[Congressional Bills 104th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1524 Introduced in House (IH)]







104th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1524

    To amend the Solid Waste Disposal Act to require producers and 
importers of tires to recycle a certain percentage of scrap tires each 
  year, to require the Administrator of the Environmental Protection 
  Agency to establish a recycling credit system for carrying out such 
 recycling requirement, to establish a management and tracking system 
                for such tires, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 7, 1993

 Mr. Torres (for himself, Mr. Ackerman, Mr. Beilenson, Mr. Berman, Mr. 
Bonior, Mr. Brown of California, Mr. Bryant of Texas, Mr. Dellums, Ms. 
Eshoo, Mr. Evans, Mr. Fattah, Mr. Fazio of California, Mr. Filner, Mr. 
   Frank of Massachusetts, Mr. Frost, Ms. Harman, Mr. Lipinski, Mrs. 
Lowey, Mr. McDermott, Mr. Miller of California, Mr. Mineta, Mr. Moran, 
Ms. Pelosi, Mr. Romero-Barcelo, Ms. Roybal-Allard, Mrs. Schroeder, Mr. 
Serrano, Mr. Vento, Mr. Walsh, Ms. Waters, Mr. Waxman, Ms. Woolsey, and 
  Mr. Yates) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                         Committee on Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To amend the Solid Waste Disposal Act to require producers and 
importers of tires to recycle a certain percentage of scrap tires each 
  year, to require the Administrator of the Environmental Protection 
  Agency to establish a recycling credit system for carrying out such 
 recycling requirement, to establish a management and tracking system 
                for such tires, 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 ``Tire Recycling Incentives Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds the following:
            (1) The generation of solid and hazardous waste has grown 
        to alarming proportions in the United States, with per capita 
        disposal having increased by 80 percent from 1960 to 1989. Each 
        person in the United States throws away 3.6 pounds of garbage 
        every day--enough annually to fill a convoy of 10-ton garbage 
        trucks 145,000 miles long, which is the equivalent of half-way 
        to the moon or roughly 7 times around the Equator.
            (2) Frequently, economic incentives are not sufficient to 
        encourage waste minimization and responsible environmental 
        behavior, and such incentives actually may favor increased 
        waste generation and improper behavior.
            (3) A system of economic incentives targeted at waste 
        reduction and recycling together with responsible regulation of 
        recycling activity can reduce both the amount and toxicity of 
        materials entering the environment.
            (4) The Administrator of the Environmental Protection 
        Agency requires additional statutory authority to establish 
        appropriate management and recycling requirements and to 
        address situations in which economic incentives to encourage 
        waste reduction and responsible environmental behavior are not 
        adequate.
            (5) There is a need to encourage greater recycling of scrap 
        tires. Americans generate more than 250 million scrap tires 
        annually. Such scrap tires, piled one on top of another, would 
        be 98,000 Empire State Buildings. Less than 30 percent of the 
        currently generated scrap tires are recycled. Currently, 2\1/2\ 
        to 3 billion scrap tires are stockpiled across America and 
        these scrap tire dumps grow larger every year. Such stockpiling 
        is, itself, a potential health concern.
            (6) While wornout tire casings currently represent only 1.2 
        percent of the solid waste stream, scrap tires present a 
        special disposal/reuse challenge because of their size, shape, 
        and physical/chemical nature.
            (7) Scrap tires, when disposed of whole in a landfill, have 
        a unique tendency to rise back to the surface, thus disrupting 
        the landfill cap and allowing water to infiltrate the landfill.
            (8) Of the more than 250 million scrap tires generated in 
        the United States every year, 84.5 percent are landfilled, 
        stockpiled, or illegally dumped.
            (9) The whole scrap tires which are stockpiled represent 
        not only a waste of resources but also a health hazard because 
        they serve as an ideal breeding ground for mosquitoes. 
        According to the Environmental Protection Agency, mosquito 
        borne diseases, like encephalitis and yellow fever, as a result 
        of stockpiled tires, cost an estimated $5,400,000 a year.
            (10) Further, fire hazards as a result of tire stockpiles 
        are both severe and wide-ranging. Such scrap tire fires 
        frequently result in air, surface, and ground water pollution. 
        The major problem of a scrap tire fire hazard is the difficulty 
        in extinguishing the fire due to the fact that 75 percent of 
        tire space is void. This void space makes it difficult to put 
        out fires or quench the oxygen supply.
            (11) In addition to the difficulty in putting tire fires 
        out, such fires represent a potential health and environmental 
        risk in the form of both liquid and gaseous emissions from the 
        tires. Burning tires emit solvents and poly-nucleic aeromatic 
        hydrocarbons (PAHs)--many of which are carcinogenic. The tires 
        also melt while burning, releasing both sooty smoke and oily 
        liquids. The water used to extinguish the fire mobilizes these 
        chemicals into the surface and ground water.
