[Congressional Bills 103th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4661 Introduced in House (IH)]

103d CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H.R. 4661

To establish congressional findings and amend the Solid Waste Disposal 
   Act to provide congressional authorization of State control over 
  transportation and disposal of municipal solid waste, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 28, 1994

   Mr. Smith of New Jersey (for himself, Mr. Zimmer and Mr. Saxton) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
                          Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To establish congressional findings and amend the Solid Waste Disposal 
   Act to provide congressional authorization of State control over 
  transportation and disposal of municipal solid waste, 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. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Flow Control Act of 1994''.

SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL AUTHORIZATION OF STATE CONTROL OVER 
              TRANSPORTATION AND DISPOSAL OF MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE.

    (a) Congressional Findings.--The Congress finds that--
            (1) the improper transportation and disposal of municipal 
        solid waste impacts adversely on human health and the 
        environment;
            (2) the growing shortage of landfill space and other viable 
        municipal solid waste management options has placed increasing 
        fiscal burdens on State and local governments' efforts to 
        effectively plan and manage municipal solid waste in a long-
        term and environmentally sound manner;
            (3) the long-term management of municipal solid waste in an 
        environmentally sound and cost-effective manner is dependent 
        upon the ability of State and local governments to control the 
        transportation and disposal of municipal solid waste to 
        designated waste management facilities;
            (4) existing State and local government laws, regulations, 
        legislative and administrative provisions, including solid 
        waste management plans, relating to the transportation and 
        disposal of municipal solid waste at existing and planned waste 
        management facilities are in the public interest; and
            (5) existing State and local government regulations and 
        controls relating to the transportation and disposal of 
        municipal solid waste at existing and planned waste management 
        facilities are permissible regulations of commerce.
    (b) Congressional Purpose and Intent.--This Act is intended to--
            (1) authorizes States and qualified political subdivisions 
        to regulate and control the transportation and disposal of 
        municipal solid waste derived from residential, commercial, 
        institutional, and industrial sources;
            (2) authorizes States and qualified political subdivisions 
        to require that municipal solid waste be transported to one or 
        more existing or planned designated waste management 
        facilities;
            (3) preserve the viability of existing municipal solid 
        waste management systems of States and qualified political 
        subdivisions which depend on ensuring a consistent supply of 
        municipal solid waste generated from residential, commercial, 
        institutional, and industrial sources; and
            (4) recognize as reasonable existing laws, regulations, 
        ordinances, contracts and other legislative or administrative 
        provisions or mechanisms of States and qualified political 
        subdivisions relating to the transportation or disposal of 
        municipal solid waste generated from residential, commercial, 
        institutional, and industrial sources to existing and planned 
        waste management facilities.
    (c) In General.--Subtitle D of the Solid Waste Disposal Act (42 
U.S.C. 6941 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following new 
section:

``SEC. 4011. CONGRESSIONAL AUTHORIZATION OF STATE CONTROL OVER 
              TRANSPORTATION AND DISPOSAL OF MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE.

