I
104TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 24
To amend the Solid Waste Disposal Act to provide congressional authorization
for State control over transportation of municipal solid waste, and for
other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JANUARY 4, 1995
Mr. SMITH of New Jersey (for himself, Mrs. ROUKEMA, Mr. ZIMMER, Mr.
FRANKS of New Jersey, and Mr. MINGE) introduced the following bill;
which was referred to the Committee on Commerce
FEBRUARY 28, 1995
Additional Sponsors: Mr. SAXTON, Mr. TRAFICANT, Mr. MCHUGH, Mr. FOX
of Pennsylvania, Mr. FRELINGHUYSEN, Mr. HOLDEN, Mr. GILLMOR, Mr.
EHLERS, Mr. CAMP, Mrs. MYRICK, Mr. HOEKSTRA, Mr. ROGERS, and
Mr. PETERSON of Minnesota
A BILL
To amend the Solid Waste Disposal Act to provide congres-
sional authorization for State control over transportation
of municipal 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 ‘‘Community Solvency
Act of 1995’’.
SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL AUTHORIZATION OF STATE CON-
TROL 
OVER 
TRANSPORTATION, 
MANAGE-
MENT, AND DISPOSAL OF MUNICIPAL SOLID
WASTE.
Subtitle D of the Solid Waste Disposal Act (42
U.S.C. 6941 et seq.) is amended by adding after section
4010 the following new section:
‘‘SEC. 4011. CONGRESSIONAL AUTHORIZATION OF STATE
CONTROL OVER TRANSPORTATION, MANAGE-
MENT, AND DISPOSAL OF MUNICIPAL SOLID
WASTE.
‘‘(a) AUTHORITY.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each State and each quali-
fied political subdivision may, in accordance with
this section—
‘‘(A)(i) exercise flow control authority for
municipal solid waste, incinerator ash from a
solid waste incineration unit, construction de-
bris, or demolition debris generated within the
boundaries of the State or qualified political
subdivision if, before May 15, 1994, the State
or qualified political subdivision—
‘‘(I) adopted a law, ordinance, regula-
tion, solid waste management plan, or le-
gally binding provision that contains flow
control authority and, pursuant to such
authority, directs such solid waste, ash, or
debris to a proposed or existing waste
management facility designated before May
15, 1994; or
‘‘(II) adopted a law, ordinance, regu-
lation, solid waste management plan, or le-
gally binding provision that identifies the
use of one or more waste management
methods that will be necessary for the
transportation, management, or disposal of
municipal solid waste generated within
such boundaries, and committed to the
designation of one or more waste manage-
ment facilities for such method or meth-
ods;
‘‘(ii) after the effective date of this section,
in the case of a State or qualified political sub-
division that adopted such a law, ordinance,
regulation, plan, or legally binding provision
that meets the requirements of subclause (I) or
(II) of clause (i), exercise flow control authority
over such solid waste from any existing or fu-
ture waste management facility to any other ex-
isting or future waste management facility; and
‘‘(iii) after the effective date of this sec-
tion, in the case of a State or qualified political
subdivision that adopted such a law, ordinance,
regulation, plan, or legally binding provision
that meets the requirements of subclause (I) of
clause (i), exercise flow control authority over
such solid waste, ash, or debris from any exist-
ing waste management facility to any other ex-
isting or proposed waste management facility,
and may do so without regard to subsection
(b)(2); and
‘‘(B) exercise flow control authority for
voluntarily relinquished recyclable materials
generated within the boundaries of the State or
qualified political subdivision.
‘‘(2) 
REASONABLE
REGULATION
OF
COM-
MERCE.—
‘‘(A) A law, ordinance, regulation, solid
waste management plan, or legally binding pro-
vision of a State or qualified political subdivi-
sion, described in paragraph (1), that imple-
ments or exercises flow control authority in
compliance with this section shall be considered
to be a reasonable regulation of commerce and
shall not be considered to be an undue burden
on or otherwise as impairing, restraining, or
discriminating against interstate commerce.
