Resource Conservation and Recovery ACT of 1976_authorizing statute

PUBLIC LAW 94-580—OCT. 21, 1976

90 STAT. 2795

Public Law 94-580
94th Congress
An Act
To provide technical and financial assistance for the development of management
plans and facilities for the recovery of energy and other resources from discarded materials and for the safe disposal of discarded materials, and to regulate the management of hazardous waste.

Oct. 21, 1976
[S. 2150]

Be it enacted hy the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled^
Resource
SHORT TITLE

Conservation and
^XnV^^ ^'* ""^

SECTION 1. This Act may be cited as the "Resource Conservation and 42 USC 6901
Recovery Act of 1976".
noteAMENDMENT OF SOLID WASTE DISPOSAL ACT

SEC. 2. The Solid Waste Disposal Act (42 U.S.C. 3251 and following) is amended to read as follows:
" T I T L E I I - ^ O L I D WASTE DISPOSAL
"Subtitle A—General Provisions
"SHORT TITLE AND TABLE OP CONTENTS^

"SEC. 1001. This title (hereinafter in this title referred to as 'this 42 USC 6901
Act'), together with the following table of contents, may be cited as the °o*e.
'Solid Waste Disposal Act':
"Subtitle A—General Provisions
"Sec.
"Sec.
"Sec.
"Sec.
"Sec.
"Sec.
"Sec.
"Sec.

1001.
1002.
1003.
1004.
1005.
1006.
1007.
1008.

Short title and table of contents.
Congressional findings.
Objectives.
Definitions.
Governmental cooperation.
Application of Act and integration with other Acts.
Financial disclosure.
Solid waste management information and guidelines.

"Subtitle B—Office of Solid Waste; Authorities of the Administrator
"Sec.
"Sec.
"Sec.
"Sec.
"Sec.
"Sec.

2001.
2002.
2003.
2004.
2005.
2006.

Office of Solid Waste.
Authorities of Administrator.
Resource recovery and conservation panels.
Grants for discarded tire disposal.
Annual report.
General authorization.
"Subtitle C—Hazardous Waste Management

"Sec.
"Sec.
"Sec.
"Sec.

3001.
3002.
3003.
3004.

Identification and listing of hazardous waste.
Standards applicable to generators of hazardous waste.
Standards applicable to transporters of hazardous waste.
Standards applicable to owners and operators of hazardous waste
treatment, storage, and disposal facilities.
"Sec. 3005. Permits for treatment, storage, or disposal of hazardous waste.
"Sec. 3006. Authorized State hazardous waste programs.
"Sec. 3007. Inspections.

90 STAT. 2796

PUBLIC LAW 94-580—OCT. 21, 1976

"Sec.
"Sec.
"Sec.
"Sec,
"Sec.
"Sec.
"Sec.
"Sec.
,j, .,

c

"Sec.
'Sec.
"Sec.
"Sec.
"Sec.

3008.
3009.
3010.
3011.

"Subtitle C—Hazardous Waste Management—Continued
Federal enforcement.
Retention of State authority.
Effective date.
Authorization of assistance to States.

' ^'

"Subtitle D—State or Regional Solid Waste Plans
4001. Objectives of subtitle.
4002. Federal guidelines for plans.
4003. Minimum requirements for approval of plans.
4004. Criteria for sanitary landfills; sanitary landfills required for all
disposal.
4005. Upgrading of open dumps.
4006. Procedure for development and implementation of State plan.
4007. Approval of State plan; Federal assistance.
4008. Federal assistance,
4009. Rural communities assistance.

"Subtitle E—Duties of the Secretary of Commerce in Resource and Recovery
"Sec. 5001. Functions.
"Sec. 5002. Development of specifications for secondary materials.
"Sec. 5003. Development of markets for recovered materials.
"Sec. 5004. Technology promotion.
...•..,.<
"Sec.
"Sec.
"Sec.
"Sec.
i^ ' ''-

"Subtitle F—Federal Responsibilities
6001. Application of Federal, State, and local law to Federal facilities.
6002. Federal procurement.
6003. Cooperation with Environmental Protection Agency.
6004. Applicability of solid waste disposal guidelines to executive agencies.

"Subtitle G—Miscellaneous Provisions
"Sec. 7001. Employee protection.
"Sec. 7002. Citizen suita
"Sec. 7003. Imminent hazard.
"Sec. 7004. Petition for regulations; public participation.
"Sec. 7005. Separability.
"Sec. 7006. Judicial review.
"Sec. 7007. Grants or contracts for training projects.
"Sec. 7008. Payments.
"Sec. 7009. Labor standards.

? i-'*

"Subtitle H—Research, Development, Demonstration, and Information
"Sec.
"Sec.
"Sec.
"Sec.
"Sec.

8001.
8002.
8003.
8004.
8005.

Research, demonstrations, training, and other activities.
Special studies; plans for research, development, and demonstrations.
Coordination, collection, and dissemination of information.
Full-scale demonstration facilities.
Special study and demonstration projects on recovery of useful
energy and materials.
"Sec. 8006. Grants for resource recovery systems and improved solid waste disposal facilities.
"Sec. 8007. Authorization of appropriations.
"CONGRESSIONAL FINDINGS

42 use 6901.

