[Congressional Bills 104th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1288 Introduced in House (IH)]

  1st Session
                                H. R. 1288

To amend the Solid Waste Disposal Act to permit Governors to limit the 
  disposal of out-of-State solid waste in their States, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 22, 1995

  Mr. Buyer introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                         Committee on Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the Solid Waste Disposal Act to permit Governors to limit the 
  disposal of out-of-State solid waste in their States, 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 ``Interstate Transportation of 
Municipal Waste Act of 1995''.

SEC. 2. INTERSTATE TRANSPORTATION OF MUNICIPAL WASTE.

    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:

             ``interstate transportation of municipal waste

    ``Sec. 4011. (a) Authority To Restrict Out-of-State Municipal 
Waste.--(1)(A) Except as provided in subsection (b), if requested in 
writing by an affected local government, a Governor may prohibit the 
disposal of out-of-State municipal waste in any landfill or incinerator 
that is subject to the jurisdiction of the Governor or the affected 
local government.
    ``(B) Prior to submitting a request under this section, the 
affected local government shall--
            ``(i) provide notice and opportunity for public comment 
        concerning any proposed request; and
            ``(ii) following notice and comment, take formal action on 
        any proposed request at a public meeting.
    ``(2) Beginning with calendar year 1995, a Governor of a State may, 
with respect to landfills covered by the exceptions provided in 
subsection (b)--
            ``(A) notwithstanding the absence of a request in writing 
        by the affected local government--
                    ``(i) limit the quantity of out-of-State municipal 
                waste received for disposal at each landfill in the 
                State to an annual quantity equal to the quantity of 
                out-of-State municipal waste received for disposal at 
                the landfill during the calendar year 1993 or 1994, 
                whichever is less; and
                    ``(ii) limit the disposal of out-of-State municipal 
                waste at landfills that received, during calendar year 
                1993, documented shipments of more than 50,000 tons of 
                out-of-State municipal waste representing more than 30 
                percent of all municipal waste received at the landfill 
                during the calendar year, by prohibiting at each such 
                landfill the disposal, in any year, of a quantity of 
                out-of-State municipal waste that is greater than 30 
                percent of all municipal waste received at the landfill 
                during calendar year 1993; and
            ``(B) if requested in writing by the affected local 
        government, prohibit the disposal of out-of-State municipal 
        waste in landfill cells that do not meet the design and 
        location standards and leachate collection and ground water 
        monitoring requirements of State law and regulations in effect 
        on January 1, 1993, for new landfills.
    ``(3)(A) In addition to the authorities provided in paragraph 
(1)(A), beginning with calendar year 1997, a Governor of any State, if 
requested in writing by the affected local government, may further 
limit the disposal of out-of-State municipal waste as provided in 
paragraph (2)(A)(ii) by reducing the 30 percent annual quantity 
limitation to 20 percent in each of calendar years 1998 and 1999, and 
to 10 percent in each succeeding calendar year.
    ``(B)(i) A State may ban imports from large exporting States if the 
volumes of municipal solid waste exported by those States did not meet 
reduction targets.
    ``(ii) A ban under clause (i) may prohibit imports from States that 
export more than--
            ``(I) 3,500,000 tons in calendar year 1996;
            ``(II) 3,000,000 tons in calendar year 1997;
            ``(III) 3,000,000 tons in calendar year 1998;
            ``(IV) 2,500,000 tons in calendar year 1999;
            ``(V) 2,500,000 tons in calendar year 2000;
            ``(VI) 1,500,000 tons in calendar year 2001; or
            ``(VII) 1,500,000 tons in calendar year 2002;
            ``(VIII) 1,000,000 tons in any calendar year after 2002,
excluding any volume legitimately covered by a host community 
agreement.
    ``(4)(A) Any limitation imposed by the Governor under paragraph 
(2)(A)--
            ``(i) shall be applicable throughout the State;
            ``(ii) shall not discriminate against any particular 
        landfill within the State; and
            ``(iii) shall not discriminate against any shipments of 
        out-of-State municipal waste on the basis of State of origin.
    ``(B) In responding to requests by affected local governments under 
paragraphs (1)(A) and (2)(B), the Governor shall respond in a manner 
that does not discriminate against any particular landfill within the 
State and does not discriminate against any shipments of out-of-State 
municipal waste on the basis of State of origin.
    ``(5)(A) Any Governor who intends to exercise the authority 
provided in this paragraph shall, within 120 days after the date of 
enactment of this section, submit to the Administrator information 
documenting the quantity of out-of-State municipal waste received for 
disposal in the State of the Governor during calendar years 1993 and 
1994.
    ``(B) On receipt of the information submitted pursuant to 
subparagraph (A), the Administrator shall notify the Governor of each 
State and the public and shall provide a comment period of not less 
than 30 days.
    ``(C) Not later than 60 days after receipt of information from a 
Governor under subparagraph (A), the Administrator shall determine the 
quantity of out-of-State municipal waste that was received at each 
landfill covered by the exceptions provided in subsection (b) for 
disposal in the State of the Governor during calendar years 1993 and 
1994, and provide notice of the determination to the Governor of each 
State. A determination by the Administrator under this subparagraph 
shall be final and not subject to judicial review.
    ``(D) Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this 
section, the Administrator shall publish a list of the quantity of out-
of-State municipal waste that was received during calendar years 1993 
and 1994 at each landfill covered by the exceptions provided in 
subsection (b) for disposal in each State in which the Governor intends 
to exercise the authority provided in this paragraph, as determined in 
accordance with subparagraph (C).
    ``(b) Exceptions To Authority To Prohibit Out-of-State Municipal 
Waste.--The authority to prohibit the disposal of out-of-State 
municipal waste provided under subsection (a)(1) shall not apply to--
