I
103D CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 1267
To grant State status to Indian tribes for purposes of enforcement of the
Solid Waste Disposal Act.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MARCH 9, 1993
Mr. RICHARDSON introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Energy and Commerce
A BILL
To grant State status to Indian tribes for purposes of
enforcement of the Solid Waste Disposal Act.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. AUTHORITY TO GRANT STATE STATUS TO IN-
DIAN TRIBES FOR ENFORCEMENT OF SOLID
WASTE DISPOSAL ACT.
(a) DEFINITIONS.—(1) Section 1004 of the Solid
Waste Disposal Act (42 U.S.C. 6903) is amended by add-
ing at the end the following new paragraphs:
‘‘(42) The term ‘Indian country’ means—
‘‘(A) all land within the limits of any Indian
reservation under the jurisdiction of the United
States Government, notwithstanding the issuance of
any patent, and including rights-of-way running
through the reservation;
‘‘(B) all dependent Indian communities within
the borders of the United States whether within the
original or subsequently acquired territory thereof,
and whether within or without the limits of a State;
and
‘‘(C) all Indian allotments, the Indian titles to
which have not been extinguished, including rights-
of-way running through the same.
‘‘(43) The term ‘Indian tribe’ means any Indian
tribe, band, group, or community, including any Alaska
Native village, organization, or regional corporation as de-
fined in or established pursuant to the Alaska Native
Claims Settlement Act, recognized by the Secretary of the
Interior and exercising governmental authority within In-
dian country.’’.
(2) Paragraph (13) of such section is amended by
striking out ‘‘or authorized tribal organization or Alaska
Native village or organization,’’ and inserting in lieu there-
of ‘‘not treated as a State under section 1009,’’.
(3) Paragraph (15) of such section is amended by in-
serting after ‘‘State,’’ the following: ‘‘Indian tribe,’’.
(b) TREATMENT OF INDIAN TRIBES AS STATES.—
Subtitle A of the Solid Waste Disposal Act is amended
by adding at the end the following new section:
‘‘SEC. 1009. INDIAN TRIBES.
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the provisions of sub-
section (b), the Administrator—
‘‘(1) is authorized to treat Indian tribes as
States under this Act;
‘‘(2) may delegate to such tribes primary en-
forcement responsibility for programs and projects
under this Act; and
‘‘(3) may provide such tribes grant and contract
assistance to carry out functions provided by this
Act.
‘‘(b) EPA REGULATIONS.—
‘‘(1) The Administrator shall, not later than 18
months after the date of the enactment of this sec-
tion, promulgate final regulations that specify how
Indian tribes shall be treated as States for the pur-
poses of this Act. Such treatment shall be authorized
only if—
‘‘(A) the Indian tribe has a governing body
carrying out substantial governmental duties
and powers;
‘‘(B) the functions to be exercised by the
Indian tribe pertain to land and resources
which are held by the Indian tribe, held by the
United States in trust for the Indian tribe, held
by a member of the Indian tribe if such prop-
erty interest is subject to a trust restriction on
alienation, or are otherwise within Indian coun-
try; and
‘‘(C) the Indian tribe is reasonably ex-
pected to be capable, in the Administrator’s
judgment, of carrying out the functions to be
exercised in a manner consistent with the terms
and purposes of this Act and of all applicable
regulations.
‘‘(2) For any provision of this Act where treat-
ment of Indian tribes identically to States is inap-
propriate, administratively infeasible, or otherwise
inconsistent with the purposes of this Act, the Ad-
ministrator may include in the regulations promul-
gated under this section means for the direct imple-
mentation of such provision by the Environmental
Protection Agency in a manner that will achieve the
purpose of the provision. Nothing in this section
shall be construed to allow Indian tribes to assume
or maintain primary enforcement responsibility for
programs under this Act in a manner less protective
of human health and the environment than such re-
sponsibility may be assumed or maintained by a
State. An Indian tribe shall not be required to exer-
cise criminal jurisdiction for purposes of complying
with the preceding sentence.
‘‘(c) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS.—In order to en-
sure the consistent implementation of the requirements of
this Act, an Indian tribe and the State or States in which
the lands of such Indian tribe are located may enter into
a cooperative agreement, subject to the review and ap-
proval of the Administrator, to jointly plan and administer
the requirements of this Act.
‘‘(d) REPORT.—(1) The Administrator, in coopera-
tion with the Secretary and the Director of the Indian
Health Service, shall submit to Congress a report contain-
ing the following:
‘‘(A) Recommendations for addressing hazard-
ous and solid wastes and underground storage tanks
within Indian country.
‘‘(2) The requirements of paragraph (1) shall be car-
ried out not later than 24 months after the date of the
enactment of this section.
‘‘(f) UPGRADING OF TRIBAL OPEN DUMPS.—The
Administrator shall assist Indian tribes to upgrade open
dumps to upgrade such facilities to comply with the re-
quirements of this Act.’’.
(c) TECHNICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents
for subtitle A of the Solid Waste Disposal Act (contained
in section 1001 of such Act) is amended by adding at the
end the following new item:
‘‘Sec. 1009. Indian tribes.’’.
Æ