"SEC. 1002. (a) SouD WASTE.—The Congress finds with respect to
solid waste—
"(1) that the ccmtinuing technological progress and improvement in methods of manufacture, packaging, and marketing of
consumer products has resulted in an ever-mounting increase, and
in a change in the characteristics, of the mass material discarded
by the purchaser of such products;
"(2) that tiie economic and population growth of our Nation,
and the improvements in the standard of living enjoyed by our
population, have required increased industrial production to meet

PUBLIC LAW 94-580—OCT. 21, 1976
our needs, and have made necessary the demolition of old buildings, the construction of new buildings, and the provision of highways and other avenues of transportation, which, together with
related industrial, commercial, and agricultural operations, have
resulted in a rising tide of scrap, discarded, and waste materials;
"(3) that the continuing concentration of our population in
expanding metropolitan and other urban areas has presented these
communities with serious financial, management, intergovernmental, and technical problems in the disposal of solid wastes
resulting from the industrial, commercial, domestic, and other
activities carried on in such areas;
"(4) that while the collection and disposal of solid wastes
should continue to be primarily the function of State, regional,
and local agencies, the problems of waste disposal as set forth
above have become a matter national in scope and in concern and
necessitate Federal action through financial and technical assistance and leadership in the development, demonstration, and application of new and improved methods and processes to reduce the
amount of waste and unsalvageable materials and to provide for
proper and economical solid-waste disposal practices.
" (b) ENVIRONMENT AND HEALTH.—The Congress finds with respect
to the environment and health, that—
"(1) although land is too valuable a national resource to be
needlessly polluted by discarded materials, most solid waste is disposed of on land in open dumps and sanitary landfills;
"(2) disposal of solid waste and hazardous waste in or on the
land without careful planning and management can present a
danger to human health and the environment;
" (3) as a result of the Clean Air Act, the Water Pollution Control Act, and other Federal and State laws respecting public
health and the environment, greater amounts of solid waste (in
the form of sludge and other pollution treatment residues) have
been created. Similarly, inadequate and environmentally unsound
practices for the disposal or use of solid waste have created greater
amounts of air and water pollution and other problems for the
environment and for health ;
"(4) open dumping is particularly harmful to health, contaminates drinking water from underground and surface supplies, and
pollutes the air and the land ;
"(5) hazardous waste presents, in addition to the problems associated with non-hazardous solid waste, special dangers to health
and requires a greater degree of regulation than does non-hazardous solid waste; and
"(6) alternatives to existing methods of land disposal must be
developed since many of the cities in the United States will be
running out of suitable solid waste disposal sites within five years
unless immediate action is taken;
"(ursuant to this Act shall be in accordance with sections 701 through
06 of title 5 of the United States Code, except that—
"(1) a petition for review of action of the Administrator in
promulgating any regulation, or requirement under this Act
may be filed only in the United States Court of Appeals for
the District of Columbia. Any such petition shall be filed within
ninetjr days from the date of such promulgation, or after such
date if such petition is based solely on grounds arising after such
ninetieth day. Action of the Administrator with respect to which
review could have been obtained under this subsection shall not
be subject to judicial review in civil or criminal proceedings
for enforcement; and
"(2) in any judicial proceeding brought under this section in
which review is sought of a determination under this Act required
to be made on the record after notice and opportunity for hearing,
if a party seeking review under this Act applies to the court
for leave to adduce additional evidence, and shows to the satisfaction of the court that the information is material and that
there were reasonable grounds for the failure to adduce such
evidence in the proceeding before the Administrator, the court
may order such additional evidence (and evidence in rebuttal
thereof) to be taken before the Administrator, and to be adduced
upon the hearing in such manner and upon such terms and conditions as the court may deem proper. The Administrator may
modify his findings as to the facts, or make new findings, by
reason of the additional evidence so taken, and he shall file with
the court such modified or new findings and his recommendation,
if any, for the modification or setting aside of his original order,
with the return of such additional evidence.

?

li,

GRANTS OR CONTRACTS FOR TRAINING PROJECTS

"SEC.
7007. (a) GENERAL AUTHORITY.—The Administrator is 42 USC 6977.
authorized to make grants to, and contracts with any eligible organization. For purposes of this section the term "eligiole organization" "Eligible
means a State or interstate agency, a municipality, educational institu- organization."
tion, and any other organization which is capable of effectively carrying out a project which may be funded by grant under subsection (b)
of this section.
"(b) PURPOSES.—(1) Subject to the provisions of paragraph (2),
grants or contracts may be made to pay all or a part of the costs,
as may be determined by the Administrator, of any project operated
or to be operated by an eligible organization, which is designed—
"(A) to develop, expand, or carry out a program (which may

90 STAT. 2828

42 use 3254a.
Ante, p. 2795.

Report to
President and

PUBLIC LAW 94-580—OCT. 21, 1976
combine training, education, and employment) for training persons for occupations involving the management, supervision,
design, operation, or maintenance of solid waste disposal and
resources recovery equipment and facilities; or
"(B) to train instructors and supervisory personnel to train
or supervise persons in occupations involving the design, operation, and maintenance of solid waste disposal and resource recovery equipment and facilities.
"(2) A grant or contract authorized by paragraph (1) of this
subsection may be made only upon application to the Administrator
at such time or times and containing such information as he may
prescribe, except that no such application shall be approved unless
it provides for the same procedures and reports (and access to such
reports and to other records) as required by section 207(b) (4) and
(5) (as in effect before the date of the enactment of Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976) with respect to applications made
under such section (as in effect before the date of the enactment of
Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976).
"(c) STUDY.—The Administrator shall make a complete investigation and study to determine—
"(1) the need for additional trained State and local personnel
to carry out plans assisted under this Act and other solid waste
and resource recovery programs;
"(2) means of using existing training programs to train such
personnel; and
"(3) the extent and nature of obstacles to employment and
occupational advancement in the solid waste disposal and resource
recovery field which may limit either available manpower or the
advancement of personnel in such field.
He shall report the results of such investigation and study, including
his recommendations to the President and the Congress.

Congress.
u PAYMENTS

42 use 6978.