            (12) Estimated direct annual expenditures for extinguishing 
        tire fires are greater than $2,000,000. One tire fire alone, in 
        Winchester, Virginia, required more than $5,000,000 for control 
        and containment. These estimates say nothing of the 
        environmental damage that must ultimately be paid for.
            (13) The best way of eliminating the environmental and 
        health hazards associated with tire piles is to minimize and 
        ultimately eliminate the stockpiling of tires.
            (14) While adequate technology exists to significantly 
        reduce tire stockpiles, scrap tires are underutilized because 
        of adverse economics. It is simply cheaper to throw them away 
        than to recycle. Until economic forces are reversed, tire 
        stockpiling will be the option of choice. Producers and 
        importers of tires are responsible for introduction of such 
        tires into commerce and therefore need to assure that such 
        tires are ultimately managed in a responsible fashion.

SEC. 3. REQUIREMENTS TO RECYCLE SCRAP TIRES.

    (a) In General.--(1) 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 
sections:

``SEC. 4011. RECYCLING REQUIREMENTS FOR SCRAP TIRES.

    ``(a) General Requirement.--(1) During the period beginning not 
later than 24 months after the date of the enactment of the Tire 
Recycling Incentives Act and ending 10 years after such date, a 
producer or importer of tires each year shall recycle, using a method 
described in paragraph (2), an amount of scrap tires equal to at least 
that amount of tires determined by--
            ``(A) multiplying the tires produced for domestic use or 
        consumption or imported that year by such person, by
            ``(B) the recycling percentage established by the 
        Administrator under subsection (b).
    ``(2) A producer or importer of tires may comply with this 
subsection by either or both of the following methods:
            ``(A) By recycling scrap tires in compliance with the 
        requirements of section 4012 and regulations promulgated 
        pursuant to such section through reintroducing the recovered 
        rubber into a manufacturing process for purposes of producing 
        new tires or by retreading old tire casings.
            ``(B) By purchasing recycling credits under the recycling 
        credit system established pursuant to subsection (c).
    ``(3) A producer or importer of tires shall submit to the 
Administrator, under regulations promulgated by the Administrator, a 
report on the amount of tires produced or imported in each calendar 
year by such person. The report shall be submitted at least once a 
year, but the Administrator also may require such interim reports under 
this paragraph as he considers necessary.
    ``(b) Recycling Percentage.--The Administrator each year shall 
establish a recycling percentage for use under subsection (a). The 
percentage applicable during the first year that the requirement 
established by subsection (a) is in effect shall be a percentage that 
is 5 percentage points higher than the recycling rate for tires that 
exists on the date of the enactment of the Tire Recycling Incentives 
Act. Such recycling rate shall be determined by using data for 1992 or 
the most recent year for which data are available. For each of the 10 
years thereafter, the recycling percentage shall be an additional 5 
percentage points higher than the percentage of the previous year. Such 
recycling percentage shall go into effect automatically and shall be 
published in the Federal Register.
    ``(c) Credit System for Recycling Scrap Tires.--(1) Not later than 
18 months after the date of the enactment of the Tire Recycling 
Incentives Act, the Administrator shall promulgate regulations to 
establish a system under which (A) recyclers may create credits for 
scrap tire recycling, and (B) producers or importers of tires may 
purchase such recycling credits from such recyclers, for purposes of 
complying with subsection (a). No person may create such credits, and 
no producer or importer of tires may purchase such credits, except in 
accordance with this subsection and the regulations promulgated under 
this subsection. In developing the regulations, the Administrator 
shall, to the maximum extent feasible, allow for the use of records 
kept in the ordinary course of business or other approaches that 
facilitate the simple, rapid generation and exchange of credits without 
a case-by-case approval.
    ``(2) At a minimum, the regulations under paragraph (1) shall 
include each of the following requirements:
            ``(A) The owner or operator of any tire sale and 
        installation facility or any scrap tire collection facility 
        shall keep receipts issued by any transporters who take 
        delivery of the scrap tires. The receipts shall be kept for at 
        least 3 years and shall show the date, the quantity of scrap 
        tires taken, and the transporter's identification number. The 
        owner or operator shall show such receipts to the Administrator 
        or to any State enforcing this section and section 4012 upon 
        demand. The owner or operator also shall keep on file a copy of 
        the contract or written agreement between the owner or operator 
        and the transporter under which the transporter agrees to take 
        the scrap tires to a recycling facility.
