109th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 2491
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
September 7 (legislative day, SEPTEMBER 6), 2006
Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public
Works
AN ACT
To amend the Solid Waste Disposal Act to authorize States to restrict
receipt of foreign municipal solid waste and implement the Agreement Concerning
the Transboundary Movement of Hazardous Waste between the United States
and Canada, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United
States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the `International Solid Waste Importation and
Management Act of 2006'.
SEC. 2. INTERNATIONAL TRANSPORTATION AND DISPOSAL OF MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE.
(a) In General- Subtitle D of the Solid Waste Disposal Act (42 U.S.C. 6941
et seq.) is amended by adding after section 4010 the following new section:
`SEC. 4011. INTERNATIONAL TRANSPORTATION AND DISPOSAL OF MUNICIPAL SOLID
WASTE.
`(a) State Authority to Address Importation and Management of Municipal
Solid Waste-
`(1) IN GENERAL- Until the date on which all final regulations issued
by the Administrator to implement and enforce the Agreement (including
notice and consent provisions of the Agreement) become effective, a State
may enact a law or laws or issue regulations or orders imposing limitations
on the receipt and disposal of foreign municipal solid waste within the
State. Laws, regulations, and orders enacted or issued before that date
may continue in effect according to their terms after that date.
`(2) EFFECT ON INTERSTATE AND FOREIGN COMMERCE- No State action taken
as authorized by this section shall be considered to impose an undue burden
on interstate and foreign commerce or to otherwise impair, restrain, or
discriminate against interstate and foreign commerce.
`(3) TRADE AND TREATY OBLIGATIONS- Nothing in this section affects, replaces,
or amends prior law relating to the need for consistency with international
trade obligations.
`(b) Authority of Administrator-
`(1) IN GENERAL- Beginning immediately after the date of enactment of
this section, the Administrator shall--
`(A) perform the functions of the Designated Authority of the United
States described in the Agreement with respect to the importation and
exportation of municipal solid waste under the Agreement; and
`(B) implement and enforce the notice and consent and other provisions
of the Agreement.
`(2) REGULATIONS- Not later than 24 months after the date of enactment
of this section, the Administrator shall issue final regulations with
respect to the Administrator's responsibilities under paragraph (1).
`(3) CONSENT TO IMPORTATION- In considering whether to consent to the
importation under article 3(c) of the Agreement, the Administrator shall--
`(A) give substantial weight to the views of the State or States into
which the municipal solid waste is to be imported, and consider the
views of the local government with jurisdiction over the location where
the waste is to be disposed;
`(B) consider the impact of the importation on--
`(i) continued public support for and adherence to State and local
recycling programs;
`(ii) landfill capacity as provided in comprehensive waste management
plans;
`(iii) air emissions from increased vehicular traffic; and
`(iv) road deterioration from increased vehicular traffic; and
`(C) consider the impact of the importation on homeland security, public
health, and the environment.
`(4) ACTIONS IN VIOLATION OF THE AGREEMENT- No person shall import, transport,
or export municipal solid waste for final disposal or for incineration
in violation of the Agreement.
`(c) Compliance Orders- (1) Whenever on the basis of any information the
Administrator determines that any person has violated or is in violation
of this section, the Administrator may issue an order assessing a civil
penalty for any past or current violation, requiring compliance immediately
or within a specified time period, or both, or the Administrator may commence
a civil action in the United States district court in the district in which
the violation occurred for appropriate relief, including a temporary or
permanent injunction.
`(2) Any order issued pursuant to this subsection shall state with reasonable
specificity the nature of the violation. Any penalty assessed in the order
shall not exceed $25,000 per day of noncompliance for each violation.
In assessing such a penalty, the Administrator shall take into account
the seriousness of the violation and any good faith efforts to comply
with applicable requirements.
`(d) Public Hearing- Any order issued under this section shall become final
unless, not later than 30 days after the order is served, the person or
persons named therein request a public hearing. Upon such request the Administrator
shall promptly conduct a public hearing. In connection with any proceeding
under this section the Administrator may issue subpoenas for the attendance
and testimony of witnesses and the production of relevant papers, books,
and documents, and may promulgate rules for discovery procedures.
