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SUMMARY
HR 274
Solid Waste Interstate Transportation Act of 2005 (Introduced in House)
Representative Jo Ann Davis (VA) has introduced HR 274, the Solid Waste Transportation Act of 2005, which will provide local and state control over the importation of interstate waste. As such, Representative Jo Ann Davis (VA) continues Virginia’s fight for a national interstate waste bill. Her legislation would allow not only Virginia to limit and reduce waste imports, but also create a level playing field for all states to have an opportunity to replicate Virginia's efforts to restrict out-of-state waste imports.
Previous bills introduced in the 107th and 108th Congresses either benefited some states to the exclusion of others, or only allowed states to affect future waste flow or facilities and not existing ones.
These previous bills would have locked Virginia into its #2 natioal status as importer of waste. The bills might have even elevated Virginia to #1 as a result of the provisions in many of the previous bills giving supremacy to Host Community Agreements over a state’s right to limit or reduce waste imports. Host Commuinty Agreements allow private facilities to still import vast quantities of waste with the local community’s approval despite a broader state interest in limiting, reducing, and adequately regulating the importation of municipal solid waste.
Mrs. Davis had previously attempted to amend these bills, as introduced by Jim Greenwood (R-PA), during both the 107th and 108th Congress in order to close their loopholes– specifically those that do not renew landfill permits. In 1994, for the first time in many years, Congress seriously considered legislation to control interstate waste shipments. In September 2004, HR 4940, was introduced by the subcommittee chairman Paul Gillmor (R-OH). The interstate waste section was replaced with Greenwood’s language before the bill cleared the subcommittee. Greenwood’s bill was considered the strongest in Congress, but proposed amendments by Congresswoman Jo Ann Davis (R-VA) are designed to close loopholes in the bill, which would negatively affect a number of states including Ohio and Virginia. Not only will the amendments help those two states, but other states such as GA, SC, NH, NV, and MI. The bill was marked up in subcommittee.
When these attempts stalled and Rep. Greenwood left the Congress, Mrs. Davis introduced her own legislation, which Congress has refused to consider. While Mrs. Davis introduced a bill modeled on language from Greenwood’s past bills, the Davis bill incorporates all the amendments required: to address current, existing waste flow and facilities, to allow states to limit and reduce waste imports, to treat all states equally, and to make changes required for to more equitably provide for the safety and welfare of citizens living in the communities that host these landfill facilities.
Unfortunately, Virginia remains the #2 trash importer in the nation and took in a record 6.6 million tons of waste from other states during 2003. Imports to Virginia are likely to rise significantly, increasing by millions of tons over the next several years as Virginia begins to receive barged trash from NYC and Pennsylvania’s landfill capacity is diminished. There are currently many additional attempts to site even more large private landfills in the Commonwealth.
Mrs. Davis’ Bill – HR 274
HR 274 addresses the following primary areas:
Permits – Greenwood’s prior bills exempted landfills from state-imposed restrictions if their permits establish a higher limit or establish no limit on the amount of out-of-state waste received at the facility annually. Permits in many states currently state that landfills can take waste from any source, or from outside the state, or in some cases do not establish any limits. Moreover, in states where permits do not expire, and there is no renewal process; but permits are periodically reviewed and/or amended, may disadvantage those states unfairly unless changes are made to the bill. The peculiarities of this type of permitting process are such that many bills would only apply to new landfills; all existing landfills would be exempted from these requirements. Davis has consequently made several recommendations for sections related to the permitting process that would enable states to cap volumes at existing landfills. It is imperative all states to be able to enact percentage caps on existing facilities.
Host community agreements – Many bills, including Greenwood’s and Gillmor’s HR4940, allow state restrictions to be circumvented if a host community does not establish any limit on out-of-state waste, or if future host community agreements authorize specific levels of out-of-state waste. Fundamentally, states should be able to regulate host community agreements pertaining to interstate waste. In no small part, the waste traveling into and through states adversely impacts many communities aside from the "host" community. Allowing the state restrictions to be circumvented via negotiated host community agreements significantly reduces the effectiveness of the bill.
State Waste Limitations Based Upon Calendar Year 1993 Importation Levels - States should be able to cap waste levels at 1993 levels or any later year chosen by the state. States that do not have reporting information for 1993 may not be able to freeze imports at 1993 levels. States should be able to choose the year that makes the most sense for them.
Types of Waste Governed by the Bill - Currently, municipal solid waste is only a portion of the waste stream that is deposited in landfills. To the extent that only municipal solid waste imports are capped, it will only encourage more importation of waste substances that are not currently included in the definition of municipal solid waste as defined in most other bills - such as sewage sludge, ash, contaminated soil, etc. >States should be able to enact volume restrictions to include all waste currently deposited in existing landfills.
Additional items addressed by the new Davis bill include provisions to require improved public access to copies of host community agreements, additional money from differential waste tipping fees for costs associated with imported trash, and requiring additional reporting requirements for transfer stations. Also states would be allowed the ability to require full-time state inspectors at facilities that import trash and cost reimbursement, and could require increased waste reporting requirements to include its place of origin, identity of the generator, date of shipments, and type of waste.
We believe these changes, if adopted and present only in the new Davis bill, will give states and localities greater control over waste imports while providing greater protection of the public and increased access to information.
