[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 32, Number 13 (Monday, April 1, 1996)]
[Page 573]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Statement on Signing the Land Disposal Program Flexibility Act of 1996

March 26, 1996

    Today I am pleased to sign into law H.R. 2036, the ``Land Disposal 
Program Flexibility Act of 1996,'' which brings needed reforms to the 
Solid Waste Disposal Act (SWDA).
    This Act would eliminate a statutory mandate that requires the 
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to promulgate stringent and costly 
treatment requirements for certain low-risk wastes that already are 
regulated under the Clean Water Act or Safe Drinking Water Act. The EPA 
considers these wastes to present little or no risk, due to existing 
regulation under State and Federal law.
    The Act requires EPA to conduct a study to determine whether, 
following elimination of this mandate, there will be any risks that 
might not be addressed by State or other Federal laws. It also preserves 
EPA's authority to impose any additional controls that are needed to 
protect public health and the environment. In addition, H.R. 2036 
reforms certain municipal landfill ground water monitoring requirements 
under current law, thereby easing burdens on local governments.
    The Administration's support for H.R. 2036 originated in its 
initiative for Reinventing Environmental Regulation, as announced on 
March 16, 1995. As part of that initiative, I made a commitment to 
support commonsense reforms to the SWDA--if those reforms could be 
developed through a bipartisan process. This Act addresses one of the 
most important issues that the Administration identified in our 
initiative. Once implemented by EPA, it will eliminate an unnecessary 
and duplicative layer of costly regulation, yielding tens of millions of 
dollars in savings to private industry.
                                            William J. Clinton
The White House,
March 26, 1996.

Note: H.R. 2036, approved March 26, was assigned Public Law No. 104-119. 
This statement was released by the Office of the Press Secretary on 
March 27.