[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 24 (Friday, February 28, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1798-S1799]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. CONRAD:
  S. 384. A bill to amend the Solid Waste Disposal Act to allow States 
to regulate the disposal of municipal solid waste generated outside the 
State; to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.


                  solid waste disposal act amendments

 Mr. CONRAD. Mr. President, today I introduce legislation to 
give States and localities the right to regulate, and if they choose, 
reject, interstate shipments of municipal solid waste.
  Mr. President, this is not a new issue to this body; we have grappled 
with the subject of interstate waste for years. The Senate has passed 
legislation to address this problem in each of the past three 
Congresses. Unfortunately, similar legislation has not been passed by 
the House of Representatives. This problem only grows more and more 
serious as we delay passing this important legislation.
  An estimated 16 million tons of municipal solid waste travels across 
State lines each and every year. And the problem will only grow in the 
future. Last May, New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani and New York 
Gov. George Pataki announced an agreement to close the city's last 
landfill, the Fresh Kills landfill. Without additional landfill space 
in New York, an additional 4 million tons of municipal solid waste will 
be on the interstate market every year after Fresh Kills closes on 
December 31, 2001.
  Landfills across the country are filling up, and communities are 
searching for new places to send their garbage. They are looking at 
places like North Dakota, where the air, water, and soil have not been 
spoiled by pollution and where local communities may be willing to take 
tremendous amounts of money in exchange for landfill space. Whether 
they want this imported waste or not, States and surrounding 
communities are almost powerless to stop the flow of garbage across 
their borders. Further, residents of local communities that agree to 
accept out-of-State waste often do not have all the information they 
need to make an informed choice to open their landfill space to 
imported garbage.
  Mr. President, out-of-State waste has already come to my State of 
North Dakota. We have been accepting industrial waste from General 
Motors plants from all across the country, although GM has recently 
begun sending their waste to another facility. We also import municipal 
solid waste incinerator ash from Minnesota. And one waste company tried 
for many years to open a superdump in North Dakota that would take 
nearly twice as much municipal solid waste as the entire State of North 
Dakota produces. My State is not unique in its situation; this is 
happening all across the country.
  Mr. President, the residents of my State and citizens across the 
country are tired of being powerless to regulate interstate waste. In 
fact, just last year North Dakota's voters approved an initiated 
measure that was designed to deter imports of other States' waste into 
North Dakota. That measure was ruled unconstitutional by the U.S. 
district judge. In the judge's decision, he wrote, ``The reality 
appears to be that trash is trash, and any law classifying it into 
home-grown versus foreign will not work.''
  Mr. President, unless Congress acts to give States and localities the 
authority to regulate and reject interstate waste, this situation will 
continue. The bill I am introducing today is really very simple. First, 
it gives States the authority to regulate interstate waste. If a State 
wants to reject new solid waste shipments, my bill would allow that.
  Second, it requires that affected local governments formally approve 
of any waste import. This gives the communities the ability to veto 
proposed shipments of out-of-State waste.
  Third, it provides an opportunity for the area surrounding the host 
community to be involved in a decision to accept out-of-State waste. A 
decision on siting a solid waste landfill, especially one that will 
take large amounts of imported waste, must be a collective one, and a 
small community alone should not be able to make a decision that will 
affect a much larger area.
  Finally, my bill requires that waste companies publicly release all 
the relevant information about their proposed landfill before a 
community makes a decision on it. This information should include 
estimated environmental impacts and mitigation, economic impacts, 
planned expansion, financial disclosure, and records of past violations 
by the owner and operator of the proposed disposal site. Waste 
companies hold up the promise of jobs and economic incentives, but they 
do not want to reveal the potential risks involved in their plans. In 
many cases, they may not even reveal their overall plans until it is 
too late to stop them. One practice I have seen involves having a local 
developer purchase a site and get a permit to dispose of modest amounts 
of solid waste. The big interstate waste company then buys out the 
local party and aggressively expands the site's permit. The local 
community doesn't have a chance. This isn't fair and cannot be allowed 
to continue. Communities must be able to make informed choices.
  Mr. President, we have been working on the interstate waste problem 
in the Senate for many years now. The problem has not gone away and it 
will not go away without congressional action. The trash is still 
moving, and States and communities are almost powerless to stop it. It 
is time to enact strong interstate waste legislation into law.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that a copy of my bill be 
included in the Record.
  There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

                                 S. 384

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

     SECTION 1. AUTHORITY FOR STATES TO REGULATE MUNICIPAL SOLID 
                   WASTE GENERATED IN ANOTHER STATE.

