[Congressional Bills 103th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1809 Introduced in House (IH)]
103d CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 1809
To amend the Solid Waste Disposal Act to require producers and
importers of newsprint to recycle a certain percentage of newsprint
each year, to require the Administrator of the Environmental Protection
Agency to establish a recycling credit system for carrying out such
recycling requirement, to establish a management and tracking system
for such newsprint, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
April 22, 1993
Mr. Torres introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Energy and Commerce
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Solid Waste Disposal Act to require producers and
importers of newsprint to recycle a certain percentage of newsprint
each year, to require the Administrator of the Environmental Protection
Agency to establish a recycling credit system for carrying out such
recycling requirement, to establish a management and tracking system
for such newsprint, 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 ``Newsprint Recycling Incentives
Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds the following:
(1) Of the total United States waste-stream of 145 million
metric tons per year, paper and related products compose 64
million metric tons, or 40 percent of the total.
(2) Ninety percent of old newspaper waste in the United
States is not recycled and ends up in the waste-stream.
(3) State and local newspaper recycling programs have
helped create a growing surplus of old newspaper waste and have
helped to bring about a collapse of the market for recycled
newsprint.
(4) The current glut of old newspaper waste has caused the
market for old newspaper waste to decline from a price of $30
per ton to a cost or loss of $10 per ton.
(5) The price of new newsprint does not reflect the
increasing cost to communities of disposal and landfilling of
old newspaper waste. Such cost currently is between $20 and $60
per ton, on average.
(6) The cost of recycling old newspaper waste is
substantially less than the cost of disposal.
(7) The demand for old newspaper waste needs to be
increased to provide both an outlet for the rapidly increasing
glut of old newspaper waste and stable markets for recyclers to
invest in de-inking facilities.
(8) A minimum recycling requirement can be used to create a
market which accurately reflects the societal costs of old
newspaper waste.
(9) The creation of an efficient market for recycled
newsprint requires that the cost of disposal be included in the
cost of unrecycled products.
(10) The Administrator of the Environmental Protection
Agency requires additional statutory authority to increase
recycling of old newspaper waste and to stimulate demand.
SEC. 3. REQUIREMENTS TO RECYCLE NEWSPRINT.
(a) In General.--Subtitle D of the Solid Waste Disposal Act (42
U.S.C. 6941 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end thereof the
following:
``SEC. 4011. NEWSPRINT RECYCLING REQUIREMENTS.
``(a) General Requirement.--(1) Beginning not later than 18 months
after the date of the enactment of the Newsprint Recycling Incentives
Act, a producer or importer of newsprint each year shall recycle, using
a method described in paragraph (2), an amount of newsprint equal to at
least that amount of newsprint determined by--
``(A) multiplying the newsprint produced or imported that
year by such person, by
``(B) the recycling percentage established by the
Administrator under subsection (b).
``(2) A producer or importer of newsprint may comply with this
subsection--
``(A) by recycling, through de-inking, newsprint for
purposes of producing recycled newsprint;
``(B) by purchasing recycled newsprint for purposes of
combining with shipments of virgin newsprint; or
``(C) by purchasing recycling credits under the recycling
credit system established pursuant to subsection (c).
``(b) Recycling Percentage.--The Administrator each year shall
establish a recycling percentage for use under subsection (a). The
percentage applicable during the first year that the requirement
established by subsection (a) is in effect shall be not less than 20
percent. For each of the ten years thereafter, the recycling percentage
shall be an additional 2 percentage points higher than the percentage
of the previous year.
``(c) Credit System for Recycling Newsprint.--(1) Not later than 18
months after the date of the enactment of the Newsprint Recycling
Incentives Act, the Administrator shall promulgate regulations to
establish a system under which (A) producers or importers of recycled
newsprint may create credits for used newsprint recycling, and (B)
producers or importers of newsprint (virgin or recycled) may purchase
such recycling credits from such recyclers, for purposes of complying
with subsection (a). The regulations shall include a mechanism or
mechanisms (including an auction) for any allocation of credits that
may be necessary. No person may create such credits, and no producer or
importer of newsprint may purchase such credits, except in accordance
with this subsection and the regulations promulgated under this
subsection.
``(2) At a minimum, the regulations under subsection (c) shall
include the following requirements:
``(A) The producer or importer of recycled newsprint shall
maintain records of the receipt of old newsprint and other
paper products for de-inking and subsequent recycling. Such
records shall be maintained for at least 2 years.
``(B) The producer of recycled newsprint shall notify the
Environmental Protection Agency of the producer's capacity to
recycle old newsprint. Such notification shall state the
overall newsprint capacity and that portion dedicated to de-
inking and recycling.
``(C) The importer of recycled newsprint shall notify the
United States Customs Service of the amount of newsprint being
imported by the importer. Such notice shall be accompanied by a
certification verifying the accuracy of the notice. The
certification shall be made by the official responsible for
negotiating trade agreements of the country from which the
importer is shipping newsprint to the United States.
``(D) Producers or importers of newsprint shall maintain
records of sales of virgin and recycled newsprint, including
quantities and prices of recycled newsprint and sales or other
disposition of such recycling credits as may be used to
demonstrate compliance with the requirements of this section.
Such records shall be maintained for at least 2 years.
``(E) Producers and importers of newsprint shall report to
the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency
annually and on an interim quarterly basis--
``(i) the amount of recycled content newsprint
produced or imported each year;
``(ii) the number of credits purchased or otherwise
acquired from other producers or importers; and
``(iii) the number of credits sold or otherwise
distributed to other producers or importers.
