[Congressional Bills 103th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4229 Introduced in House (IH)]

103d CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 4229

   To amend the Solid Waste Disposal Act to enable Indian tribes to 
 enforce provisions of the Act relating to leaking underground storage 
             tanks on Indian lands, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 14, 1994

 Mr. Richardson (for himself and Mr. Thomas of Wyoming) introduced the 
following bill; which was referred jointly to the Committees on Energy 
                    and Commerce and Ways and Means

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To amend the Solid Waste Disposal Act to enable Indian tribes to 
 enforce provisions of the Act relating to leaking underground storage 
             tanks on Indian lands, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. UNDERGROUND STORAGE TANKS IN INDIAN COUNTRY.

    (a) Definitions.--Section 9001 of the Solid Waste Disposal Act (42 
U.S.C. 6991) is amended by adding at the end the following new 
paragraphs:
            ``(9) 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 such allotments.
            ``(10) The term `Indian tribe' means any Indian tribe, 
        band, nation, pueblo, 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, which is recognized by the Secretary of the 
        Interior and exercising governmental authority within Indian 
        country.''.
    (b) Primary Enforcement Responsibilities of Indian Tribes.--
Subtitle I of the Solid Waste Disposal Act is amended by redesignating 
section 9010 as section 9011 and by inserting after section 9009 the 
following new section:

``SEC. 9010. INDIAN TRIBES.

