The House Commerce Committee in the U.S. House of Representatives is soon going to take up the subject of
a national interstate waste bill.
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. The bill has been referred to the Commerce Committee.
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