            ``(B) The owner or operator of a scrap tire recycling 
        facility who obtains a permit in accordance with section 
        4012(d) is the only person who may create a recycling credit 
        for the recycling credit system. Recycling credits may be 
        created through shredding scrap tires, burning scrap tires for 
        energy recovery in a manner approved under Federal or State 
        law, reusing scrap tires through retreading, utilizing crumb 
        rubber made from scrap tires in an asphalt road paving mix, 
        recycling scrap tires by recovering rubber from the tires, or 
        such other means as may be identified by the Administrator. The 
        amount of recycling credit that may be created for one scrap 
        tire handled at a scrap tire recycling facility is as follows:
                    ``(i) One-fourth of a credit for one tire shredded.
                    ``(ii) One-fourth of a credit for one tire burned 
                after shredding.
                    ``(iii) One-half of a credit for one whole tire 
                burned in an approved manner.
                    ``(iv) Three-fourths of a credit for one tire 
                reused or recycled after shredding.
                    ``(v) One credit for one whole tire reused or 
                recycled. Methods of reuse may include retreading, and 
                methods of recycling may include recovering rubber from 
                the tire to produce tires or an asphalt road paving 
                mix. If the method of recovery involves shredding or 
                crumbling of the whole tire, an additional one-fourth 
                of a credit may not be claimed under clause (i) or 
                (ii).
            ``(C) Each year a producer or importer of tires shall keep 
        records of the quantity of tires produced or imported, the 
        recycling of scrap tires carried out to comply with subsection 
        (a), the amount of recycling credits purchased, the names of 
        recyclers from whom the credits were purchased and the dates of 
        the purchases, the price paid for the credits, and the amount, 
        if any, of recycling credits sold or carried over from previous 
        years. The regulations shall allow for a two-year carryover of 
        credits.
    ``(3) The Administrator may include such other requirements in the 
regulations under paragraph (1) with respect to qualifications for 
recyclers, importers, and producers, methods for auditing compliance 
with the system, and enforcement of the system as the Administrator 
considers necessary or appropriate for administering the recycling 
credit system established under this subsection.
    ``(d) Reports.--(1) Not later than six years after the date of the 
enactment of the Tire Recycling Incentives Act, the Administrator shall 
submit to Congress an interim report on the implementation of this 
section. The report shall include, at a minimum--
            ``(A) a discussion of the effects of the requirements of 
        this section on the tire industry, the scrap tire recycling 
        industry, and the environment, including the extent of improper 
        tire storage and disposal; and
            ``(B) an evaluation of the level of the recycling 
        percentage under subsection (b) and recommendations on whether, 
        and at what rate, the percentage should be increased in future 
        years above the percentage applicable under subsection (b).
    ``(2) Not later than 10 years after such date, the Administrator 
shall submit to Congress a final report on the implementation of this 
section. The report shall include an updated version of the discussion 
and evaluation required in the interim report, as well as such other 
findings and recommendations with respect to the implementation of this 
section as the Administrator considers appropriate.
    ``(3) Each year the Attorney General shall determine the effects of 
the credit system established under subsection (c) on competition 
within the tire industry and the scrap tire recycling industry and 
shall submit to Congress a report on such determination. With respect 
to any calendar year occurring after the system is established, the 
determination shall be made, and the report submitted to Congress, not 
later than 6 months after completion of an audit of compliance with the 
system carried out by the Administrator during that calendar year, or 6 
months after the end of that calendar year, whichever is earlier. The 
report shall include recommendations for remediating any anti-
competitive effects of the credit system, including effects that may be 
violations of the Sherman Act or the Clayton Act.
    ``(e) Regulations.--The Administrator shall promulgate regulations 
to implement this section not later than 18 months after the date of 
the enactment of the Tire Recycling Incentives Act. If the 
Administrator fails to promulgate such regulations by that date, the 
recycling percentage under subsection (b) shall be 60 percent until 
such time as the regulations are promulgated and shall apply 
retroactively for each year the regulations are not in effect.
    ``(f) Civil Penalty.--(1) Whoever violates this section shall be 
liable to the United States for a civil penalty in an amount not to 
exceed $2500 for each such violation. Such civil penalty shall be 
assessed by the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency by 
an order made on the record after opportunity for a hearing in 
accordance with section 554 of title 5, United States Code. Before 
issuing such an order, the Administrator shall give written notice to 
the person to be assessed a civil penalty and provide such person an 
opportunity to request, within 15 days of the date the notice is 
received by such person, a hearing on the order.
    ``(2) In determining the amount of a civil penalty, the 
Administrator shall take into account the nature, circumstances, 
extent, and gravity of the violation or violations and, with respect to 
the violator, ability to pay, effect on ability to continue to do 
business, any history of prior violations under this section, the 
degree of culpability, and such other matters as justice may require.
    ``(3) The Administrator may compromise, modify, or remit, with or 
without conditions, any civil penalty which may be imposed under this 
subsection. The amount of such penalty, when finally determined, or the 
amount agreed upon in compromise, may be deducted from any sums owing 
by the United States to the person charged.