`(e) Violation of Compliance Orders- If a violator fails to take corrective
action within the time specified in a compliance order, the Administrator
may assess a civil penalty of not more than $25,000 for each day of continued
noncompliance with the order.
`(f) Definitions- For purposes of this section:
`(1) AGREEMENT- The term `Agreement' means--
`(A) the Agreement Concerning the Transboundary Movement of Hazardous
Waste between the United States and Canada, signed at Ottawa on October
28, 1986 (TIAS 11099) and amended on November 25, 1992; and
`(B) any regulations promulgated and orders issued to implement and
enforce that Agreement.
`(2) FOREIGN MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE- The term `foreign municipal solid
waste' means municipal solid waste generated outside of the United States.
`(3) MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE-
`(A) WASTE INCLUDED- Except as provided in subparagraph (B), the term
`municipal solid waste' means--
`(i) all waste materials discarded for disposal by households, including
single and multifamily residences, and hotels and motels; and
`(ii) all waste materials discarded for disposal that were generated
by commercial, institutional, municipal, and industrial sources, to
the extent such materials--
`(I) are essentially the same as materials described in clause (i);
and
`(II) were collected and disposed of with other municipal solid
waste described in clause (i) or subclause (I) of this clause as
part of normal municipal solid waste collection services, except
that this subclause does not apply to hazardous materials other
than hazardous materials that, pursuant to regulations issued under
section 3001(d), are not subject to regulation under subtitle C.
Examples of municipal solid waste include food and yard waste, paper,
clothing, appliances, consumer product packaging, disposable diapers,
office supplies, cosmetics, glass and metal food containers, and household
hazardous waste. Such term shall include debris resulting from construction,
remodeling, repair, or demolition of structures.
`(B) WASTE NOT INCLUDED- The term `municipal solid waste' does not include
any of the following:
`(i) Any solid waste identified or listed as a hazardous waste under
section 3001, except for household hazardous waste.
`(ii) Any solid waste, including contaminated soil and debris, resulting
from--
`(I) a response action taken under section 104 or 106 of the Comprehensive
Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (42 U.S.C.
9604 or 9606);
`(II) a response action taken under a State law with authorities
comparable to the authorities of such section 104 or 106; or
`(III) a corrective action taken under this Act.
`(iii) Recyclable materials that have been separated, at the source
of the waste, from waste otherwise destined for disposal or that have
been managed separately from waste destined for disposal.
`(iv) Scrap rubber to be used as a fuel source.
`(v) Materials and products returned from a dispenser or distributor
to the manufacturer or an agent of the manufacturer for credit, evaluation,
and possible reuse.
`(vi) Any solid waste that is--
`(I) generated by an industrial facility; and
`(II) transported for the purpose of treatment, storage, or disposal
to a facility or unit thereof that is owned or operated by the generator
of the waste, located on property owned by the generator or a company
with which the generator is affiliated, or the capacity of which
is contractually dedicated exclusively to a specific generator,
so long as the disposal area complies with local and State land
use and zoning regulations applicable to the disposal site.
`(vii) Any medical waste that is segregated from or not mixed with
solid waste.
`(viii) Sewage sludge and residuals from any sewage treatment plant.
`(ix) Combustion ash generated by resource recovery facilities or
municipal incinerators, or waste from manufacturing or processing
(including pollution control) operations not essentially the same
as waste normally generated by households.
`(x) Solid waste generated incident to the provision of service in
interstate, intrastate, foreign, or overseas air transportation.'.
(b) Table of Contents Amendment- The table of contents of the Solid Waste
Disposal Act (42 U.S.C. prec. 6901) is amended by adding after the item
relating to section 4010 the following new item:
`Sec. 4011. International transportation and disposal of municipal solid
waste.'.
Passed the House of Representatives September 6, 2006.
Attest:
KAREN L. HAAS,
Clerk.
END