"SEC. 7008. (a) GENERAL RULE.—Payments of grants under this Act
may be made (after necessary adjustment on account of previously
made underpayments or overpayments) in advance or by way of
reimbui"sement, and in such installments and on such conditions as the
Administrator may determine.
"(b) PROHIBITION.—No grant may be made under this Act to any
private profitmaking organization.
"LABOR STANDARDS

42 use 6979.

5 use app. II.

"SEC. 7009. No grant for a project of construction under this Act
shall be made unless the Secretary finds that the application contains
or is supported by reasonable assurance that all laborers and
mechanics employed by contractors or subcontractors on projects of
the type covered by the Davis-Bacon Act, as amended (40 U.S.C.
276a—276a-5), will be paid wages at rates not less than those prevailing on similar work in the locality as determined by the Secretary
of Labor in accordance with that Act; and the Secretary of Labor
shall have with respect to the labor standards specified in this section
the authority and functions set forth in Reorganization Plan Numbered 14 of 1950 (15 F.R. 3176; 5 U.S.C. 133z-5) and section 2 of the
Act of June 13,1934, as amended (40 U.S.C. 276c).

PUBLIC LAW 94-580—OCT. 21, 1976

90 STAT. 2829

"Subtitle H—Research, Development, Demonstration, and
Information
"RESEARCH,

DEMONSTRATIONS, TRAINING, AND OTHER ACTIVITIES

"SEC. 8001. (a) GENERAL AUTHORITY.—The Administrator, alone or 42 USC 6981.
after consultation with the Administrator of the Federal Energy
Administration, the Administrator of the Energy Research and
Development Administration, or the Chairman of tne Federal Power
Commission, shall conduct, and encourage, cooperate with, and render
financial and other assistance to appropriate public (whether Federal,
State, interstate, or local) authorities, agencies, and institutions,
private agencies and institutions, and individuals in the conduct of,
and promote the coordination of, research, investigations, experiments, training, demonstrations, surveys, public education programs,
and studies relating to—
"(1) any adverse health and welfare effects of the release into
the environment of material present in solid waste, and methods
to eliminate such effects;
"(2) the operation and financing of solid waste disposal
programs;
"(3) the planning, implementation, and operation of resource
recovery and resource conservation systems and hazardous waste
management systems, including the marketing of recovered
resources;
"(4) the production of usable forms of recovered resources,
including fuel, from solid waste;
" (5) the reduction of the amount of such waste and \insalvageable waste materials;
"(6) the development and application of new and improved
methods of collecting and disposing of solid waste and processing
and recovering materials and energy from solid wastes;
" (7) the identification of solid waste components and potential
materials and energy recoverable from such waste components;
"(8) small scale and low technology solid waste management
systems, including but not limited to, resource recovery source
separation systems;
"(9) methods to improve the performance characteristics of
resources recovered from solid waste and the relationship of such
performance characteristics to available and potentially available
markets for such resources;
"(10) improvements in land disposal practices for solid waste
(including sludge) which may reduce the adverse environmental
effects of such disposal and other aspects of solid waste disposal
on land, including means for reducing the harmful environmental
effects of earlier and existing landfills, means for restoring areas
damaged by such earlier or existing landfills, means for rendering
landfills safe for purposes of construction and other uses, and
techniques of recovering materials and energy from landfills;
"(11) methods for the sound disposal of, or recovery of
resources, including energy, from, sludge (including sludge from
pollution control and treatment facilities, coal slurry pipelines,
and other sources);
"(12) methods of hazardous waste management, including
methods of rendering such waste environmentally safe; and
"(13) any adverse effects on air quality (particularly with

89-194 O—78—pt. 2

£

90 STAT. 2830

PUBLIC LAW 94-580—OCT. 21, 1976
regard to the emission of heavy metals) which result from solid
waste which is burned (either alone or in conjunction with other
substances) for purposes of disposal or energy recovery.
"(b) MANAGEMENT PROGRAM.—(1)(A) In carrying out his functions pursuant to this Act, and any other Federal legislation respecting
solid waste or discarded material research, development, and demonstrations, the Administrator shall establish a management program or
system to insure the coordination of all such activities and to facilitate
and accelerate the process of development of sound new technology (or
other discoveries) from the research phase, through development, and
into the demonstration phase.
"(B) The Administrator shall (i) assist, on the basis of any
research projects which are developed with assistance under this Act
or without Federal assistance, the construction of pilot plant facilities
for the purpose of investigating or testing the technological feasibility
of any promising new fuel, energy, or resource recovery or resource
conservation method or technology; and (ii) demonstrate each such
method and technology that appears justified by an evaluation at such
pilot plant stage or at a pilot plant stage developed without Federal
assistance. Each such demonstration shall incorporate new or innovative technical advances or shall apply such advances to different
circumstances and conditions, for the purpose of evaluating design
concepts or to test the performance, efficiency, and economic feasibility
of a particular method or technology under actual operating conditions. Each such demonstration shall be so planned and designed that,
if successful, it can be expanded or utilized directly as a full-scale
operational fuel, energy, or resource recovery or resource conservation
facility.
"(2) Any energy-related research, development, or demonstration
project for the convereion including bioconversion, of solid waste carried out by the Environmental Protection Agency or by the Energy
Research and Development Administi-ation pursuant to this or any
other Act shall be administered in accordance with the May 7, 1976,
Interagency Agreement betw^een the Environmental Protection
Agency and the Ener^r Research and Development Administration
on the Development of Energy from Solid Wastes and specifically,
that in accordance with this agreement, (A) for those energy-related
projects of mutual interest, planning will be conducted jointly by
the Environmental Protection Agency and the Energy Research and
Development Administration, following which project responsibility
will be assigned to one agency; (B) energy-related portions of projects for recovery of synthetic fuels or other forms of energy from
solid waste shall be the responsibility of the Energy Research and
Development Administration | (C) the Environmental Protection
Agency shall retain responsibility for the environmental, economic,
and institutional aspects of solid waste projects and for assurance that
such projects are consistent with any applicable suggested guidelines
published pursuant to section 1008, and any applicable State or
regional solid waste management plan; and (D) any activities undertaken under provisions of sections 8002 and 8003 as related to energy;
as related to energy or synthetic fuels recovery from waste; or as
related to energy conservation shall be accomplished through coordination and consultation with the Energy Research and Development
Administration.
"(c) AUTHORITIES.—(1) In carrying out subsection (a) of this section respecting solid waste research, studies, development, and demon-