    ``(4) Any person who requested in accordance with this subsection a 
hearing respecting the assessment of a civil penalty and who is 
aggrieved by an order assessing a civil penalty may file a petition for 
judicial review of such order with the United States Court of Appeals 
for the District of Columbia Circuit or for any other circuit in which 
such person resides or transacts business. Such a petition may only be 
filed within the 30-day period beginning on the date the order making 
such assessment was issued.
    ``(5) If any person fails to pay an assessment of a civil penalty--
            ``(A) after the order making the assessment has become a 
        final order and if such person does not file a petition for 
        judicial review of the order in accordance with this section, 
        or
            ``(B) after a court in an action brought under this section 
        has entered a final judgment in favor of the Administrator,
the Attorney General shall recover the amount assessed (plus interest 
at currently prevailing rates from the date of the expiration of the 
30-day period referred to in paragraph (4) or the date of such final 
judgment, as the case may be) in an action brought in any appropriate 
district court of the United States. In such an action, the validity, 
amount, and appropriateness of such penalty shall not be subject to 
review.
    ``(g) Relationship to Other Law.--(1) The creation of any recycling 
credits by the owner or operator of a scrap tire recycling facility in 
accordance with this section shall not alter the status of scrap tires 
as a waste that may be used as fuel in a qualifying small power 
production facility or a qualifying cogeneration facility under the 
Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 791a et seq.).
    ``(2) For purposes of section 142(a)(6) of the Internal Revenue 
Code of 1986 (26 U.S.C. 142(a)(6)), a scrap tire recycling or disposal 
facility shall be considered to be a solid waste disposal facility.

``SEC. 4012. MANAGEMENT STANDARDS FOR SCRAP TIRES AND SCRAP TIRE 
              COLLECTION AND RECYCLING FACILITIES.

    ``(a) General Requirements.--(1) Not later than 18 months after the 
date of enactment of the Tire Recycling Incentives Act, the 
Administrator shall take each of the following actions:
            ``(A) The Administrator shall publish in the Federal 
        Register a set of minimum requirements, together with a model 
        program for the purposes of use by States implementing and 
        enforcing the provisions of this section. Such minimum 
        requirements and model program shall include provisions for 
        collection, transport, storage, financial assurance, and 
        management of scrap tires. In developing such provisions, the 
        Administrator's first priority shall be to protect public 
        health and the environment, but in adhering to that priority, 
        he should not discourage environmentally beneficial reuse, 
        recovery, or recycling of scrap tires.
            ``(B) The Administrator shall publish in the Federal 
        Register a procedure under which such minimum requirements 
        shall be incorporated in the solid waste management plan 
        submitted to the Environmental Protection Agency by such State 
        under this title. The Administrator may not approve a State 
        plan (or, if a State plan has already been approved in a State, 
        the portion of the plan for that State incorporating the 
        minimum requirements under this section) unless (i) the State 
        has adopted all elements of the model program developed under 
        this section, and (ii) the State has designated an agency or 
        entity to implement such program. In the case of a State that 
        adopts a program that is identical to the model program 
        developed under this section and that contains a designation of 
        an agency or entity to implement the program, the portion of 
        the plan required under this section shall be deemed to be 
        approved by the Administrator upon receipt by the Administrator 
        of written notification of the adoption of such a program.
            ``(C) The Administrator shall publish enabling regulations 
        under which States may implement and enforce this section by 
        adoption of the model program and regulations. Such enabling 
        regulations shall specify the percentage of paving materials 
        described in subparagraph (D)(i) necessary for a State to 
        acquire in order to qualify for expedited review under that 
        subparagraph.
            ``(D) In reviewing and approving the State Plan, the 
        Administrator shall provide expedited review to any State which 
        does one of the following in its plan:
                    ``(i) Encourages the recycling of scrap tires by 
                requiring the relevant State highway authority to use 
                paving materials made from crumb rubber from scrap 
                tires for use in asphalt or roadbed construction. Under 
                the plan the State highway authority (or its paving 
                contractor) would be encouraged to acquire such paving 
                materials from a permitted tire recycler. In any such 
                case, the State may enter into contractual arrangements 
                to share in the revenue from the sale of recycling 
                credits under section 4011.
                    ``(ii) Provides for directly acquiring and 
                recycling scrap tires for such paving materials in the 
                same manner as may be done directly by the State 
                highway authority. In any such case, the State may 
                obtain a permit to recycle such tires and may generate 
                and sell tire recycling credits.
                    ``(iii) Encourages the reuse of tires by requiring 
                that at least 20 percent of the tires purchased each 
                year by the State for motor vehicles are retread tires.
