[Congressional Bills 103th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2516 Introduced in House (IH)]
103d CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 2516
To amend the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980 to
provide for the dissemination of source reduction and energy efficiency
technologies.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
June 24, 1993
Mr. Swett introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Science, Space, and Technology
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980 to
provide for the dissemination of source reduction and energy efficiency
technologies.
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 ``Green Technology Promotion Act of
1993''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.
(a) Findings.--The Congress finds the following:
(1) The national policy of the United States declares that
pollution should be prevented or reduced at the source whenever
feasible, prior to environmentally sound recycling, treatment,
or landfilling.
(2) There are significant opportunities for industry to
reduce or prevent pollution at the source through cost-
effective changes in production, operation, and raw materials
use.
(3) Such changes offer industry substantial savings in
reduced raw material, pollution control, and liability costs,
and help to protect the environment and reduce risks to worker
health and safety.
(4) Federal Government estimates indicate that businesses
can reduce their waste generation 33 percent to 50 percent by
implementing source reduction techniques, and private sector
studies suggest that some industry sectors can reduce their
waste by up to 80 percent through the use of such techniques.
(5) In most cases, source reduction and energy efficiency
techniques do not require the purchase of new equipment, but
merely a better understanding of how to use equipment currently
available.
(6) In fact, one recent study indicated that 25 percent of
all source reduction activities require no capital investment
for implementation and, of those that require capital, 50
percent of the capital expenditures were recouped in savings
in, on average, less than 18 months.
(7) The private sector must take the lead in reducing the
production of waste by manufacturing companies and, in fact,
many large companies have contracted with consultants or
performed internal audits to find methods for reducing
pollution in their own processes.
(8) Source reduction is fundamentally different from, and
more desirable than, waste management and pollution control and
should be promoted by Federal agencies, particularly the
Department of Commerce in its role in assisting businesses.
(9) The Federal Government can assist small- and medium-
sized companies that often are unaware of the techniques
available for pollution prevention and the possible savings
from employing them, and such Government assistance will help
meet the dual goals of modernizing manufacturing and improving
the environment.
(10) The Environmental Protection Agency and the Department
of Energy can provide the Manufacturing Technology Centers with
technical expertise in this area.
(11) The Environmental Protection Agency has conducted over
200 source reduction assessments for manufacturers and the
Department of Energy has conducted over 4,100 energy audits
which have saved companies $419 million and 77 trillion Btu's
of energy.
(12) Assisting small- and medium-sized companies to reduce
the waste products created during the manufacturing process
will reduce the companies' costs, and thus improve the
competitiveness of such companies, by--
(A) reducing their costs of disposal;
(B) reducing their costs of complying with
environmental regulations;
(C) reducing their raw material costs;
(D) reducing liability costs associated with
transport and disposal; and
(E) assisting these companies in identifying areas
where their production processes are inefficient.
(b) Purpose.--It is the purpose of this Act to incorporate
environmental concerns into technology programs established in the
National Institute of Standards and Technology.
SEC. 3. DISSEMINATION OF SOURCE REDUCTION AND ENERGY EFFICIENCY
TECHNOLOGIES.
The Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980 (15 U.S.C.
3701 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following new
section:
``SEC. 23. DISSEMINATION OF SOURCE REDUCTION AND ENERGY EFFICIENCY
TECHNOLOGIES.
``(a) In General.--Each Regional Center for the Transfer of
Manufacturing Technology established in section 25 of the National
Institute of Standards and Technology Act (15 U.S.C. 278k) shall
conduct or assist in the conducting of energy efficiency and source
reduction assessments of client companies of the Regional Centers and
the Manufacturing Outreach Centers established under subsection (c).
These assessments shall assist such client companies in identifying
opportunities for energy efficiency conservation and source reduction
through improvements in manufacturing processes or the purchase of new
equipment.
``(b) Training and Other Assistance.--In order to facilitate these
energy efficiency and source reduction assessments--
``(1) at least one employee of each Regional Center (who
shall be designated by such Regional Center) shall receive
training from the Department of Energy and the Environmental
Protection Agency concerning the conducting of energy
efficiency and source reduction assessments; and
``(2) not later than 12 months after the date of enactment
of this section, the National Institute of Standards and
Technology, in consultation with the Environmental Protection
Agency and the Department of Energy, shall make available a
software assessment package to the Regional Centers and the
Manufacturing Outreach Centers for the purpose of assisting
client companies in identifying opportunities for improved
energy efficiency and source reduction.
``(c) Manufacturing Outreach Centers.--(1) Eligible government and
private sector organizations that are engaged in technology or
manufacturing extension activities may apply to the Secretary for
designation as Manufacturing Outreach Centers, in such form and manner
as the Secretary may prescribe. Eligible organizations include Federal,
State, and local government agencies, extension programs, universities,
and laboratories; small business development centers; and professional
societies, worker organizations, industrial organizations, nonprofit
organizations, community development organizations, community colleges,
and technical schools and colleges.
``(2) The Secretary shall establish standards for designation of
existing technology or manufacturing extension programs and for
qualification of start-up programs as Manufacturing Outreach Centers.
``(d) Definition.--For purposes of this section, the term `source
reduction' has the same meaning as in section 6603 of the Pollution
Prevention Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 13102).''.
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