PUBLIC LAW 94-580—OCT. 21, 1976
stration, except as otherwise specifically provided in section 8004(d),
the Administrator may make grants to or enter into contracts (including contracts for construction) with, public agencies and authorities
or private persons.
"(2) Contracts for research, development, or demonstrations or for
both (including contracts for construction) shall be made in accordance with and subject to the limitations provided with respect to
research contracts of the military departments in title 10, United States
Code, section 2353, except that the determination, approval, and certification required thereby shall be made by the Administrator.
"(3) Any invention made or conceived in the course of, or under,
any contract under this Act shall be subject to section 9 of the Federal
Nonnuclear Energy Research and Development Act of 1974 to the
.same extent and in the same manner as inventions made or conceived
in the course of contracts under such Act, except that in applying such
section, the Environmental Protection Agency shall be subistituted for
the Energy Research and Development Administration and the words
'solid waste' shall be substituted for the word 'energy' where
appropriate.
"(4) For carrying out the purpose of this Act the Administrator
may detail personnel of the Environmental Protection Agency to
agencies eligible for assistance under this section.

90 STAT. 2831

42 USC 5908

Detail of
EPA personndl to
other agencie».

"SPECIAL STUDIES; PLANS FOR RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENT, AND
DEMONSTRATIONS

"SEC. 8002. (a) GLASS AND PLASTIC—The Administrator shall 42 USC 6982.
undertake a study and publish a report on resource recovery from glass
and plastic waste, including a scientific, technological, and economic
investigation of potential solutions to implement such recovery.
"(b) COMPOSITION OF WASTE STREAM.—The Administrator shall
undertake a systematic study of the composition of the solid waste
stream and of anticipated future changes in the composition of such
stream and shall publish a report containing the results of such study
and quantitatively evaluating the potential utility of such components.
"(c) PRIORITIES STUDY.—For purposes of determining priorities for
research on recovery of materials and energy from solid waste and
developing materials and energy recovery research, development, and
demonstration strategies, the Administrator shall review, and make a
study of, the various existing and promising techniques of energy
recovery from solid waste (including, but not limited to, waterwall
furnace incinerators, dry shredded hiel systems, pyrolysis, densified
refuse-derived fuel systems, anerobic digestion, and fuel and feedstock
preparation systems). In carrying out such study the Administrator
shall investigate with respect to each such technique—
"(1) the degree of public need for the potential results of such
research, development, or demonstration,
,
"(2) the potential for research, development, and demonstration without Federal action, including the degree of restraint on
such potential posed by the risks involved, and
"(3) the magnitude of effort and period of time necessary to
develop the technology to the point where Federal assistance can
be ended.
"(d)

SMALL-SCALE AND Low

TECHNOLOGY STUDT.—The Adminis-

trator shall undertake a comprehensive study and analysis of, and
publish a report on, systems of small-scale and low technology solid

90 STAT. 2832

PUBLIC LAW 94-580—OCT. 21, 1976
waste management, including household resource recovery and
resource recovery systems which have special application to multiple
dwelling units and high density housing and office complexes. Such
study and analysis shall include an investigation of the degree to
which such systems could contribute to energy conservation.
"(e) FRONT-END SOURCE SEPARATION.—The Administrator shall
undertake research and studies concerning the compatibility of frontend source separation systems with high technology resource recovery
systems and shall publish a report containing the results of such
research and studies.
"(f) MINING WASTE.—The Administrator, in consultation with the
Secretary of the Interior, shall conduct a detailed and comprehensive
study on the adverse effects of solid wastes from active and abandoned
surface and underground mines on the environment, including, but
not limited to, the effects of such wastes on humans, water, air, health,
welfare, and natural resources, and on the adequacy of means and
measures currently employed by the mining industry. Government
agencies, and others to dispose of and utilize such solid wastes and to
prevent or substantially mitigate such adverse effects. Such study shall
include an analysis of—
"(1) the sources and volume of discarded material generated
per year from mining;
"(2) present disposal practices;
"(3) potential dangers to human health and the environment
from surface runoff of leachate and air pollution by dust;
"(4) alternatives to current disposal methods;
"(5) the cost of those alternatives in terms of the impact on
mine product costs; and
"(6) potential for use of discarded material as a secondary
source of the mine product.
In furtherance of this study, the Administrator shall, as he deems
appropriate, review studies and other actions of other Federal agencies
concerning such wastes with a view toward avoiding duplication of
effort and the need to expedite such study. The Administrator shall
publish a report of such study and shall include appropriate findings
and recommendations for Federal and non-Federal actions concerning such effects.
" (g) SLUDGE.—The Administrator shall undertake a comprehensive
study and publish a report on sludge. Such study shall include an
analysis of—
"(1) what types of solid waste (including but not limited to
sewage and pollution treatment residues and other residues from
industrial operations such as extraction of oil from shale liquefaction and gasification of coal and coal slurry pipeline operations)
shall be classified as sludge;
"(2) the effects of air and water pollution legislation on the
creation of large volumes of sludge;
"(3) the amounts of sludge originating in each State and in
each industry producing sludge;
"(4) methods of disposal of such sludge, including the cost,
efficiency, and effectiveness of such methods;
"(5) alternative methods for the use of sludge, including agricultural applications of sludge and energy recovery from sludge;
and
"(6) methods to reclaim areas which have been used for the
disposal of sludge or which have been damaged by sludge.