    ``(b) Management Standards.--Not later than 18 months after the 
date of enactment of the Tire Recycling Incentives Act, the 
Administrator shall promulgate regulations establishing standards for 
the purpose of minimizing potential health and environmental damages 
from the improper storage and disposal of scrap tires. States shall 
adopt such standards in implementing and enforcing this section. At a 
minimum, such standards shall provide for each of the following:
            ``(1) Bans.--(A) Not later than 24 months after the date of 
        enactment of the Tire Recycling Incentives Act, the 
        Administrator shall ban the disposal of whole tires in land 
        disposal facilities. As part of the ban, the Administrator 
        shall allow for the land disposal of shredded tires, but only 
        in a monofill.
            ``(B) Not later than 12 months after the date of enactment 
        of the Tire Recycling Incentives Act, the Administrator shall 
        promulgate regulations to ban the intentional infliction of 
        damage on tire casings that is done to preclude a tire casing 
        from being used in retreading, including slashing of tire 
        casings. The ban shall apply to importers and manufacturers of 
        tire casings, owners and operators of tire sale and 
        installation facilities, and transporters covered by paragraph 
        (5). An importer or manufacturer of tire casings shall not be 
        held liable in any court of law for damages resulting from 
        subsequent failure of retreaded tires if such a tire is 
        retreaded by a recycler creating recycling credits through 
        retreading under section 4011(c).
            ``(2) Inventory; tire advisory board.--(A) Not later than 
        12 months after the date of enactment of the Tire Recycling 
        Incentives Act, each State shall conduct an inventory of scrap 
        tire collection facilities, including existing tire piles, 
        dumps, and landfills with above-ground storage of old tires, or 
        any other scrap tire storage of more than 1,000 tires. Such 
        inventory shall be provided to the Administrator and shall be 
        made available by such State to the public for comment. At a 
        minimum, the inventory shall include an estimate of the number 
        of tires in each scrap tire pile, an estimate of the total 
        amount of scrap tires at the site, a description of the site 
        characteristics, including proximity to the 100-year flood 
        plain, and surface water run-on/run-off characteristics, along 
        with current management practices at the site. The inventory 
        shall include the name of the owner or operator of each such 
        site.
            ``(B) Not later than 12 months after the date of the 
        enactment of the Tire Recycling Incentives Act, each State 
        shall convene a tire advisory board of public and private 
        interests. Such board shall have at least 3 members and shall 
        help coordinate the State's efforts under this section.
            ``(3) Abatement.--In consultation with the owner or 
        operator of the scrap tire collection facility, the tire 
        advisory board, and the State public health authorities, the 
        State shall, within 18 months of the date of enactment of the 
        Tire Recycling Incentives Act, develop a scrap tire abatement 
        plan. The overall abatement plan for the State inventory of 
        sites shall reflect the following parameters in such priorities 
        as determined by the State:
                    ``(A) Overall size of tire collection site.
                    ``(B) Risk to public health or the environment, 
                including fire hazard.
                    ``(C) Proximity to populated areas.
                    ``(D) Other factors.
        In developing an abatement strategy for individual sites, the 
        States may use the enforcement authorities of section 4013.
            ``(4) Sale and installation facilities.--Any facility which 
        distributes more than 1,000 tires annually into commerce for 
        final installation onto motor vehicles shall enter into an 
        agreement with a licensed tire hauler. No person operating such 
        tire sale or installation facilities shall give, sell, donate 
        or otherwise provide scrap tires to any other person or entity 
        than a licensed tire hauler.
            ``(5) Transportation identification number.--(A) Except as 
        provided in subparagraph (B), no person may transport scrap 
        tires from a tire sale or installation facility or scrap tire 
        collection facility unless that person has obtained a scrap 
        tire Transportation Identification Number from the authority 
        designated by the State in its State plan. The Administrator 
        shall promulgate such standards and recordkeeping requirements 
        as are appropriate to assure that scrap tires which are 
        collected, transported, and ultimately stored, recycled or 
        disposed of can be correctly accounted for under this section 
        and section 4011.
            ``(B) The prohibition in subparagraph (A) does not apply to 
        any of the following:
                    ``(i) A trash hauler, such as a municipal solid 
                waste collection truck, carrying fewer than 50 scrap 
                tires.
                    ``(ii) A recyclables hauler, such as an auto 
                dismantling yard, carrying fewer than 50 scrap tires.
                    ``(iii) An individual transporting fewer than 10 
                scrap tires.
                    ``(iv) A person transporting products derived from 
                tires.
                    ``(v) A person transporting scrap tires for 
                appropriate agricultural purposes, as defined by the 
                Administrator.
                    ``(vi) A business that generates and transports its 
                own scrap tires.
    ``(c) Scrap Tire Collection Facilities.--
            ``(1) Permit guidelines.--The Administrator shall publish 
        guidelines for the State to use to issue permits to scrap tire 
        collection facilities. Permit guidelines shall provide for 
        effective regulatory control of scrap tires from the point of 
        origination to final disposition. Permit guidelines shall also 
        provide examples of cases in which class permits and permits 
        for mobile equipment are appropriate.
