42 U.S.C. § 6984 — Full-scale demonstration facilities

Page 7019 TITLE 42—THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE § 6984 imum extent possible with State and local au- thorities. (g) Special restriction Upon request, the full range of alternative technologies, programs or processes deemed fea- sible to meet the resource recovery or resource conservation needs of a jurisdiction shall be de- scribed in such a manner as to provide a suffi- cient evaluative basis from which the jurisdic- tion 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 conserva- tion, as a policy alternative for adoption into ordinances, codes, regulations, or law by any State or political subdivision thereof. (Pub. L. 89–272, title II, § 8003, as added Pub. L. 94–580, § 2, Oct. 21, 1976, 90 Stat. 2834; amended Pub. L. 95–609, § 7(u), Nov. 8, 1978, 92 Stat. 3083.) Editorial Notes AMENDMENTS 1978—Subsec. (a)(3). Pub. L. 95–609 substituted ‘‘solid waste’’ for ‘‘discarded materials’’. Executive Documents TRANSFER OF FUNCTIONS For transfer of certain enforcement functions of Ad- ministrator or other official of Environmental Protec- tion Agency under this chapter to Federal Inspector, Office of Federal Inspector for the Alaska Natural Gas Transportation System, and subsequent transfer to Secretary of Energy, then to Federal Coordinator for Alaska Natural Gas Transportation Projects, see note set out under section 6903 of this title. § 6984. Full-scale demonstration facilities (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 chapter, or provide financial assistance in the form of grants to a full-scale demonstration fa- cility under this chapter only if the Adminis- trator finds that— (1) such facility or proposed facility will demonstrate at full scale a new or signifi- cantly improved technology or process, a prac- tical and significant improvement in solid waste management practice, or the techno- logical feasibility and cost effectiveness of an existing, but unproven technology, process, or practice, and will not duplicate any other Fed- eral, 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 Adminis- trator under this chapter), (2) such contract or assistance meets the re- quirements of section 6981 of this title and meets other applicable requirements of this chapter, (3) such facility will be able to comply with the guidelines published under section 6907 of this title and with other laws and regulations for the protection of health and the environ- ment, (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 pri- vate 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 chapter. (b) Time limitation No obligation may be made by the Adminis- trator for financial assistance under this sub- chapter for any full-scale demonstration facility after the date ten years after October 21, 1976. No expenditure of funds for any such full-scale demonstration facility under this subchapter may be made by the Administrator after the date fourteen years after October 21, 1976. (c) Cost sharing (1) Wherever practicable, in constructing, op- erating, or providing financial assistance under this subchapter to a full-scale demonstration fa- cility, 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 ar- rangements, wherever practicable and desirable, to provide monitoring of full-scale solid waste facilities (whether or not constructed or oper- ated under this chapter) for purposes of obtain- ing 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 personnel and pro- vides no other financial assistance to a facility, notwithstanding section 6981(c)(3) of this title, title to any invention made or conceived of in the course of developing, constructing, or oper- ating 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) Prohibition After October 21, 1976, the Administrator shall not construct or operate any full-scale facility (except by contract with public agencies or au- thorities or private persons). (Pub. L. 89–272, title II, § 8004, as added Pub. L. 94–580, § 2, Oct. 21, 1976, 90 Stat. 2836; amended Pub. L. 95–609, § 7(v), Nov. 8, 1978, 92 Stat. 3084; Pub. L. 98–616, title V, § 502(f), Nov. 8, 1984, 98 Stat. 3276.) Editorial Notes AMENDMENTS 1984—Subsec. (c)(1). Pub. L. 98–616 inserted ‘‘(1)’’ be- fore ‘‘Wherever’’. 