            ``(1) landfills in operation on the date of enactment of 
        this section that--
                    ``(A) received during calendar year 1993 documented 
                shipments of out-of-State municipal waste; and
                    ``(B) are in compliance with all applicable State 
                laws (including any State rule or regulation) relating 
                to design and location standards, leachate collection, 
                ground water monitoring, and financial assurance for 
                closure and post-closure and corrective action;
            ``(2) proposed landfills that, prior to January 1, 1993, 
        received--
                    ``(A) an explicit authorization as part of a host 
                community agreement from the affected local government 
                to receive municipal waste generated out-of-State; and
                    ``(B) a notice of decision from the State to grant 
                a construction permit; or
            ``(3) incinerators in operation on the date of enactment of 
        this section that--
                    ``(A) received, during calendar year 1993, 
                documented shipments of out-of-State municipal waste;
                    ``(B) are in compliance with the applicable 
                requirements of section 129 of the Clean Air Act (42 
                U.S.C. 7429); and
                    ``(C) are in compliance with all applicable State 
                laws (including any State rule or regulation) relating 
                to facility design and operations.
    ``(c) Denial of Permits on Ground of Lack of Need.--
            ``(1) Denial.--A State may deny a permit for the 
        construction or operation of a new landfill or incinerator or a 
        major modification of an existing landfill or incinerator if--
                    ``(A) the State has approved a State or local 
                comprehensive solid waste management plan developed 
                under Federal or State law; and
                    ``(B) the denial is based on the State's 
                determination, pursuant to a State law authorizing such 
                denial, that there is not a local or regional need of 
                the landfill or incinerator in the State.
            ``(2) Undue burden.--A denial of a permit under paragraph 
        (1) shall not be considered to impose an undue burden on 
        interstate commerce or to otherwise impair, restrain, or 
        discriminate against interstate commerce.
    ``(d) Definitions.--As used in this section:
            ``(1) The term `affected local government' means--
                    ``(A) the public body authorized by State law to 
                plan for the management of municipal solid waste, a 
                majority of the members of which are elected officials, 
for the area in which the landfill or incinerator is located or 
proposed to be located; or
                    ``(B) if there is not such body created by State 
                law, the elected officials of the city, town, township, 
                borough, county, or parish selected by the Governor and 
                exercising primary responsibility over municipal solid 
                waste management or the use of land in the jurisdiction 
                in which the facility is located or proposed to be 
                located.
            ``(2) The term `affected local solid waste planning unit' 
        means a political subdivision of a State with authority 
        relating to solid waste management planning in accordance with 
        State law.
            ``(3) With respect to a State, the term `out-of-State 
        municipal waste' means municipal waste generated outside the 
        State. To the extent that it is consistent with the United 
        States-Canada Free Trade Agreement and the General Agreement on 
        Tariffs and Trade, the term shall include municipal waste 
        generated outside the United States.
            ``(4) The term `host community agreement' means a written, 
        legally binding document or documents executed by duly 
        authorized officials of the affected local government that 
        specifically authorizes a landfill or incinerator to receive 
        municipal solid waste generated out-of-State.
            ``(5) The term `municipal waste' means refuse (and refuse-
        derived fuel) generated by the general public or from a 
        residential, commercial, institutional, or industrial source 
        (or any combination thereof), consisting of paper, wood, yard 
        wastes, plastics, leather, rubber, or other combustible or 
        noncombustible materials such as metal or glass (or any 
        combination thereof). The term `municipal waste' does not 
        include--
                    ``(A) any solid waste identified or listed as a 
                hazardous waste under section 3001;
                    ``(B) 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 
                (42 U.S.C. 9604, 9606) or a corrective action taken 
                under this Act;
                    ``(C) any metal, pipe, glass, plastic, paper, 
                textile, or other material that has been separated or 
                diverted from municipal waste and has been transported 
                into the State for the purpose of recycling or 
                reclamation;
                    ``(D) any solid waste that is--
                            ``(i) generated by an industrial facility; 
                        and
                            ``(ii) transported for the purpose of 
                        treatment, storage, or disposal to a facility 
                        that is owned or operated by the generator of 
                        the waste, or is located on property owned by 
                        the generator or a company with which the 
                        generator is affiliated;
                    ``(E) any solid waste generated incident to the 
                provision of service in interstate, intrastate, 
                foreign, or overseas air transportation;
                    ``(F) any industrial waste that is not identical to 
                municipal waste with respect to the physical and 
                chemical state of the industrial waste, and 
                composition, including construction and demolition 
                debris;
                    ``(G) any medical waste that is segregated from or 
                not mixed with municipal waste; or
                    ``(H) any material or product returned from a 
                dispenser or distributor to the manufacturer for 
                credit, evaluation, or possible reuse.''.

SEC. 3. TABLE OF CONTENTS AMENDMENT.

    The table of contents of the Solid Waste Disposal Act is amended by 
adding at the end of the items relating to subtitle D the following new 
item:

``Sec. 4011. Interstate transportation of municipal waste.''.
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