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

[[Page S1799]]

     ``SEC. 4011. AUTHORITY FOR STATES TO REGULATE MUNICIPAL SOLID 
                   WASTE GENERATED IN ANOTHER STATE.

       ``(a) Definitions.--In this section:
       ``(1) Affected local government.--The term `affected local 
     government' means the elected officials of a political 
     subdivision of a State in which a facility for the treatment, 
     incineration, or disposal of municipal solid waste is located 
     (as designated by the State under subsection (d)).
       ``(2) Affected local solid waste planning unit.--The term 
     `affected local solid waste planning unit' means a planning 
     unit, established under State law, that has--
       ``(A) jurisdiction over the geographic area in which a 
     facility for the treatment, incineration, or disposal of 
     municipal waste is located; and
       ``(B) authority relating to solid waste management 
     planning.
       ``(3) Municipal solid waste.--
       ``(A) In general.--The term `municipal solid waste' means 
     refuse, and any nonhazardous residue generated from the 
     combustion of the refuse, generated by--
       ``(i) the general public;
       ``(ii) a residential, commercial, or industrial source (or 
     any combination of the sources); or
       ``(iii) a municipal solid waste incinerator facility.
       ``(B) Inclusions.--The term `municipal solid waste' 
     includes refuse that consists of paper, wood, yard waste, 
     plastic, leather, rubber, or other combustible or 
     noncombustible material such as metal or glass (or any 
     combination of the materials).
       ``(C) Exclusions.--The term `municipal solid waste' does 
     not include--
       ``(i) hazardous waste identified under section 3001;
       ``(ii) waste resulting from an action taken under section 
     104 or 106 of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, 
     Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9604, 
     9606);
       ``(iii) material collected for the purpose of recycling or 
     reclamation;
       ``(iv) waste generated in the provision of service in 
     interstate, intrastate, foreign, or overseas air 
     transportation;
       ``(v) industrial waste (including debris from construction 
     or demolition) that is not identical to municipal solid waste 
     in composition and physical and chemical characteristics 
     or that is not collected and diposed of with other 
     municipal solid waste collection services; or
       ``(vi) medical waste that is segregated from municipal 
     solid waste.
       ``(b) Authority To Regulate.--
       ``(1) In general.--Each State is authorized to enact and 
     enforce a State law that regulates the treatment, 
     incineration, and disposal of municipal solid waste generated 
     in another State.
       ``(2) Authorities.--A State law described in paragraph (1) 
     may include provisions for--
       ``(A) the imposition of a ban or limit on the importation 
     of municipal solid waste generated outside the State; and
       ``(B) the collection of differential fees or other charges 
     for the treatment, incineration, or disposal of municipal 
     solid waste generated in another State.
       ``(c) Local Government Approval.--
       ``(1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (2) or 
     as provided under State law, the owner or operator of a 
     landfill, incinerator, or other waste disposal facility in a 
     State may not accept for treatment, incineration, or disposal 
     any municipal solid waste generated outside the State unless 
     the owner or operator has obtained a written authorization to 
     accept the waste from--
       ``(A) the affected local government; and
       ``(B) any affected local solid waste planning unit 
     established under State law.
       ``(2) Exceptions.--
       ``(A) In general.--Paragraph (1) shall not apply with 
     respect to an owner or operator of a landfill, incinerator, 
     or other waste disposal facility that--
       ``(i) otherwise complies with all applicable laws of the 
     State in which the facility is located relating to the 
     treatment, incineration, or disposal of municipal solid 
     waste; and
       ``(ii) before the date of enactment of this section, 
     accepted for treatment, incineration, or disposal municipal 
     solid waste generated outside the State.
       ``(B) Existing authorizations.--An owner or operator of a 
     facility described in paragraph (1) that, before the date of 
     enactment of this section, obtained a written authorization 
     from--
       ``(i) the appropriate official of a political subdivision 
     of the State (as determined by the State); and
       ``(ii) any affected local solid waste planning unit 
     established pursuant to the law of the State;
     to carry out the treatment, incineration, or disposal of 
     municipal solid waste generated outside the State shall, 
     during the period of authorization, be considered to be in 
     compliance with the requirements of paragraph (1).
       ``(C) Facilities under construction.--If, before the date 
     of enactment of this section, an appropriate political 
     subdivision of a State (as determined by the State) and any 
     affected local solid waste planning unit established under 
     the law of the State issued a written authorization for a 
     facility that is under construction, or is to be constructed, 
     to accept for treatment, incineration, or disposal municipal 
     solid waste generated outside the State, the owner or 
     operator of the facility, when construction is completed, 
     shall be considered to be in compliance with paragraph (1) 
     during the period of authorization.
       ``(3) Expansion of facilities.--An owner or operator that 
     expands a landfill, incinerator, or other waste disposal 
     facility shall be required to obtain the authorizations 
     required under paragraph (1) before accepting for treatment, 
     incineration, or disposal municipal solid waste that is 
     generated outside the State.
       ``(4) Procedure.--Before taking formal action with respect 
     to an authorization to receive municipal solid waste or 
     incinerator ash generated outside the State, the affected 
     local government and the affected local solid waste planning 
     unit shall--
       ``(A) require from the owner or operator of the facility 
     seeking the authorization and make readily available to the 
     Governor, adjoining Indian tribes, and other interested 
     persons for inspection and copying--
       ``(i) a brief description of the planned facility, 
     including a description of the facility size, ultimate waste 
     capacity, and anticipated monthly and yearly waste quantity 
     to be handled;
       ``(ii) a map of the facility that discloses--