``(3) The Administrator may include such other requirements in the
regulations under paragraph (1) with respect to qualifications for
recyclers, importers, and producers; methods for auditing compliance
with the system; and enforcement of the system; as the Administrator
considers necessary or appropriate for administering the recycling
credit system established under this subsection.
``(4) For purposes of this section, the term `recycling credit'
means a legal record of a recycling activity undertaken in accordance
with this subsection that represents an amount of newsprint recycled
through de-inking for purposes of complying with this section.
``(d) Reports.--(1) Not later than 6 years after the date of the
enactment of the Newsprint Recycling Incentives Act, the Administrator
shall submit to Congress an interim report on the implementation of
this section. The report shall include, at a minimum--
``(A) a discussion of the effects of the requirements of
this section on the newsprint and newspaper industry and on the
environment; and
``(B) an evaluation of the level of the recycling
percentage under subsection (b) and recommendations on whether,
and at what rate, the percentage should be increased in future
years above the percentage applicable under subsection (b).
``(2) Not later than 10 years after such date, the Administrator
shall submit to Congress a final report on the implementation of this
section. The report shall include an updated version of the discussion
and evaluation required in the interim report, as well as such other
findings and recommendations with respect to the implementation of this
section as the Administrator considers appropriate.
``(e) Applicability.--This section applies to any person who
produces or imports more than 10 tons of newsprint a year.
``(f) Regulations.--The Administrator shall promulgate regulations
to implement this section not later than 18 months after the date of
the enactment of the Newsprint Recycling Incentives Act. If the
Administrator fails to promulgate such regulations by that date, the
recycling percentage under subsection (b) shall be 20 percent until
such time as the regulations are promulgated.
``(g) Civil Penalty.--
``(1) Whoever violates this section shall be liable to the
United States for a civil penalty in an amount not to exceed
$2,500 for each such violation. Such civil penalty shall be
assessed by the Administrator of the Environmental Protection
Agency by an order made on the record after opportunity for a
hearing in accordance with section 554 of title 5, United
States Code. Before issuing such an order, the Administrator
shall give written notice to the person to be assessed a civil
penalty and provide such person an opportunity to request,
within 15 days of the date the notice is received by such
person, a hearing on the order.
``(2) In determining the amount of a civil penalty, the
Administrator shall take into account the nature,
circumstances, extent, and gravity of the violation or
violations and, with respect to the violator, ability to pay,
effect on ability to continue to do business, any history of
prior violations under this section, the degree of culpability,
and such other matters as justice may require.
``(3) The Administrator may compromise, modify, or remit,
with or without conditions, any civil penalty which may be
imposed under this subsection. The amount of such penalty, when
finally determined, or the amount agreed upon in compromise,
may be deducted from any sums owing by the United States to the
person charged.
``(4) Any person who requested in accordance with this
subsection a hearing respecting the assessment of a civil
penalty and who is aggrieved by an order assessing a civil
penalty may file a petition for judicial review of such order
with the United States Court of Appeals for the District of
Columbia Circuit or for any other circuit in which such person
resides or transacts business. Such a petition may only be
filed within the 30-day period beginning on the date the order
making such assessment was issued.
``(5) If any person fails to pay an assessment of a civil
penalty--
``(A) after the order making the assessment has
become a final order and if such person does not file a
petition for judicial review of the order in accordance
with this section, or
``(B) after a court in an action brought under this
section has entered a final judgment in favor of the
Administrator,
the Attorney General shall recover the amount assessed (plus
interest at currently prevailing rates from the date of the
expiration of the 30-day period referred to in paragraph (4) or
the date of such final judgment, as the case may be) in an
action brought in any appropriate district court of the United
States. In such an action, the validity, amount, and
appropriateness of such penalty shall not be subject to review.
``(h) High Grade Paper Recycling.--(1) Not later than three years
after the date of the enactment of the Newsprint Recycling Incentives
Act, the Administrator shall submit to Congress a plan, based on the
experience with the implementation of this section, for the recycling
of post-consumer high grade paper. The plan shall discuss the
desirability and feasibility, in terms of environmental impacts
resulting from reduced volume and economic impacts, of requiring the
recycling of such paper, and the specific manner in which such
recycling could be accomplished if the Administrator concludes that
such recycling is feasible. The plan also shall include an incentive-
based method or methods for accomplishing the recycling, such as a
credit system (as established under subsection (c)).
``(2) Not later than one year after the plan is submitted under
paragraph (1), the Administrator shall begin to implement the plan. For
purposes of implementing the plan, the Administrator is authorized to
carry out any of the methods for accomplishing the recycling of the
paper that are included in the plan.
``(3) For purposes of this subsection, the term `high grade paper',
means printed or unprinted sheets, shavings, guillotined books, quire
waste, and cuttings of sulphite or sulphate ledger, bond, and writing
paper (and all other papers which have a similar fiber and filler
content).
(b) Technical Amendment.--The table of contents for subtitle D of
the Solid Waste Disposal Act (contained in section 1001 of such Act) is
amended by adding at the end thereof the following:
``Sec. 4011. Newsprint recycling requirements.''.
SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION.
There is authorized to be appropriated to the Administrator of the
Environmental Protection Agency $1,200,000 to carry out section 4011 of
the Solid Waste Disposal Act (as added by section 3). Such funds shall
be used to hire the equivalent of at least six additional full-time
employees to carry out such provisions. Such funds shall remain
available until expended.
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