
ACKERMAN, Mr. SCHUMER, Mr. ENGEL, Mrs. MALONEY, Mr. PALLONE,
Mr. LAZIO of New York, Ms. MOLINARI, Mr. MCHUGH, Mr. SERRANO,
Mr. HASTERT, Mr. WALSH, and Mrs. ROUKEMA) introduced the following
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Commerce
A BILL
To amend subtitle D of the Solid Waste Disposal Act, 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. INTERSTATE TRANSPORTATION OF MUNICI-
PAL SOLID WASTE.
(a) AMENDMENT.—Subtitle D of the Solid Waste
Disposal Act (42 U.S.C. 6941 et seq.) is amended by add-
ing at the end the following new section:
‘‘SEC. 4011. INTERSTATE TRANSPORTATION OF MUNICIPAL
SOLID WASTE.
‘‘(a) AUTHORITY TO RESTRICT OUT-OF-STATE MU-
NICIPAL SOLID WASTE.—(1) Except as provided in para-
graph (4), beginning January 1, 1996, if requested in
writing by an affected local government, a State may pro-
hibit the disposal of out-of-State municipal solid waste in
any landfill or incinerator that is not covered by the excep-
tions provided in subsection (b) and that is subject to the
jurisdiction of the State and the affected local government.
‘‘(2) Except as provided in paragraph (4), imme-
diately upon the date of publication of the list required
in paragraph (6)(C) and notwithstanding the absence of
a request in writing by the affected local government, a
State, in accordance with paragraph (5), may limit the
quantity of out-of-State municipal solid waste received for
disposal at each landfill or incinerator covered by the ex-
ceptions provided in subsection (b) that is subject to the
jurisdiction of the State, to an annual amount equal to
or greater than the quantity of out-of-State municipal
solid waste received for disposal at such landfill or inciner-
ator during calendar year 1993.
‘‘(3)(A) Except as provided in paragraph (4), any
State that imported more than 750,000 tons of out-of-
State municipal solid waste in 1993 may establish a limit
under this paragraph on the amount of out-of-State mu-
nicipal solid waste received for disposal at landfills and
incinerators that are not covered by host community
agreements in the importing State as follows:
‘‘(i) In calendar year 1997, 95 percent of the
amount exported to the State in calendar year 1993.
‘‘(ii) In calendar years 1998 through 2003, 95
percent of the amount exported to the State in the
previous year.
‘‘(iii) In calendar year 2004, and each succeed-
ing year, the limit shall be 65 percent of the amount
exported in 1993.
‘‘(iv) No exporting State shall be required
under this subparagraph to reduce its exports to any
importing State below the proportionate amount es-
tablished herein.
‘‘(B) No State may export to landfills or incinerators
in any 1 State that are not covered by host community
agreements or permits authorizing receipt of out-of-State
municipal solid waste more than the following net amounts
of municipal solid waste:
‘‘(i) In calendar year 1996, the greater of
1,700,000 tons or 95 percent of the net amount ex-
ported to the State in calendar year 1993.
‘‘(ii) In calendar year 1997, the greater of
1,500,000 tons or 95 percent of the net amount ex-
ported to the State in calendar year 1996.
‘‘(iii) In calendar year 1998, the greater of
1,400,000 tons or 95 percent of the net amount ex-
ported to the State in calendar year 1997.
‘‘(iv) In calendar year 1999, the greater of
1,300,000 tons or 95 percent of the net amount ex-
ported to the State in calendar year 1998.
‘‘(v) In calendar year 2000, the greater of
1,200,000 tons or 95 percent of the net amount ex-
ported to the State in calendar year 1999.
‘‘(vi) In calendar year 2001, 1,100,000 tons.
‘‘(vii) In calendar year 2002 or any calendar
year thereafter, 1,000,000 tons.
For purposes of this clause, the term ‘net amount’ means,
for any exporting State in any calendar year, the amount
by which the total amount of municipal solid waste ex-
ported by that State in the calendar year to an importing
State for disposal in landfills or incinerators in the import-
ing State exceeds the total amount of municipal solid
waste exported in the same calendar year by the importing
State to the exporting State for disposal in landfills or
incinerators in the exporting State.
‘‘(C) The authority provided by subparagraphs (A)
and (B) shall apply for as long as a State exceeds the
permissible levels as determined by the Administrator
under paragraph (6)(C).