PUBLIC LAW 94-580—OCT. 21, 1976
" (h) TIRES.—The Administrator shall undertake a study and publish a report respecting discarded motor vehicle tires which shall
include an analysis of the problems involved in the collection, recovery of resources including energy, and use of such tires.
"(i) RKSOURCE RECOVERY FACiLrnES-—The Administrator shall conduct research and report on the economics of, and impediments, to the
effective functioning of resource recovery facilities.
"(j) RESOURCE CONSERVATION COMMITTEE.—(1) The Administrator
shall serve as Chairman of a Committee composed of himself, the
Secretary of Commerce, the Secretary of Labor, the Chairman of the
Council on Environmental Quality, the Secretary of Treasury, the
Secretary of the Interior, and a representative of the Office of Management and Budget, which shall conduct a full and complete investigation and study of all aspects of the economic, social, and
environmental consequences of resource conservation with respect to—
"(A) the appropriateness of recommended incentives and disincentives to foster resource conservation;
"(B) the effect of existing public policies (including subsidies
and economic incentives and disincentives, percentage depletion
allowances, capital gains treatment and other tax incentives and
disincentives^ upon resource conservation, and the likely effect
of the modification or elimination of such incentives and disincentives upon resource conservation;
"(C) the appropriateness and feasibility of restricting the
manufacture or use of categories of consumer products as a
resource conservation strategy;
"(D) the appropriateness and feasibility of employing as a
resource conservation strategy the imposition of solid waste management charges on consumer products, which charges would
reflect the costs of solid waste management services, litter pickup,
the value of recoverable components of such product, final disposal, and any social value associated with the nonrecycling or
uncontrolled disposal of such product; and
" ( E ) the need for further research, development, and demonstration in the area of resource conservation.
"(2) The study required in paragraph (2) (D) may include pilot
scale projects, and shall consider and evaluate alternative strategies
with respect to—
"(A) the product categories on which such charges would be
imposed;
"(B) the appropriate state in the production of such consumer
product at which to levy such charge;
"(C) appropriate criteria for establishing such charges for
each consumer product category;
" ( D ) methods for the adjustment of such charges to reflect
actions such as recycling which would reduce the overall quantities of solid waste requiring disposal; and
" ( E ) procedures for amending, modifying, or revising such
charges to reflect changing conditions.
"(3) The design for the study required in paragraph (2) (D) of
this subsection shall include timetables for the completion of the study.
A preliminary report putting forth the study design shall be sent to
the President and the Congress within six months following enactment of this section and foUowup reports shall be sent six months
thereafter. Each recommendation resulting from the study shall
include at least two alternatives to the proposed recommendation.

90 STAT. 2833

Pilot scale
projects.

Study design
Report to
President and
Congress.

90 STAT. 2834
Report to
President and
Congress.
Appropriation
authorization.

PUBLIC LAW 94-580—OCT. 21, 1976
"(4) The results of such investigation and study, including recommendations, shall be reported to the President and the Congress not
later than two years after enactment of this subsection.
"(5) There are authorized to be appropriated not to exceed
$2,000,000 to carry out this subsection.
"(k) AIRPORT LANDFILLS.—The Administrator shall undertake a
comprehensive study and analysis of and publish a report on systems
to alleviate the hazards to aviation from birds congregating and feeding on landfills in the vicinity of airports.
"(1) COMPLETION OF RESEARCH AND STUDIES.—The Administrator
shall complete the research and studies, and submit the reports,
required under subsections (b), (c), (d), (e), (f), (g), and (k) not
later than October 1, 1978. The Administrator shall complete the
research and studies, and submit the reports, required under subsections (a), (h), (i), and (j) not later than October 1, 1979. Upon
completion, each study specified in subsections (a) through (k) of
this section, the Administrator shall prepare a plan for research,
development, and demonstration respecting the findings of the study
and shall submit any legislative recommendations resulting from such
study to appropriate committees of Congress.
"(m) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There are authorized to
be appropriated not to exceed $8,000,000 for the fiscal years 1978 and
1979 to carry out this section other than subsection (j).
"CJOORDINATION, COLLECTION, AND DISSEMINATION OF INFORMATION

42 u s e 6983.

"SEC. 8003. (a) INFORMATION.—The Administrator shall develop,
collect, evaluate, and coordinate information on—
" (1) metnods and costs of the collection of solid waste;
"(2) solid waste management practices, including data on the
different management methods and the cost, operation, and maintenance of such methods;
"(3) the amounts and percentages of resources (including
energy) that can be recovered from solid waste by use of
various discarded materials management practices and various
technologies;
"(4) methods available to reduce the amount of solid waste
that is generated;
"(5) existing and developing technologies for the i-ecovery of
energy or materials from solid waste and the costs, reliability, and
risks associated with such technologies;
"(6) hazardous solid waste, including incidents of damage
resulting from the disposal of hazardous solid wastes; inherently
and potentially hazardous solid wastes; methods of neutralizing or properly disposing of hazardous solid wastes; facilities
that properly dispose of hazardous wastes;
"(7) methods of financing resource recovery facilities or, sanitary landfills, or hazardous solid waste treatment facilities, whichever is appropriate for the entity developing such facility or
landfill (taking into account the amount of solid waste reasonably
expected to be available to such entity);
"(8) the availability of markets for the purchase of resources,
either materials or energy, recovered from solid waste; and
"(9) research and development projects respecting solid waste
management.

