[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1958 Introduced in House (IH)]






109th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1958

 To phase out the incineration of solid waste, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 28, 2005

 Mr. Andrews introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
 Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on 
  Transportation and Infrastructure, for a period to be subsequently 
   determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such 
 provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To phase out the incineration of solid waste, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SEC. 1. SHORT TITLE.

     This Act may be cited as the ``Stop Solid Waste Incineration Act 
of 2005''.

SEC. 2. STATE IMPLEMENTATION PLANS.

    (a) Submission of Plans.--Each State shall, after reasonable notice 
and public hearings, adopt and submit to the Administrator of the 
Environmental Protection Agency (referred to in this Act as the 
``Administrator''), within one year after the enactment of this Act, a 
3-year implementation plan to achieve each of the following:
            (1) Increased recycling by at least 75 percent over the 3-
        year period.
            (2) Water source pollution reduction.
            (3) The restriction of landfill dumping to materials that 
        are not recyclable or compostable.
            (4) The phasing out of incineration of solid waste within 4 
        years and 6 months after the enactment of this Act.
            (5) A waste reduction rate of 10 percent.
            (6) An increase in composting of 10 percent.
    (b) Procedures.--Each implementation plan submitted by a State 
under this Act shall be adopted by the State after reasonable notice 
and public hearing. No such plan may be implemented by the State until 
approved by the Administrator under this Act. Each such plan shall--
            (1) include enforceable limitations and other control 
        measures, means, or techniques, as well as schedules and 
        timetables for compliance, as may be necessary or appropriate 
        to meet the applicable requirements of this Act;
            (2) provide for establishment and operation of appropriate 
        devices, methods, systems, and procedures necessary to--
                    (A) monitor, compile, and analyze data on 
                compliance with this Act; and
                    (B) make such data available to the Administrator;
            (3) include a program to provide for the enforcement of the 
        measures described in paragraph (1);
            (4) provide for revision of such plan whenever the 
        Administrator finds on the basis of information available to 
        the Administrator that the plan is inadequate to comply with 
        the requirements established under this Act; and
            (5) provide for consultation and participation by local 
        political subdivisions affected by the plan.
    (c) Environmental Protection Agency Action on Plan Submissions.--
            (1) Completeness of plan submissions.--
                    (A) Completeness criteria.--Within 6 months after 
                the date of the enactment of this Act, the 
                Administrator shall promulgate minimum criteria that 
                any plan submission must meet before the Administrator 
                is required to act on such submission under this 
                subsection. The criteria shall be limited to the 
                information necessary to enable the Administrator to 
                determine whether the plan submission complies with the 
                provisions of this Act.
                    (B) Completeness finding.--Within 6 months after 
                the Administrator's receipt of a plan or plan revision 
                under this Act, the Administrator shall determine 
                whether the plan or revision complies with this Act and 
                approve or reject the plan or plan revision. If the 
                plan is approved, the State shall begin implementation 
                immediately. If the plan is rejected, the Environmental 
                Protection Agency will inform the State why the plan 
                was rejected. That State then has 3 months to submit a 
                new plan.
                    (C) Effect of finding of incompleteness.--Where the 
                Administrator determines that any part of a plan 
                submission meets the requirements of this Act and 
                approves such part and disapproves the plan in part, 
                the State shall immediately implement the approved part 
                or parts and submit a revised plan respecting the 
                remaining parts within 3 months after the date of the 
                Administrator's disapproval.
            (2) Deadline for action.--Within 12 months of a 
        determination by the Administrator (or a determination deemed 
        by operation of law) under paragraph (1) that a State has 
        submitted a plan or plan revision (or, in the Administrator's 
        discretion, part thereof) that meets the minimum criteria 
        established pursuant to paragraph (1), if applicable (or, if 
        those criteria are not applicable, within 12 months of 
        submission of the plan or revision), the Administrator shall 
        act on the submission in accordance with paragraph (3).
            (3) Full and partial approval and disapproval.--In the case 
        of any submittal on which the Administrator is required to act 
        under paragraph (2), the Administrator shall approve such 
        submittal as a whole if it meets all of the applicable 
        requirements of this Act. If a portion of the plan revision 
        meets all the applicable requirements of this Act, the 
        Administrator may approve the plan revision in part and 
        disapprove the plan revision in part. The plan revision shall 
        not be treated as meeting the requirements of this Act until 
        the Administrator approves the entire plan revision as 
        complying with the applicable requirements of this Act.
            (4) Conditional approval.--The Administrator may approve a 
        plan revision based on a commitment of the State to adopt 
        specific enforceable measures by a date certain, but not later 
        than 1 year after the date of approval of the plan revision. 
        Any such conditional approval shall be treated as a disapproval 
        if the State fails to comply with such commitment.
            (5) Calls for plan revisions.--Whenever the Administrator 
        finds that the applicable implementation plan for any area is 
        substantially inadequate to comply with any requirement of this 
        Act, the Administrator shall require the State to revise the 
        plan as necessary to correct such inadequacies. The 
        Administrator shall notify the State of the inadequacies, and 
        may establish reasonable deadlines (not to exceed 6 months 
        after the date of such notice) for the submission of such plan 
        revisions. Such findings and notice shall be public.
            (6) Corrections.--Whenever the Administrator determines 
        that the Administrator's action approving, disapproving, or 
        promulgating any plan or plan revision (or part thereof) was in 
        error, the Administrator may in the same manner as the 
        approval, disapproval, or promulgation revise such action as 
        appropriate without requiring any further submission from the 
        State. Such determination and the basis thereof shall be 
        provided to the State and public.
    (d) Plan Revisions.--Each revision to an implementation plan 
submitted by a State under this Act shall be adopted by such State 
after reasonable notice and public hearing. The Administrator shall not 
approve a revision of a plan if the revision would not comply with any 
applicable requirement of this Act.
    (e) Sanctions.--The Administrator may apply any of the sanctions 
listed in section 2 whenever the Administrator makes a finding, 
disapproval, or determination under section 2(a) in relation to any 
plan.
    (f) Federal Implementation Plans.--The Administrator shall 
promulgate a Federal implementation plan at any time within 2 years 
after the Administrator--
            (1) finds that a State has failed to make a required 
        submission or finds that the plan or plan revision submitted by 
        the State does not satisfy the minimum criteria established 
        under this Act; or
            (2) disapproves a State implementation plan submission in 
        whole or in part,
unless the State corrects the deficiency, and the Administrator 
approves the plan or plan revision, before the Administrator 
promulgates such Federal implementation plan.

