Date: 1983-10-06
Speaker: PHILIP M. CRANE (republican)
Chamber: H

Mr. Chairman. In recent years. Americans have become Increasingly frustrated and angered by the improper disposal of hazardous wastes. Each new media horror story brings court suits. protests. and calls for restrictive legislation. While these news accounts have been very effective in arousing public Interest and concern. they have not provided Americans with the Information they need to find practical solutions to our hazardous waste disposal problems. Without that Information. we may find ourselves saddled with new laws and regulations that will not protect Americans from hazardous wastes and that could wreck our economy. The Federal bureaucracy defines hazardous waste as discarded material that may pose a substantial threat or potential hazard to human health or the environment when Improperly handled. These wastes maybe toxic. reactive. combustible. corrosive. or Infectious. and they vary widely in the degree to which they are dangerous tb our health. In fact. almost every small business. school. or hospital In the United States produces wastes that can be classified as hazardousrangIng from service station rags to used hypodermics or bandages. However. the problem associated with the disposal of truly dangerous materials has grown significantly In recent years. Old. leaky landfills. illegal dumping. and accidental spills have created a number of severe environmental problem areas around the country. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency now estimates that there are at least 14.000 sites nationwide that can be la.beled as "potentially dangerous." These sites pose fire hazards. threaten ground water resources. or emit noxious fumes. I believe that a healthy environment Is essential to the present and future wellbeing of our people. and to sustainable national growth. Unfortunately. I do not believe that the Federal regulatory process is capable of dealing with the threat posed by Inadequate h1azardous waste disposal. All too often. the Federal regulation of a problem is counterproductivecausing more. harm than It prevents. This Is especially true In the case of hazardous waste regulation. Since 1976. the primary Federal law governing the disposal of hazardous wastes has been the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). The EPA regulations needed to implement this extraordinarily complicated law were not put in place until May 1980. Now. in 1983. the Congress Is considering H.R. 2867. a bill intended to reauthorize and amend RCRA. Before It was amended on the House floor. H.R. 2867 would have forced hundreds of thousands of small businesses to comply with EPA hazardous waste regulationsat an average cost of $3.000 each year. As it stands now. the bill delays the implementation of new regulations for a few months and might reduce the costs to small business. The rest of H.R 2867 Is more a regulatory blueprint than It is a legislative document. H.R. 2867 is a bad bill and it will make worse law. It is a bill entangled in the technical details of hazardous waste regulationit Is not a bill that would set clear. effective standards to protect Americans from those wastes. The hazardous waste problem is too large and too complex for a comparative handful of Federal regulators to handle. Congress and the EPA have failed to develop an effective. nationwide waste disposal control program. Instead. we have put in a place an enormously complicated. costly. and Inefficient bundle of redtape. A Federal hazardous waste control program cannot be effective. Hazardous waste problems vary from State to State and region to region. The industries in Illinois are different from those in Maine. and the hazardous wastes they produce are not the same. At the same time. air. soil. and water conditions vary dramatically from area to area. These environmental conditions play an important role in determining which technologies can be used safely to dispose of hazardous wastes. Clearly. the responsibility for hazardous waste regulation must be placed where It belongsat the State and local level. Current Federal waste disposal regulations require business to use certain. approved technologies. These technologles are often Ineffective and costly. They cost jobs without solving problems. State and local laws that set clear standards for environmental quality will encourage the development of realistic. Innovative. and costeffective waste disposal technologies. The case for decentralizing hazardous waste regulation is clear and compelling. State and local control will help Insure a cleaner environment and a healthy. growing economy. While the laws governing hazardous waste disposal and treatment should set clear standards for environmental quality. they should also be administered at the lowest possible level of government. Citizens ought to be able to take their complaints to a local officialthey should not be compelled to wander through the bureaucratic mess in Washington. D.C. Then. if companies or individuals break the law. they can Justly be subjected to the harshest possible penalties for endangering peoples lives and property. If the responsibility for hazardous waste regulations is clearly defined. State agencies and the Federal Government can no longer pass the buck back and forthas they have at the Antioch landfill in my own district. Instead of hiding behind meaningless questions of Jurisdiction. they will have to buckle down and work to solve the very real hazardous waste problems that plague our Nation. Every American desires a clean and healthy environment. but that goal cannot be met by a cumbersome and costly Federal hazardous waste program. As we look for solutions to this problem. Congress must remember that our aim should be to clean up waste. not to create a hazardous waste bureaucracy. We must protect the environment. but in doing so. we must not destroy the American economy. Returning waste regulation to State and local governments would be a giant step in the right direction.*