‘‘(D) An importing State may take action to restrict
levels of imports to reflect the appropriate level of out-
of-State municipal solid waste imports if—
‘‘(i) the importing State has notified the Gov-
ernor of the exporting State and the Administrator,
12 months prior to taking any such action, of the
importing State’s intention to impose the require-
ments of this section;
‘‘(ii) the Governor of the importing State has
notified the Governor of the exporting State and the
Administrator of the violation by the exporting State
of this section at least 90 days prior to taking any
such action; and
‘‘(iii) the restrictions imposed by the importing
State are uniform at all facilities and the importing
State may only apply subparagraph (A) or (B) but
not both.
‘‘(4)(A) A State may not exercise the authority grant-
ed under this section if such action would result in the
violation of, or would otherwise be inconsistent with, the
terms of a host community agreement or a permit issued
from the State to receive out-of-State municipal solid
waste.
‘‘(B) A limit or prohibition under this section shall
be treated as conflicting and inconsistent with a permit
or host community agreement if—
‘‘(i) the permit or host community agreement
establishes a higher limit; or
‘‘(ii) the permit or host community agreement
does not establish any limit.
‘‘(C) Except as provided in paragraph (3), a State
may not exercise the authority granted under this section
in a manner that would require any owner or operator of
a landfill or incinerator covered by the exceptions provided
in subsection (b) to reduce the amount of out-of-State mu-
nicipal solid waste received from any State for disposal
at such landfill or incinerator to an annual quantity less
than the amount received from such State for disposal at
such landfill or incinerator during calendar year 1993.
‘‘(5) Any limitation imposed by a State under para-
graph (2) or (3)—
‘‘(A) shall be applicable throughout the State;
‘‘(B) shall not directly or indirectly discriminate
against any particular landfill or incinerator within
the State; and
‘‘(C) shall not directly or indirectly discriminate
against any shipments of out-of-State municipal
solid waste on the basis of place of origin and all
such limitations shall be applied to all States in vio-
lation of paragraph (3).
‘‘(6)(A) Within 90 days after enactment of this sec-
tion and on April 1 of each year thereafter the owner or
operator of each landfill or incinerator receiving out-of-
State municipal solid waste shall submit to the affected
local government and to the Governor of the State in
which the landfill or incinerator is located, information
specifying the amount and State of origin of out-of-State
municipal solid waste received for disposal during the pre-
ceding calendar year, and the amount of waste that was
received pursuant to host community agreements or per-
mits authorizing receipt of out-of-State municipal solid
waste. Within 120 days after enactment of this section
and on May 1 of each year thereafter each State shall
publish and make available to the Administrator, the Gov-
ernor of the State of origin and the public, a report con-
taining information on the amount of out-of-State munici-
pal solid waste received for disposal in the State during
the preceding calendar year.
‘‘(B) Each submission referred to in this section shall
be such as would result in criminal penalties in case of
false or misleading information. Such information shall in-
clude the date and amount of waste received, the State
of origin, and the type of out-of-State municipal solid
waste. States making submissions referred to in this sec-
tion to the Administrator shall notice these submissions
for public review and comment at the State level before
submitting them to the Administrator.
‘‘(C) The Administrator shall publish a list of import-
ing States and the out-of-State municipal solid waste re-
ceived from each State at landfills or incinerators not cov-
ered by host community agreements or permits authoriz-
ing receipt of out-of-State municipal solid waste. The list
for any calendar year shall be published by June 1 of the
following calendar year.
‘‘(D) Nothing in this subsection shall be construed
to preempt any State requirement that requires more fre-
quent reporting of information.
‘‘(E) For purposes of developing the list required in
this section, the Administrator shall be responsible for col-
lating and publishing only that information provided to
the Administrator by States pursuant to this section. The
Administrator shall not be required to gather additional
data over and above that provided by the States pursuant
to this section, nor to verify data provided by the States
pursuant to this section, nor to arbitrate or otherwise en-
violations, and corrective measures taken as a result
of the proceedings.
‘‘(H) Any information that is required by State
or Federal law to be provided with respect to compli-
ance by the owner or operator with the State solid
waste management plan.
