[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2491 Referred in Senate (RFS)]
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.