42 U.S.C. § 6949a — Adequacy of certain guidelines and cri-

Page 6991 TITLE 42—THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE § 6949a plete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short title note set out under section 1251 of title 33 and Ta- bles. CODIFICATION Pub. L. 110–234 and Pub. L. 110–246 made identical amendments to this section. The amendments by Pub. L. 110–234 were repealed by section 4(a) of Pub. L. 110–246. AMENDMENTS 2008—Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 110–246, § 6009(b), added sub- sec. (e). 1980—Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 96–482 authorized appropria- tion of $10,000,000, $15,000,000, and $15,000,000 for fiscal years 1980, 1981, 1982, respectively. Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE OF 2008 AMENDMENT Amendment of this section and repeal of Pub. L. 110–234 by Pub. L. 110–246 effective May 22, 2008, the date of enactment of Pub. L. 110–234, see section 4 of Pub. L. 110–246, set out as an Effective Date note under section 8701 of Title 7, Agriculture. 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. § 6949a. Adequacy of certain guidelines and cri- teria (a) Study The Administrator shall conduct a study of the extent to which the guidelines and criteria under this chapter (other than guidelines and criteria for facilities to which subchapter III ap- plies) which are applicable to solid waste man- agement and disposal facilities, including, but not limited to landfills and surface impound- ments, are adequate to protect human health and the environment from ground water con- tamination. Such study shall include a detailed assessment of the degree to which the criteria under section 6907(a) of this title and the cri- teria under section 6944 of this title regarding monitoring, prevention of contamination, and remedial action are adequate to protect ground water and shall also include recommendation with respect to any additional enforcement au- thorities which the Administrator, in consulta- tion with the Attorney General, deems nec- essary for such purposes. (b) Report Not later than thirty-six months after Novem- ber 8, 1984, the Administrator shall submit a re- port to the Congress setting forth the results of the study required under this section, together with any recommendations made by the Admin- istrator on the basis of such study. (c) Revisions of guidelines and criteria (1) In general Not later than March 31, 1988, the Adminis- trator shall promulgate revisions of the cri- teria promulgated under paragraph (1) of sec- tion 6944(a) of this title and under section 6907(a)(3) of this title for facilities that may receive hazardous household wastes or haz- ardous wastes from small quantity generators under section 6921(d) of this title. The criteria shall be those necessary to protect human health and the environment and may take into account the practicable capability of such fa- cilities. At a minimum such revisions for fa- cilities potentially receiving such wastes should require ground water monitoring as necessary to detect contamination, establish criteria for the acceptable location of new or existing facilities, and provide for corrective action as appropriate. (2) Additional revisions Subject to paragraph (3), the requirements of the criteria described in paragraph (1) relat- ing to ground water monitoring shall not apply to an owner or operator of a new munic- ipal solid waste landfill unit, an existing mu- nicipal solid waste landfill unit, or a lateral expansion of a municipal solid waste landfill unit, that disposes of less than 20 tons of mu- nicipal solid waste daily, based on an annual average, if— (A) there is no evidence of ground water contamination from the municipal solid waste landfill unit or expansion; and (B) the municipal solid waste landfill unit or expansion serves— (i) a community that experiences an an- nual interruption of at least 3 consecutive months of surface transportation that pre- vents access to a regional waste manage- ment facility; or (ii) a community that has no practicable waste management alternative and the landfill unit is located in an area that an- nually receives less than or equal to 25 inches of precipitation. (3) Protection of ground water resources (A) Monitoring requirement A State may require ground water moni- toring of a solid waste landfill unit that would otherwise be exempt under paragraph (2) if necessary to protect ground water re- sources and ensure compliance with a State ground water protection plan, where applica- ble. (B) Methods If a State requires ground water moni- toring of a solid waste landfill unit under subparagraph (A), the State may allow the use of a method other than the use of ground water monitoring wells to detect a release of contamination from the unit. (C) Corrective action If a State finds a release from a solid waste landfill unit, the State shall require corrective action as appropriate. (4) No-migration exemption (A) In general Ground water monitoring requirements may be suspended by the Director of an ap- proved State for a landfill operator if the op- Page 6992 TITLE 42—THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE § 6951 1 So in original. Probably should be ‘‘no-migration’’. erator demonstrates that there is no poten- tial for migration of hazardous constituents from the unit to the uppermost aquifer dur- ing the active life of the unit and the post- closure care period. (B) Certification A demonstration under subparagraph (A) shall be certified by a qualified ground-water scientist and approved by the Director of an approved State. (C) Guidance Not later than 6 months after March 26, 1996, the Administrator shall issue a guid- ance document to facilitate small commu- nity use of the no migration 1 exemption under this paragraph. (5) Alaska Native villages Upon certification by the Governor of the State of Alaska that application of the re- quirements described in paragraph (1) to a solid waste landfill unit of a Native village (as defined in section 1602 of title 43) or unit that is located in or near a small, remote Alaska village would be infeasible, or would not be cost-effective, or is otherwise inappropriate because of the remote location of the unit, the State may exempt the unit from some or all of those requirements. This paragraph shall apply only to solid waste landfill units that dispose of less than 20 tons of municipal solid waste daily, based on an annual average. (6) Further revisions of guidelines and criteria Recognizing the unique circumstances of small communities, the Administrator shall, not later than two years after March 26, 1996, promulgate revisions to the guidelines and cri- teria promulgated under this subchapter to provide additional flexibility to approved States to allow landfills that receive 20 tons or less of municipal solid waste per day, based on an annual average, to use alternative fre- quencies of daily cover application, fre- quencies of methane gas monitoring, infiltra- tion layers for final cover, and means for dem- onstrating financial assurance: Provided, That such alternative requirements take into ac- count climatic and hydrogeologic conditions and are protective of human health and envi- ronment. (Pub. L. 89–272, title II, § 4010, as added Pub. L. 98–616, title III, § 302(a)(1), Nov. 8, 1984, 98 Stat. 3267; amended Pub. L. 104–119, § 3(a), Mar. 26, 1996, 110 Stat. 831.) Editorial Notes AMENDMENTS 1996—Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 104–119 designated existing provisions as par. (1), inserted heading, and added pars. (2) to (6). Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries REINSTATEMENT OF REGULATORY EXEMPTION Pub. L. 104–119, § 3(b), Mar. 26, 1996, 110 Stat. 833, pro- vided that: ‘‘It is the intent of section 4010(c)(2) of the Solid Waste Disposal Act [42 U.S.C. 6949a(c)(2)], as added by subsection (a), to immediately reinstate sub- part E of part 258 of title 40, Code of Federal Regula- tions, as added by the final rule published at 56 Federal Register 50798 on October 9, 1991.’’ SUBCHAPTER V—DUTIES OF SECRETARY OF COMMERCE IN RESOURCE AND RE- COVERY § 6951. Functions The Secretary of Commerce shall encourage greater commercialization of proven resource recovery technology by providing— (1) accurate specifications for recovered ma- terials; (2) stimulation of development of markets for recovered materials; (3) promotion of proven technology; and (4) a forum for the exchange of technical and economic data relating to resource recovery facilities. (Pub. L. 89–272, title II, § 5001, as added Pub. L. 94–580, § 2, Oct. 21, 1976, 90 Stat. 2820.) § 6952. Development of specifications for sec- ondary materials The Secretary of Commerce, acting through the National Institute of Standards and Tech- nology, and in conjunction with national stand- ards-setting organizations in resource recovery, shall, after public hearings, and not later than two years after September 1, 1979, publish guide- lines for the development of specifications for the classification of materials recovered from waste which were destined for disposal. The specifications shall pertain to the physical and chemical properties and characteristics of such materials with regard to their use in replacing virgin materials in various industrial, commer- cial, and governmental uses. In establishing such guidelines the Secretary shall also, to the extent feasible, provide such information as may be necessary to assist Federal agencies with pro- curement of items containing recovered mate- rials. The Secretary shall continue to cooperate with national standards-setting organizations, as may be necessary, to encourage the publica- tion, promulgation and updating of standards for recovered materials and for the use of recov- ered materials in various industrial, commer- cial, and governmental uses. (Pub. L. 89–272, title II, § 5002, as added Pub. L. 94–580, § 2, Oct. 21, 1976, 90 Stat. 2820; amended Pub. L. 96–482, § 21(a), Oct. 21, 1980, 94 Stat. 2346; Pub. L. 100–418, title V, § 5115(c), Aug. 23, 1988, 102 Stat. 1433.) Editorial Notes AMENDMENTS 1988—Pub. L. 100–418 substituted ‘‘National Institute of Standards and Technology’’ for ‘‘National Bureau of Standards’’. 1980—Pub. L. 96–482 substituted ‘‘September 1, 1979’’ for ‘‘October 21, 1976’’. § 6953. Development of markets for recovered materials The Secretary of Commerce shall within two years after September 1, 1979, take such actions as may be necessary to—