‘‘(B) A contract or franchise agreement
entered into by a State or political subdivision
to provide the exclusive or nonexclusive author-
ity for the collection, transportation, or disposal
of municipal solid waste, and not otherwise in-
volving the exercise of flow control authority de-
scribed in paragraph (1), shall be considered to
be a reasonable regulation of commerce and
shall not be considered to be an undue burden
on or otherwise as impairing, restraining, or
discriminating against interstate commerce.
‘‘(b) LIMITATIONS.—
‘‘(1) LIMITATION
OF
AUTHORITY
REGARDING
RECYCLABLE MATERIALS.—A State or qualified po-
litical subdivision may exercise the authority de-
scribed in subsection (a)(1)(B) with respect to recy-
clable materials only if—
‘‘(A) the generator or owner of the mate-
rials voluntarily made the materials available to
the State or qualified political subdivision, or
the designee of the State or qualified political
subdivision, and relinquished any rights to, or
ownership of, such materials; and
‘‘(B) the State or qualified political sub-
division, or the designee of the State or quali-
fied political subdivision, assumes such rights
to, or ownership of, such materials.
‘‘(2) LIMITATION
OF
AUTHORITY
REGARDING
SOLID WASTE OR RECYCLABLE MATERIALS.—
‘‘(A) A State or qualified political subdivi-
sion may exercise the authority described in
subparagraph (A) or (B) of subsection (a)(1)
only if the State or qualified political subdivi-
sion establishes a program to separate, or divert
at the point of generation, recyclable materials
from municipal solid waste, for purposes of re-
cycling, reclamation, or reuse, in accordance
with any Federal or State law or municipal
solid waste planning requirements in effect.
‘‘(B) A State or qualified political subdivi-
sion may exercise the authority described in
clause (i) or (ii) of subsection (a)(1)(A) only if,
after conducting one or more public hearings,
the State or qualified political subdivision—
‘‘(i) finds, on the basis of the record
developed at the hearing or hearings, that
it is necessary to exercise the authority de-
scribed in subparagraph (A) or (B) of sub-
section (a)(1) to meet the current solid
waste management needs (as of the date of
the record) or the anticipated solid waste
management needs of the State or quali-
fied political subdivision for the manage-
ment of municipal solid waste or recyclable
materials;
‘‘(ii) finds, on the basis of the record
developed at the hearing or hearings, in-
cluding an analysis of the ability of the pri-
vate sector and public bodies to provide
short and long term integrated solid waste
management services with and without
flow control authority, that the exercise of
flow control authority is necessary to pro-
vide such services in an economically effi-
cient and environmentally sound manner;
and
‘‘(iii) provides a written explanation of
the reasons for the findings described
clauses (i) and (ii), which may include a
finding of a preferred waste management
methodology or methodologies for provid-
ing such integrated solid waste manage-
ment services.
‘‘(C) With respect to each designated
waste management facility, the authority of
subsection (a) shall be effective until completion
of the schedule for payment of the capital costs
of the waste management facility concerned (as
in effect on May 15, 1994), or for the remain-
ing useful life of the original waste management
facility, whichever is longer. At the end of such
period, the authority of subsection (a) shall be
effective for any waste management facility for
which subparagraph (B) and subsection (c)
have been complied with by the State or quali-
fied political subdivision, except that no facility,
and no State or qualified political subdivision,
subject to subsection (a)(1)(A)(i)(I) or sub-
section (a)(1)(A)(ii) shall be required to comply
with subparagraph (B) for a period of 10 years
after the date of enactment of this section. Not-
withstanding the provisions of this paragraph,
compliance with subparagraph (B) shall not be
required where—
‘‘(i) a designated waste management
facility is required to retrofit or otherwise
make significant modifications to meet ap-
plicable environmental requirements or
safety requirements;
‘‘(ii) routine repair or scheduled re-
placements of existing equipment or com-
ponents of a designated waste management
facility is undertaken that does not add to
the capacity of the waste management fa-
cility; or
‘‘(iii) a designated waste management
facility expands on land legally or equitably
owned, or under option to purchase or
lease, by the owner or operator of such fa-
cility and the applicable permit includes
such land.
