[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1123 Introduced in House (IH)]







108th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1123

  To authorize States to regulate the receipt and disposal of out-of-
                      State municipal solid waste.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 6, 2003

 Mrs. Jo Ann Davis of Virginia (for herself, Mr. Souder, Mr. Moran of 
Virginia, Mr. Tom Davis of Virginia, Mrs. Christensen, and Mrs. Miller 
 of Michigan) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                    Committee on Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To authorize States to regulate the receipt and disposal of out-of-
                      State municipal 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 ``State Waste Empowerment and 
Enforcement Provision Act of 2003''.

SEC. 2. AUTHORITY TO REGULATE.

    (a) In General.--Subtitle D of the Solid Waste Disposal Act (42 
U.S.C. 6941 et seq.) is amended by adding after section 4010 the 
following new section:

``SEC. 4011. RECEIPT AND DISPOSAL OF OUT-OF-STATE MUNICIPAL SOLID 
              WASTE.

    ``(a) Authority of State To Restrict Out-of-State Municipal Solid 
Waste.--A State may limit or place restrictions on, or otherwise 
regulate, out-of-State municipal solid waste received or disposed of 
annually at each landfill or incinerator in the State, except as 
provided in subsection (b). In limiting, restricting, or regulating 
out-of-State municipal solid waste under this section, a State's powers 
include, but are not limited to--
            ``(1) assessing different fees for the receipt or disposal 
        of out-of-State municipal solid waste from those assessed for 
        municipal solid waste from inside the State;
            ``(2) requiring local referenda on the establishment of 
        landfills and construction of incinerators intended for receipt 
        or disposal of out-of-State municipal solid waste;
            ``(3) considering local need for disposal capacity when 
        making permitting and expansion decisions;
            ``(4) limiting the receipt of out-of-State municipal solid 
        waste to a percentage of a landfill's or incinerator's 
        capacity;
            ``(5) freezing the levels of out-of-State municipal solid 
        waste receipt or disposal at particular calendar year levels or 
        percentages of calendar year levels;
            ``(6) requiring companies to publicly disclose information 
        about previous health and safety violations before opening new 
        landfills or incinerators;
            ``(7) regulating and restricting modes of transportation 
        for out-of-State municipal solid waste; and
            ``(8) requiring inspectors at landfills, incinerators, and 
        transfer stations that accept out-of-State municipal solid 
        waste.
    ``(b) Exception.--A State may not, until after the expiration of 2 
years after the date of the enactment of this section, limit, restrict, 
or regulate out-of-State municipal solid waste received or disposed of 
annually at a landfill or incinerator in the State under subsection (a) 
to the extent that a host community agreement specifically authorizes 
the receipt of such waste.
    ``(c) Definitions.--For purposes of this section:
            ``(1) Affected local government.--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 a landfill or incinerator is 
                located or proposed to be located;
                    ``(B) if there is no such body authorized by State 
                law, the elected officials of the city, town, township, 
                borough, county, or parish exercising primary 
                responsibility over municipal solid waste management or 
                the use of land in the jurisdiction in which a landfill 
                or incinerator is located or proposed to be located; or
                    ``(C) contiguous units of local government located 
                in each of 2 or more adjoining States acting jointly as 
                an affected local government, pursuant to the authority 
                provided in section 1005(b), for purposes of providing 
                authorization under subsection (b) for municipal solid 
                waste generated in the jurisdiction of one of those 
                units of local government and received for disposal or 
                incineration in the jurisdiction of another.
            ``(2) Host community agreement.--The term `host community 
        agreement' means a written, legally binding agreement, lawfully 
        entered into before the date of the enactment of this section 
        between an owner or operator of a landfill or incinerator and 
        an affected local government that specifically authorizes the 
        landfill or incinerator to receive out-of-State municipal solid 
        waste.
            ``(3) Municipal solid waste.--
                    ``(A) Waste included.--Except as provided in 
                subparagraph (B), the term `municipal solid waste' 
                means--
                            ``(i) all waste materials discarded for 
                        disposal by households, including single and 
                        multifamily residences, and hotels and motels;
                            ``(ii) sewage sludge and residuals from any 
                        sewage treatment plant;
                            ``(iii) combustion ash generated by 
                        resource recovery facilities or municipal 
                        incinerators;
                            ``(iv) petroleum contaminated soil; and
                            ``(v) all waste materials discarded for 
                        disposal that were generated by commercial, 
                        institutional, municipal, and industrial 
                        sources, to the extent such materials--
                                    ``(I) are essentially the same as 
                                materials described in clause (i); and
                                    ``(II) were collected and disposed 
                                of with other municipal solid waste 
                                described in clause (i) or subclause 
                                (I) of this clause as part of normal 