    ``(a) Authority.--
            ``(1) In general.--Each State and each qualified political 
        subdivision may, in accordance with this section--
                    ``(A) direct, limit, regulate, or prohibit the 
                transportation of municipal solid waste generated from 
                household sources (as described in subsection 
                (g)(2)(A)(i)) within the boundaries of the State or 
                subdivision and designate each waste management 
                facility to which any such municipal solid waste shall 
                be transported; and
                    ``(B) direct, limit, regulate, or prohibit the 
                transportation or disposal of municipal solid waste, as 
                defined in subsection (g)(2), including incinerator ash 
                from a solid waste incinerator unit or construction 
                debris or demolition debris, generated within the 
                boundaries of the State or qualified political 
                subdivision and designate waste management facilities 
                to which any such municipal solid waste shall be 
                transported or disposed, if, before May 15, 1994--
                            (i) the State or qualified political 
                        subdivision adopted a law, ordinance, 
                        regulation, or legislative or administrative 
                        provision, including a solid waste management 
                        plan, that pertains to the transportation or 
                        disposal of municipal solid waste generated 
                        within the boundaries, and
                            (ii) directed, limited, regulated, or 
                        prohibited the transportation or disposal of 
                        municipal solid waste under the law, ordinance, 
                        regulation or legislative or administrative 
                        provision.
                Any State or qualified political subdivision meeting 
                the requirements of this subsection (a)(1)(B) (i) and 
                (ii) may also, after the effective date of this 
                amendment, direct, limit, regulate or prohibit the 
                transportation and disposal of municipal solid waste 
                from any existing or future waste management facility 
                to any other existing or future waste management 
                facility, without regard to subsections (b) or (c); and
                    ``(C) direct, limit, regulate, or prohibit the 
                transportation of recyclable materials generated within 
                the boundaries of the State or subdivision and 
                designate each facility to which any such materials 
                shall be transported.
            ``(2) Application.--A State or qualified political 
        subdivision may exercise the authority described in paragraph 
        (1)(C) with respect to recyclable materials only if--
                    ``(A) the generator or owner of the materials 
                voluntarily made the materials available to the State 
                or qualified political subdivision and relinquished any 
                rights to, or ownership of, such materials; and
                    ``(B) the State or qualified political subdivision, 
                or the designee of the State or qualified political 
                subdivision, assumes such rights to, or ownership of, 
                such materials.
    ``(b) Limitations.--A State or qualified political subdivision may 
exercise the authority provided by subsection (a)(1)(A) or (a)(1)(C) 
only if the State or qualified political subdivision--
            ``(1) establishes a program to separate or divert the 
        materials described in subsection (g)(4) from the municipal 
        solid waste, for purposes of recycling, reclamation, or reuse, 
        in accordance with any State law or municipal solid waste 
        planning requirements in effect;
            ``(2) develops and implements a process described in 
        subsection (c) for the designation of waste management 
        facilities; and
            ``(3) after conducting 1 or more public hearings--
                    ``(A) finds, on the basis of the record developed 
                at the hearing or hearings that it is necessary to 
                exercise the authority 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 qualified political subdivision for management of 
                municipal solid waste or recyclable materials; and
                    ``(B) provides a written explanation of the reasons 
                for the finding described in subparagraph (A).
    ``(c) Competitive Designation Process--In developing and 
implementing the designation process described in subsection (b)(2) 
with respect to waste management facilities and facilities for 
recyclable materials, the State or qualified political subdivision 
shall--
            ``(1) provide that the designation process is based on, or 
        is part of, a municipal solid waste management plan that is 
        adopted by the State or qualified political subdivision and 
        that is designed to ensure long-term management capacity for 
        municipal solid waste or recyclable materials generated within 
        the boundaries of the State or subdivision;
            ``(2) set forth the goals of the designation process, 
        including at a minimum--
                    ``(A) capacity assurance;
                    ``(B) the establishment of provisions to provide 
                that protection of human health and the environment 
                will be achieved; and
                    ``(C) any other goals determined to be relevant by 
                the State or qualified political subdivision;
            ``(3) identify and compare reasonable and available 
        alternatives and options for designation of the facilities;
            ``(4) provide for public participation and comment;
            ``(5) provide that the designation of the facilities is 
        accomplished through an open competitive process during which 
        the State or qualified political subdivsion--
                    ``(A) identifies in writing the criteria to be 
                utilized for selection of the facilities;
                    ``(B) provides an opportunity for interested public 
                persons and private persons to offer their existing (as 
                of the date of the process) or proposed facilities for 
                designation; and
                    ``(C) evaluates and selects the facilities for 
                designation based on the merits of the facilities in 
                meeting the criteria identified; and
            ``(6) base the designation of each such facility on reasons 
        that shall be stated in a public record.
    ``(d) Ownership of Recyclable Materials.--
            ``(1) Prohibition on required transfers.--Except as 
        provided in paragraph (3), nothing in this section shall 
        authorize any State or qualified political subdivision to 
        require any generator or owner of recyclable materials to 
        transfer any recyclable materials (other than abandoned or 
        discarded materials) to such State or qualified political 
        subdivision.
            ``(2) Prohibition on prohibited transactions.--Except as 
        provided in paragraph (3), nothing in this section shall 
        prohibit any generator or owner of recyclable materials from 
        selling, purchasing, accepting, conveying, or transporting any 
