[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 360 Introduced in House (IH)]







105th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 360

  To amend the Solid Waste Disposal Act to prohibit the international 
               export and import of certain solid waste.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 7, 1997

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

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To amend the Solid Waste Disposal Act to prohibit the international 
               export and import of certain solid waste.

    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 ``Waste Export and Import Prohibition 
Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

    (a) Findings.--The Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) Proposals to export solid waste from the United States 
        to foreign countries are increasing. In numerous instances 
        exported waste has contaminated the environment, adversely 
        affected public health, and contributed to foreign policy 
        liabilities for the United States.
            (2) Exports of solid waste are being undertaken to avoid 
        the community opposition and higher treatment and disposal 
        expenses that are associated with waste disposal, treatment, 
        and recycling in the United States.
            (3) Increasingly, hazardous waste exports are justified by 
        the agreeable term ``recycling'', even though the result of the 
        export is a transfer of pollution to areas of the world with 
        little capability to manage that pollution.
            (4) Continued exports of solid waste serve as a 
        disincentive to implementation of existing domestic policy, 
        which recognizes reuse and waste reduction as the best methods 
        of solid waste management.
            (5) Imports of waste from foreign countries strain 
        diminishing domestic waste disposal capacity, threaten public 
        health, and contaminate the environment.
            (6) The international Basel Convention on the Control of 
        Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal 
        recognizes the right and indeed encourages waste export and 
        import prohibitions. In the first meeting of the Parties, a 
        decision was made requesting industrialized countries to 
        prohibit transboundary movements of hazardous wastes and other 
        wastes for disposal to developing countries and further 
        requesting developing countries to prohibit the import of 
        hazardous wastes from industrialized countries.
    (b) Purpose.--The purpose of this Act is to prohibit the export of 
solid waste from the United States and the import of solid waste from 
foreign countries.

SEC. 3. PROHIBITION OF EXPORT AND IMPORT OF SOLID WASTE.

    (a) Prohibition.--Subtitle A of the Solid Waste Disposal Act (42 
U.S.C. 6901 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following new 
section:

``SEC. 1009. EXPORT AND IMPORT OF SOLID WASTE.

