October 7, 1970
Page 35514
STATEMENT BY SENATOR MUSKIE
Mr. RANDOLPH: Mr. President, the knowledgeable chairman of our Subcommittee on Air and Water Pollution is necessarily absent this afternoon.
At the request of the distinguished junior Senator from Maine (Mr. MUSKIE), I ask unanimous consent that there be printed at this point in the RECORD a statement prepared by the Senator from Maine with reference to this matter. The Senator from Maine was one of the conferees.
There being no objection, Senator MUSKIE's statement was ordered to be printed in the RECORD, as follows:
STATEMENT OF SENATOR MUSKIE
Mr. President, the conference report on the Resource Recovery Act of 1970 combines the most useful and imaginative approaches to solid waste management included in the House bill, sponsored by Representative Paul Rogers, and the Senate bill, which I initially introduced and which was improved by the Subcommittee on Air and Water Pollution and the Senate Committee on Public Works.
Section 208 of the conference substitute for H.R. 11833 reflects the concern of the Rogers bill for funding innovative solid waste disposal facilities as well as the need to demonstrate area wide resource recovery systems.
Under Section 208 grants would be available to municipalities, States, or interstate or inter-municipal agencies to construct improved solid waste disposal facilities or to demonstrate area wide resource recovery systems. An improved solid waste disposal facility is one which advances the state of the art by applying new or improved techniques for reducing the environmental impact of solid waste. These facilities would be eligible for a Federal grant of 50 % of the cost of construction in the case of a single municipality and 75% for other projects.
Resource recovery systems are eligible for 75% of the costs of design, construction, and first-year operation and maintenance costs. They must also include a means for distributing the costs among the users of the system.
The conferees authorized $80 million for fiscal 1972 and $140 million in fiscal 1973. No more than 15% of the annual authorization could be granted in any one State. While the conference bill does not specifically authorize funds for Section 208 in fiscal 1971, funds are available from the $41.5 million authorization for Section 208 grants to be allocated among States as demands require.
The total authorization figures in the conference substitute are basically those proposed by Representative Rogers' bill, scaled to what will be needed in fiscal 1971. In addition to the $41.5 million in fiscal 1971 and the specific sums for section 208, the bill authorizes $72 million for fiscal 1972 and $76 million for fiscal 1973 for the remainder of the programs under the Solid Waste Disposal Act.
The Senate bill had eliminated the Act's separate authorization to the Secretary of the Interior for the Bureau of Mine's research in metal and mineral solid waste problems. The conference substitute accepts the position of the House, and authorizes for the Secretary of the Interior $8.75 million in fiscal 1971, $20.0 million in fiscal 1972, and $22.5 million in fiscal 1973, but requires that the Secretary consult with the Administrator of EPA before committing funds to any solid waste disposal project.
Several sections which the Senate bill added to the Act were accepted by the conference. These included a program of training grants, a national disposal sites study, and a requirement for compliance, with solid waste guidelines included in both House and Senate proposals, by Federal facilities and Federally licensed activities.
The language of the House and Senate bills are similar on amendments to the research and planning grants section of the Act. The conference agreement generally follows the House language for planning grants, except to add provision for grants to develop proposals for demonstration and construction grants and provision to plan programs for the removal of abandoned motor vehicles, which the Senate bill proposed. The conference agreement deleted provision for grants for the implementation of plans included in the House bill.
The conference also accepted Title II of the Senate bill, establishing the National Commission on Materials Policy. This was the amendment offered by Senator J. Caleb Boggs. It authorized the Commission to study and report by June 30, 1973 on materials policy and to ascertain which agency of the government should be responsible, on a continuing basis for implementing that policy. The Title includes an authorization of $2 million.
Senator Jennings Randolph, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Public Works and Chairman of the conference committee, deserves special recognition for his effort both in the formulation of the original Senate bill and in this agreement.
The Resource Recovery Act of 1970 will be a major weapon in the battle against the "third pollution." If adequate funding and manpower are provided for this program important steps can be taken to abate a growing menace to our water, air and land resources. The diseases that inadequate solid waste management foster and the aesthetic blight of litter and dumps can be eliminated.
These are the goals of this legislation. Its importance should be underscored. once again Congress has taken the lead to deal with a difficult environmental problem. I urge adoption of the conference report.