        recyclable materials for purposes of transportation or 
        remanufacture into usable or marketable materials, unless the 
        generator or owner voluntarily made the materials available to 
        the State or qualified political subdivision and relinquished 
        any rights to, or ownership of, such materials.
            ``(3) Law and contracts.--A contract, law, ordinance, 
        regulation, or provision described in subsection (e)(1) may 
        contain an authorization described in paragraph (1) or a 
        prohibition described in paragraph (2).
    ``(e) Existing Laws and Contracts.--
            ``(1) In general.--This section shall not superseded, 
        abrogate, or otherwise modify any of the following:
                    ``(A) Any contract or other agreement (including 
                any contract containing an obligation to repay the 
                outstanding indebtedness on any proposed or existing 
                waste management facility or facility for recyclable 
                materials) entered into before May 15, 1994, by a State 
                or qualified political subdivision in which such State 
                or qualified political subdivision has designated a 
                proposed or existing waste management facility, or 
                facility for recyclable materials, for the management 
                of municipal solid waste or recyclable materials 
                pursuant to a law, ordinance, regulation, legislative 
                or administrative provision adopted by such State or 
                qualified political subdivision before May 15, 1994.
                    ``(B) Any other contract or agreement entered into 
                before May 15, 1994, for the management of municipal 
                solid waste.
                    ``(C)(i) Any law, ordinance, regulation, or 
                legislative or administrative provision--
                            ``(I) that is adopted before May 15, 1994; 
                        and
                            ``(II) that pertains to the transportation 
                        or disposal of municipal solid waste generated 
                        within the boundaries of a State or qualified 
                        political subdivision; provided that the law, 
                        ordinance, regulation, legislative or 
                        administrative provision is applied to the 
                        transportation or disposal of municipal solid 
                        waste, generated from household sources (as 
                        described in subsection (g)(2)(A)(i)) within 
                        the boundaries, to a proposed or existing waste 
                        management facility designated before May 15, 
                        1994 under such law, ordinance, regulation, 
                        legislative or administrative provision.
                    ``(ii) Any law, ordinance, regulation or 
                legislative or administrative provision--
                            ``(I) that is adopted before May 15, 1994;
                            ``(II) that pertains to the transportation 
                        or disposal of municipal solid waste generated 
                        within the boundaries of a State or qualified 
                        political subdivision; and
                            ``(III) under which a State or qualified 
                        political subdivision, prior to May 15, 1994, 
                        directed, limited, regulated, or prohibited the 
                        transportation or disposal of municipal solid 
                        waste that is generated, or is commingled with 
                        municipal solid waste that is generated, from 
                        commercial, institutional, or industrial 
                        sources within the boundaries, or that is 
                        incinerator ash from a solid waste incineration 
                        unit, or construction debris or demolition 
                        debris, generated within the boundaries:
                Provided, That the law, ordinance, regulation, 
                legislative or administrative provision is applied to 
                the transportation or disposal of municipal solid waste 
                described in subclause (III), to a proposed or existing 
                waste management facility designated before May 15, 
                1994 under such law, ordinance, regulation, legislative 
                or administrative provision.
                    ``(iii) Any law, ordinance, regulation, or 
                legislative or administrative provision--
                            ``(I) that is adopted before May 15, 1994; 
                        and
                            ``(II) that pertains to the transportation 
                        of recyclable materials generated within the 
                        boundaries of a State or qualified political 
                        subdivision: Provided, That the law, ordinance, 
                        regulation, legislative or administrative 
                        provision is applied to the transportation or 
                        recyclable materials, that are generated within 
                        the boundaries and with respect to which the 
                        generator or owner of the materials, and the 
                        State or qualified political subdivision, have 
                        met the appropriate conditions described in 
                        subsection (a)(2), to a facility designated 
                        before May 15, 1994 under such law, ordinance, 
                        regulation, legislative or administrative 
                        provision.
                    ``(iv) Any law, ordinance, regulation, or 
                legislative or administrative provisions--
                            ``(I) that is adopted before May 15, 1994;
                    ``(II) that pertains to the transportation of 
                recyclable materials generated within the boundaries of 
                a State or qualified political subdivision; and
                    ``(III) under which a State or qualified political 
                subdivision, prior to May 15, 1994, directed, limited, 
                regulated, or prohibited the transportation of 
                recyclable materials that are not materials with 
                respect to which the generator or owner of the 
                materials, and the State or qualified political 
                subdivision, have met the appropriate conditions 
                described in subsection (a)(2) and that--
                                    ``(aa) are generated from household 
                                sources (as described in subsection 
                                (g)(2)(A)(i)) within the boundaries; or
                                    ``(bb) are generated from 
                                commercial, institutional, or 
                                industrial sources within the 
                                boundaries:
                        Provided, That the law, ordinance, regulation, 
                        legislative or administrative provision is 
                        applied to the transportation of recyclable 
                        materials, described in subclause (III), to a 
                        facility designated before May 15, 1994 under 
                        such law, ordinance, regulation, legislative or 
                        administrative provision, and is applied to the 