            ``(2) Operation requirements.--The Administrator shall 
        promulgate regulations or publish guidelines that shall include 
        each of the following requirements for the operation of such 
        facilities:
                    ``(A) The regulations or guidelines shall limit the 
                maximum size of both existing and future scrap tire 
                piles at scrap tire collection facilities. For existing 
                tire piles subject to the requirements of the inventory 
                and abatement plan, the maximum square area of such 
                existing piles shall be 10,000 square feet, with a 
                height limit of 40 feet and provision for adequate 
                fencing, as determined by the Administrator, to prevent 
                additions to the pile. For such new tire piles as may 
                be required in the abatement program, or until 
                recycling facilities are in operation, any new tire 
                piles shall be limited to 5,000 square feet, with a 
                maximum height of 20 feet.
                    ``(B) The regulations or guidelines shall require a 
                ban on open burning within 50 feet of a scrap tire 
                pile, along with a requirement that a 50-foot fire lane 
                be maintained around each pile.
                    ``(C) The regulations or guidelines shall include 
                guidance on vegetation, rodent, and mosquito control at 
                such facilities as may be appropriate.
            ``(3) Flood plain, wetland, shoreline, and ravine 
        requirements.--The Administrator shall establish different 
        requirements in regulations or guidelines for scrap tire 
        collection facilities located in a 100-year flood plain and 
        such other areas where water resources are critical, such as 
        wetlands, shorelines, and ravines.
            ``(4) Emergency planning requirements.--The Administrator 
        shall publish guidelines for States to follow in making plans 
        for emergencies involving scrap tire collection facilities. The 
        guidelines shall require States to establish contingency plans 
        for handling an emergency. Such plans shall be developed in 
        consultation with the tire advisory board, the State fire 
        marshal, and local fire departments.
            ``(5) Emergency manual.--The owner or operator of a scrap 
        tire collection facility shall prepare and maintain at the 
        facility an emergency preparedness manual containing the 
        following elements:
                    ``(A) A list of names and numbers of persons to be 
                contacted in the event of a fire, flood, or other 
                emergency involving the tire facility.
                    ``(B) A list of the emergency response equipment 
                present at the facility, its location, and how it 
                should be used in the event of a fire or other 
                emergency.
                    ``(C) A description of the procedures that should 
                be followed in the event of a fire at the facility, 
                including procedures to contain and dispose of the oily 
                material generated by the combustion of large numbers 
                of tires.
        The procedures in the emergency preparedness manual shall be 
        followed in the event of an emergency at the facility. The 
        emergency preparedness manual shall be updated once a year, 
        upon changes in operations at the facility, or if required by 
        the State.
            ``(6) Emergency notification and reports.--The owner or 
        operator of a scrap tire collection facility shall immediately 
        notify the State in the event of a fire or other emergency at 
        the facility with potential off-site impacts. Within 2 weeks of 
        any emergency involving potential off-site impact, the owner or 
        operator of the facility shall submit to the State a report on 
        the emergency. This report shall set forth the origins of the 
        emergency, the actions that were taken to deal with the 
        emergency, the results of the actions that were taken, and an 
        analysis of the success or failure of the actions.
            ``(7) Operational record.--The Administrator shall 
        promulgate regulations or publish guidelines requiring the 
        owner or operator of a scrap tire collection facility to 
        maintain records of the number of scrap tires received at the 
        facility, stored at the facility, and shipped from the 
        facility. Records shall also be kept of the amount of tire-
        derived products received, stored, or shipped from the 
        facility. At the completion of an abatement increment, or a 
        reporting period, the responsible owner or operator shall 
        submit to the State a record of the approximate number of scrap 
        tires remaining in the facility; the amount of tire-derived 
        products stored at the facility; and the number of scrap tires 
        or amount of tire-derived products received at the facility and 
        shipped from the facility during the abatement increment or 
        reporting period. For scrap tires and tire-derived products 
        shipped to another location, the date and the amount shipped 
        must be included.
            ``(8) Inspection.--At the completion of each abatement 
        increment or reporting period the owner or operator of a scrap 
        tire collection facility shall notify the State so that an 
        inspection of the tire facility may be conducted to certify the 
        completion of the required abatement or permit operating 
        conditions.
            ``(9) Operation, closure, and post-closure.--The 
        Administrator shall publish guidelines for adoption by the 
        State regulatory authority requiring that all facilities 
        regulated under this section have appropriate financial 
        responsibility or insurance to maintain the facility for at 
        least five years after the facility is closed.
            ``(10) Exemptions.--The permitting requirements of this 
        section shall not apply to any of the following:
                    ``(A) A tire retailer who stores no more than 500 
                scrap tires on the business premises.
