‘‘(9) The term ‘transit country’ means any
country through which hazardous or additional
waste is transported during the process of importing
or exporting such waste.
‘‘(10) The terms ‘export’ and ‘import’ do not
include—
‘‘(A) any transport for the purpose of dis-
posal or disposal of hazardous or additional
waste pursuant to or in compliance with a per-
mit issued under the Marine Protection, Re-
search, and Sanctuaries Act;
‘‘(B) any discharge of hazardous or addi-
tional waste subject to regulation or standard
under the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships;
and
‘‘(C) any transboundary movement of haz-
ardous or additional waste generated exclu-
sively—
‘‘(i) by United States Government ac-
tivities or facilities located abroad, or
‘‘(ii) on board United States sovereign
immune vessels or State aircraft,
into an area under the national jurisdiction of
the United States for further use, recycling, or
disposal.
‘‘SEC. 12002. PROHIBITION OF EXPORTS AND IMPORTS OF
HAZARDOUS AND ADDITIONAL WASTE.
‘‘(a) PROHIBITION.—Except as provided in section
12003, it shall be unlawful for any person to export or
import any hazardous or additional waste.
‘‘(b) EXEMPT WASTE.—(1) The import of used tire
casings for retreading shall not be subject to the require-
ments of this subtitle. The following wastes, when ex-
ported or imported for the purpose of incorporation into
new products with recycled content shall not be subject
to the requirements of this subtitle, except for the require-
ments set out in sections 12008, 12009, and 120010:
‘‘(A) Scrap metal (not including insulated wire),
waste paper, scrap textiles, waste glass, and waste
plastic, when separate from other solid waste; and
‘‘(B) Any other category of additional waste,
when separate from other solid waste, if the Admin-
istrator, after notice and comment, determines that
there is no evidence that exempting such category of
additional waste would have significant adverse ef-
fects on human health and the environment.
‘‘(2) Any person may petition the Administrator for
a determination under paragraph (1)(B). Within 12
months of receipt of such a petition, the Administrator
shall publish in the Federal Register a decision to grant
or deny the petition.
‘‘(3) No hazardous waste listed or identified under
section 3001 shall be exempt under this subsection.
‘‘(c) OTHER EXEMPT MATERIALS.—The following
materials shall not be subject to the requirements of this
subtitle, except for the requirements set out in section
12008:
‘‘(1) Source, special nuclear, or byproduct ma-
terial as defined by the Atomic Energy Act of 1954;
and
‘‘(2) Spent nuclear fuel, as defined in the Nu-
clear Waste Policy Act of 1982.
‘‘SEC. 12003. EXCEPTIONS TO PROHIBITION.
‘‘(a) EXISTING
AGREEMENTS.—Section 12002(a)
shall not apply to exports or imports of hazardous or addi-
tional waste made to or from any country with which the
United States has entered into a bilateral, multilateral, or
regional agreement regarding waste export and import be-
tween the United States and the government of one or
more exporting or importing countries that is in effect on
the date of enactment of this subtitle, provided that, with-
in 6 months after the date of the promulgation of the reg-
ulations provided for under section 12007(a) or 24 months
after the date of enactment of this subtitle, whichever is
earlier, any such agreement is amended—
‘‘(1) to be made consistent with the provisions
of subsection (b); and
‘‘(2) in the case of hazardous wastes, to comply
with the provisions of section 3017 and any regula-
tions promulgated pursuant thereto.
‘‘(b) NEW AGREEMENTS.—Section 12002(a) shall
not apply to exports or imports of hazardous or additional
waste made pursuant to and in compliance with—
‘‘(1) a bilateral, multilateral, or regional agree-
ment regarding waste export or import that—
‘‘(A) the United States has entered into
with the government of one or more exporting
or importing countries or with a competent re-
gional economic integration organization after
the date of enactment of this subtitle;
‘‘(B) requires environmentally sound man-
agement of the hazardous or additional waste
and compliance with any laws applicable in the
jurisdiction in which the waste is managed; and
‘‘(C) provides for the importing country
and the United States to jointly conduct recip-
rocal inspections of waste treatment, storage
and disposal facilities for purposes of assessing
the capability of such facilities to manage haz-
ardous or additional waste in an environ-
mentally sound manner upon a reasonable belief
by either party that the receiving facility is not
handling exported waste in an environmentally
sound manner; and
‘‘(2) the provisions of section 12004 (for ex-
ports), section 12005 (for imports), and any regula-
tions promulgated to implement any agreements de-
scribed in this subtitle.
‘‘(c) REQUIREMENT TO HANDLE EXPORTED WASTE
IN AN ENVIRONMENTALLY SOUND MANNER.—In order to
comply with the requirement that exported waste be man-
aged in an environmentally sound manner, before any bi-
lateral, multilateral, or regional agreement made or
amended pursuant to this section shall become effective,
the Administrator shall make a finding that the party or
parties to the agreement or the political subdivision there-
of that is to receive a hazardous or additional waste ex-
ported from the United States has enacted and enforced,
and can reasonably be expected to maintain and enforce,
a regulatory program which, at a minimum—
‘‘(1) regulates the hazardous or additional
waste to be exported from the United States;
‘‘(2) requires the treatment, storage, or disposal
facility to be designed, constructed and operated to
limit the migration of hazardous constituents from
the waste to environmental media potentially im-
pacted by the facility under normal operating condi-
tions.
‘‘(3) establishes categories of waste prohibited
from disposal or requiring treatment prior to dis-
posal so as to reduce toxicity or mobility of hazard-
ous constituents in the waste and to limit the migra-
tion of hazardous constituents from the waste to en-
vironmental media potentially impacted by the facil-
ity under normal operating conditions;
‘‘(4) requires the treatment or disposal facility
receiving the waste to conduct monitoring to detect
releases of hazardous constituents from the waste
into environmental media potentially impacted by
the facility under normal operating conditions;
‘‘(5) imposes financial responsibility require-
ments for the closure and post-closure care of the
treatment or disposal facility receiving the waste;
‘‘(6) requires the treatment or disposal facility
receiving the waste, or officials or agents of the im-
porting country, to respond to substantial unauthor-
ized releases of hazardous constituents in the waste
that may pose a serious threat to human health or
the environment; and