    ``(a) Prohibition on Exports to Non-OECD Countries.--Effective July 
1, 1994, no person may export any solid waste from the United States to 
a non-OECD country, except as provided in subsection (c).
    ``(b) Prohibition on Exports to and Imports from OECD Countries.--
Effective January 1, 1999, no person may export any solid waste from 
the United States to an OECD country, or import any solid waste into 
the United States from an OECD country, except as provided in 
subsection (c).
    ``(c) Specific Exceptions.--(1) The prohibitions contained in 
subsections (a) and (b) shall not apply to baled waste paper, scrap 
textiles, or waste glass, if all of the following conditions are met 
with respect to such waste:
            ``(A) The waste is exported or imported for the purposes of 
        recycling.
            ``(B) The waste is separated from the waste stream.
            ``(C) The waste does not contain any substances whose 
        storage, treatment, or disposal within the United States is 
        regulated under subtitle C.
    ``(2) The prohibition contained in subsection (b) shall not apply 
to any scrap metal that--
            ``(A) meets all of the conditions listed in subparagraphs 
        (A), (B), and (C) of paragraph (1);
            ``(B) is not, and does not contain, a sludge; and
            ``(C) meets either of the following conditions:
                    ``(i) The waste is not within, and does not contain 
                a waste within, a category of waste listed in Annex I 
                or Annex II of the Basel Convention on the Control of 
                Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their 
                Disposal.
                    ``(ii) The waste does not have a characteristic 
                listed in Annex III of such convention.
    ``(d) Requirement to Retrieve or Clean Up Waste.--(1) In any case 
in which waste is exported in violation of this section, the 
Administrator shall ensure that the waste is retrieved from the 
recipient foreign country, if the foreign country agrees to such 
retrieval, by either requiring the violator to retrieve such waste 
pursuant to a compliance order issued under subsection (g), or by 
retrieving the waste directly.
    ``(2) If the Administrator retrieves the waste directly, the 
Administrator shall ensure that the waste is retrieved--
            ``(A) in the case of a violation with respect to which a 
        compliance order has been issued, not later than 90 days after 
        the expiration of the time period specified in the compliance 
        order for retrieval of the waste by the violator, if the 
        violator has failed to retrieve the waste; and
            ``(B) in the case of a violation with respect to which a 
        compliance order has not been issued, not later than 90 days 
        after discovery of the violation.
    ``(3) If the foreign country does not agree to retrieval of the 
waste, the Administrator shall dispose of or clean up such waste in the 
foreign country, to the extent the foreign country agrees to such 
action.
    ``(e) Definitions.--For purposes of this section, the following 
definitions apply:
            ``(1) The term `solid waste' has the meaning given that 
        term by section 1004(27), except that such term also includes 
        the following:
                    ``(A) Low-level radioactive waste, as defined in 
                part 61 of title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations.
                    ``(B) Mixed waste. For purposes of this subsection, 
                the term `mixed waste' means hazardous waste or 
                nonhazardous waste mixed with low-level radioactive 
                waste.
                    ``(C) All wastes covered by the Basel Convention on 
                the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous 
                Wastes and their Disposal, as set forth in Annexes I, 
                II, and III of that convention.
            ``(2) The term `OECD country' means any foreign country 
        that is a member of the Organization for Economic Cooperation 
        and Development.
            ``(3) The term `non-OECD country' means any foreign country 
        that is not an OECD country.
    ``(f) Regulations.--The Administrator shall promulgate such 
regulations as may be necessary to implement this section. The 
regulations shall exclude from the prohibitions contained in 
subsections (a) and (b) small quantities of personal household waste 
carried by individuals traveling abroad.
    ``(g) Enforcement.--
            ``(1) Compliance orders.--(A) Whenever on the basis of any 
        information the Administrator determines that any person has 
        violated or is in violation of any requirement of this section, 
        the Administrator may--
                    ``(i) issue an order assessing a civil penalty for 
                any past or current violation, requiring compliance 
                immediately or within a specified time period, or both; 
                or
                    ``(ii) commence a civil action in the United States 
                district court in the district in which the violation 
                occurred for appropriate relief, including a temporary 
                or permanent injunction.
            ``(B) A compliance order issued under subparagraph (A)(i) 
        shall include, in the case of a person exporting waste in 
        violation of this section, a requirement to retrieve the waste 
        from the recipient foreign country within 90 days after 
        issuance of the order, or within such shorter period of time as 
        the Administrator considers appropriate, if the foreign country 
        agrees to such retrieval.
            ``(C) A compliance order issued under subparagraph (A)(i) 
        may include--
                    ``(i) in the case of a person exporting waste in 
                violation of this section, a requirement to dispose of 
                or clean up the waste in the foreign country, to the 
                extent agreed to by the foreign country; or
                    ``(ii) in the case of a person importing waste in 
                violation of this section, a requirement to return the 
                waste to the foreign country from which the waste 
                originated, if the foreign country agrees to accept 
                such waste, or to dispose of or clean up the waste in 
                compliance with applicable law.
            ``(2) Public hearing.--Any order issued under this 
        subsection shall become final unless, not later than 30 days 
        after the order is served, the person or persons named in the 
        order request a public hearing. Upon such request, the 
        Administrator shall promptly conduct a public hearing. In 
        connection with any proceeding under this section the 
        Administrator may issue subpoenas for the attendance and 
        testimony of witnesses and the production of relevant papers, 
        books, and documents, and may promulgate rules for discovery 
        procedure.
            ``(3) Civil penalties.--(A) Any person who violates any 
        requirement of this section shall be liable to the United 
        States for a civil penalty in an amount not to exceed $25,000 
        for each such violation. Each day of such violation shall, for 
        purposes of this subsection, constitute a separate violation.
            ``(B) If a violator fails to take the action required by a 
        compliance order issued under paragraph (1) within the time 
        specified in the order, the Administrator may assess a civil 
        penalty of not more than $25,000 for each day of continued 
        noncompliance with the order.
            ``(4) Criminal penalties.--Any person who knowingly 
        violates the prohibition contained in this section or any 
        requirement of regulations promulgated under subsection (e) 
        shall be subject to imprisonment for not to exceed 10 years, 
        fined in accordance with title 18, United States Code, or both, 
        for each such violation.
            ``(5) Citizen suits.--For purposes of this section, a 
        government of a foreign country shall be considered a person 
        under section 7002 (relating to citizen suits).''.
    (b) Repeal of Existing Authority.--Section 3017 of the Solid Waste 
Disposal Act is repealed. The table of contents for subtitle C of such 
Act is amended by striking out the item relating to such section.
    (c) Table of Contents.--The table of contents for subtitle A of the 
Solid Waste Disposal Act is amended by adding at the end the following 
new item:

``Sec. 1009. Export and import of solid waste.''.
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