       ``(I) the location of the facility in relation to the local 
     road system and topographical and hydrological features; and
       ``(II) any buffer zones and facility units that are to be 
     acquired by the owner or operator of the facility;

       ``(iii) a description of the then-current environmental 
     characteristics of the facility, including information 
     regarding--

       ``(I) ground water resources; and
       ``(II) alterations that may be necessitated by or occur as 
     a result of operation of the facility;

       ``(iv) a description of--

       ``(I) appropriate environmental controls to be used at the 
     facility, including run-on or runoff management, air 
     pollution control devices, source separation procedures, 
     methane monitoring and control, landfill covers, liners, 
     leachate collection systems, and monitoring and testing 
     programs; and
       ``(II) any waste residuals generated by the facility, 
     including leachate or ash, and the planned management of the 
     residuals;

       ``(v) a description of the site access controls to be 
     employed and roadway improvements to be made by the owner or 
     operator and an estimate of the timing and extent of 
     increased local truck traffic;
       ``(vi) a list of all required Federal, State, and local 
     permits required to operate the landfill and receive waste 
     generated outside the State;
       ``(vii) estimates of the personnel requirements of the 
     facility, including information regarding the probable skill 
     and education levels required for jobs at the facility that 
     distinguishes between employment statistics for pre-
     operational levels and those for post-operational levels;
       ``(viii)(I) information with respect to any violations of 
     law (including regulations) by the owner or operator, or 
     subsidiaries;
       ``(II) the disposition of enforcement proceedings taken 
     with respect to the violations; and
       ``(III) corrective action and rehabilitation measures taken 
     as a result of the proceedings;
       ``(ix) information required by State law to be provided 
     with respect to gifts, contributions, and contracts by the 
     owner or operator to any elected or appointed public 
     official, agency, institution, business, or charity located 
     within the affected local area to be served by the facility;
       ``(x) information required by State law to be provided by 
     the owner or operator with respect to compliance by the owner 
     or operator with the State solid waste management plan in 
     effect under section 4007;
       ``(xi) information with respect to the source and amount of 
     capital required to construct and operate the facility in 
     accordance with the information provided under clauses (i) 
     through (vii); and
       ``(xii) information with respect to the source and amount 
     of insurance, collateral, or bond secured by the applicant to 
     meet all Federal and State requirements;
       ``(B) provide opportunity for public comment, including at 
     least 1 public hearing; and
       ``(C) not less than 30 days before taking formal action--
       ``(i) publish notice of the action in a newspaper of 
     general circulation; and
       ``(ii) notify the Governor, adjoining local governments, 
     and adjoining Indian tribes.
       ``(d) Designation of Affected Local Government.--
       ``(1) In general.--Not later than 90 days after the date of 
     enactment of this section, the Governor of each State shall 
     designate the type of political subdivision of the State that 
     shall serve as the affected local government for the purpose 
     of authorizing a facility to accept for treatment, 
     incineration, or disposal of municipal solid waste generated 
     outside of the State.
       ``(2) Failure to designate.--If the Governor of a State 
     fails to make a designation by the date specified in 
     paragraph (1), the affected local government shall be the 
     public body with primary jurisdiction over the land or use of 
     the land on which the facility is located.''.
       (b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents for subtitle 
     D of the Solid Waste Disposal Act is amended by adding after 
     the item relating to section 4010 the following:
``Sec. 4011. Authorization for States to regulate municipal solid waste 
              generated in another State.''.
              
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