1978—Subsec. (a)(1). Pub. L. 95–609 substituted ‘‘solid waste’’ for ‘‘discarded material’’. Page 7020 TITLE 42—THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE § 6985 Executive Documents TRANSFER OF FUNCTIONS For transfer of certain enforcement functions of Ad- ministrator or other official of Environmental Protec- tion Agency under this chapter to Federal Inspector, Office of Federal Inspector for the Alaska Natural Gas Transportation System, and subsequent transfer to Secretary of Energy, then to Federal Coordinator for Alaska Natural Gas Transportation Projects, see note set out under section 6903 of this title. § 6985. Special study and demonstration projects on recovery of useful energy and materials (a) Studies The Administrator shall conduct studies and develop recommendations for administrative or legislative action on— (1) means of recovering materials and energy from solid waste, recommended uses of such materials and energy for national or inter- national welfare, including identification of potential markets for such recovered re- sources, the impact of distribution of such re- sources on existing markets, and potentials for energy conservation through resource con- servation and resource recovery; (2) actions to reduce waste generation which have been taken voluntarily or in response to governmental action, and those which prac- tically could be taken in the future, and the economic, social, and environmental con- sequences of such actions; (3) methods of collection, separation, and containerization which will encourage effi- cient utilization of facilities and contribute to more effective programs of reduction, reuse, or disposal of wastes; (4) the use of Federal procurement to de- velop market demand for recovered resources; (5) recommended incentives (including Fed- eral 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, in- cluding subsidies and economic incentives and disincentives, percentage depletion allow- ances, capital gains treatment and other tax incentives and disincentives, upon the recy- cling and reuse of materials, and the likely ef- fect of the modification or elimination of such incentives and disincentives upon the reuse, recycling and conservation of such materials; (7) the necessity and method of imposing dis- posal or other charges on packaging, con- tainers, vehicles, and other manufactured goods, which charges would reflect the cost of final disposal, the value of recoverable compo- nents of the item, and any social costs associ- ated with nonrecycling or uncontrolled dis- posal of such items; and (8) the legal constraints and institutional barriers to the acquisition of land needed for solid waste management, including land for fa- cilities and disposal sites; (9) in consultation with the Secretary of Ag- riculture, agricultural waste management problems and practices, the extent of reuse and recovery of resources in such wastes, the prospects for improvement, Federal, State, and local regulations governing such prac- tices, and the economic, social, and environ- mental consequences of such practices; and (10) in consultation with the Secretary of the Interior, mining waste management prob- lems, and practices, including an assessment of existing authorities, technologies, and eco- nomics, and the environmental and public health consequences of such practices. (b) Demonstration The Administrator is also authorized to carry out demonstration projects to test and dem- onstrate methods and techniques developed pur- suant to subsection (a). (c) Application of other sections Section 6981(b) and (c) of this title shall be ap- plicable to investigations, studies, and projects carried out under this section. (Pub. L. 89–272, title II, § 8005, as added Pub. L. 94–580, § 2, Oct. 21, 1976, 90 Stat. 2837.) Editorial Notes PRIOR PROVISIONS Provisions similar to those in this section were con- tained in section 3253a of this title, prior to the general amendment of the Solid Waste Disposal Act by Pub. L. 94–580. Executive Documents TRANSFER OF FUNCTIONS For transfer of certain enforcement functions of Ad- ministrator or other official of Environmental Protec- tion Agency under this chapter to Federal Inspector, Office of Federal Inspector for the Alaska Natural Gas Transportation System, and subsequent transfer to Secretary of Energy, then to Federal Coordinator for Alaska Natural Gas Transportation Projects, see note set out under section 6903 of this title. § 6986. Grants for resource recovery systems and improved solid waste disposal facilities (a) Authority The Administrator is authorized to make grants pursuant to this section to any State, municipal, or interstate or intermunicipal agen- cy for the demonstration of resource recovery systems or for the construction of new or im- proved solid waste disposal facilities. (b) Conditions (1) Any grant under this section for the dem- onstration of a resource recovery system may be made only if it (A) is consistent with any plans which meet the requirements of subchapter IV of this chapter; (B) is consistent with the guide- lines recommended pursuant to section 6907 of this title; (C) is designed to provide area-wide resource recovery systems consistent with the purposes of this chapter, as determined by the Administrator, pursuant to regulations promul- gated under subsection (d) of this section; and (D) provides an equitable system for distributing the costs associated with construction, oper- ation, 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.