[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 43 (Thursday, March 18, 1999)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2946-S2947]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. SPECTER:
  S. 663. A bill to impose certain limitations on the receipt of out-
of-State municipal solid waste, to authorize State and local controls 
over the flow of municipal solid waste, and for other purposes; to the 
Committee on Environment and Public Works.


 the solid waste interstate transportation and local authority act of 
                                  1999

 Mr. SPECTER. Mr. President, I have sought recognition to 
introduce a bill that would allow states to pass laws limiting the 
import of waste from other states. Addressing the interstate shipment 
of solid waste is a top environmental priority for millions of 
Americans, millions of Pennsylvanians and for me. As you are aware, 
Congress came very close to enacting legislation to address this issue 
in 1994, and the Senate passed interstate waste and flow control 
legislation in May, 1995 by an overwhelming 94-6 margin, only to see it 
die in the House of Representatives. I am confident that with the 
strong leadership of my colleagues Chairman Chafee and Senator Smith, 
we can get quick action on a strong waste bill and pressure the House 
to conclude this effort once and for all.
  As you are aware, the Supreme Court has put us in the position of 
having to intervene in the issue of trash shipments. In recent years, 
the Court has struck down State laws restricting the importation of 
solid waste from other jurisdictions under the Interstate Commerce 
Clause of the U.S. Constitution. The only solution is for Congress to 
enact legislation conferring such authority on the States, which would 
then be Constitutional.
  It is time that the largest trash exporting States bite the bullet 
and take substantial steps towards self-sufficiency for waste disposal. 
The legislation passed by the Senate in the 103rd and 104th Congresses 
would have provided much-needed relief to Pennsylvania, which is by far 
the largest importer of out-of-State waste in the nation. According to 
the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, 3.9 million 
tons of out-of-State municipal solid waste entered Pennsylvania in 
1993, rising to 4.3 million tons in 1994, 5.2 million in 1995, and a 
record 6.3 million tons from out-of-State in 1996 and 1997, which are 
the most recent statistics available. Most of this trash came from New 
York and New Jersey, with New York responsible for 2.7 million tons and 
New Jersey responsible for 2.4 million tons in 1997, representing 82 
percent of the municipal solid waste imported into Pennsylvania.
  This is not a problem limited to one small corner of my State. 
Millions of tons of trash generated in other States find their final 
resting place in more than 50 landfills throughout Pennsylvania.
  Now, more than ever, we need legislation which will go a long way 
toward resolving the landfill problems facing Pennsylvania, Indiana, 
and similar waste importing States. I am particularly concerned by the 
developments in New York, where Governor Pataki and Mayor Giuliani have 
announced the closure of the City's one remaining landfill, Fresh 
Kills, in 2001. I am advised that 13,200 tons per day of New York City 
trash are sent there and that Pennsylvania is a likely destination once 
Fresh Kills begins its shut-down.
  On several occasions, I have met with country officials, 
environmental groups, and other Pennsylvanians to discuss the solid 
waste issue specifically, and it often comes up in the public open 
house town meetings I conduct in all of Pennsylvania's 67 counties. I 
came away from those meetings impressed by the deep concerns expressed 
by the residents of communities which host a landfill rapidly filing up 
with the refuse of millions of New Yorkers and New Jerseyans whose 
States have failed to adequately manage the waste they generate.
  Recognizing the recurrent problem of landfill capacity in 
Pennsylvania, since 1989 I have pushed to resolve the interstate waste 
crisis. I have introduced legislation with my late colleague, Senator 
John Heinz, and then with former Senator Dan Coats along with 
cosponsors from both sides of the aisle which would have authorized 
States to restrict the disposal of out-of-State municipal waste in any 
landfill or incinerator within its jurisdiction. I was pleased 
when many of the concepts in our legislation were incorporated in the 
Environment and Public Works Committee's reported bills in the 103rd 
and 104th Congresses, and I supported these measures during floor 
consideration.

  During the 103rd Congress, we encountered a new issue with respect to 
municipal solid waste--the issue of waste flow control authority. On 
May 16, 1994, the Supreme Court held (6-3) in Carbone versus Clarkstown 
that a flow control ordinance, which requires all solid waste to be 
processed at a designated waste management facility, violates the 
Commerce Clause of the United States Constitution. In striking down the 
Clarkstown ordinance, the Court stated that the ordinance discriminated 
against interstate commerce by allowing only the favored operator to 
process waste that is within the town's limits. As a result of the 
Court's decision, flow control ordinances in Pennsylvania and other 
States are considered unconstitutional.
  I have met with county commissioners who have made clear that this 
issue is vitally important to the local governments in Pennsylvania and 
my office has, over the past years received numerous phone calls and 
letters from individual Pennsylvania counties and municipal solid waste 
authorities that support waste flow control legislation. Since 1988, 
flow control has been the primary tool used by Pennsylvania counties to 
enforce solid waste plans and meet waste reduction and recycling goals 
or mandates. Many Pennsylvania jurisdictions have spent a considerable 
amount of public funds on disposal facilities, including upgraded 
sanitary landfills, state-of-the-art resource recovery facilities, and 
co-composting facilities. In the absence of flow control authority, I 
am advised that many of these worthwhile projects could be jeopardized 
and that there has been a fiscal impact on some communities where there 
are debt service obligations.
  In order to fix these problems, my legislation would provide a 
presumptive ban on all out-of-state municipal solid waste, including 
construction and demolition debris, unless a landfill obtains the 
agreement of the local government to allow for the importation of 
waste. It would provide a freeze authority to allow a State to place a 
limit on the amount of out-of-state waste received annually at each 
facility. It would also provide a ratchet authority to allow a State to 
gradually

[[Page S2947]]

reduce the amount of out-of-state municipal waste that may be received 
at facilities. These provisions will provide a concrete incentive for 
the largest states to get a handle on their solid waste management 
immediately. To address the problem of flow control my bill would 
provide authority to allow local governments to designate where 
privately collected waste must be disposed. This would be a narrow fix 
for only those localities that constructed facilities before the 1994 
Supreme Court ruling and who relied on their ability to regulate the 
flow of garbage to pay for their municipal bonds.
  This is an issue that affects numerous states, and I urge my 
colleagues to support this very important legislation.
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