PUBLIC LAW 94-580—OCT. 21, 1976
" (b) LIBRARY.—(1) The Administrator shall establish and maintain
a central reference library for (A) the materials collected pursuant to
subsection (a) of this section and (B) the actual performance and cost
effectiveness records and other data and information with respect to—
" (i) the various methods of energy and resource recovery from
solid waste,
" (ii) the various systems and means of resource conservation,
" (iii) the various systems and technologies for collection, transport, storage, treatment, and final disposition of solid waste, and
"(iv) other aspects of solid waste and hazardous solid waste
management.
Such central reference library shall also contain, but not be limited to,
the model codes and model accounting systems developed under this
section, the information collected under subsection ( d ) , and, subject
to any applicable requirements of confidentiality, information respecting any aspect of solid waste provided by officers and emplovees of the
Environmental Protection Agency which has been acquired oy them in
the conduct of their functions under this Act and which may be of
value to Federal, State, and local authorities and other persons.
" (2) Information in the central reference library shall, to the extent
practicable, be collated, analyzed, verified, and puolished and shall be
made available to State and local governments and other pereons at
reasonable times and subject to such reasonable charges as may be
necessary to defray expenses of making such information available.
"(c) MODEL ACCOUNTING SYSTEM.—In order to assist State and local
governments in determining the cost and revenues associated with the
collection and disposal of solid waste and with resource recovery operations, the Administrator shall develop and publish a recommended
model cost and revenue accounting system applicable to the solid waste
management functions of State and local governments. Such system
shall be in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles.
The Administrator shall periodically, but not less frequently than once
every five years, review such accounting system and revise it as
necessary.
"(d) MODEL CODES.—The Administrator is authorized, in cooperation with appropriate State and local agencies, to recommend model
codes, ordinances, and statutes, providing for sound solid waste
management.
"(e) INFORMATION PROGRAMS.—(1) The Administrator shall implement a program for the rapid dissemination of information on solid
waste management, hazardous waste management, resource conservation, and methods of resource recovery from solid waste, including the
results of any relevant research, investigations, experiments, surveys,
studies, or other information which may be useful in the implementation of new or improved solid waste management practices and methods and information on any other technical, managerial, financial, or
market aspect of resource conservation and recovery facilities.
"(2) The Administrator shall develop and implement educational
programs to promote citizen understanding of the need for environmentally sound solid waste management practices.
"(f) COORDINATION.—In collecting and disseminating information
under this section, the Administrator shall coordinate his actions and
cooperate to the maximum extent possible with State and local
authorities.
"(g) SPECIAL RESTRICTION.—^Upon request, the full range of alternative technologies, programs or processes deemed feasible to meet the

90 STAT. 2835

v

,

90 STAT. 2836

PUBLIC LAW 94-580—OCT. 21, 1976
resource recovery or resource conservation needs of a jurisdiction shall
be described in such a manner as to provide a sufficient evaluative
basis from which the jurisdiction can make its decisions, but no officer
or employee of the Environmental Protection Agency shall, in an
official capacity, lobby for or otherwise represent an agency position
in favor of resource recovery or resource conservation, as a policy
alternative for adoption into ordinances, codes, regulations, or law by
any State or political subdivision thereof.
a FULL-SCALE DEMONSTRATION

42 use 6984.

FACILITIES

"SEC. 8004. (a) AUTHORITY.—The Administrator may enter into contracts with public agencies or authorities or private persons for the
construction and operation of a full-scale demonstration facility under
this Act, or provide financial assistance in the form of grants to a fullscale demonstration facility under this Act only if the Administrator
finds that—
"(1) such facility or proposed facility will demonstrate at full
scale a new or si^ificantly improved technology or process, a
practical and significant improvement in discarded material management practice, 6r the technological feasibility and cost effectiveness of an existing, but unproven technology, process, or
practice, and will not duplicate any other Federal, State, local,
or commercial facility which has been constructed or with respect
to which construction has begun (determined as of the date action
is taken by the Administrator under this Act),
"(2) such contract or assistance meets the requirements of
section 8001 and meets other applicable requirements o,f the Act,
"(3) such facility will be able to comply with the guidelines
published under section 1008 and with other laws and regulations
for the protection of health and the environment,
" (4) in the case of a contract for construction or operation, such
facility is not likely to be constructed or operated by State, local,
or private persons or in the case of an application for financial
assistance, such facility is not likely to receive adequate financial
assistance from other sources, and
"(5) any Federal interest in, or assistance to, such facility will
be disposed of or terminated, with appropriate compensation,
within such period of time as may be necessary to carry out the
basic objectives of this Act.
" (b) TIME LIMITATION.—No obligation may be made by the Administrator for financial assistance under this subtitle for any full-scale
demonstration facility after the date ten years atfter the enactment
of this section. No expenditure of funds for any such full-scale demonstration facility under this subtitle may be made by the Administrator
after the date fourteen years after such date of enactment.
"(c) COST SHARING.—^Wherever practicable, in constructing, oper-

ating, or providing financial assistance under this subtitle to a fullscale demonstration facility, the Administrator shall endeavor to
enter into agreements and make other arrangements for maximum
practicable cost sharing with other Federal, State, and local agencies,
private persons, or any combination thereof.
"(2) The Administrator shall enter into arrangements, wherever
practicable and desirable, to provide monitoring of full-scale solid
waste facilities (whether or not constructed or operated under this