SEC. 3. SANCTIONS.

    (a) State Failure.--For any implementation plan or plan revision 
required under this part or required in response to a finding of 
substantial inadequacy as described in section 1, if the 
Administrator--
            (1) finds that a State has failed to submit a plan, or to 
        submit 1 or more of the elements (as determined by the 
        Administrator) required by the provisions of this Act;
            (2) disapproves in whole or in part a plan submission under 
        section 1; and
            (3) finds that any requirement of an approved plan (or 
        approved part of a plan) is not being implemented,
unless such deficiency has been corrected within 18 months after the 
finding, disapproval, or determination referred to in paragraphs (1), 
(2), and (3), the sanctions referred to in subsection (b) shall apply 
until the Administrator determines that the State has come into 
compliance.
    (b) Sanctions.--(1) The Administrator may impose a prohibition, 
applicable to a State, on the approval by the Secretary of 
Transportation of any projects or the awarding by the Secretary of any 
grants, under title 23, United States Code, other than projects or 
grants for safety where the Secretary determines, based on accident or 
other appropriate data submitted by the State, that the principal 
purpose of the project is an improvement in safety to resolve a 
demonstrated safety problem and likely will result in a significant 
reduction in, or avoidance of, accidents. Such prohibition shall become 
effective upon the selection by the Administrator of this sanction.
    (2) In addition to safety, projects or grants that may be approved 
by the Secretary, notwithstanding the prohibition in paragraph (1), are 
the following--
            (A) capital programs for public transit;
            (B) construction or restriction of certain roads or lanes 
        solely for the use of passenger buses or high occupancy 
        vehicles;
            (C) highway ramp metering, traffic signalization, and 
        related programs that improve traffic flow;
            (D) fringe and transportation corridor parking facilities 
        serving multiple occupancy vehicle programs or transit 
        operations;
            (E) programs to limit or restrict vehicle use in downtown 
        areas or other areas of emission concentration particularly 
        during periods of peak use, through road use charges, tolls, 
        parking surcharges, or other pricing mechanisms, vehicle 
        restricted zones or periods, or vehicle registration programs; 
        and
            (F) programs for breakdown and accident scene management, 
        nonrecurring congestion, and vehicle information systems, to 
        reduce congestion.

SEC. 4. INCENTIVES.

    (a) Grant Program.--The Administrator is authorized to make grants 
to each State that phases out the incineration of solid waste prior to 
the deadline established under this Act. Such grants are to be used for 
the purpose of finding alternative, environmental friendly means of 
solid waste disposal. The Administrator may make grants under this 
subsection in the amount of--
            (1) $60,000,000 to States that phase out the incineration 
        of solid waste within 1 year after the enactment of this Act;
            (2) $40,000,000 to States that phase out the incineration 
        of solid waste within 2 years after the enactment of this Act; 
        and
            (3) $25,000,000 to States that phase out the incineration 
        of solid waste within 3 years after the enactment of this Act.
    (b) Interstate Waste Authority.--On the date that a State phases 
out the incineration of solid waste, such State shall have the 
authority to limit or restrict the importation of solid waste in such 
State.
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