IB 
Union Calendar No. 130 
109TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2491 
[Report No. 109–235] 
To amend the Solid Waste Disposal Act to authorize States to restrict 
receipt of foreign municipal solid waste and implement the Agreement 
Concerning the Transboundary Movement of Hazardous Waste between 
the United States and Canada, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 19, 2005 
Mr. GILLMOR (for himself, Mr. ROGERS of Michigan, Mr. DINGELL, Mr. STU-
PAK, and Mr. UPTON) introduced the following bill; which was referred 
to the Committee on Energy and Commerce 
SEPTEMBER 27, 2005 
Additional sponsors: Mr. SCHWARZ of Michigan, Mr. LEVIN, Mr. HOEKSTRA, 
Mr. KILDEE, Mrs. MILLER of Michigan, Ms. KILPATRICK of Michigan, 
Mr. EHLERS, and Mr. CAMP 
SEPTEMBER 27, 2005 
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole 
House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed 
[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 
[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on Mayb 19, 2005] 
A BILL 
To amend the Solid Waste Disposal Act to authorize States 
to restrict receipt of foreign municipal solid waste and 
implement the Agreement Concerning the Transboundary
Movement of Hazardous Waste between the United 
States and Canada, 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 ‘‘International Solid 
Waste Importation and Management Act of 2005’’. 
SEC. 2. INTERNATIONAL TRANSPORTATION AND DISPOSAL 
OF MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle D of the Solid Waste Dis-
posal Act (42 U.S.C. 6941 et seq.) is amended by adding 
after section 4010 the following new section: 
‘‘SEC. 4011. INTERNATIONAL TRANSPORTATION AND DIS-
POSAL OF MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE. 
‘‘(a) STATE AUTHORITY TO ADDRESS IMPORTATION 
AND MANAGEMENT OF MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Until the date on which all 
final regulations issued by the Administrator to im-
plement and enforce the Agreement (including notice 
and consent provisions of the Agreement) become effec-
tive, a State may enact a law or laws or issue regula-
tions or orders imposing limitations on the receipt 
and disposal of foreign municipal solid waste within 
the State. Laws, regulations, and orders enacted or 
issued before that date may continue in effect accord-
ing to their terms after that date.
‘‘(2) EFFECT ON INTERSTATE AND FOREIGN COM-
MERCE.—No State action taken as authorized by this 
section shall be considered to impose an undue burden 
on interstate and foreign commerce or to otherwise 
impair, restrain, or discriminate against interstate 
and foreign commerce. 
‘‘(3) TRADE AND TREATY OBLIGATIONS.—Noth-
ing in this section affects, replaces, or amends prior 
law relating to the need for consistency with inter-
national trade obligations. 
‘‘(b) AUTHORITY OF ADMINISTRATOR.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Beginning immediately after 
the date of enactment of this section, the Adminis-
trator shall— 
‘‘(A) perform the functions of the Des-
ignated Authority of the United States described 
in the Agreement with respect to the importation 
and exportation of municipal solid waste under 
the Agreement; and 
‘‘(B) implement and enforce the notice and 
consent and other provisions of the Agreement. 
‘‘(2) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 24 months 
after the date of enactment of this section, the Admin-
istrator shall issue final regulations with respect to
the Administrator’s responsibilities under paragraph 
(1). 
‘‘(3) CONSENT TO IMPORTATION.—In considering 
whether to consent to the importation under article 
3(c) of the Agreement, the Administrator shall— 
‘‘(A) give substantial weight to the views of 
the State or States into which the municipal 
solid waste is to be imported, and consider the 
views of the local government with jurisdiction 
over the location where the waste is to be dis-
posed; 
‘‘(B) consider the impact of the importation 
on— 
‘‘(i) continued public support for and 
adherence to State and local recycling pro-
grams; 
‘‘(ii) landfill capacity as provided in 
comprehensive waste management plans; 
‘‘(iii) air emissions from increased ve-
hicular traffic; and 
‘‘(iv) road deterioration from increased 
vehicular traffic; and 
‘‘(C) consider the impact of the importation 
on homeland security, public health, and the en-
vironment.
‘‘(4) ACTIONS
IN
VIOLATION
OF
THE
AGREE-
MENT.—No person shall import, transport, or export 
municipal solid waste for final disposal or for incin-
eration in violation of the Agreement. 
‘‘(c) COMPLIANCE ORDERS.—(1) Whenever on the 
basis of any information the Administrator determines that 
any person has violated or is in violation of this section, 
the Administrator may issue an order assessing a civil pen-
alty for any past or current violation, requiring compliance 
immediately or within a specified time period, or both, or 
the Administrator may commence a civil action in the 
United States district court in the district in which the vio-
lation occurred for appropriate relief, including a tem-
porary or permanent injunction. 
‘‘(2) Any order issued pursuant to this subsection shall 
state with reasonable specificity the nature of the violation. 
Any penalty assessed in the order shall not exceed $25,000 
per day of noncompliance for each violation. In assessing 
such a penalty, the Administrator shall take into account 
the seriousness of the violation and any good faith efforts 
to comply with applicable requirements. 