                    ``(B) A retreading business that stores no more 
                than 15 percent of the amount of used tires retreaded 
                annually on the business premises.
                    ``(C) A business such as an auto dismantling 
                facility that does not remove tires from vehicles as 
                its main activity, if no more than 1,500 unmounted 
                scrap tires are kept on the business premises in any 
                month.
                    ``(D) A permitted sanitary landfill that stores no 
                more than 10,000 scrap tires at the landfill site.
                    ``(E) A person using scrap tires on an agricultural 
                site for legitimate agricultural purposes.
                    ``(F) A person who has entered into a scrap tire 
                facility cleanup agreement and is doing work specified 
                by the agreement.
    ``(d) Scrap Tire Recycling Facilities.--The Administrator shall 
promulgate regulations for the State to use to issue permits to scrap 
tire recycling facilities. The regulations shall include requirements 
with respect to the operation of such facilities and shall include such 
recordkeeping requirements as are necessary to implement this section 
and section 4011.
    ``(e) Federal Responsibility.--
            ``(1) Remediation of tire piles on public lands.--The 
        Secretary of the Interior, together with the heads of all 
        Federal departments and agencies with responsibilities for 
        public lands or military installations, shall determine the 
        extent of scrap tire piles on such lands or installations and 
        shall develop and implement a plan within 18 months after the 
        date of enactment of the Tire Recycling Incentives Act to 
        remediate such tire piles. The requirements developed in the 
        plan shall also apply to the National Railroad Passenger 
        Corporation.
            ``(2) Procurement guideline.--(A) The Administrator, in 
        consultation with the Secretary of Energy, the Secretary of 
        Defense, the Secretary of Transportation, the Administrator of 
        the Federal Highway Administration, and the Administrator of 
        General Services (as appropriate), shall develop a guideline 
        for procuring items that make use of rubber from scrap or used 
        tires, including asphalt made from crumb rubber from scrap 
        tires, retread tires, and tires made utilizing crumb rubber 
        from scrap tires.
            ``(B) Such procurement guideline shall require that, in the 
        procurement of such items, the heads of the Federal departments 
        covered by the guideline shall procure such an item if the item 
        is available at the same (or lower) cost as alternative items 
        made from rubber other than rubber from scrap or used tires. 
        The cost of such an item shall be determined in accordance with 
        standards developed by the National Institute for Standards and 
        Technology under paragraph (3).
            ``(C) If the Administrator fails to issue the procurement 
        guideline within 24 months after the date of the enactment of 
        the Tire Recycling Incentives Act, then the head of each 
        Federal department shall procure items containing 75 percent or 
        more of post-consumer scrap rubber from scrap tires if such 
        post-consumer scrap rubber is reasonably available within a 
        reasonable period of time at a reasonable price and meets 
        reasonable performance standards of the department.
            ``(3) Cost standards.--The Secretary of Commerce, acting 
        through the Director of the National Institute of Standards and 
        Technology, shall develop and publish standards for 
        determining, for purposes of complying with the procurement 
        guideline under paragraph (2), the life-cycle costs and 
        benefits of asphalt made from crumb rubber from scrap tires, 
        retread tires, tires made utilizing crumb rubber from scrap 
        tires, and other items that make use of rubber from scrap or 
        used tires, as compared with items that make use of rubber 
        other than rubber from scrap or used tires. The standards shall 
        be used by Federal departments covered by the procurement 
        guideline developed under paragraph (2) and by States in the 
        portion of the State plan incorporating the requirements under 
        this section. The standards under this paragraph shall be 
        developed in consultation with the Secretary of Transportation 
        not later than 18 months after the date of the enactment of the 
        Tire Recycling Incentives Act.
            ``(4) Determinations by secretary of transportation.--(A) 
        The Secretary of Transportation, in consultation with the 
        Administrator and through the use of data available from the 
        Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of 
        Transportation, and States, shall determine each of the 
        following:
                    ``(i) Whether there are any direct worker 
                environmental health effects relating to asphalt made 
                from crumb rubber from scrap tires, and what those 
                health effects are.
                    ``(ii) The recyclability of asphalt road surfaces 
                made from crumb rubber from scrap tires.
                    ``(iii) The estimated life of existing asphalt road 
                surfaces made from crumb rubber from scrap tires.
            ``(B) Not later than 6 months after the date of the 
        enactment of the Tire Recycling Incentives Act, the Secretary 
        of Transportation shall submit to Congress a plan for making 
        the determinations required by subparagraph (A). Not later than 
        18 months after such date, the Secretary shall complete the 
        determinations and submit to Congress a report on the 
        determinations.
            ``(C) Unless and until the Secretary of Transportation 
        determines otherwise, the estimated life of asphalt road 
        surfaces made from crumb rubber from scrap tires is deemed to 
        be twice that of conventional asphalt road surfaces.