‘‘(b) EXCEPTIONS
TO AUTHORITY TO PROHIBIT
OUT-OF-STATE MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE.—(1) The au-
thority to prohibit the disposal of out-of-State municipal
solid waste provided under subsection (a)(1) shall not
apply to landfills and incinerators in operation on the date
of enactment of this section that—
‘‘(A) received during calendar year 1993 docu-
mented shipments of out-of-State municipal solid
waste; and
‘‘(B)(i) in the case of landfills, are in compli-
ance with all applicable Federal and State laws and
regulations relating to operation, design and location
standards, leachate collection, ground water monitor-
ing, and financial assurance for closure and post-clo-
sure and corrective action; or
‘‘(ii) in the case of incinerators, are in compli-
ance with the applicable requirements of section 129
of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7429) and applica-
ble State laws and regulations relating to facility de-
sign and operations.
‘‘(2) A State may not prohibit the disposal of out-
of-State municipal solid waste pursuant to subsection
(a)(1) at facilities described in this subsection that are not
in compliance with applicable Federal and State laws and
regulations unless disposal of municipal solid waste gen-
erated within the State at such facilities is also prohibited.
‘‘(c) ADDITIONAL AUTHORITY TO LIMIT OUT-OF-
STATE MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE.—(1) In any case in
which an affected local government is considering entering
into a host community agreement and the disposal or in-
cineration of out-of-State municipal solid waste under
such agreement would preclude the use of municipal solid
waste management capacity described in paragraph (2),
the State in which the affected local government is located
may prohibit the execution of such host community agree-
ment with respect to that capacity.
‘‘(2) The municipal solid waste management capacity
referred to in paragraph (1) is that capacity—
‘‘(A) that is permitted under Federal or State
law;
‘‘(B) that is identified under the State plan;
and
‘‘(C) for which a legally binding commitment
between the owner or operator and another party
has been made for its use for disposal or inciner-
ation of municipal solid waste generated within the
region (identified under section 4006(a)) in which
the local government is located.
‘‘(d) SAVINGS CLAUSE.—Nothing in this section shall
be interpreted or construed—
‘‘(1) to have any effect on State law relating to
contracts;
‘‘(2) to affect the authority of any State or local
government to protect public health and the environ-
ment through laws, regulations, and permits, includ-
ing the authority to limit the total amount of munic-
ipal solid waste that landfill or incinerator owners or
operators within the jurisdiction of a State may ac-
cept during a prescribed period: Provided That such
limitations do not discriminate between in-State and
out-of-State municipal solid waste, except to the ex-
tent authorized by this section; or
‘‘(3) to authorize, require, result in the violation
or failure of, or mandate the renegotiation of, a
written, legally binding contract entered into before
the enactment of this section.
‘‘(e) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section:
‘‘(1)(A) The term ‘affected local government’,
used with respect to a landfill or incinerator,
means—
‘‘(i) the public body created by State law
with responsibility to plan for municipal solid
waste management, a majority of the members
of which are elected officials, for the area in
which the facility is located or proposed to be
located; or
‘‘(ii) the elected officials of the city, town,
township, borough, county, or parish exercising
primary responsibility over municipal solid
waste management, or the land or the use of
land in the jurisdiction in which the facility is
located or is proposed to be located.
‘‘(B)(i) Within 90 days after the date of enact-
ment of this section, a Governor may designate and
publish notice of which entity listed in clause (i) or
(ii) of subparagraph (A) shall serve as the affected
local government for actions taken under this section
and after publication of such notice.
‘‘(ii) If a Governor fails to make and publish
notice of such a designation, the affected local gov-
ernment shall be the elected officials of the city,
town, township, borough, county, parish, or other
public body created pursuant to State law with pri-
mary jurisdiction over the land or the use of land
on which the facility is located or is proposed to be
located.
‘‘(C) For purposes of host community agree-
ments entered into before the date of publication of
the notice, the term means either a public body de-
scribed in subparagraph (A)(i) or the elected offi-
cials of any of the public bodies described in sub-
paragraph (A)(ii).
‘‘(2) The term ‘host community agreement’
means a written, legally binding document or docu-
ments executed by duly authorized officials of an af-
fected local government and an owner or operator of
a landfill or incinerator and that specifically author-
izes a landfill or incinerator to receive municipal
solid waste generated out-of-State, but does not in-
clude any agreement to pay differential host commu-
nity fees for receipt of waste unless additional spe-
cific authorization to receive out-of-State municipal
solid waste is also included. In the case of an agree-
ment entered into prior to December 31, 1987, pro-
visions for the payment of a fee by the owner or op-
erator for disposal by any State or out-of-State en-
tity shall be treated as a specific authorization to
import waste from outside the State.