‘‘(d) PUBLIC HEARING.—Any order issued under this 
section shall become final unless, not later than 30 days 
after the order is served, the person or persons named there-
in request a public hearing. Upon such request the Adminis-
trator shall promptly conduct a public hearing. In connec-
tion with any proceeding under this section the Adminis-
trator may issue subpoenas for the attendance and testi-
mony of witnesses and the production of relevant papers, 
books, and documents, and may promulgate rules for dis-
covery procedures. 
‘‘(e) VIOLATION OF COMPLIANCE ORDERS.—If a viola-
tor fails to take corrective action within the time specified 
in a compliance order, the Administrator may assess a civil 
penalty of not more than $25,000 for each day of continued 
noncompliance with the order. 
‘‘(f) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section: 
‘‘(1) 
AGREEMENT.—The 
term 
‘Agreement’ 
means— 
‘‘(A) 
the 
Agreement 
Concerning 
the 
Transboundary Movement of Hazardous Waste 
between the United States and Canada, signed at 
Ottawa on October 28, 1986 (TIAS 11099) and 
amended on November 25, 1992; and 
‘‘(B) any regulations promulgated and or-
ders issued to implement and enforce that Agree-
ment. 
‘‘(2) FOREIGN
MUNICIPAL
SOLID
WASTE.—The 
term ‘foreign municipal solid waste’ means municipal 
solid waste generated outside of the United States.
‘‘(3) MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE.— 
‘‘(A) WASTE
INCLUDED.—Except as pro-
vided in subparagraph (B), the term ‘municipal 
solid waste’ means— 
‘‘(i) all waste materials discarded for 
disposal by households, including single and 
multifamily residences, and hotels and mo-
tels; and 
‘‘(ii) all waste materials discarded for 
disposal that were generated by commercial, 
institutional, municipal, and industrial 
sources, to the extent such materials— 
‘‘(I) are essentially the same as 
materials described in clause (i); and 
‘‘(II) were collected and disposed 
of with other municipal solid waste de-
scribed in clause (i) or subclause (I) of 
this clause as part of normal munic-
ipal solid waste collection services, ex-
cept that this subclause does not apply 
to hazardous materials other than haz-
ardous materials that, pursuant to reg-
ulations issued under section 3001(d), 
are not subject to regulation under sub-
title C.
Examples of municipal solid waste include 
food and yard waste, paper, clothing, appli-
ances, consumer product packaging, dispos-
able diapers, office supplies, cosmetics, glass 
and metal food containers, and household 
hazardous waste. Such term shall include 
debris resulting from construction, remod-
eling, repair, or demolition of structures. 
‘‘(B) WASTE
NOT
INCLUDED.—The term 
‘municipal solid waste’ does not include any of 
the following: 
‘‘(i) Any solid waste identified or listed 
as a hazardous waste under section 3001, 
except for household hazardous waste. 
‘‘(ii) Any solid waste, including con-
taminated soil and debris, resulting from— 
‘‘(I) a response action taken under 
section 104 or 106 of the Comprehen-
sive Environmental Response, Com-
pensation, and Liability Act (42 
U.S.C. 9604 or 9606); 
‘‘(II) a response action taken 
under a State law with authorities 
comparable to the authorities of such 
section 104 or 106; or
‘‘(III) a corrective action taken 
under this Act. 
‘‘(iii) Recyclable materials that have 
been separated, at the source of the waste, 
from waste otherwise destined for disposal 
or that have been managed separately from 
waste destined for disposal. 
‘‘(iv) Scrap rubber to be used as a fuel 
source. 
‘‘(v) Materials and products returned 
from a dispenser or distributor to the man-
ufacturer or an agent of the manufacturer 
for credit, evaluation, and possible reuse. 
‘‘(vi) Any solid waste that is— 
‘‘(I) generated by an industrial 
facility; and 
‘‘(II) transported for the purpose 
of treatment, storage, or disposal to a 
facility or unit thereof that is owned or 
operated by the generator of the waste, 
located on property owned by the gen-
erator or a company with which the 
generator is affiliated, or the capacity 
of which is contractually dedicated ex-
clusively to a specific generator, so
long as the disposal area complies with 
local and State land use and zoning 
regulations applicable to the disposal 
site. 
‘‘(vii) Any medical waste that is seg-
regated from or not mixed with solid waste. 
‘‘(viii) Sewage sludge and residuals 
from any sewage treatment plant. 
‘‘(ix) Combustion ash generated by re-
source recovery facilities or municipal in-
cinerators, or waste from manufacturing or 
processing (including pollution control) op-
erations not essentially the same as waste 
normally generated by households.’’. 
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS AMENDMENT.—The table of 
contents of the Solid Waste Disposal Act (42 U.S.C. prec. 
6901) is amended by adding after the item relating to sec-
tion 4010 the following new item: 
‘‘Sec. 4011. International transportation and disposal of municipal solid waste.’’.
Union Calendar No. 130 
109TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 2491 
[Report No. 109–235] 
A BILL 
To amend the Solid Waste Disposal Act to author-
ize States to restrict receipt of foreign municipal 
solid waste and implement the Agreement Con-
cerning the Transboundary Movement of Haz-
ardous Waste between the United States and 
Canada, and for other purposes. 
SEPTEMBER 27, 2005 
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Com-
mittee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, 
and ordered to be printed