History-Prior Bills
For the first time in several years, Congress is seriously considering legislation to control interstate waste shipments – a bill was marked up in subcommittee in September 2004. The bill, HR 4940, was introduced by the subcommittee chairman Paul Gillmor (R-OH) – the interstate waste section was replaced with Greenwood’s language before the bill cleared the subcommittee. Greenwood’s bill was considered the strongest in Congress, but proposed amendments by Congresswoman Jo Ann Davis (R-VA) are designed to close loopholes in the bill, which would negatively affect a number of states including Ohio and Virginia. Not only will the amendments help those two states, but other states such as GA, SC, NH, NV, and MI.
Both Ohio and Virginia have permitting processes that allow facilities to be permitted for the life of the landfill. Ohio and Virginia will only see significant relief if the bill is changed to account for states that do not have permit renewal. Only then will Virginia and Ohio be able to restrict imports at existing facilities. This provision could strengthen the bill for similarly affected states.
Until the language in prior bills is further amended, states that have host community agreements that authorize the receipt of out-of-state waste will be disadvantaged and perhaps receive increased future waste imports. Language in the bill as it exists would in effect provide sweeping grandfather provisions, exempting from restrictions the amount of waste shipped to out-of-state facilities in a given year (1993), and exempting facilities that have negotiated what are called "host community agreements" with affected local governments. In fact, imports might continue to rise unless the host community agreements have placed limits on the amount of out-of-state waste a facility can receive.
The degree to which this exemption would function might depend on how the term "host community agreement" is defined. In the bill, a host community agreement would be required to "specifically authorize" the receipt of MSW generated out of state to be eligible for the exemption. Without the Virginia amendments, many landfills and incinerators would likely be seen as "specifically authorizing" out-of-state waste. The amendments would strengthen the definition of "specifically authorizes".
From the office of Representative Jo Ann Davis:
Citing the need to increase transportation safety, Congresswoman Jo Ann Davis has successfully implemented a measure requiring law enforcement to conduct 3 concentrated roadside inspection strike forces of interstate waste haulers on Virginia’s roadways. The measure, contained in House Joint Resolution 2, the Omnibus Appropriations package that was recently signed into law, is in addition to other legislative action by Davis regarding interstate waste. The lawmaker also re-introduced HR 1123, legislation to empower Virginia to limit the amount of waste imported into the Commonwealth, as well as implement other commonsense, waste-related regulations.
"These safety inspections have been put in place to help protect millions of drivers from the potential danger of interstate waste haulers that may be unfit to be on the roads. These inspections will protect both the truck drivers, and those who share the roads with these haulers," said Congresswoman Jo Ann Davis, who has been a leading force in working to provide Virginia with the power to determine the amount of trash it has to import across its’ borders. "These inspections are not an assault on truck drivers. In fact, it is quite the opposite. Figures have shown that drivers of interstate waste haulers are some of the safest truck drivers on the roads. Unfortunately, it is the condition of the vehicles that are often the problem. These inspections will help ensure that these haulers are in the proper condition to be on the roads," added Davis.
"Currently, the Commonwealth has no say in determining the amount of trash that is imported into our state," said Davis. "Since we cannot control the amounts, we must at least do what we can to make our roads safer from these interstate haulers. These inspections will help protect Virginians," added Davis, who cites statistics indicating that trash trucks have a higher rate of "out of service " violations than other trucks.
Davis noted that recent statistics show that 22.3% of trucks transporting waste received out of service violations in 2001, compared to 17.9% of non-trash trucks. The national rate of trash trucks receiving violations was 21.2%, compared to 15.7% for non- trash trucks. Most notably, added Davis, was the fact that drivers of trash haulers in Virginia tend to be more safe than drivers of other trucks. Service violations for waste hauler drivers was 5.8%, compared to 6.2% for non-trash trucks. These most recent numbers, supplied by the Department of Transportation, are based off 2001 findings.
"The problem does not lie with the drivers of these haulers, it lies with the condition of the vehicles, and this issue must be addressed," said Davis. "I believe that these safety inspections will help to make our roads safer for other vehicles as well as the drivers of these haulers," added Davis.
Davis said that specifically, this measure will direct the state police to conduct 3 one-day concentrated roadside safety inspections on Virginia roadways, (specifically Interstate 95 and Route 301,) this spring. The results of these stings will then be compiled and sent to Congress. Davis also noted that this measure does not spend any additional funding. On the contrary, funds will be used from federal dollars already appropriated for highway safety. The Federal Motor Care Safety Administration will work with the Commonwealth to conduct the operations.
Congresswoman Jo Ann Davis also re-introduced HR 1123, legislation to provide Virginia with a say in the amount of trash it must import. Currently, Virginia does not have a say in how much trash they must import into local landfills.
"The Commonwealth of Virginia is the nation’s second largest importer of interstate trash, and under current law, the people of Virginia have absolutely no say in the amount of trash brought in each year," said Davis. "My legislation is simple: states would have the authority to regulate out of state waste by receiving Commerce Clause immunity," added Davis.
Davis said that the State Waste Empowerment and Enforcement Provision Act would also give protection from constitutional challenge to other commonsense regulations of waste haulers that have previously been ruled violations of the Commerce Clause. These include requiring inspectors at landfills, incinerators, and transfer stations that accept out of state municipal solid waste.
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