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1999 SESSION

990124252
HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 598
Offered January 20, 1999
Memorializing Congress to enact legislation giving states and localities the power to control the importation of waste into their jurisdictions.
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Patrons-- Grayson and Morgan
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Referred to Committee on Rules
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WHEREAS, Virginia ranks second in the nation in the amount of municipal waste imported from other states and the tonnage imported is likely to increase as other states close landfills; and

WHEREAS, Virginia has ample public and private municipal waste disposal capacity for waste generated in the Commonwealth; and

WHEREAS, the negative impacts of truck, rail, and barge traffic and litter, odors, and noise associated with waste imports occur not just at the location of final disposal but also along waste transportation routes, and current landfill technology has the potential to fail, leading to long-term cleanup and other associated costs; and

WHEREAS, the importation of waste runs counter to the repeatedly-expressed strong desire of Virginia’s citizens for clean air, land, and water and for the preservation of Virginia’s unique historic and cultural character, and it is essential to promote and preserve these attributes; and

WHEREAS, the Commonwealth has demonstrated the ability to attract good jobs and to promote sound economic development without relying on the importation of garbage; and

WHEREAS, in 1995, 23 governors wrote to the Commerce Committee of the United States Congress urging passage of legislation allowing states and localities the power to regulate waste entering their jurisdictions; and

WHEREAS, legislation is pending before the Commerce Committee that would provide states and localities with the authority to control the importation of waste, a power that is essential to the public health, safety, and welfare of all citizens of Virginia; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That the United States Congress be urged to enact legislation giving states and localities the power to control waste imports into their jurisdiction which includes: (i) a ban on waste imports in the absence of specific approval from the disposal site host community and governor of the host state; (ii) authorization for governors to freeze solid waste imports at 1993 levels; (iii) authorization for states to consider whether a disposal facility is needed locally when deciding whether to grant a permit; and (iv) authorization for states to limit the percentage of a disposal facility’s capacity that can be filled with waste from other states; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates transmit a copy of this resolution to the Congressional Delegation of Virginia in order that they may be apprised of the sense of the General Assembly of Virginia in this matter.