[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 58 (Thursday, May 12, 1994)]
[Senate]
[Page S]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: May 12, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
               INDIAN LANDS OPEN DUMP CLEANUP ACT OF 1994

  Mr. BAUCUS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate 
proceed to the consideration of calendar No. 417, S. 720, a bill to 
clean up open dumps on Indian lands; that the committee substitute be 
agreed to, the bill read a third time and passed, and the motion to 
reconsider laid upon the table; further, that any statements thereon 
appear in the Record at the appropriate place as though read.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  So the bill (S. 720) was deemed read the third time and passed, as 
follows:

                                 S. 720

       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 ``Indian Lands Open Dump 
     Cleanup Act of 1994''.

     SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

       (a) Findings.--The Congress finds that--
       (1) there are at least 600 open dumps on Indian lands;
       (2) these dumps threaten the health and safety of residents 
     of Indian lands and contiguous areas;
       (3) many of these dumps were established or are used by 
     Federal agencies such as the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the 
     Indian Health Service;
       (4) these dumps threaten the environment;
       (5) the United States holds most Indian lands in trust for 
     the benefit of Indian tribes and individuals; and
       (6) most Indian tribal governments lack the financial and 
     technical resources necessary to close and maintain these 
     dumps in compliance with applicable Federal laws.
       (b) Purposes.--The purposes of this Act are to--
       (1) identify the location of open dumps on Indian lands;
       (2) assess the relative health and environmental hazards of 
     such dumps; and
       (3) provide financial and technical assistance to Indian 
     tribal governments, either directly or by contract, to close 
     such dumps in compliance with applicable Federal standards 
     and regulations, or standards promulgated by an Indian tribal 
     government, if such standards are more stringent than the 
     Federal standards.

     SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

       For the purposes of this Act, the following definitions 
     shall apply:
       (1) Closure or close.--The term ``closure or close'' means 
     the termination of operations at open dumps on Indian land 
     and bringing such dumps into compliance with applicable 
     Federal standards and regulations, or standards promulgated 
     by an Indian tribal government, if such standards are more 
     stringent than the Federal standards and regulations.
       (2) Director.--The term ``Director'' means the Director of 
     the Indian Health Service.
       (3) Indian land.--The term ``Indian land'' means--
       (A) land within the limits of any Indian reservation under 
     the jurisdiction of the United States Government, 
     notwithstanding the issuance of any patent, and including 
     rights-of-way running through the reservation;
       (B) dependent Indian communities within the borders of the 
     United States whether within the original or subsequently 
     acquired territory thereof, and whether within or without the 
     limits of a State; and
       (C) Indian allotments, the Indian titles to which have not 
     been extinguished, including rights-of-way running through 
     the same.
       (4) Indian tribal government.--The term ``Indian tribal 
     government'' means the governing body of any Indian tribe, 
     band, nation, pueblo, or other organized group or community 
     which is recognized as eligible for the special programs and 
     services provided by the United States to Indians because of 
     their status as Indians.
       (5) Inventory.--The term ``inventory'' means a listing of 
     the geographic location of all open dumps, an evaluation of 
     the contents of each dump, and an assessment of the relative 
     impact of each dump on the environment and public health.
       (6) Open dump.--The term ``open dump'' means any facility 
     or site where solid waste is being or has been routinely and 
     regularly disposed of that has not been closed or covered or 
     that does not meet the criteria for a new municipal solid 
     waste landfill unit promulgated pursuant to the Solid Waste 
     Disposal Act (42 U.S.C. 6901 et seq.).
       (7) Postclosure maintenance.--The term ``postclosure 
     maintenance'' means any activity undertaken at a closed solid 
     waste facility on Indian land to maintain the integrity of 
     containment features, monitor compliance with applicable 
     performance standards, or remedy any situation or occurrence 
     that violates regulations promulgated pursuant to the Solid 
     Waste Disposal Act (42 U.S.C. 6901 et seq.).
       (8) Solid waste.--The term ``solid waste'' means any 
     garbage, refuse, sludge from a wastewater treatment plant, 
     water supply treatment plant, or air pollution control 
     facility, and other discarded material, including solid, 
     liquid, semisolid, or contained gaseous material resulting 
     from industrial, commercial, mining, and agricultural 
     operations, and from community activities, but does not 
     include solid or dissolved materials in domestic sewage, or 
     solid or dissolved materials in irrigation return flows or 
     industrial discharges that are point sources subject to 
     permit under section 402 of the Federal Water Pollution 
     Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1342), or source material, special 
     nuclear material, or by-product material as defined in 
     section 11 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2014).