‘‘(D) Notwithstanding anything to the con-
trary in this section, paragraphs (2)(B) and
(2)(C) shall not apply to any State (or any of
its political subdivisions) that, on or before Jan-
uary 1, 1984, enacted regulations pursuant to
a State law that required or directed the trans-
portation, management, or disposal of solid
waste from residential, commercial, institutional
and industrial sources as defined by State law
to specific waste management facilities and ap-
plied those regulations to every political subdivi-
sion in the State.
‘‘(3) LIMITATION TO APPLIED AUTHORITIES.—
The authority described in subsection (a)(1)(A) shall
apply only to the specific classes or categories of
solid waste to which the authority described in sub-
section (a)(1)(A)(i)(I) was applied by the State or
qualified political subdivision before May 15, 1994,
and to the specific classes or categories of solid
waste for which the State or qualified political sub-
division committed to the designation of one or more
waste management facilities as described in sub-
section (a)(1)(A)(i)(II).
‘‘(4) EXPIRATION OF AUTHORITY.—The author-
ity granted under subsection (a)(1)(A)(i)(II) shall
expire if a State or qualified political subdivision has
not designated, by law, ordinance, regulation, solid
waste management plan, or other legally binding
provision, one or more proposed or existing waste
management facilities within 3 years after the date
of enactment of this section.
‘‘(5) LIMITATION
ON
REVENUE.—A State or
qualified political subdivision may exercise the au-
thority described in subsection (a) only if the State
or qualified political subdivision limits the use of any
of its revenues derived from the exercise of such au-
thority primarily to solid waste management serv-
ices.
‘‘(c) COMPETITIVE DESIGNATION PROCESS.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A State or qualified politi-
cal subdivision may exercise the authority described
in subsection (a) only if the State or qualified politi-
cal subdivision develops and implements a competi-
tive designation process, with respect to each waste
management facility or each facility for recyclable
materials. The process shall—
‘‘(A) ensure that the designation process is
based on, or is part of, a municipal solid waste
management plan that is adopted by the State
or qualified political subdivision and that is de-
signed to ensure long-term management capac-
ity for municipal solid waste or recyclable mate-
rials generated within the boundaries of the
State or qualified political subdivision;
‘‘(B) set forth the goals of the designation
process, including at a minimum—
‘‘(i) capacity assurance;
‘‘(ii) the establishment of provisions to
provide that protection of human health
and the environment will be achieved; and
‘‘(iii) any other goals determined to be
relevant by the State or qualified political
subdivision;
‘‘(C) identify and compare reasonable and
available alternatives, options, and costs for
designation of the facilities;
‘‘(D) provide for public participation and
comment;
‘‘(E) ensure that the designation of each
facility is accomplished through an open com-
petitive process during which the State or quali-
fied political subdivision—
‘‘(i) identifies in writing criteria to be
utilized for selection of the facilities, which
shall not discriminate unfairly against any
particular waste management facility or
any method of management, transportation
or disposal, and shall not establish quali-
fications for selection that can only be met
by public bodies;
‘‘(ii) provides a fair and equal oppor-
tunity for interested public persons and
private persons to offer their existing (as
of the date of the process) or proposed fa-
cilities for designation; and
that the laws and regulations satisfy the
requirements of paragraph (1);
‘‘(iii) provide interested persons an
opportunity to comment on the proposed
certification, for a period of time not less
than 60 days, after publication of the no-
tice; and
‘‘(iv) publish notice of the final certifi-
cation, together with an explanation of the
basis for the final certification, in a news-
paper of general circulation and provide
such additional notice of the final certifi-
cation as may be required by State law.