‘‘(3) The terms ‘specifically authorized’ ‘specific
authorization’ and ‘specifically authorizes’ refer to
an explicit authorization, contained in a host com-
munity agreement or permit, to import waste from
outside the State. Such authorization may include a
reference to a fixed radius surrounding the landfill
or incinerator that includes an area outside the
State or a reference to any place of origin, reference
to specific places outside the State, or use of such
phrases as ‘regardless of origin’ or ‘outside the
State’. The language for such authorization may
vary as long as it reasonably evidences the approval
or consent of the affected local government or State
for receipt of municipal solid waste from sources
outside the State.
‘‘(4) The term ‘out-of-State municipal solid
waste’ means, with respect to any State, municipal
solid waste generated outside of the State. Unless
the President determines it is inconsistent with the
North American Free Trade Agreement and the
General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, the term
shall include municipal solid waste generated outside
of the United States. Notwithstanding any other
provision of law, generators of municipal solid waste
outside the United States shall possess no greater
right of access to disposal facilities in a State than
United States generators of municipal solid waste
outside of that State.
‘‘(4) The term ‘municipal solid waste’ means
refuse (and refuse-derived fuel) generated by the
general public or from a residential, commercial, in-
stitutional, or industrial source (or any combination
thereof), consisting of paper, wood, yard wastes,
plastics, leather, rubber, or other combustible or
noncombustible materials such as metal or glass (or
any combination thereof). The term ‘municipal solid
waste’ does not include—
‘‘(A) any solid waste identified or listed as
a hazardous waste under section 3001;
‘‘(B) any solid waste, including contami-
nated soil and debris, resulting from a response
action taken under section 104 or 106 of the
Comprehensive Environmental Response, Com-
pensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C.
9604 or 9606) or a corrective action taken
under this Act;
‘‘(C) any metal, pipe, glass, plastic, paper,
textile, or other material that has been sepa-
rated or diverted from municipal solid waste (as
otherwise defined in this paragraph) and has
been transported into a State for the purpose of
recycling or reclamation;
‘‘(D) any solid waste that is—
‘‘(i) generated by an industrial facil-
ity; and
‘‘(ii) transported for the purpose of
treatment, storage, or disposal to a facility
that is owned or operated by the generator
of the waste, or is located on property
owned by the generator of the waste, or is
located on property owned by a company in
which the generator of the waste has an
ownership interest;
‘‘(E) any solid waste generated incident to
the provision of service in interstate, intrastate,
foreign, or overseas air transportation;
‘‘(F) any industrial waste that is not iden-
tical to municipal solid waste (as otherwise de-
fined in this paragraph) with respect to the
physical and chemical state of the industrial
waste, and composition;
‘‘(G) any construction and demolition de-
bris from any source;
‘‘(H) any sewage sludge and residuals from
any sewage treatment plant; or
‘‘(I) any combustion ash generated by re-
source recovery facilities or municipal inciner-
ators, or waste from manufacturing or process-
ing (including pollution control) operations not
essentially the same as waste normally gen-
erated by households; or
‘‘(J) any medical waste that is segregated
from or not mixed with municipal solid waste
(as otherwise defined in this paragraph); or
‘‘(K) any material or product returned
from a dispenser or distributor to the manufac-
turer for credit, evaluation, or possible reuse.
‘‘(5) The term ‘compliance’ means a pattern or
practice of adhering to and satisfying standards and
requirements promulgated by the Federal or a State
government for the purpose of preventing significant
harm to human health and the environment. Actions
undertaken in accordance with compliance schedules
for remediation established by Federal or State en-
forcement authorities shall be considered compliance
for purposes of this section.
‘‘(f) IMPLEMENTATION
AND ENFORCEMENT.—Any
State may adopt such laws and regulations, not inconsist-
ent with this section, as are necessary to implement and
enforce this section, including provisions for penalties.
‘‘(g) SUNSET.—The provisions of this section shall
cease to apply on the date 10 years after the enactment
of this section.’’.
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS AMENDMENT.—The table
of contents in section 1001 of the Solid Waste Disposal
Act (42 U.S.C. prec. 6901) is amended by adding at the
end of the items relating to subtitle D the following new
item:
‘‘Sec. 4011. Interstate transportation of municipal solid waste.’’.
Æ
HR 2443 IH——2
HR 2443 IH——3