PUBLIC LAW 94-580—OCT. 21, 1976

90 STAT. 2837

Act) for purposes of obtaining information concerning the performance, and other aspects, of such facilities. Where the Administrator
provides only monitoring and evaluation instruments or personnel
(or both) or funds for such instruments or pereonnel and provides
no other financial assistance to a facility, notwithstanding section
8001(c) (3), title to any invention made or conceived of in the course
of developing, constructing, or operating such facility shall not be
required to vest in the United States and patents respecting such
invention shall not be required to be issued to the United States.
"(d) PROHiBrnoN.—After the date of enactment of this section,
the Administrator shall not construct or operate any full-scale facility
(fexcept by contract with public agencies or authorities or private
persons).
"SPECIAL STUDY AND DEMONSTATION PROJECTS ON RECOVERY OF USEFUL
ENERGY AND MATERIALS

"SEC. 8005. (a) STUDIES.—The Administrator shall conduct studies ^2 USC 6985.
and develop recommendations for administrative or legislative action
on—
"(l)means of recovering materials and energy from solid
waste, recommended uses of such materials and energy for
national or international welfare, including identification o.f
potential markets for such recovered resources, the impact of
distribution of such resources on existing markets, and potentials
for energy conservation through resource conservation and
resource recovery;
"(2) actions to reduce waste generation which have been taken
voluntarily or in response to governmental action, and those
which practically could be taken in the future, and the economic,
social, and environmental consequences of such actions;
"(3) methods of collection, separation, and containerization
which will encourage efficient utilization of facilities and contribute to more effective pi-ograms of reduction, reuse, or disposal
of wastes;
" (4) the use of Federal procurement to develop market demand
for recovered resources;
"(5) recommended incentives (including Federal grants, loans,
and other assistance) and disincentives to accelerate the reclamation or recycling of materials from solid wastes, with special
emphasis on motor vehicle hulks;
"(6) the effect of existing public policies, including subsidies
and economic incentives and disincentives, percentage depletion
allowances, capital gains treatment and other tax incentives and
disincentives, upon the recycling and reuse of materials, and
the likely effect of the modification or elimination o,f such incentives ana disincentives upon the reuse, recycling and conservation
of such materials;
"(7) the necessity and method of imposing disposal or other
charges on packaging, containers, vehicles, and other manufactured goods, which charges would reflect the cost of final disposal,
the value of recoverable components of the item, and any social
costs associated with nonrecycling or uncontrolled disposal of
such items; and

90 STAT. 2838

PUBLIC LAW 94-580—OCT. 21, 1976
"(8) the lesal constraints and institutional barriers to the
acquisition of land needed for solid waste management, including
land for facilities and disposal sites;
"(9) in consultation with the Secretary of A^ricultui-e, agricultural waste management problems and practices, the extent
of reuse and recovery of resources in such wasteSj the prospects
for improvement, Federal, State, and local regulations governing
such practices, and the economic, social, and environmental consequences of such practices; and
"(10) in consultation with the Secretary of the Interior, mining
waste management problems, and practices, including an assessment of existing authorities, technologies, and economics, and the
environmental and public health consequences o.f such practices.
"(b) DEMONSTRATioiir.—The Administrator is also authorized to
cany out demonstration projects to test and demonstrate methods and
techniques developed pursuant to subsection (a).
"(c) APPLICATION OF OTHER SECTIONS.—Section 8001 (b) and, (c)

shall be applicable to investigations, studies, and projects carried out
under this section.
"GRANTS FOR RESOURCE RECOVERY SYSTEMS AND IMPROVED SOLID
WASTE DISPOSAL FACILITIES

42 use 6986.

"SEC. 8006. (a) AUTHORITY.—The Administrator is authorized to
make grants pursuant to this section to any State, municipal, or interstate or intermunicipal agency for the demonstration of resource recovery systems or for the construction of new or improved solid waste
disposal facilities.
"(b) CONDITIONS.—(1) Any grant under this section for the demonstration of a resource recovery system may be made only if it (A)
is consistent with any plans which meet the requirements of subtitle
D of this Act; (B) is consistent with the guidelines recommended
pursuant to section 1008 of this Act; (C) is designed to provide areawide i-esource recovery systems consistent with the purposes of this
Act, as determined by the Administrator, pursuant to regulations
promulgated under subsection (d) of this section; and (D) provides
an equitable system for distributing the costs associated with construction, operation, and maintenance of any resource recovery system
among the users of such system.
"(2) The Federal share for any project to which paragraph (1)
applies shall not be more than 75 percent.
"(c) LIMITATIONS.—(1) A grant under this section for the construction of a new or improved solid waste disposal facility may be made
only if—
" ( A ) a State or interstate plan for solid waste disposal has
been adopted which applies to the area involved, and the facility
to be constructed (i) is consistent with such plan, (ii) is included
in a comprehensive plan for the area involved which is satisfactory
to the Administrator for the purposes of this Act, and (iii) is
consistent with the guidelines recommended under section 1008,
and
" ( B ) the project advances the state of the art by applying new
and improved techniques in reducing the environmental impact
of solid waste disposal, in achieving recovery of energy or
resources, or in recycling useful materials.