‘‘(C) APPEAL.—Within 120 days after
publication of the final certification under sub-
paragraph (B), any interested person may file
an appeal of the final certification in the United
States Circuit Court of Appeals for the Federal
judicial district of the State, for a judicial de-
termination that the certified laws and regula-
tions do not satisfy the requirements of para-
graph (1) or that the certification process did
not satisfy the procedural requirements of sub-
paragraph (B). The appeal shall set forth the
specific reasons for the appeal of the final cer-
tification.
‘‘(D) LIMITATION TO RECORD.—Any judi-
cial proceeding brought under subparagraph
(C) shall be limited to the administrative record
developed in connection with the procedures de-
scribed in subparagraph (B).
‘‘(E) COSTS OF LITIGATION.—In any judi-
cial proceeding brought under subparagraph
(C), the court shall award costs of litigation (in-
cluding reasonable attorney fees) to any prevail-
ing party whenever the court determines that
such award is appropriate.
‘‘(F) LIMITATION ON REVIEW OF CERTIFI-
CATIONS.—If no appeal is taken within 120
days after the publication of the final certifi-
cation, or if the final certification by the Gov-
ernor of any State is upheld by the United
States Circuit Court of Appeals and no party
seeks review by the Supreme Court (within ap-
plicable time requirements), the final certifi-
cation shall not be subject to judicial review.
‘‘(G) LIMITATION ON REVIEW OF DESIGNA-
TIONS.—Designations made after the final cer-
tification and pursuant to the certified laws and
regulations shall not be subject to judicial re-
view for failure to satisfy the requirements of
paragraph (1).
‘‘(d) OWNERSHIP OF RECYCLABLE MATERIALS.—
‘‘(1) 
PROHIBITION
ON
REQUIRED
TRANS-
FERS.—Nothing in this section shall authorize any
State or qualified political subdivision, or any des-
ignee of the State or qualified political subdivision,
to require any generator or owner of recyclable ma-
terials to transfer any recyclable materials to such
State or qualified political subdivision unless the
generator or owner of the recyclable materials volun-
tarily made the materials available to the State or
qualified political subdivision and relinquished any
rights to, or ownership of, such materials.
‘‘(2) OTHER TRANSACTIONS.—Nothing in this
section shall prohibit any person from selling, pur-
chasing, accepting, conveying, or transporting any
recyclable materials for purposes of transformation
or remanufacture into usable or marketable mate-
rials, unless a generator or owner voluntarily made
the materials available to the State or qualified po-
litical subdivision and relinquished any rights to, or
ownership of, such materials.
‘‘(e) RETAINED AUTHORITY.—Upon the request of
any generator of municipal solid waste affected by this
section, the State or political subdivision may authorize
the diversion of all or a portion of the solid wastes gen-
erated by the generator making such request to a solid
waste facility, other than the facility or facilities originally
designated by the political subdivision, where the purpose
of such request is to provide a higher level of protection
for human health and the environment and reduce poten-
tial future liability under Federal or State law of such gen-
erator for the management of such wastes. Requests shall
include information on the environmental suitability of the
proposed alternative treatment or disposal facility and
method, compared to that of the designated facility and
method. In making such a determination the State or po-
litical subdivision may consider the ability and willingness
of both the designated and alternative disposal facility or
facilities to indemnify the generator against any cause of
action under State or Federal environmental statutes and
against any cause of action for nuisance, personal injury,
or property loss under any State law.
