[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 70 Introduced in House (IH)]
110th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 70
To authorize States to regulate the receipt and disposal of out-of-
State municipal solid waste.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
January 4, 2007
Mrs. Jo Ann Davis of Virginia introduced the following bill; which was
referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To authorize States to regulate the receipt and disposal of out-of-
State municipal solid waste.
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 ``State Waste Empowerment and
Enforcement Provision Act of 2007''.
SEC. 2. AUTHORITY TO REGULATE.
(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. RECEIPT AND DISPOSAL OF OUT-OF-STATE MUNICIPAL SOLID
WASTE.
``(a) Authority of State to Restrict Out-of-State Municipal Solid
Waste.--A State may limit or place restrictions on, or otherwise
regulate, out-of-State municipal solid waste received or disposed of
annually at each landfill or incinerator in the State, except as
provided in subsection (b). In limiting, restricting, or regulating
out-of-State municipal solid waste under this section, a State's powers
include, but are not limited to--
``(1) assessing different fees for the receipt or disposal
of out-of-State municipal solid waste from those assessed for
municipal solid waste from inside the State;
``(2) requiring local referenda on the establishment of
landfills and construction of incinerators intended for receipt
or disposal of out-of-State municipal solid waste;
``(3) considering local need for disposal capacity when
making permitting and expansion decisions;
``(4) limiting the receipt of out-of-State municipal solid
waste to a percentage of a landfill's or incinerator's
capacity;
``(5) freezing the levels of out-of-State municipal solid
waste receipt or disposal at particular calendar year levels or
percentages of calendar year levels;
``(6) requiring companies to publicly disclose information
about previous health and safety violations before opening new
landfills or incinerators;
``(7) regulating and restricting modes of transportation
for out-of-State municipal solid waste; and
``(8) requiring inspectors at landfills, incinerators, and
transfer stations that accept out-of-State municipal solid
waste.
``(b) Exception.--A State may not, until after the expiration of 2
years after the date of the enactment of this section, limit, restrict,
or regulate out-of-State municipal solid waste received or disposed of
annually at a landfill or incinerator in the State under subsection (a)
to the extent that a host community agreement specifically authorizes
the receipt of such waste.
``(c) Definitions.--For purposes of this section:
``(1) Affected local government.--The term `affected local
government' means--
``(A) the public body authorized by State law to
plan for the management of municipal solid waste, a
majority of the members of which are elected officials,
for the area in which a landfill or incinerator is
located or proposed to be located;
``(B) if there is no such body authorized by State
law, the elected officials of the city, town, township,
borough, county, or parish exercising primary
responsibility over municipal solid waste management or
the use of land in the jurisdiction in which a landfill
or incinerator is located or proposed to be located; or
``(C) contiguous units of local government located
in each of 2 or more adjoining States acting jointly as
an affected local government, pursuant to the authority
provided in section 1005(b), for purposes of providing
authorization under subsection (b) for municipal solid
waste generated in the jurisdiction of one of those
units of local government and received for disposal or
incineration in the jurisdiction of another.
``(2) Host community agreement.--The term `host community
agreement' means a written, legally binding agreement, lawfully
entered into before the date of the enactment of this section
between an owner or operator of a landfill or incinerator and
an affected local government that specifically authorizes the
landfill or incinerator to receive out-of-State municipal solid
waste.
``(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;
``(ii) sewage sludge and residuals from any
sewage treatment plant;
``(iii) combustion ash generated by
resource recovery facilities or municipal
incinerators;
``(iv) petroleum contaminated soil; and
``(v) 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 (other than petroleum
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) Waste from manufacturing or
processing (including pollution control)
operations not essentially the same as waste
normally generated by households.
``(4) Out-of-state municipal solid waste.--The term `out-
of-State municipal solid waste' means, with respect to any
State, municipal solid waste generated outside of the State.
The term includes municipal solid waste generated outside of
the United States and includes municipal solid waste generated
outside of the State that has passed through a transfer
facility or other interim holding facility inside the State.
``(5) Recyclable materials.--The term `recyclable
materials' means materials that are diverted, separated from,
or separately managed from materials otherwise destined for
disposal as solid waste, by collecting, sorting, or processing
for use as raw materials or feedstocks in lieu of, or in
addition to, virgin materials, including petroleum, in the
manufacture of usable materials or products.
``(6) Specifically authorizes.--The term `specifically
authorizes' refers to an explicit authorization, contained in a
host community agreement or permit, to import municipal solid
waste from outside the State. Such authorization may include a
reference to a fixed radius surrounding the landfill or
incinerator which includes an area outside the State or a
reference to `any place of origin', reference to specific
places outside the State, or use of such phrases as `regardless
of origin' or `outside the State'. The language for such
authorization must clearly and affirmatively state the approval
or consent of the affected local government or State for
receipt of municipal solid waste from sources or locations
outside the State from which the owner or operator of a
landfill or incinerator proposes to import it. The term shall
not include general references to the receipt of waste from
outside the jurisdiction of the affected local government.''.
(b) Table of Contents.--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. Receipt and disposal of out-of-State municipal solid
waste.''.
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