    ``(a) General Authority.--Subject to the provisions of subsection 
(b), the Administrator--
            ``(1) may delegate to Indian tribes described in subsection 
        (b) primary enforcement responsibility for programs and 
        projects under this subtitle in Indian country;
            ``(2) may provide Indian tribes grant and contract 
        assistance to carry out functions under this subtitle in Indian 
        country; and
            ``(3) may enter into cooperative agreements with Indian 
        tribes in carrying out this section.
    ``(b) Conditions.--The Administrator may make a delegation under 
subsection (a)(1) to an Indian tribe only if--
            ``(1) the Indian tribe has a governing body carrying out 
        substantial governmental duties and powers;
            ``(2) the functions to be exercised by the Indian tribe 
        pertain to land and resources which are held by the Indian 
        tribe, held by 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
            ``(3) 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 subtitle and of all applicable 
        regulations.
    ``(c) EPA Regulations.--(1) The Administrator shall, not later than 
12 months after the date of the enactment of this section, promulgate 
final regulations that specify how Indian tribes may exercise primary 
enforcement responsibility under this subtitle.
    ``(2) For any provision of this subtitle where the exercise of 
primary enforcement responsibility by Indian tribes is inappropriate, 
administratively infeasible, or otherwise inconsistent with the 
purposes of this subtitle, 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 
subtitle 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.
    ``(d) Cost Share.--An Indian tribe shall not be required to pay any 
portion of the cost of corrective actions undertaken by either the 
Administrator or by the Indian tribe under a cooperative agreement if, 
in the judgment of the Administrator, such requirement would impose an 
undue burden on the Indian tribe or be inappropriate, administratively 
infeasible, or otherwise inconsistent with the purposes of this 
subtitle or the Federal trust responsibility to Indian tribes.
    ``(e) Cooperative Agreements.--In order to ensure the consistent 
implementation of the requirements of this subtitle, 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 subtitle in Indian country.
    ``(f) Study of Underground Storage Tanks Within Indian Country.--
(1) Not later than 12 months after the date of enactment of this 
section, the Administrator shall complete a study and inventory of all 
underground storage tanks located within Indian country. The study 
shall include--
            ``(A) an assessment of the ages, types (including methods 
        of manufacture, coatings, protection systems, the compatibility 
        of the construction materials and the installation methods) and 
        locations (including the climate of the locations) of such 
        tanks;
            ``(B) soil conditions, water tables, and the hydrogeology 
        of the tank locations;
            ``(C) the relationship between the factors specified in 
        subparagraphs (A) and (B) and the likelihood of releases from 
        underground storage tanks;
            ``(D) the effectiveness and costs of inventory systems, 
        tank testing, and leak detection systems; and
            ``(E) such other factors as the Administrator deems 
        appropriate.
    ``(2) Upon completion of the study required by paragraph (1), the 
Administrator, in cooperation with the Secretary of the Interior and 
the Director of the Indian Health Service, shall submit to Congress a 
report containing the findings of the study and recommendations for 
addressing underground storage tanks within Indian country.
    ``(g) Tribal Leaking Underground Storage Tank Trust Fund.--(1) The 
Administrator shall establish a Tribal Leaking Underground Storage Tank 
Trust Fund (hereafter in this subsection referred to as the `trust 
fund') and shall use such funds for payment of costs incurred for 
corrective action within Indian country under this subtitle.
    ``(2) The trust fund shall consist of amounts deposited pursuant to 
section 9508(c)(1)(B) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.
    ``(3) The Administrator may provide funds from the trust fund for 
the reasonable costs of an Indian tribe's actions under a cooperative 
agreement between the Administrator and such Indian tribe setting out 
the corrective actions and enforcement activities to be taken by the 
Indian tribe.
    ``(4) The Administrator shall allow an Indian tribe to recover from 
the trust fund its reasonable costs incurred before the enactment of 
this section for corrective and enforcement actions related to releases 
into the environment from underground storage tanks located within 
Indian country under its jurisdiction if--
            ``(A) the Indian tribe notified the Environmental 
        Protection Agency and Bureau of Indian Affairs of the release 
        from an underground storage tank; and
            ``(B) the Environmental Protection Agency and the Bureau of 
        Indian Affairs failed--
                    ``(i) to require the owner or operator of the 
                underground storage tank to undertake corrective action 
                with respect to the release; or
                    ``(ii) to undertake corrective action with respect 
                to such release when such action was necessary, in the 
                judgment of the Administrator, the Secretary of the 
                Interior, or the Indian tribe, to protect human health 
                and the environment.''.
    (c) Appropriations.--(1) Section 2007(f)(1) of the Solid Waste 
Disposal Act (42 U.S.C. 6916(f)(1)) is amended by adding at the end the 
following: ``Not less than 1\1/2\ percent of the amount appropriated 
under this paragraph shall be used by the Administrator to carry out 
section 9010 of this Act (relating to the regulation of underground 
storage tanks within Indian country).''.
    (2) Section 2007(f)(2) of the Solid Waste Disposal Act (42 U.S.C. 
6916(f)(2)) is amended by adding at the end the following: ``Not less 
than 1\1/2\ percent of the amount appropriated under this paragraph 
shall be used by the Administrator to make grants to Indian tribes for 
purposes of assisting Indian tribes in the development and 
implementation of approved tribal underground storage tank release 
detection, prevention, and correction programs under subtitle I.''.
    (d) Table of Contents.--The table of contents of the Solid Waste 
Disposal Act, contained in section 1001 of such Act, is amended by 
redesignating the item relating to section 9010 as 9011 and by 
inserting after the item relating to section 9009 the following new 
item:

``Sec. 9010. Indian tribes.''.

SEC. 2. SET ASIDE FOR TRIBAL LEAKING UNDERGROUND STORAGE TANK TRUST 
              FUND.

    Section 9508(c)(1) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is 
amended--
            (1) by striking ``Except as provided'' and inserting the 
        following:
                    ``(A) Purposes.--Except as provided''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:

                    ``(B) Set aside for indian tribes.--Notwithstanding 
                any other provision of law, for each of the fiscal 
                years 1995 through 1999, the Secretary shall deposit an 
                amount equal to not less than 3 percent of the amounts 
                made available to States pursuant to subparagraph (A) 
                in the Tribal Leaking Underground Storage Tank Trust 
                Fund to be administered by the Administrator of the 
                Environmental Protection Agency. Such amounts shall be 
                used only by Indian tribes (as defined in section 
                9001(10) of the Solid Waste Disposal Act) to carry out 
                the purposes referred to in subsection 9010(g) of the 
                Solid Waste Disposal Act.''.

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