[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 119 (Wednesday, July 12, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2384-S2385]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SA 186. Mrs. CAPITO submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by
her to the bill S. 2226, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year
2024 for military activities of the Department of Defense, for military
construction, and for defense activities of the Department of Energy,
to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for
other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:
At the appropriate place, insert the following:
SEC. __. RECYCLING INFRASTRUCTURE AND ACCESSIBILITY PROGRAM.
(a) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Administrator.--The term ``Administrator'' means the
Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.
(2) Curbside recycling.--The term ``curbside recycling''
means the process by which residential recyclable materials
are picked up curbside.
(3) Eligible entity.--The term ``eligible entity'' means--
(A) a State (as defined in section 1004 of the Solid Waste
Disposal Act (42 U.S.C. 6903));
(B) a unit of local government;
(C) an Indian Tribe; and
(D) a public-private partnership.
(4) Indian tribe.--The term ``Indian Tribe'' has the
meaning given the term in section 4 of the Indian Self-
Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304).
(5) Materials recovery facility.--
(A) In general.--The term ``materials recovery facility''
means a recycling facility where primarily residential
recyclables, which are diverted from disposal by a generator
and collected separately from municipal solid waste, are
mechanically or manually sorted into commodities for further
processing into specification-grade commodities for sale to
end users.
(B) Exclusion.--The term ``materials recovery facility''
does not include a solid waste management facility that may
process municipal solid waste to remove recyclable materials.
(6) Pilot grant program.--The term ``pilot grant program''
means the Recycling Infrastructure and Accessibility Program
established under subsection (b).
(7) Recyclable material.--The term ``recyclable material''
means obsolete, previously used, off-specification, surplus,
or incidentally produced material for processing into a
specification-grade commodity for which a market exists.
(8) Transfer station.--The term ``transfer station'' means
a facility that--
(A) receives and consolidates recyclable material from
curbside recycling or drop-off facilities; and
(B) loads the recyclable material onto tractor trailers,
railcars, or barges for transport to a distant materials
recovery facility or another recycling-related facility.
(9) Underserved community.--The term ``underserved
community'' means a community, including an unincorporated
area, without access to full recycling services because--
(A) transportation, distance, or other reasons render
utilization of available processing capacity at an existing
materials recovery facility cost prohibitive; or
(B) the processing capacity of an existing materials
recovery facility is insufficient to manage the volume of
recyclable materials produced by that community.
(b) Establishment.--Not later than 18 months after the date
of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall establish a
pilot grant program, to be known as the ``Recycling
Infrastructure and Accessibility Program'', to award grants,
on a competitive basis, to eligible entities to improve
recycling accessibility in a community or communities within
the same geographic area.
(c) Goal.--The goal of the pilot grant program is to fund
eligible projects that will significantly improve
accessibility to recycling systems through investments in
infrastructure in underserved communities through the use of
a hub-and-spoke model for recycling infrastructure
development.
(d) Applications.--To be eligible to receive a grant under
the pilot grant program, an eligible entity shall submit to
the Administrator an application at such time, in such
manner, and containing such information as the Administrator
may require.
(e) Considerations.--In selecting eligible entities to
receive a grant under the pilot grant program, the
Administrator shall consider--
(1) whether the community or communities in which the
eligible entity is seeking to carry out a proposed project
has curbside recycling;
(2) whether the proposed project of the eligible entity
will improve accessibility to recycling services in a single
underserved community or multiple underserved communities;
and
(3) if the eligible entity is a public-private partnership,
the financial health of the private entity seeking to enter
into that public-private partnership.
(f) Priority.--In selecting eligible entities to receive a
grant under the pilot grant program, the Administrator shall
give priority to eligible entities seeking to carry out a
proposed project in a community in which there is not more
than 1 materials recovery facility within a 75-mile radius of
that community.
(g) Use of Funds.--An eligible entity awarded a grant under
the pilot grant program may use the grant funds for projects
to improve recycling accessibility in communities, including
in underserved communities, by--
(1) increasing the number of transfer stations;
(2) expanding curbside recycling collection programs where
appropriate; and
(3) leveraging public-private partnerships to reduce the
costs associated with collecting and transporting recyclable
materials in underserved communities.
(h) Prohibition on Use of Funds.--An eligible entity
awarded a grant under the pilot grant program may not use the
grant funds for projects relating to recycling education
programs.
(i) Minimum and Maximum Grant Amount.--A grant awarded to
an eligible entity under the pilot grant program shall be in
an amount--
(1) not less than $500,000; and
(2) not more than $15,000,000.
(j) Set-Aside.--The Administrator shall set aside not less
than 70 percent of the amounts made available to carry out
the pilot grant program for each fiscal year to award grants
to eligible entities to carry out a proposed project or
program in a single underserved community or multiple
underserved communities.
(k) Federal Share.--
(1) In general.--Subject to paragraph (2), the Federal
share of the cost of a project or program carried out by an
eligible entity using grant funds shall be not more than 90
percent.
(2) Waiver.--The Administrator may waive the Federal share
requirement under paragraph (1) if the Administrator
determines that an eligible entity would experience
significant financial hardship as a result of that
requirement.
(l) Report.--Not later than 2 years after the date on which
the first grant is awarded under the pilot grant program, the
Administrator shall submit to Congress a report describing
the implementation of the pilot grant program, which shall
include--
(1) a list of eligible entities that have received a grant
under the pilot grant program;
(2) the actions taken by each eligible entity that received
a grant under the pilot grant program to improve recycling
accessibility with grant funds; and
(3) to the extent information is available, a description
of how grant funds received under the pilot grant program
improved recycling rates in each community in which a project
or program was carried out under the pilot grant program.
[[Page S2385]]
(m) Authorization of Appropriations.--
(1) In general.--There is authorized to be appropriated to
the Administrator to carry out the pilot grant program
$30,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2023 through 2027, to
remain available until expended.
(2) Administrative costs and technical assistance.--Of the
amounts made available under paragraph (1), the Administrator
may use up to 5 percent--
(A) for administrative costs relating to carrying out the
pilot grant program; and
(B) to provide technical assistance to eligible entities
applying for a grant under the pilot grant program.
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