[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2595 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2595

            To restrict certain exports of electronic waste.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 21, 2009

Mr. Gene Green of Texas (for himself, Mr. Thompson of California, Mrs. 
  Bono Mack, Ms. Jackson-Lee of Texas, and Ms. Eshoo) introduced the 
   following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and 
                                Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
            To restrict certain exports of electronic waste.

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

SECTION 1. ELECTRONIC WASTE EXPORT RESTRICTIONS.

    (a) Amendment.--Subtitle C of the Solid Waste Disposal Act (42 
U.S.C. 6921 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following new 
section:

``SEC. 3024. ELECTRONIC WASTE EXPORT RESTRICTIONS.

    ``(a) In General.--Beginning 12 months after the date of enactment 
of this section, except as provided in subsection (e) or (f), no person 
shall export any restricted electronic waste to a country described in 
subsection (c).
    ``(b) Definitions.--
            ``(1) In general.--For purposes of this section--
                    ``(A) the term `covered electronic equipment' means 
                used personal computers, servers, monitors, 
                televisions, other video display products, printers, 
                copiers, facsimile machines, video cassette recorders, 
                digital video disc players, video game systems, digital 
                audio players, personal digital assistants, telephones, 
                image scanners, and other used electronic products the 
                Administrator determines to be similar; and
                    ``(B) the term `restricted electronic waste' means 
                items of covered electronic equipment, whole or in 
                fragments, that include, contain, or consist of--
                            ``(i) circuit boards, lamps, switches, or 
                        other parts, components, assemblies, or 
                        materials derived therefrom containing mercury 
                        or polychlorinated biphenyls;
                            ``(ii) circuit boards, lamps, switches, or 
                        other parts, components, assemblies, or 
                        materials derived therefrom containing--
                                    ``(I) antimony in concentrations 
                                greater than 1.0 mg/L;
                                    ``(II) beryllium in concentrations 
                                greater than .007 mg/L;
                                    ``(III) cadmium, in concentrations 
                                greater than 1.0 mg/L;
                                    ``(IV) chromium in concentrations 
                                greater than 5.0 mg/L; or
                                    ``(V) lead in concentrations 
                                greater than 5.0 mg/L;
                            ``(iii) circuit boards, lamps, switches, or 
                        other parts, components, assemblies, or 
                        materials derived therefrom containing any 
                        other toxic material identified by the 
                        Administrator under paragraph (2);
                            ``(iv) cathode ray tubes or cathode ray 
                        tube glass in any form; or
                            ``(v) batteries containing lead, cadmium, 
                        mercury, or flammable organic solvents.
            ``(2) Additional restricted materials.--The Administrator 
        shall establish procedures for identifying additional 
        restricted materials, the presence of which in covered 
        electronic equipment poses a substantial hazard to human health 
        or the environment at the end of the life of the equipment.
    ``(c) Countries to Which Prohibition Applies.--The countries 
referred to in subsection (a) are all countries which are not--
            ``(1) members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation 
        and Development or the European Union; or
            ``(2) Liechtenstein.
    ``(d) General Exceptions.--The prohibition under this section shall 
not apply to--
            ``(1) the export of used electronic equipment or parts, for 
        use or reuse, if--
                    ``(A) such export is to a country that the 
                Administrator finds under subsection (e) will permit 
                trade in such equipment or parts; and
                    ``(B) such equipment or parts are tested prior to 
                export and found to be functional for at least one of 
                the primary purposes for which the equipment or parts 
                were designed, and are being sold to a customer who 
                will reuse such equipment or parts without further 
                repairs;
            ``(2) furnace-ready cathode ray tube glass cullet, cleaned 
        of all phosphors, to be used as a direct feedstock in a lead-
        glass manufacturing furnace without further processing or 
        preparation required other than quality control, which the 
        competent authority in the importing country has stated in 
        writing is not waste;
            ``(3) returns of used electronic equipment under warranty 
        by consumers or other contractual warranty collectors to the 
        original equipment manufacturer or its contractual agent for 
        purposes of warranty repair or refurbishment; or
            ``(4) the export of used electronic equipment or parts for 
        repair or refurbishment in the importing country, with the 
        intention of subsequent reuse, if--
                    ``(A) such export is to a country that the 
                Administrator finds under subsection (e) will permit 
                trade in such equipment or parts;
                    ``(B) the export is made by an original equipment 
                manufacturer or its contractual agent, or an entity 
                that meets an independent standard as identified by the 
                Administrator; and
                    ``(C) the person who exports the equipment or 
                parts--
                            ``(i) prior to shipment to any receiving 
                        facility, submits an annual notification to the 
                        Administrator, which includes--
                                    ``(I) a statement that the notifier 
                                plans to export used electronic 
                                equipment or parts for refurbishment or 
                                repair with the intention of subsequent 
                                reuse;
                                    ``(II) the notifier's name, 
                                address, and Environmental Protection 
                                Agency ID number (if applicable);
                                    ``(III) the name and phone number 
                                of a contact person;
                                    ``(IV) the type of used electronic 
                                equipment or parts that will be 
                                shipped; and
                                    ``(V) the name, address, and 
                                contact information of the receiving 
                                facility; and
                            ``(ii) keeps copies of normal business 
                        records, such as contracts, demonstrating that 
                        each shipment of exported used electronic 
                        equipment or parts is intended for repair or 
                        refurbishment and subsequent reuse, which 
                        documentation shall be retained for a period of 
                        at least 3 years after the date the used 
                        electronic equipment or parts were exported.
    ``(e) Foreign Markets.--Not later than 12 months after the date of 
enactment of this section, and annually thereafter, the Administrator 
shall identify for each country whether such country's laws and 
policies permit trade in such equipment or parts, by requesting written 
confirmation from the competent authority of the importing country.
    ``(f) Regulations.--Not later than 12 months after the date of 
enactment of this section, the Administrator shall issue regulations 
for carrying out this section, including--
            ``(1) testing requirements for verifying that used covered 
        electronic equipment or parts proposed to be exported under 
        this section are functional for the purposes for which they 
        were designed, including requirements for proper packaging to 
        prevent such equipment or parts from losing functionality due 
        to damage during transit; and
            ``(2) in consultation with the appropriate Federal agency 
        or agencies, provisions for an efficient export control regime 
        to identify exports covered by this section and provide for 
        enforcement in coordination with other enforcement procedures 
        administered by United States Customs and Border Protection.''.
    (b) Table of Contents Amendment.--The table of contents for the 
Solid Waste Disposal Act is amended by adding after the item relating 
to section 3023 the following new item:

``3024. Electronic waste export restrictions.''.

SEC. 2. CRIMINAL PENALTIES.

    Section 3008(d) of the Solid Waste Disposal Act (42 U.S.C. 6928(d)) 
is amended--
            (1) by striking ``or'' at the end of paragraph (6);
            (2) by inserting ``or'' at the end of paragraph (7); and
            (3) by inserting after paragraph (7) the following new 
        paragraph:
            ``(8) knowingly exports restricted electronic waste in 
        violation of section 3024;''.
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