     SEC. 4. AUTHORITY OF THE DIRECTOR OF THE INDIAN HEALTH 
                   SERVICE.

       (a) Inventory.--Upon request by an Indian tribal 
     government, the Director shall--
       (1) conduct an inventory of open dumps on the Indian lands 
     which are subject to the authority of the Indian tribal 
     government;
       (2) determine the relative severity of the threat to public 
     health and the environment posed by each dump based on 
     information available to the Director and the Indian tribal 
     government, unless the Director, in consultation with the 
     Indian tribal government, determines that actions such as 
     soil testing or water monitoring would be appropriate in the 
     circumstances; and
       (3) develop cost estimates for the closure and postclosure 
     maintenance of such dumps.
       (b) Assistance.--Upon completion of the activities required 
     to be performed pursuant to subsection (a), the Director 
     shall, subject to subsection (c), provide financial and 
     technical assistance to the Indian tribal government to carry 
     out the activities necessary to--
       (1) close such dumps; and
       (2) provide for postclosure maintenance of such dumps.
       (c) Conditions.--All assistance provided pursuant to 
     subsection (b) shall be made available on a site-specific 
     basis in accordance with priorities developed by the 
     Director. Priorities on a specific reservation shall be 
     developed in consultation with the Indian tribal government. 
     The priorities shall take into account the relative severity 
     of the threat to public health and the environment posed by 
     each open dump and the availability of funds necessary for 
     closure and postclosure maintenance.

     SEC. 5. CONTRACT AUTHORITY.

       (a) Authority of Director.--To the maximum extent feasible, 
     the Director shall carry out duties under this Act through 
     contracts, compacts, or memoranda of agreement with Indian 
     tribal governments pursuant to the Indian Self-Determination 
     and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 450 et seq.), section 
     7 of the Act of August 5, 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2004a), or section 
     302 of the Indian Health Care Improvement Act (25 U.S.C. 
     1632).
       (b) Demonstration Projects.--(1) The Director may establish 
     and carry out a program providing for demonstration projects 
     involving open dumps on Indian land. It shall be the purpose 
     of such projects to determine if there are unique cost 
     factors involved in the cleanup and maintenance of open dumps 
     on such land, and the extent to which advance closure 
     planning is necessary. Under the program, the Director is 
     authorized to select three Indian tribal governments to 
     participate in such demonstration projects.
       (2) Criteria established by the Director for the selection 
     and participation of an Indian tribal government in the 
     demonstration project shall provide that--
       (A) in order to be eligible to participate, an Indian 
     tribal government must have one or more existing open dumps 
     on the Indian lands that are under its authority, and have a 
     plan for the closure of each such dump;
       (B) at least one of the Indian tribal governments selected 
     by the Director shall proceed under a contract entered into 
     pursuant to the Indian Self-Determination and Education 
     Assistance Act; and
       (C) at least one of the Indian tribal governments selected 
     by the Director shall permit the Indian Health Service to 
     directly provide for the cleanup and maintenance.
       (3) No demonstration project shall be funded for more than 
     3 fiscal years.

     SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

       (a) General Authorization.--There are authorized to be 
     appropriated such sums as may be necessary to carry out this 
     Act.
       (b) Funding Source.--The activities required to be 
     performed by the Director under this Act shall only be funded 
     from appropriations made pursuant to this Act and such 
     activities shall be coordinated with activities related to 
     solid waste and sanitation facilities funded pursuant to 
     other authorizations.

     SEC. 7. DISCLAIMERS.

       (a) Authority of Director.--Nothing in this Act shall be 
     construed to alter, diminish, repeal, or supersede any 
     authority conferred on the Director pursuant to section 302 
     of the Indian Health Care Improvement Act (25 U.S.C. 1632), 
     and section 7 of the Act of August 5, 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2004a).
       (b) Exempted Lands and Facilities.--This Act shall not 
     apply to open dump sites on Indian lands--
       (1) that comprise an area of one-half acre or less, and 
     that are used by individual families on lands to which they 
     hold legal or beneficial title;
       (2) of any size, that have been or are being operated for a 
     profit; or
       (3) where solid waste from an industrial process is being 
     or has been routinely disposed of at a privately owned 
     facility in compliance with applicable Federal laws.

                          ____________________