``SEC. 4013. ENFORCEMENT AND PENALTIES FOR SCRAP TIRE REQUIREMENTS.

    ``(a) Abatement Authorities.--For the purposes of enforcing the 
scrap tire abatement provisions of section 4012, States are authorized 
to enter into consent agreements with the owner or operator of any 
scrap tire collection facility for proper management and abatement of 
scrap tires. If the owner or operator of a scrap tire collection 
facility does not agree to enter into a consent agreement, the State or 
a county government, acting with the consent of the State, is 
authorized to obtain an abatement order from a court of competent 
jurisdiction for the purposes of taking temporary control of the scrap 
tire facility and conducting the cleanup and collecting the abatement 
costs through the United States Claims Court. A court may not issue an 
abatement order if the owner or operator of such a facility shows 
justifiable cause for refusing to enter into a consent agreement. 
States are also authorized to levy fines of $1,000 per day on scrap 
tire facilities not complying with sections 4011 and 4012. 
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, in the case of an abandoned 
scrap tire collection facility, the State or a county government may 
seize the property, perform the cleanup, and dispose of the property.
    ``(b) Tire Sales and Installation Facilities Penalties.--Any tire 
sale or installation facility which is not exempt under sections 4011 
and 4012 may be fined up to $100 per day for managing scrap tires in 
violation of such sections.
    ``(c) Landfills.--Any landfill which is found to knowingly violate 
the prohibition on land disposal by landfilling more than 100 whole 
tires in any month shall be subject to a $5,000 fine for each 100 tires 
(or increment thereof) over that limit disposed of in a month.
    ``(d) Tire Collection and Recycling Facilities Penalties.--Any tire 
collection or recycling facility determined to be in noncompliance with 
section 4011 or section 4012 shall be subject to fines of $1,000 per 
day for each violation.''.
    (2) The table of contents for subtitle D (contained in section 
1001) is amended by adding at the end the following new items:

``Sec. 4011. Recycling requirements for scrap tires.
``Sec. 4012. Management standards for scrap tires and scrap tire 
                            collection and recycling facilities.
``Sec. 4013. Enforcement and penalties for scrap tire requirements.''.
    (b) Definitions.--Section 1004 of the Solid Waste Disposal Act is 
amended by adding the following at the end thereof:
    ``(42) The term `producer' with respect to tires means any person 
who produces tires for an automobile, motorcycle, truck, trailer, 
semitrailer or combination, or truck tractor. Such production does not 
include retreading tires.
    ``(43) The term `importer' with respect to tires means any person 
who imports tires, either individually or as part of an automobile or 
other vehicle.
    ``(44) The term `scrap tire' means a tire from an automobile, 
motorcycle, truck, trailer, semitrailer or combination, or truck 
tractor, that is no longer usable for the original purpose.
    ``(45) The term `scrap tire collection facility' means any facility 
or entity that voluntarily or involuntarily collects, stores, or 
otherwise accumulates scrap tires in amounts in excess of 1,000 tires a 
year, including an auto parts retailer or municipality.
    ``(46) The term `recycler' means with respect to tires the owner or 
operator of a tire recycling facility who has a permit under section 
4012.
    ``(47) The term `recycling credit' means with respect to tires a 
legal record of a recycling activity undertaken in accordance with 
section 4012 that represents scrap tires recycled for purposes of 
complying with that section and section 4011.
    ``(48) The term `tire sale and installation facility' means any 
facility which sells or installs more than 1,000 tires for operation on 
the highways of the United States.
    ``(49) The term `tire-derived product' means a product made from 
the usable materials produced from the chemical or physical processing 
of a scrap tire. Such term does not include ash from burning a scrap 
tire.
    ``(50) The term `tire fuel' means tires used to produce heat in an 
energy recovery combustion device designed to burn fossil fuels 
(including coal, oil, and natural gas), regardless of the size or shape 
of the tire upon entering the combustion device.
    ``(51) The term `tire-derived fuel' means tire fuel that is 
composed of shredded tires from which 95 percent of the metal has been 
removed.
    ``(52) The term `abatement increment' means a period of time not 
greater than six months and not less than one month, as specified in an 
abatement plan, during which a specified number of scrap tires will be 
removed from a scrap tire collection facility and processed in 
accordance with section 4011.
    ``(53) The term `shredded tire' means a scrap tire reduced to chips 
no larger than 2 inches by 2 inches.
    ``(54) The term `crumb rubber' means rubber from a scrap tire that 
is separated from the steel fabric and other contaminants of the tire, 
and reduced, with or without processing agents, into particles of 
specified sizes and shapes.
    ``(55) The term `asphalt road paving mix' includes surface 
treatments, interlayers, and crack sealants.''.
    (c) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated such sums as may be necessary to carry out the amendments 
made by this Act.

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