[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 33 (Wednesday, March 20, 2002)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2175-S2176]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE INTERSTATE TRANSPORTATION AND LOCAL AUTHORITY ACT 
                                OF 2002

  Mr. FEINGOLD. Mr. President, yesterday I joined as an original 
cosponsor of legislation introduced by my Midwestern colleague, the 
Senator from Ohio, Mr. Voinovich. This legislation is similar to 
legislation introduced by the Senator from Ohio and the Senator from 
Indiana, Mr. Bayh, in the previous Congress. I am pleased to be working 
with the Senator from Ohio on this very important issue. I know that 
he, as a former Governor, is intimately aware of the concerns that the 
growing trash trade poses for the States that we represent.
  We in the Midwest, especially those of us fortunate enough to be from 
the Great Lakes States, enjoy a very high quality of life, beautiful 
scenery, small, neighborly towns, and spectacular natural resources. We 
hold it as a particular point of pride that we, in many instances, have 
the luxury of avoiding many environmental problems, and we have 
structured our State and local governments in Wisconsin to try to be 
sure that we continue to avoid them. We in Wisconsin, however, are 
unable to protect our communities, which have done a good regulatory 
job, from having to deal with the solid waste mess created by our 
neighboring communities in other States. Instead, my State has been 
forced to accept other States' municipal solid waste in ever increasing 
amounts.
  We need to enact legislation to give back to States the power to be 
able to

[[Page S2176]]

control the flow of waste into State-licensed landfills from out-of-
State sources. This legislation would give states the tools to do just 
that. It gives States the power to freeze solid waste imports at the 
1993 levels, and to charge a $3 per ton fee on out-of-State trash. 
States that did not accept out-of-State waste in 1993 would be presumed 
to prohibit receipt of out-of-State waste until the affected unit of 
local government approves it. Facilities that already have a host 
community agreement or permit that accepts out-of-State waste would 
remain exempt from the ban. States would also be allowed to set a 
statewide percentage limit on the amount of waste that new or expanding 
facilities could accept. The limit cannot be lower than 20 percent. 
Finally, States, under this bill, are also given the ability to deny 
the creation of either new facilities or the expansion of existing in-
State facilities, if it is determined that there is no in-State need 
for the new capacity.
  My home State has tried to address this issue repeatedly on its own, 
without success. On January 25, 1999, a Federal appeals court struck 
down a 1997 Wisconsin law that prohibits landfills from accepting out-
of-State waste from communities that don't recycle in compliance with 
Wisconsin's law. Wisconsin's law bans 15 different recyclables from 
State landfills. Under the law, communities using Wisconsin landfills 
must have a recycling program similar to those required of Wisconsin 
communities under Wisconsin law, regardless of the law in their home 
State. About 27 Illinois towns rely on southern Wisconsin landfills. 
Since the law took effect, waste haulers serving those communities have 
had to find alternative landfills for their clients, incurring higher 
transportation costs in the process. Ilinois-based Waste Management 
Inc. and the 1,300-member National Solid Waste Management Association 
were the entities that challenged Wisconsin's law.
  By recycling, Wisconsin residents have reduced the amount of 
municipal waste heading to landfills. Since the State's previous out-
of-State waste law was struck down by the appeals court in 1995, the 
amount of non-Wisconsin waste in Wisconsin landfills has tripled. When 
the law was in effect, 7.7 percent of the municipal waste in Wisconsin 
came from out of State. That has risen to more than 22.9 percent since 
the law was struck down. Though this legislation will not afford 
Wisconsin the ability to block garbage containing recyclables from our 
landfills, it will at least give my State the ability to address the 
overall volume of waste entering our State.
  In 1995, I supported flow control legislation sponsored by the 
Senator from New Hampshire, Mr. Smith, and drawn substantially from the 
work of the former Senator from Indiana, Mr. Coats. I have been very 
concerned that the Senate, which passed that bill by a significant 
majority vote of 94-6, has not taken up legislation to address this 
issue since that time. The issue of interstate waste control affects my 
home State and more than 20 other States. For years, States have been 
faced with the challenge of ensuring safe, responsible management of 
out-of-State waste, and the need for State control is even more acute 
today than in was in 1995. Congress is the only body that can give the 
States the relief that they need from being overwhelmed by a tidal wave 
of trash.
  We need to take prompt action on this matter, and this legislation is 
a good first step. I urge my colleagues to consider lending this bill 
their support.

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