As you are aware, Congress came very close to enacting legislation to address this issue in 1994, and the Senate passed interstate waste and flow control legislation in May, 1995 by an overwhelming 94-6 margin, only to see it die in the House of Representatives. I am confident that with the strong leadership of my good friends and colleagues Chairmen Chafee and Smith, and Senators Voinovich and Warner, we can get quick action on a strong interstate waste bill and conclude this effort once and for all.
As you are aware, the Supreme Court has put us in the position of having to intervene in the issue of trash shipments. In recent years, the Court has struck down State laws restricting the importation of solid waste from other jurisdictions under the Interstate Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution. The only solution is for Congress to enact legislation conferring such authority on the States.
It is high time that the largest trash exporting States bite the bullet and take substantial steps towards self-sufficiency for waste disposal. The legislation passed by the Senate in the 103rd and 104th Congresses would have provided much-needed relief to Pennsylvania, which is by far the largest importer of out-of-State waste in the nation. According to the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, 3.9 million tons of out-of-State municipal solid waste entered Pennsylvania in 1993, rising to 4.3 million tons in 1994, 5.2 million in 1995, 6.3 million tons in both 1996 and 1997, and a record 7.2 million in 1998. In fact, millions of tons of trash generated in other States find their final resting place in more than 50 landfills throughout Pennsylvania. Most of this trash comes from New York and New Jersey, with New York responsible for 3.1 million tons and New Jersey responsible for 2.9 million tons in 1998, representing 83 percent of the municipal solid waste imported into Pennsylvania.
This is not a problem limited to one small corner of Pennsylvania. As you are all well aware, this problem affects municipalities across the United States. Nationally 25 million tons of municipal garbage cross state lines annually for disposal, and interstate shipments overall have increased 32 percent in recent years. Now, more than ever, we need legislation which will go a long way toward resolving the landfill problems facing Pennsylvania, Ohio, Virginia and similar waste importing States. In 1997, nine states imported in excess of a million tons of solid waste and additional twenty States imported in excess of 100,000 tons of solid waste. I am particularly concerned by the developments in New York, where Governor Pataki and Mayor Giuliani have announced the closure of the City's one remaining landfill, Fresh Kills, in 2001. That will require the City to find landfill space for as much as 13,200 tons of waste per day, forcing it to landfills in importing States such as Ohio, Indiana, Pennsylvania and Virginia.
Over the past several years, I have met with numerous county officials, environmental groups, and other Pennsylvanians to discuss the solid waste issue. I have come away from those meetings impressed by the deep concerns expressed by the residents of communities which host a landfill rapidly filling up with the refuse of millions of New Yorkers and New Jerseyans whose States have failed to adequately manage the waste they generate.
Recognizing the recurrent problem of landfill capacity in Pennsylvania, since 1989 I have pushed to resolve the interstate waste crisis. I introduced legislation with my late colleague, Senator John Heinz, and then with former Senator Dan Coats along with cosponsors from both sides of the aisle which would have authorized States to restrict the disposal of out-of-State municipal waste in any landfill or incinerator within its jurisdiction. I was pleased when many of the concepts in our legislation were incorporated in the Environment and Public Works Committee's reported bills in the 103rd and 104th Congresses, and I supported these measures during floor consideration.
During the 103rd Congress, we encountered a new issue with respect to municipal solid waste -- the issue of waste flow control authority. On May 16, 1994, the Supreme Court held (63) in Carbone v. Clarkstown that a flow control ordinance, which requires all solid waste to be processed at a Designated waste management facility, violates the Commerce Clause of the United States Constitution. In striking down the Clarkstown ordinance, the Court stated that the ordinance discriminated against interstate commerce by allowing only the favored operator to process waste that is within the town's limits. As a result of the Court's decision, flow control ordinances in Pennsylvania and other States are considered unconstitutional.
I have met with county commissioners who have made clear that this issue is vitally important to many local governments in Pennsylvania and my office has, over the past years received numerous phone calls and letters from individual Pennsylvania counties and municipal solid waste authorities that support waste flow control legislation. Since 1988, flow control has been the primary tool used by Pennsylvania counties to enforce solid waste plans and meet waste reduction and recycling goals or mandates. Many Pennsylvania jurisdictions have spent a considerable amount of public funds on disposal facilities, including upgraded sanitary landfills, state-of-the-art resource recovery facilities, and co-composting facilities. In the absence of flow control authority, I am advised that many of these worthwhile projects could be jeopardized and that there will be a significant negative fiscal impact on some communities where there are debt service obligations.
In order to fix these problems, I introduced legislation (S. 663) on March 18, 1999 with Senator Santorum and Congressman Greenwood introduced companion legislation in the House of Representatives. The legislation would provide a presumptive ban on all out-of-state municipal solid waste, including construction and demolition debris, unless a landfill obtains the agreement of the local government to allow for the importation of waste. It would provide a freeze authority to allow a State to place a limit on the amount of out-of-state waste received annually at each facility. These provisions will provide a concrete incentive for the largest exporting states to get a handle on their solid waste management immediately. To address the problem of flow control, my bill would provide authority to allow local governments to designate where privately collected waste must be disposed. This would be a narrow fix for only those localities that constructed facilities before the 1994 Supreme Court ruling and who relied on their ability to regulate the flow of garbage to pay for their municipal bonds.
I understand that Virginia's Senators Warner and Robb and Ohio's Senators Voinovich and Bayh have introduced similar legislation to address the interstate shipments of solid waste. I look forward to working with them and the Committee to solve the interstate waste problem once and for all. In the past, the Committee has devised appropriate legislation which protected the ability of municipalities to plan effectively for the management of their municipal solid waste while also guaranteeing that market forces will still provide opportunities for enterprising companies in the waste management industry. I urge the Committee to take the same approach in the 106th Congress and report flow control legislation to the full Senate as soon as possible. Thank you again for the opportunity to share my views.