[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 346 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







109th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 346

 To amend the Solid Waste Disposal Act to prohibit the importation of 
         Canadian municipal solid waste without State consent.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           February 10, 2005

 Ms. Stabenow introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
       referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend the Solid Waste Disposal Act to prohibit the importation of 
         Canadian municipal solid waste without State consent.

    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 ``Canadian Waste Import Ban Act of 
2005''.

SEC. 2. CANADIAN MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE.

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

``SEC. 4011. CANADIAN MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE.

    ``(a) Definitions.--In this section:
            ``(1) Agreement.--The term `Agreement' means--
                    ``(A) the Agreement Concerning the Transboundary 
                Movement of Hazardous Waste between the United States 
                and Canada, signed at Ottawa on October 28, 1986 (TIAS 
                11099) and amended on November 25, 1992; and
                    ``(B) any regulations promulgated to implement and 
                enforce that Agreement.
            ``(2) Canadian municipal solid waste.--The term `Canadian 
        municipal solid waste' means municipal solid waste that is 
        generated in Canada.
            ``(3) Municipal solid waste.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The term `municipal solid waste' 
                means--
                            ``(i) material discarded for disposal by--
                                    ``(I) households (including single 
                                and multifamily residences); and
                                    ``(II) public lodgings such as 
                                hotels and motels; and
                            ``(ii) material discarded for disposal that 
                        was generated by commercial, institutional, and 
                        industrial sources, to the extent that the 
                        material--
                                    ``(I)(aa) is essentially the same 
                                as material described in clause (i); or
                                    ``(bb) is collected and disposed of 
                                with material described in clause (i) 
                                as part of a normal municipal solid 
                                waste collection service; and
                                    ``(II) is not subject to regulation 
                                under subtitle C.
                    ``(B) Inclusions.--The term `municipal solid waste' 
                includes--
                            ``(i) appliances;
                            ``(ii) clothing;
                            ``(iii) consumer product packaging;
                            ``(iv) cosmetics;
                            ``(v) debris resulting from construction, 
                        remodeling, repair, or demolition of a 
                        structure;
                            ``(vi) disposable diapers;
                            ``(vii) food containers made of glass or 
                        metal;
                            ``(viii) food waste;
                            ``(ix) household hazardous waste;
                            ``(x) office supplies;
                            ``(xi) paper; and
                            ``(xii) yard waste.
                    ``(C) Exclusions.--The term `municipal solid waste' 
                does not include--
                            ``(i) solid waste identified or listed as a 
                        hazardous waste under section 3001, except for 
                        household hazardous waste;
                            ``(ii) solid waste, including 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, 
                                9606);
                                    ``(II) a response action taken 
                                under a State law with authorities 
                                comparable to the authorities contained 
                                in either of those sections; or
                                    ``(III) a corrective action taken 
                                under this Act;
                            ``(iii) recyclable material--
                                    ``(I) that has been separated, at 
                                the source of the material, from waste 
                                destined for disposal; or
                                    ``(II) that has been managed 
                                separately from waste destined for 
                                disposal, including scrap rubber to be 
                                used as a fuel source;
                            ``(iv) a material or product returned from 
                        a dispenser or distributor to the manufacturer 
                        or an agent of the manufacturer for credit, 
                        evaluation, and possible potential reuse;
                            ``(v) solid waste that is--
                                    ``(I) generated by an industrial 
                                facility; and
                                    ``(II) transported for the purpose 
                                of treatment, storage, or disposal to a 
                                facility (which facility is in 
                                compliance with applicable State and 
                                local land use and zoning laws and 
                                regulations) or facility unit--
                                            ``(aa) that is owned or 
                                        operated by the generator of 
                                        the waste;
                                            ``(bb) that is located on 
                                        property owned by the generator 
                                        of the waste or a company with 
                                        which the generator is 
                                        affiliated; or
                                            ``(cc) the capacity of 
                                        which is contractually 
                                        dedicated exclusively to a 
                                        specific generator;
                            ``(vi) medical waste that is segregated 
                        from or not mixed with solid waste;
                            ``(vii) sewage sludge or residuals from a 
                        sewage treatment plant;
                            ``(viii) combustion ash generated by a 
                        resource recovery facility or municipal 
                        incinerator; or
                            ``(ix) waste from a manufacturing or 
                        processing (including pollution control) 
                        operation that is not essentially the same as 
                        waste normally generated by households.
    ``(b) Ban on Canadian Municipal Solid Waste.--
            ``(1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (2), 
        until the date on which the Administrator promulgates 
        regulations to implement and enforce the Agreement (including 
        notice and consent provisions of the Agreement), no person may 
        import into any State, and no solid waste management facility 
        may accept, Canadian municipal solid waste for the purpose of 
        disposal or incineration of the Canadian municipal solid waste.
            ``(2) Election by governor.--The Governor of a State may 
        elect to opt out of the ban under paragraph (1), and consent to 
        the importation and acceptance by the State of Canadian 
        municipal solid waste before the date specified in that 
        paragraph, if the Governor submits to the Administrator a 
        notice of that election by the Governor.
    ``(c) Authority of Administrator.--
            ``(1) In general.--Beginning immediately after the date of 
        enactment of this section, the Administrator shall--
                    ``(A) perform the functions of the Designated 
                Authority of the United States described in the 
                Agreement with respect to the importation and 
                exportation of municipal solid waste under the 
                Agreement; and
                    ``(B) implement and enforce the Agreement 
                (including notice and consent provisions of the 
                Agreement).
            ``(2) Consent to importation.--In considering whether to 
        consent to the importation of Canadian municipal solid waste 
        under article 3(c) of the Agreement, the Administrator shall--
                    ``(A) obtain the consent of each State into which 
                the Canadian municipal solid waste is to be imported; 
                and
                    ``(B) consider the impact of the importation on 
                homeland security, public health, and the 
                environment.''.
    (b) Conforming Amendment.--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:

``Sec. 4011. Canadian municipal solid waste''.
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