I
104TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 342
To amend the Solid Waste Disposal Act to provide congressional authorization
of State control over transportation of municipal solid waste, and for
other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JANUARY 4, 1995
Mr. PALLONE (for himself, Mr. TORRICELLI, Mr. PAYNE of New Jersey, Mr.
ANDREWS, and Mr. MENENDEZ) introduced the following bill; which was
referred to the Committee on Commerce
A BILL
To amend the Solid Waste Disposal Act to provide congres-
sional authorization of 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 title may be cited as the ‘‘Flow Control Act of
1995’’.
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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.) (as amended by section 102) is fur-
ther amended by adding after section 4011 the following
new section:
‘‘SEC. 4012. 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
HR 342 IH
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 an existing or future
waste management facility to any other existing
or future waste management facility; and
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‘‘(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
HR 342 IH
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
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‘‘(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-
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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 in
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.