I
106TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 5589
To facilitate the cleanup of environmental degradation caused in the manufac-
ture of methamphetamine and to combat illegal drug use by imposing
new 
monetary 
fines 
on 
the 
manufacture 
and 
trafficking 
of
methamphetamines.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
OCTOBER 27, 2000
Mr. COX (for himself, Mr. RADANOVICH, Mrs. BONO, Mr. BILBRAY, Mr.
ROHRABACHER, Mr. GARY MILLER of California, and Mr. HUTCHINSON)
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on
Commerce
A BILL
To facilitate the cleanup of environmental degradation caused
in the manufacture of methamphetamine and to combat
illegal drug use by imposing new monetary fines on the
manufacture and trafficking of methamphetamines.
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 ‘‘Orphan Meth Lab
Cleanup Act’’.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds the following:
(1) Methamphetamine is not just a serious drug
problem; it’s also a serious environmental problem.
(2) On average, the manufacture of 1 pound of
meth creates 5 pounds of toxic wastes. Some of the
most toxic chemicals involved in, or crated by, the
manufacture of meth include benzene (a major com-
ponent of the banned substance DDT, and which is
highly flammable and poisonous), ether (highly un-
stable and explosive), hydriodic acid (extremely cor-
rosive, causing third-degree burns upon contact with
human flesh), and red phosphorous (when heated
during 
the 
meth-making 
process, 
turns 
into
phosphine gas, a nerve agent so potent that its use
is barred under the Chemical Weapons Convention).
(3) Meth production poses a significant hazard
to wilderness areas. For large-scale drug manufac-
turing facilities, meth producers commonly seek out
sites in remote or sparsely populated areas in order
to avoid detection—often desert, wilderness, or other
land that has been deliberately left alone because of
ecological value.
(4) Meth production poses a significant hazard
to the safety of the food supply. A considerable
amount of meth production takes place on fallow
farm land or adjacent to productive farm land, and
runs the risk of causing contamination of crops and
agricultural products.
(5) Meth production poses a significant public
health hazard. For smaller-scale ‘‘mom and pop’’
drug production efforts, meth will often be produced
in apartment buildings, motel rooms, and other resi-
dential areas—putting at risk the health of children,
senior citizens, and other vulnerable populations who
might live or work nearby.
(6) Cleanup of the environmental damage
caused by meth labs imposes direct costs on Federal
taxpayers. A number of meth lab sites have become
so polluted that the Environmental Protection Agen-
cy added them to the Superfund National Priorities
List.
(7) Cleanup of so-called ‘‘orphan’’ meth labs—
that is, those sites where the government can’t iden-
tify or find the persons who created the environ-
mental damage—is proving an especially significant
burden on taxpayers. This year in California alone,
local taxpayers will spend $10,000,000 to clean up
the environmental damage caused by meth produc-
tion at nearly 1,800 sites.
SEC. 3. PURPOSE.
The purpose of this Act is to relieve taxpayers from
the burdens associated with the cleanup and environ-
mental restoration of ‘‘orphan’’ meth lab sites by imposing
tough new monetary fines on meth manufacturers, dis-
tributors, and users.
SEC. 4. PENALTIES FOR METHAMPHETAMINE; ORPHAN
METHAMPHETAMINE 
LAB 
CLEANUP 
AC-
COUNT.
(a) AMENDMENT OF TOXIC SUBSTANCES CONTROL
ACT.—(1) Section 15 of the Toxic Substances Control Act
(15 U.S.C. 2601 and following) is amended by striking
‘‘or’’ at the end of paragraph (3), by striking the period
at the end of paragraph (4) and inserting ‘‘; or’’ and by
adding the following new paragraph at the end thereof:
‘‘(5) manufacture, distribute, or dispense or
possess with intent to manufacture, distribute, or
dispense 50 grams or more of methamphetamine, its
salts, isomers, or salts of its isomers or 500 grams
or more of a mixture or substance containing a de-
tectable amount of methamphetamine, its salts, iso-
mers, or salts of its isomers.’’
(2) Section 16 of such Act is amended by adding the
following at the end thereof:
‘‘(c) PENALTIES WITH RESPECT TO METHAMPHET-
AMINE; METHAMPHETAMINE LAB CLEANUP.—(1) Any
penalty imposed with respect to methamphetamine under
this Act shall be in addition to any civil or criminal penalty
imposed with respect to methamphetamine under any
other provision of law. All civil and criminal penalties im-
posed with respect to methamphetamine under this Act
shall be deposited in a separate account in the Treasury
(to be referred to as the ‘Orphan Meth Lab Cleanup Ac-
count’).
‘‘(2) All amounts deposited in the Orphan Meth Lab
Cleanup Account are authorized to be appropriated to the
Administrator for the purpose of making grants to local
governments to be used to reimburse local governments
for all or a portion of the expenses incurred by such local
governments for the remediation of facilities at which
methamphetamine was manufactured or processed and for
which no responsible party is available to provide such re-
imbursement. Any local government that has incurred an
expense referred to in this paragraph may submit an ap-
plication to the Administrator for reimbursement from the
Orphan Meth Lab Cleanup Account. The Administrator
shall make annual grants to local governments submitting
reimbursement requests under this section for any fiscal
year. The amount of grants received by a local government
in any fiscal year may not exceed the greater of—
‘‘(A) the costs incurred by such local govern-
ment during the immediately prior fiscal year for the
remediation of facilities at which methamphetamine
was manufactured or processed and for which no re-
sponsible party is available to provide reimburse-
ment; or
‘‘(B) the percentage of the total amount avail-
able in the account that is determined by dividing (i)
the costs referred to in subparagraph (A) by (ii) the
costs incurred by all local governments submitting
reimbursement requests for costs incurred during
the immediately prior fiscal year for the remediation
of facilities at which methamphetamine was manu-
factured or processed and for which no responsible
party is available to provide reimbursement.’’.
Æ