[Congressional Bills 103th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1267 Introduced in House (IH)]

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 Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. AUTHORITY TO GRANT STATE STATUS TO INDIAN 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 adding 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 defined in or established pursuant to the 
Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, recognized by the Secretary of the 
Interior and exercising governmental authority within Indian 
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 thereof ``not treated as a State 
under section 1009,''.
    (3) Paragraph (15) of such section is amended by inserting 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 subsection (b), the 
Administrator--
            ``(1) is authorized to treat Indian tribes as States under 
        this Act;
            ``(2) may delegate to such tribes primary enforcement 
        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 section, promulgate 
        final regulations that specify how Indian tribes shall be 
        treated as States for the purposes 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 property interest is subject to a trust 
                restriction on alienation, or are otherwise within 
                Indian country; and
                    ``(C) the Indian tribe is reasonably expected 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 treatment of 
        Indian tribes identically to States is inappropriate, 
        administratively infeasible, or otherwise inconsistent with the 
        purposes of this Act, the Administrator may include in the 
        regulations promulgated under this section means for the direct 
        implementation 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 
        responsibility may be assumed or maintained by a State. An 
        Indian tribe shall not be required to exercise criminal 
        jurisdiction for purposes of complying with the preceding 
        sentence.
    ``(c) Cooperative Agreements.--In order to ensure 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 approval 
of the Administrator, to jointly plan and administer the requirements 
of this Act.
    ``(d) Report.--(1) The Administrator, in cooperation with the 
Secretary and the Director of the Indian Health Service, shall submit 
to Congress a report containing the following:
            ``(A) Recommendations for addressing hazardous and solid 
        wastes and underground storage tanks within Indian country.
            ``(B) Methods by which the participation in and 
        administration of programs under this Act by Indian tribes can 
        be maximized.
            ``(C) The amount of Federal assistance that will be 
        required to carry out the purposes of this section.
            ``(D) A discussion of how the Administrator intends to 
        provide assistance to Indian tribes for the administration of 
        programs and projects under this Act.
    ``(2) The report required by paragraph (1) shall be submitted not 
later than 24 months after the date of the enactment of this section.
    ``(e) Tribal Hazardous Waste Site and Open Dump Inventory.--(1) The 
Administrator shall undertake a continuing program to establish an 
inventory of sites within Indian country at which hazardous waste has 
at any time been stored or disposed of. Such inventory shall contain 
the information required by section 3012 and shall include sites at 
Federal facilities within Indian country. The Administrator also shall 
establish an inventory of open dumps within Indian country at which 
solid waste has been disposed of at any time.
    ``(2) The requirements of paragraph (1) shall be carried 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 requirements 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.''.

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