S.Amdt. 4406

1. Adds SEC. 1084. MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE at the end of title X

   Adds a section

   In S. 2766 · Placed on Calendar Senate

   (5) the risk assessment prepared by the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs to accompany the Quadrennial Defense Review should be comprehensive and should include a description of the capabilities needed to address the risks identified in that assessment.

   Inserted: SEC. 1084. MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE.

   Inserted: (a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:

   Inserted: (1) The Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations released a report on March 30, 2006, entitled "An Assessment of U.S. Efforts to Secure the Global Supply Chain" (in this section referred to as the "Senate Report"). That report, among other things, analyzed the unique security risks posed by the importation into the United States of cargo containers carrying trash.

   Inserted: (2) The Senate Report contained several important findings including the following:

   Inserted: (A) Containers carrying trash pose inherent security risks fundamentally different from those posed by containers carrying consumer products because--

   Inserted: (i) it is difficult, if not impossible, to trace the supply chain for trash cargos, given the variety of different individuals and entities that contribute to trash collections and the lack of any screening system to identify contributions as they are made;

   Inserted: (ii) the density of trash cargos makes inspection through irradiation impossible; and

   Inserted: (iii) physical inspection of trash cargos is difficult and dangerous.

   Inserted: (B) Importers of consumer products, by contrast, have more control over the specific content and the origin of the imported products, making it easier to take steps to monitor and ensure the security of the supply chain.

   Inserted: (C) There are few, if any, security measures in place to screen trash or ensure that trash does not conceal illegal or harmful materials, such as weapons or nuclear material.

   Inserted: (3) Growing imports of trash present an increasingly serious security problem.

   Inserted: (4) For example, according to the Senate Report, Canada shipped roughly 100,000 containers of trash across United States borders into Michigan in 2004 alone, an 8 percent increase over 2003.

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   Inserted: (5) Another 10,000 containers of trash come through 9 other ports of entry on both the northern and southern borders of the United States each year.

   Inserted: (6) The Inspector General of the Department of Homeland Security has found that from 2003 to 2004, tons of illegal drugs and millions of dollars in illegal currency have been transported into the United States in trash containers, among other forbidden cargo.

   Inserted: (7) The Senate Report concluded that the Department of Homeland Security should ban imports of trash into the United States entirely until the Secretary of Homeland Security "can ensure that the supply chain of a trash importer is secure or develops protocols ensuring adequate inspections of individual trash containers".

   Inserted: (8) To pay for more rigorous inspections to protect people in the United States from the security risks currently associated with trash containers, the Senate Report recommended enacting into a law a "fee on international shipments of trash".

   Inserted: (b) Inspections of Imported Municipal Solid Waste.--

   Inserted: (1) Inspections of municipal solid waste.--Not later than 6 months after the date of enactment of this Act, the Commissioner of Customs and Border Protection shall commence inspections of international shipments of municipal solid waste that enter the customs territory of the United States.

   Inserted: (2) Fee.--

   Inserted: (A) In general.--The Commissioner of Customs and Border Protection shall levy a fee on each importer of international municipal solid waste that enters into the customs territory of the United States.

   Inserted: (B) Amount.--The fee under subparagraph (A) shall be limited in amount to the approximate cost of the inspection described in paragraph (1) and shall not constitute a source of revenue for the United States Treasury.

   Inserted: (c) Definitions.--In this section:

   Inserted: (1) Customs territory of the united states.--The term "customs territory of the United States" has the meaning given the term in general note 2 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States.

   Inserted: (2) Municipal solid waste.--

   Inserted: (A) In general.--Except as provided in subparagraph (C), the term "municipal solid waste" means--

   Inserted: (i) all waste materials discarded for disposal by households, including single and multifamily residences, and hotels and motels; and

   Inserted: (ii) all waste materials discarded for disposal that were generated by commercial, institutional, municipal, and industrial sources, to the extent such materials--

   Inserted: (I) are essentially the same as materials described in clause (i); and

   Inserted: (II) were collected and disposed of with other municipal solid waste described in clause (i) as part of normal municipal solid waste collection services, except that this subclause does not apply to hazardous materials other than hazardous materials that, under regulations issued under section 3001(d) of the Solid Waste Disposal Act (42 U.S.C. 6921(d)), are not subject to regulation under subtitle C of that Act (42 U.S.C. 6921 et seq).

   Inserted: (B) Inclusions.--The term "municipal solid waste" includes food and yard waste, paper, clothing, appliances, consumer product packaging, disposable diapers, office supplies, cosmetics, glass and metal food containers, household hazardous waste, and debris resulting from construction, remodeling, repair, or demolition of structures.

   Inserted: (C) Exclusions.--The term "municipal solid waste" does not include the following:

   Inserted: (i) Any solid waste identified or listed as a hazardous waste under section 3001 of the Solid Waste Disposal Act (42 U.S.C. 6941 et seq.), except for household hazardous waste.

   Inserted: (ii) Any solid waste, including contaminated soil and debris, resulting from--

   Inserted: (I) a response action taken under section 104 or 106 of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9604 and 9606);

   Inserted: (II) a response action taken under a State law with authorities comparable to the authorities of such section 104 or 106; or

   Inserted: (III) a corrective action taken under the Solid Waste Disposal Act (42 U.S.C. 6901 et seq.).

   Inserted: (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.

   Inserted: (iv) Scrap rubber to be used as a fuel source.

   Inserted: (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.

   Inserted: (vi) Any solid waste that is--

   Inserted: (I) generated by an industrial facility; and

   Inserted: (II) transported for the purpose of treatment, storage, or disposal to a facility or unit thereof that--

   Inserted: (aa) is owned or operated by the generator of the waste;

   Inserted: (bb) located on property owned by the generator or a company with which the generator is affiliated; or

   Inserted: (cc) 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.

   Inserted: (vii) Any medical waste that is segregated from or not mixed with solid waste.

   Inserted: (viii) 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.

   Original wording

   At the end of title X, add the following:

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As printed