‘‘(f) EXISTING LAWS AND CONTRACTS.—
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—To the extent consistent
with subsection (a), this section shall not supersede,
abrogate, or otherwise modify any of the following:
‘‘(A) Any contract or other agreement (in-
cluding any contract containing an obligation to
repay the outstanding indebtedness on any pro-
posed or existing waste management facility or
facility for recyclable materials) entered into be-
fore May 15, 1994, by a State or qualified po-
litical subdivision in which such State or quali-
fied political subdivision has designated a pro-
posed or existing waste management facility, or
facility for recyclable materials, for the trans-
portation, management or disposal of municipal
solid waste, incinerator ash from a solid waste
incineration unit, construction debris or demoli-
tion debris, or recyclable materials, pursuant to
a law, ordinance, regulation, solid waste man-
agement plan, or legally binding provision
adopted by such State or qualified political sub-
division before May 15, 1994, if, in the case of
a contract or agreement relating to recyclable
materials, the generator or owner of the mate-
rials, and the State or qualified political sub-
division, have met the appropriate conditions in
subsection (b)(1) with respect to the materials.
‘‘(B) Any other contract or agreement en-
tered into before May 15, 1994, for the trans-
portation, management or disposal of municipal
solid waste, incinerator ash from a solid waste
incineration unit, or construction debris or dem-
olition debris.
‘‘(C)(i) Any law, ordinance, regulation,
solid waste management plan, or legally binding
provision—
‘‘(I) that is adopted before May 15,
1994;
‘‘(II) that pertains to the transpor-
tation, management, or disposal of solid
waste generated within the boundaries of a
State or qualified political subdivision; and
‘‘(III) under which a State or quali-
fied political subdivision, prior to May 15,
1994, directed, limited, regulated, or pro-
hibited the transportation, management, or
disposal of municipal solid waste, or incin-
erator ash from, a solid waste incineration
unit, or construction debris or demolition
debris, generated within the boundaries;
if the law, ordinance, regulation, solid waste
management plan, or legally binding provision
is applied to the transportation of solid waste
described in subclause (III), to a proposed or
existing waste management facility designated
before May 15, 1994, or to the management or
disposal of such solid waste at such a facility,
under such law, ordinance, regulation, solid
waste management plan, or legally binding pro-
vision.
‘‘(ii) Any law, ordinance, regulation, solid
waste management plan, or legally binding pro-
vision—
‘‘(I) that is adopted before May 15,
1994; and
‘‘(II) that pertains to the transpor-
tation or management of recyclable mate-
rials generated within the boundaries of a
State or qualified political subdivision;
if the law, ordinance, regulation, solid waste
management plan, or legally binding provision
is applied to the transportation of recyclable
materials that are generated within the bound-
aries, and with respect to which the generator
or owner of the materials, and the State or
qualified political subdivision, have met the ap-
propriate conditions described in subsection
(b)(1), to a proposed or existing facility for re-
cyclable materials designated before May 15,
1994, or to the management of such materials,
under such law, ordinance, regulation, solid
waste management plan, or legally binding pro-
vision.
‘‘(2) CONTRACT INFORMATION.—A party to a
contract or other agreement that is described in sub-
paragraph (A) or (B) of paragraph (1) shall provide
a copy of the contract or agreement to the State or
qualified political subdivision on request. Any propri-
etary information contained in the contract or agree-
ment may be omitted in the copy, but the informa-
tion that appears in the copy shall include at least
the date that the contract or agreement was signed,
the volume of municipal solid waste or recyclable
materials covered by the contract or agreement with
respect to which the State or qualified political sub-
division could otherwise exercise authority under
subsection (a) or paragraph (1)(C), the source of the
waste or materials, the destination of the waste or
materials, the duration of the contract or agreement,
and the parties to the contract or agreement.
‘‘(3) EFFECT
ON
INTERSTATE
COMMERCE.—
Any contract or agreement described in subpara-
graph (A) or (B) of paragraph (1), and any law, or-
dinance, regulation, solid waste management plan,
‘‘(ii) any solid waste that is discarded
by a commercial, institutional, or industrial
source;
‘‘(iii) residue remaining after recycla-
ble materials have been separated or di-
verted from municipal solid waste de-
scribed in clause (i) or (ii);
‘‘(iv) any waste material or waste sub-
stance removed from a septic tank, septage
pit, or cesspool, other than from portable
toilets; and
‘‘(v) conditionally exempt small quan-
tity generator waste under section 3001(d),
if it is collected, processed or disposed with
other municipal solid waste as part of mu-
nicipal solid waste services.
