US Laws, Codes, Statutes & Cases

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[Laws in effect as of January 24, 2002]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
  January 24, 2002 and December 19, 2002]
[CITE: 42USC6901]

 
                 TITLE 42--THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE
 
                    CHAPTER 82--SOLID WASTE DISPOSAL
 
                    SUBCHAPTER I--GENERAL PROVISIONS
 
Sec. 6901. Congressional findings


(a) Solid waste

    The Congress finds with respect to solid waste--
        (1) that the continuing 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 the 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 
    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 [42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.], 
    the Water Pollution Control Act [33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.], 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) the placement of inadequate controls on hazardous waste 
    management will result in substantial risks to human health and the 
    environment;
        (6) if hazardous waste management is improperly performed in the 
    first instance, corrective action is likely to be expensive, 
    complex, and time consuming;
        (7) certain classes of land disposal facilities are not capable 
    of assuring long-term containment of certain hazardous wastes, and 
    to avoid substantial risk to human health and the environment, 
    reliance on land disposal should be minimized or eliminated, and 
    land disposal, particularly landfill and surface impoundment, should 
    be the least favored method for managing hazardous wastes; and
        (8) 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.

(c) Materials

    The Congress finds with respect to materials, that--
        (1) millions of tons of recoverable material which could be used 
    are needlessly buried each year;
        (2) methods are available to separate usable materials from 
    solid waste; and
        (3) the recovery and conservation of such materials can reduce 
    the dependence of the United States on foreign resources and reduce 
    the deficit in its balance of payments.

(d) Energy

    The Congress finds with respect to energy, that--
        (1) solid waste represents a potential source of solid fuel, 
    oil, or gas that can be converted into energy;
        (2) the need exists to develop alternative energy sources for 
    public and private consumption in order to reduce our dependence on 
    such sources as petroleum products, natural gas, nuclear and 
    hydroelectric generation; and
        (3) technology exists to produce usable energy from solid waste.

(Pub. L. 89-272, title II, Sec. 1002, as added Pub. L. 94-580, Sec. 2, 
Oct. 21, 1976, 90 Stat. 2796; amended Pub. L. 95-609, Sec. 7(a), Nov. 8, 
1978, 92 Stat. 3081; Pub. L. 98-616, title I, Sec. 101(a), Nov. 8, 1984, 
98 Stat. 3224.)

                       References in Text

    The Clean Air Act, referred to in subsec. (b)(3), is act July 14, 
1955, ch. 360, 69 Stat. 322, as amended, which is classified generally 
to chapter 85 (Sec. 7401 et seq.) of this title. For complete 
classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out 
under section 7401 of this title and Tables.
    The Water Pollution Control Act, referred to in subsec. (b)(3), is 
act June 30, 1948, ch. 758, as amended generally by Pub. L. 92-500, 
Sec. 2, Oct. 18, 1972, 86 Stat. 816, which is classified generally to 
chapter 26 (Sec. 1251 et seq.) of Title 33, Navigation and Navigable 
Waters. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short 
Title note set out under section 1251 of Title 33 and Tables.

                          Codification

    The statutory system governing the disposal of solid wastes set out 
in this chapter is found in Pub. L. 89-272, title II, as amended in its 
entirety and completely revised by section 2 of Pub. L. 94-580, Oct. 21, 
1976, 90 Stat. 2795. See Short Title of 1976 Amendment note below.
    The act, as set out in this chapter, carries a statutory credit 
showing the sections as having been added by Pub. L. 94-580, without 
reference to amendments to the act between its original enactment in 
1965 and its complete revision in 1976. The act, as originally enacted 
in 1965, was classified to section 3251 et seq. of this title. For a 
recapitulation of the provisions of the act as originally enacted, see 
notes in chapter 39 (Sec. 3251 et seq.) of this title where the act was 
originally set out.


                            Prior Provisions

    Provisions similar to those in this section were contained in 
section 3251 of this title prior to the general amendment of the Solid 
Waste Disposal Act by Pub. L. 94-580.


                               Amendments

    1984--Subsec. (b)(5) to (8). Pub. L. 98-616 added pars. (5) to (7), 
struck out former par. (5) providing that ``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'', redesignated former par. (6) 
as (8), and substituted a period for the semicolon at end.
    1978--Subsec. (a)(4). Pub. L. 95-609 substituted ``solid waste'' for 
``solid-waste''.