PUBLIC LAW 94-580—OCT. 21, 1976

90 STAT. 2839

"(2) The Federal share for any project to which paragraph (1)
applies diall be not more than 50 percent in the case of a project serving an area which includes only one municipality, and not more than
75 percent in any other case.
'^(d) REGULATIONS.—(1) The Administrator shall promulgate reg- Regulations,
ulations establishing a procedure for awarding grants under this section which—
" ( A ) provides that projects will be carried out in communities
of varying sizes, under such conditions as will assist in solving the
community waste problems of urban-industrial centers, metropolitan regions, and rural areas, under representative geographic
and environmental conditions; and
" ( B ) provides deadlines for submission of, and action on, grant
requests.
(2) In taking action on applications for grants under this section,
consideration shall be given by the Administrator (A) to the public
benefits to be derived by the construction and the propriety of Federal
aid in making such grant; (B) to the extent applicable, to the economic and commercial viability of the project (including contractual
arrangements with the private sector to market any resources recovered) ; (C) to the potential of such project for general application
to community solid waste disposal problems; and (D) to the use by
the applicant of comprehensive regional or metropohtan area planning.
" (e) ADDmoNAL LIMITATIONS.—^A grant under this section—
"(1) may be made only in the amount of the Federal share of
(A) the estimated total design and construction costs, plus (B)
in the case of a grant to which subsection (b) (1) applies, the
first-year operation and maintenance costs;
"(2) may not be provided for land acquisition or (except as
otherwise provided in paragraph (1) ( B ) ) for operating or maintenance costs;
"(3) may not be made until the applicant has made provision
satisfactory to the Administrator for proper and efficient operation and maintenance of the project (subject to paragraph (1)
( B ) ) ; and
"(4) may be made subject to such conditions and requirements,
in addition to those provided in this section, as the Administrator
may require to properly carry out his functions pursuant to this
Act.
For purposes of paragraph (1), the non-Federal share may be in any
form, including, out not limited to, lands or interests therein needed
for the project or personal property or services, the value of which
shall be determined by the Administrator.
"(f) SINGLE STATE.—(1) Not more than 15 percent of the total of
funds authorized to be appropriated for any fiscal year to carry out
this section shall be granted under this section for projects in any one
State.
"(2) The Administrator shall prescribe by regulation the manner Regulation,
in which this subection shall apply to a grant under this section for
a project in an area which includes all or part of more than one State.
"AUTHORIZATION OP APPROPRIATIONS

"SEC. 8007. There are authorized to be appropriated not to exceed 42 USC 6987.
$35,000,000 for the fiscal year 1978 to carry out the purposes of this
subtitle (except for section 8002).".

90 STAT. 2840

PUBLIC LAW 94-580—OCT. 21, 1976
SOLID WASTE CLEANUP ON FEDERAL LANDS I N ALASKA

Study.

42 use 6981
note.

Report to
congressional
committees.

Llangollen
UndfiU, Del.,
leachate control
research
program.
42 u s e 6981
note.
eooperation with
EPA.

42 u s e 6901
note.

SEC. 3. (a) The President shall direct such executive departments
or agencies as he may deem appropriate to conduct a studv, in consultation with representatives of the State of Alaska and tne appropriate Native organizations, to determine the best overall procedures
for removing existing solid waste on Federal lands in Alaska. Such
study shall include, out shall not be limited to, a consideration of—
(1) alternative procedures for removing the solid waste in an
environmentally safe manner, and
(2) the estimated costs of removing the solid waste.
(b) The President shall submit a report of the results together with
apj)ropriate supportini^ data and such recommendations as he deems
desirable to the Committee on Public Works of the Senate and to the
Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce of the House of Representatives not later than one year after the enactment of the Solid
Waste Utilization Act of 1976. The President shall also submit, within
six months after the study has been submitted to the committees, recommended administrative actions, procedures, and needed legislation
to implement such procedures and the recommendations of the study.
SEC. 4. (a) In order to demonstrate effective means of dealing with
contamination of public water supplies by leachate from abandoned or
other landfills, the Administrator of the Environmental Protection
Agency is authorized to provide technical and financial assistance for
a research program to control leachate from the Llangollen Landfill in
New Castle County Delaware.
(b) The research program authorized by this section shall be
designed by the New Castle County area wide waste treatment management program, in cooperation with the Enviroimiental Protection
Agency, to develop methods for controlling leachate contamination
from abandoned and other landfills that may be applied at the Llangollen Landfill and at other landfills throughout the Nation. Such
research program shall investigate all alternative solutions or corrective actions, including—
(1) hydrogeologic isolation of the landfill combined with the
collection and treatment of leachate;
(2) excavation of the refuse, followed by some type of
incineration;
(3) excavation and transportation of the refuse to another landfill; and
(4) collection and treatment of contaminated leachate or ground
water.
Such research program shall consider the economic, social, and environmental consequences of each such alternative.
(c) The Admmistrator of the Environmental Protection Agency
shall make available personnel of the Agency, including those of the
Solid and Hazardous Waste Research Laboratory (Cincinnati, Ohio),
and shall arrange for other Federal personnel to be made available,
to provide technical assistance and aid in such research. The Administrator may provide up to $250,000, of the sums appropriated under
the Solid Waste Disposal Act, to the New Castle County areawide
waste treatment management program to conduct such research,
including obtaining consultant services.

PUBLIC LAW 94-580—OCT. 21, 1976

90 STAT. 2841

(d) In order to prevent further damage to public water supplies
during the period of this study, the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency shall provide up to $200,000 in each of fiscal
years 1977 and 1978, of the sums appropriated under the Solid Waste
Disposal Act for the operating costs of a coiniter-pumping program
to contain the leachate from the Llangollen Landfill.

Counter-pumping
program

Approved October 21, 1976.

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY;
HOUSE REPORT No. 94-1491 accompanying H.R. 14496 (Comm. on Interstate and
Foreign G)mmerce).
SENATE REPORT No. 94-869 (Comm. on Public Works).
CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, Vol. 122 (1976):
June 30, considered and passed Senate.
Sept. 27, considered and passed House, amended, in lieu of H.R. 14496.
Sept. 30, Senate concurred in House amendments.
WEEKLY COMPILATION OF PRESIDENTIAL DOCUMENTS, VoL 12, No. 43:
Oct. 22, Presidential statement.

42 USC 6901
"****•