‘‘(B) EXCLUSIONS.—The term ‘municipal
solid waste’ shall not include any of the follow-
ing:
‘‘(i) Hazardous waste required to be
managed in accordance with subtitle C
(other than waste described in subpara-
graph (A)(v)), solid waste containing a pol-
ychlorinated biphenyl regulated under the
Toxic Substances Control Act (15 U.S.C.
2601 et seq.), or medical waste listed in
section 11002.
‘‘(ii)(I) A recyclable material.
‘‘(II) A material or a product re-
turned from a dispenser or distributor to
the manufacturer or the agent of the man-
ufacturer for credit, evaluation, or reuse
unless such material or product is dis-
carded or abandoned for collection, dis-
posal or combustion.
‘‘(III) A material or product that is
an out-of-date or unmarketable material or
product, or is a material or product that
does not conform to specifications, and
that is returned to the manufacturer or the
agent of the manufacturer for credit, eval-
uation, or reuse unless such material or
product is discarded or abandoned for col-
lection, disposal or combustion.
‘‘(iii) Any solid waste (including con-
taminated soil and debris) resulting from a
response action taken under section 104 or
106 of the Comprehensive Environmental
Response, Compensation, and Liability Act
of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9604 or 9606) or a
corrective action taken under this Act.
‘‘(iv) (I) Industrial solid waste.
‘‘(II) Any solid waste that is gen-
erated by an industrial facility and trans-
ported for the purpose of containment,
storage, or disposal to a facility that is
owned or operated by the generator of the
waste, or a facility that is located on prop-
erty owned by the generator.
‘‘(6) QUALIFIED POLITICAL SUBDIVISION.—The
term ‘qualified political subdivision’ means a govern-
mental entity or political subdivision of a State, as
authorized by the State, to plan for, or determine
the methods to be utilized for, the collection, trans-
portation, disposal or other management of munici-
pal solid waste generated within the boundaries of
the area served by the governmental entity or politi-
cal subdivision.
‘‘(7) RECYCLABLE MATERIAL.—The term ‘recy-
clable material’ means any material (including any
metal, glass, plastic, textile, wood, paper, rubber, or
other material) that has been separated, or diverted
at the point of generation, from solid waste for the
purpose of recycling, reclamation, or reuse.
‘‘(8) SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT PLAN.—The
term ‘solid waste management plan’ means a plan
for 
the 
transportation, 
treatment, 
processing,
composting, combustion, disposal or other manage-
ment of municipal solid waste, adopted by a State
or qualified political subdivision pursuant to and
conforming with State law.
‘‘(9) WASTE
MANAGEMENT
FACILITY.—The
term ‘waste management facility’ means any facility
or facilities in which municipal solid waste, inciner-
ator ash from a solid waste incineration unit, or con-
struction debris or demolition debris is separated,
stored, transferred, treated, processed, combusted,
deposited or disposed.
‘‘(10) EXISTING WASTE MANAGEMENT FACIL-
ITY.—The term ‘existing waste management facility’
means a facility under construction or in operation
as of May 15, 1994.
‘‘(11) PROPOSED WASTE MANAGEMENT FACIL-
ITY.—The term ‘proposed waste management facil-
ity’ means a facility that has been specifically identi-
fied and designated, but that was not under con-
struction, as of May 15, 1994.
‘‘(12) FUTURE
WASTE
MANAGEMENT
FACIL-
ITY.—The term ‘future waste management facility’
means any other waste management facility.’’.
SEC. 3. 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 after the item relating to section 4010 the fol-
lowing new item:
‘‘Sec. 4011. Congressional authorization of State control over transportation,
management, and disposal of municipal solid waste.’’.
Æ
HR 24 SC——2