[Congressional Bills 103th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 720 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

103d CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 720

    To clean up open dumps on Indian lands, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                April 1 (legislative day, March 3), 1993

   Mr. McCain (for himself, Mr. Inouye, and Mr. Reid) introduced the 
 following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 
                             Indian Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To clean up open dumps 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. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Indian Lands Open Dump Clean-Up Act 
of 1993''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

    (a) Findings.--The Congress finds that--
            (1) there are over 600 open dumps on Indian lands;
            (2) these dumps threaten the health and safety of residents 
        of Indian lands;
            (3) many of these dumps were established and are used by 
        Federal agencies such as the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the 
        Indian Health Service;
            (4) these dumps threaten the environment; and
            (5) the United States has a trust responsibility to protect 
        Indian lands.
    (b) Purposes.--The purposes of this Act are to--
            (1) identify the location of all open dumps on Indian 
        lands;
            (2) assess the relative health and environmental hazards of 
        each dump;
            (3) develop a priority list to establish the order in which 
        such dumps should be closed in compliance with applicable 
        Federal and tribal standards; and
            (4) close such dumps in compliance with applicable Federal 
        standards, or standards promulgated by an Indian tribal 
        government, if such standards are more stringent than the 
        Federal standards.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    For the purposes of this Act, the following definitions shall 
apply:
            (1) Closure or close.--The terms ``closure or close'' mean 
        all actions necessary to terminate operations at open dumps and 
        bring such dumps into compliance with applicable Federal 
        standards, or standards promulgated by an Indian tribal 
        government, if such standards are more stringent than the 
        Federal standards.
            (2) Director.--The term ``Director'' means the Director of 
        the Indian Health Service.
            (3) Indian land.--The term ``Indian land'' means--
                    (A) 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) 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;
                    (C) Indian allotments, the Indian titles to which 
                have not been extinguished, including rights-of-way 
                running through the same; and
                    (D) land held by Alaska Native villages under the 
                Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1600 et 
                seq.).
            (4) Indian tribal government.--The term ``Indian tribal 
        government'' means the governing body of any Indian tribe, 
        band, nation, pueblo, or other organized group or community 
        which is recognized as eligible for the special programs and 
        services provided by the United States to Indians because of 
        their status as Indians, including any Alaska Native village as 
        defined in section 3(c) of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement 
        Act (43 U.S.C. 1602(c)).
            (5) Inventory.--The term ``inventory'' means a complete 
        listing of the geographic location of all open dumps, an 
        evaluation of the contents of each dump, and an assessment of 
        the impact of each dump on the environment and public health.
            (6) Open dump.--The term ``open dump'' means any facility 
        or site where solid waste is disposed of which does not meet 
        the criteria for a sanitary landfill promulgated under the 
        Solid Waste Disposal Act (42 U.S.C. 6901 et seq.).
            (7) Postclosure maintenance.--The term ``postclosure 
        maintenance'' means any activity undertaken at a closed solid 
        or hazardous waste facility to maintain the integrity of 
        containment features, monitor compliance with applicable 
        performance standards, or remedy any situation or occurrence 
        that violates standards consistent with the Solid Waste 
        Disposal Act (42 U.S.C. 6901 et seq.).
            (8) Solid waste.--The term ``solid waste'' has the same 
        meaning given such term in the Solid Waste Disposal Act (42 
        U.S.C. 6901 et seq.), except that such term does not include 
        hazardous waste as defined in such Act.

SEC. 4. INVENTORY BY DIRECTOR OF INDIAN HEALTH SERVICE.

    The Director shall--
            (1) conduct an inventory of open dumps on Indian lands;
            (2) determine the severity of the threat to public health 
        and the environment posed by each dump;
            (3) develop a priority list to determine the order of 
        closure of such dumps;
            (4) develop cost estimates for the closure and postclosure 
        maintenance of open dumps on the priority list developed under 
        this section; and
            (5) conduct all activities required to close such dumps and 
        conduct postclosure maintenance of such dumps.

SEC. 6. CONTRACT AUTHORITY.

    The Director may carry out duties under this Act through contracts 
with Indian tribes under the Indian Self-Determination and Education 
Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 450 et seq.).

SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be 
necessary to carry out this Act.

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