                        same class of materials described in item (aa) 
                        or (bb) of subclause (III) to which the law, 
                        ordinance, regulation, legislative or 
                        administrative provision applied before such 
                        date.
            ``(2) Contract information.--A party to a contract or other 
        agreement that is described in subparagraph (e)(1)(A) or 
        (e)(1)(B) shall provide a copy of the contract or agreement to 
        the State or qualified political subdivision on request. Any 
        proprietary information contained in the contract or agreement 
        may be omitted in the copy, but the information that appears in 
        the copy shall include at least the date that the contract or 
        agreement was signed, the volume of municipal solid waste or 
        recyclable materials covered by the contract or agreement with 
        respect to which the State or qualified political subdivision 
        could otherwise exercise authority under subsection (a) or 
        (e)(1)(C), the source of the waste or materials, the 
        destination of the waste or materials, the duration of the 
        contract or agreement, and the parties to the contract or 
        agreement.
            ``(3) Effect on interstate commerce.--Any contract or 
        agreement described in subsection (e)(1)(A) or (e)(1)(B), any 
        any law, ordinance, regulation, or legislative or 
        administrative provision described in subsection (e)(1)(C), 
        shall be a reasonable regulation of commerce by any State or 
        qualified political subdivision, retroactive to the effective 
        date of the contract or agreement, or to the date of adoption 
        of any such law, ordinance, regulation, or legislative or 
        administrative provision.
            ``(4) Effect on state procurement laws.--
                    ``(A) In general.--Nothing in this section shall 
                supersede or modify--
                            ``(i) any State law or State regulation 
                        concerning the procurement of municipal solid 
                        waste services or facilities by qualified 
                        political subdivisions; or
                            ``(ii) any State law or regulation 
                        concerning competitive bidding for such 
                        services or facilities.
    ``(f) Savings Clause.--Nothing in this section is intended to 
supersede, amend, or otherwise modify Federal or State environmental 
standards that apply to the disposal or management of solid waste at 
waste management facilities and facilities for recyclable materials.
    ``(g) Definitions.--As used in this section:
            ``(1) Industrial solid waste.--The term `industrial solid 
        waste' means solid waste generated by manufacturing or 
        industrial processes, including waste generated during scrap 
        processing and recycling, that is not hazardous waste regulated 
        under subtitle C.
            ``(2) Municipal solid waste.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The term `municipal solid 
                waste'--
                            ``(i) means any waste generated by a 
                        household, including a single or multifamily 
                        residence, an apartment, a condominium, a 
                        hotel, and a motel;
                            ``(ii) includes waste generated by a 
                        commercial, institutional, or industrial 
                        source; and
                            ``(iii) includes residue remaining after 
                        recyclable materials have been separated, or 
                        diverted at the point of generation, from 
                        municipal solid waste described in clause (i) 
                        or (ii).
                    ``(B) Exclusions.--The term `municipal solid waste' 
                shall not include any of the following:
                            ``(i) Hazardous waste required to be 
                        managed in accordance with subtitle C, solid 
                        waste containing a polychlorinated biphenyl 
                        regulated under the Toxic Substances Control 
                        Act (15 U.S.C. 2601 et seq.), or regulated 
                        medical waste.
                            ``(ii)(I) A recyclable material.
                            ``(II) A material or a product returned 
                        from a dispenser or distributor to the 
                        manufacturer or the agent of the manufacturer 
                        for credit, evaluation, or reuse.
                            ``(III) A material or product that is an 
                        out-of-date or unmarketable material or 
                        product, or is a material or product that does 
                        not conform to specifications, and that is 
                        returned to the manufacturer or the agent of 
                        the manufacturer for credit, evaluation, or 
                        reuse.
                            ``(iii) Any solid waste (including 
                        contaminated soil and debris) resulting from a 
                        response action taken under section 104 or 106 
                        of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, 
                        Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (42 
                        U.S.C. 9604 or 9606) or a corrective action 
                        taken under this Act.
                            ``(iv)(I) Industrial solid waste.
                            ``(II) Any industrial solid waste that is 
                        generated by an industrial facility and 
                        transported for the purpose of containment, 
                        storage, or disposal to a facility that is 
                        owned or operated by the generator of the 
                        waste, or a facility that is located on 
                        property owned by the generator or a company 
                        with which the generator is affiliated.
            ``(3) Qualified political subdivision.--The term `qualified 
        political subdivision' means a governmental entity or political 
        subdivision of a State, as authorized by the State, to plan 
        for, or determine the methods to be utilized for, the 
        collection, transportation, disposal or other management of 
        municipal solid waste generated within the boundaries of the 
        governmental entity or political subdivision.
            ``(4) Recyclable material.--The term `recyclable material' 
        means any material (including any metal, glass, plastic, 
        textile, wood, paper, rubber, or other material) that has been 
        separated, or diverted at the point of generation, from solid 
        waste for the purpose of recycling, reclamation, or reuse.
            ``(5) Waste management facility.--The term `waste 
        management facility' means any facility in which solid waste is 
        collected, separated, stored, transferred, treated, processed, 
        deposited or disposed''.
    (b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents for such subtitle D 
is amended by adding after the item relating to section 4010 the 
following new item:

``Sec. 4011. Congressional authorization of state control over 
                            transportation and disposal of municipal 
                            solid waste''.
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