[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1172 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1172

   To direct the Secretary of Energy to establish a grant program to 
  facilitate the production of clean, renewable energy from municipal 
                  solid waste, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              June 3, 2009

   Mr. Brown introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
       referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To direct the Secretary of Energy to establish a grant program to 
  facilitate the production of clean, renewable energy from municipal 
                  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,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Rubbish to Renewables Act of 2009''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds that--
            (1) municipal solid waste, a plentiful resource, can be a 
        substantial source of clean, renewable energy;
            (2) by collecting methane produced by landfills and 
        converting the methane into productive energy, landfills can 
        contribute significantly to the reduction of greenhouse gas 
        emissions;
            (3) clean energy policy of the United States should fully 
        recognize and support the ability of landfills to provide clean 
        energy and contribute to the reduction of greenhouse gas 
        emissions;
            (4) further investment is needed to promote new 
        technologies and develop new processes for the conversion of 
        municipal solid waste into clean, renewable energy; and
            (5) investment in municipal solid waste clean energy 
        projects can create jobs, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and 
        lessen the dependence of the United States on foreign oil.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Eligible project.--
                    (A) In general.--The term ``eligible project'' 
                means a project carried out to produce clean, renewable 
                energy from municipal solid waste (including from 
                methane generated from a municipal solid waste 
                landfill) that reduces greenhouse gas emissions 
                substantially more than the flaring of landfill gas, as 
                determined by the Secretary.
                    (B) Inclusions.--The term ``eligible project'' 
                includes projects described in subparagraph (A) that 
                use technologies such as anaerobic digestion, plasma 
                arc, or thermal gasification (including pyrolysis).
                    (C) Exclusions.--The term ``eligible project'' does 
                not include a project described in subparagraph (A) 
                that uses an oxidizing technology, such as combustion 
                or incineration.
            (2) Greenhouse gas.--The term ``greenhouse gas'' means any 
        of--
                    (A) carbon dioxide;
                    (B) methane;
                    (C) nitrous oxide;
                    (D) sulfur hexafluoride;
                    (E) a perfluorocarbon; or
                    (F) a hydrofluorocarbon.
            (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 or 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 
                                as a hazardous waste under subtitle C 
                                of the Solid Waste Disposal Act (42 
                                U.S.C. 6921 et seq.).
                    (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 of the Solid 
                        Waste Disposal Act (42 U.S.C. 6921), 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 the Solid Waste Disposal Act (42 
                                U.S.C. 6901 et seq.);
                            (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; or
                            (vii) combustion ash generated by a 
                        resource recovery facility or municipal 
                        incinerator.
            (4) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of Energy.
            (5) Solid waste.--The term ``solid waste'' has the meaning 
        given the term in section 1004 of the Solid Waste Disposal Act 
        (42 U.S.C. 6903).

SEC. 4. GRANTS FOR DEVELOPMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION.

    (a) Establishment.--The Secretary shall establish a program under 
which the Secretary shall provide grants to eligible entities (as 
identified by the Secretary) for use in funding eligible projects--
            (1) to position the United States as a world leader in 
        technologies that generate renewable energy from municipal 
        solid waste;
            (2) to assist entities in the United States in developing 
        and implementing those technologies;
            (3) to generate clean energy jobs;
            (4) to reduce greenhouse gas emissions; and
            (5) to conserve scarce landfill space.
    (b) Application.--An entity that seeks to receive a grant under 
this section shall submit to the Secretary an application at such time 
and containing such information as the Secretary shall require.
    (c) Maximum Amount of Grant.--A grant provided by the Secretary to 
an eligible entity under this section shall not exceed $10,000,000.
    (d) Priority.--In providing grants under this section, the 
Secretary shall prioritize grant applications based on, with respect to 
project proposed to be carried out in the application--
            (1) the quantity of renewable energy the project would 
        generate;
            (2) the quantity of greenhouse gas emission reductions over 
        and above current best available technology;
            (3) whether the technology required for the proposed 
        project is not yet widely implemented in the United States;
            (4) whether the technology has a high potential for 
        replication;
            (5) the quantity of landfill space the project would 
        preserve; and
            (6) the number of jobs that would be created.
    (e) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out this section $250,000,000 for each of fiscal 
years 2010 through 2013.

SEC. 5. REDUCING GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS THROUGH LANDFILLS.

    (a) Additionality.--Under any legislation enacted after the date of 
enactment of this Act to regulate the emission of greenhouse gases that 
includes a cap-and-trade system, a landfill gas control measure that 
reduces the emission of a greenhouse gas at a level greater than 
required under Federal, State, or local laws (including regulations) 
used for that reduction shall be considered to meet additionality 
criteria under that legislation.
    (b) Domestic Offsets.--If a landfill gas control measure described 
in subsection (a) meets criteria under legislation described in that 
subsection to qualify as a domestic offset, the domestic offset shall 
be at a level that is equal to the quantity of greenhouse gases emitted 
that is less than the baseline quantity of the greenhouse gases 
emitted.
                                 <all>