                      Short Title of 1996 Amendment

    Pub. L. 104-119, Sec. 1, Mar. 26, 1996, 110 Stat. 830, provided 
that: ``This Act [amending sections 6921, 6924, 6925, 6947, and 6949a of 
this title and enacting provisions set out as a note under section 6949a 
of this title] may be cited as the `Land Disposal Program Flexibility 
Act of 1996'.''


                      Short Title of 1992 Amendment

    Pub. L. 102-386, title I, Sec. 101, Oct. 6, 1992, 106 Stat. 1505, 
provided that: ``This title [enacting sections 6908, 6939c to 6939e, and 
6965 of this title, amending sections 6903, 6924, 6927, and 6961 of this 
title, and enacting provisions set out as notes under sections 6939c and 
6961 of this title] may be cited as the `Federal Facility Compliance Act 
of 1992'.''


                      Short Title of 1988 Amendment

    Pub. L. 100-582, Sec. 1, Nov. 1, 1988, 102 Stat. 2950, provided 
that: ``This Act [enacting sections 6992 to 6992k of this title and 
section 3063 of Title 18, Crimes and Criminal Procedure, and amending 
section 6903 of this title] may be cited as the `Medical Waste Tracking 
Act of 1988'.''


                      Short Title of 1984 Amendment

    Section 1 of Pub. L. 98-616 provided that: ``This Act [enacting 
sections 6917, 6936 to 6939a, 6949a, 6979a, 6979b, and 6991 to 6991i of 
this title, amending this section and sections 6902, 6905, 6912, 6915, 
6916, 6921 to 6933, 6935, 6941 to 6945, 6948, 6956, 6962, 6972, 6973, 
6976, 6982 and 6984 of this title and enacting provisions set out as 
notes under sections 6905, 6921 and 6926 of this title] may be cited as 
`The Hazardous and Solid Waste Amendments of 1984'.''


                     Short Title of 1980 Amendments

    Pub. L. 96-482, Sec. 1, Oct. 21, 1980, 94 Stat. 2334, provided: 
``This Act [enacting sections 6933, 6934, 6941a, 6955, and 6956 of this 
title, amending sections 6903, 6905, 6911, 6912, 6916, 6921, 6922, 6924, 
6925, 6927 to 6931, 6941 to 6943, 6945, 6946, 6948, 6949, 6952, 6953, 
6962, 6963, 6964, 6971, 6973, 6974, 6976, 6979, and 6982 of this title; 
and enacting and repealing provisions set out as a note under section 
6981 of this title] may be cited as the `Solid Waste Disposal Act 
Amendments of 1980'.''
    Pub. L. 96-463, Sec. 1, Oct. 15, 1980, 94 Stat. 2055, provided: 
``This Act [enacting sections 6901a, 6914a and 6932 of this title, 
amending sections 6903, 6943 and 6948 of this title, and enacting 
provisions set out as notes under sections 6363 and 6932 of this title] 
may be cited as the `Used Oil Recycling Act of 1980'.''


                      Short Title of 1976 Amendment

    Section 1 of Pub. L. 94-580 provided that: ``This Act [enacting this 
chapter and provisions set out as notes under this section and section 
6981 of this title] may be cited as the `Resource Conservation and 
Recovery Act of 1976'.''


                               Short Title

    Section 1001 of Pub. L. 89-272, as added Pub. L. 94-580, Sec. 2, 
Oct. 21, 1976, 90 Stat. 2795, provided in part that title II of Pub. L. 
89-272 [enacting this chapter] may be cited as the ``Solid Waste 
Disposal Act''.


           Federal Compliance With Pollution Control Standards

    For provisions relating to the responsibility of the head of each 
Executive agency for compliance with applicable pollution control 
standards, see Ex. Ord. No. 12088, Oct. 13, 1978, 43 F.R. 47707, set out 
as a note under section 4321 of this title.


                 National Commission on Materials Policy

    Pub. L. 91-512, title II, Secs. 201-206, Oct. 26, 1970, 84 Stat. 
1234, known as the ``National Materials Policy Act of 1970'', provided 
for the establishment of the National Commission on Materials Policy to 
make a full investigation and study for the purpose of developing a 
national materials policy to utilize present resources and technology 
more efficiently and to anticipate the future materials requirements of 
the Nation and the world, the Commission to submit to the President and 
Congress a report on its findings and recommendations no later than June 
30, 1973, ninety days after the submission of which it should cease to 
exist.