                                municipal solid waste collection 
                                services, except that this subclause 
                                does not apply to hazardous materials 
                                other than hazardous materials that, 
                                pursuant to regulations issued under 
                                section 3001(d), are not subject to 
                                regulation under subtitle C.
                Examples of municipal solid waste include food and yard 
                waste, paper, clothing, appliances, consumer product 
                packaging, disposable diapers, office supplies, 
                cosmetics, glass and metal food containers, and 
                household hazardous waste. Such term shall include 
                debris resulting from construction, remodeling, repair, 
                or demolition of structures.
                    ``(B) Waste not included.--The term `municipal 
                solid waste' does not include any of the following:
                            ``(i) Any solid waste identified or listed 
                        as a hazardous waste under section 3001, except 
                        for household hazardous waste.
                            ``(ii) Any solid waste, including 
                        contaminated soil (other than petroleum 
                        contaminated soil) and debris, resulting from--
                                    ``(I) a response action taken under 
                                section 104 or 106 of the Comprehensive 
                                Environmental Response, Compensation, 
                                and Liability Act (42 U.S.C. 9604 or 
                                9606);
                                    ``(II) a response action taken 
                                under a State law with authorities 
                                comparable to the authorities of such 
                                section 104 or 106; or
                                    ``(III) a corrective action taken 
                                under this Act.
                            ``(iii) Recyclable materials that have been 
                        separated, at the source of the waste, from 
                        waste otherwise destined for disposal or that 
                        have been managed separately from waste 
                        destined for disposal.
                            ``(iv) Scrap rubber to be used as a fuel 
                        source.
                            ``(v) Materials and products returned from 
                        a dispenser or distributor to the manufacturer 
                        or an agent of the manufacturer for credit, 
                        evaluation, and possible reuse.
                            ``(vi) 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 or unit thereof that is owned 
                                or operated by the generator of the 
                                waste, located on property owned by the 
                                generator or a company with which the 
                                generator is affiliated, or the 
                                capacity of which is contractually 
                                dedicated exclusively to a specific 
                                generator, so long as the disposal area 
                                complies with local and State land use 
                                and zoning regulations applicable to 
                                the disposal site.
                            ``(vii) Any medical waste that is 
                        segregated from or not mixed with solid waste.
                            ``(viii) Waste from manufacturing or 
                        processing (including pollution control) 
                        operations not essentially the same as waste 
                        normally generated by households.
            ``(4) Out-of-state municipal solid waste.--The term `out-
        of-State municipal solid waste' means, with respect to any 
        State, municipal solid waste generated outside of the State. 
        The term includes municipal solid waste generated outside of 
        the United States and includes municipal solid waste generated 
        outside of the State that has passed through a transfer 
        facility or other interim holding facility inside the State.
            ``(5) Recyclable materials.--The term `recyclable 
        materials' means materials that are diverted, separated from, 
        or separately managed from materials otherwise destined for 
        disposal as solid waste, by collecting, sorting, or processing 
        for use as raw materials or feedstocks in lieu of, or in 
        addition to, virgin materials, including petroleum, in the 
        manufacture of usable materials or products.
            ``(6) Specifically authorizes.--The term `specifically 
        authorizes' refers to an explicit authorization, contained in a 
        host community agreement or permit, to import municipal solid 
        waste from outside the State. Such authorization may include a 
        reference to a fixed radius surrounding the landfill or 
        incinerator which includes an area outside the State or a 
        reference to `any place of origin', reference to specific 
        places outside the State, or use of such phrases as `regardless 
        of origin' or `outside the State'. The language for such 
        authorization must clearly and affirmatively state the approval 
        or consent of the affected local government or State for 
        receipt of municipal solid waste from sources or locations 
        outside the State from which the owner or operator of a 
        landfill or incinerator proposes to import it. The term shall 
        not include general references to the receipt of waste from 
        outside the jurisdiction of the affected local government.''.
    (b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents of the Solid Waste 
Disposal Act (42 U.S.C. prec. 6901) is amended by adding after the item 
relating to section 4010 the following new item:

``Sec. 4011. Receipt and disposal of out-of-State municipal solid 
                            waste.''.
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