Save Our Seas 2.0: Improving Domestic Infrastructure to Prevent Marine Debris Act

II Calendar No. 224 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 2260 To provide for the improvement of domestic infrastructure in order to prevent marine debris, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JULY 24, 2019 Mr. SULLIVAN (for himself, Mr. WHITEHOUSE, Mr. MENENDEZ, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Mr. COONS, Mr. MURPHY, and Mr. MERKLEY) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works SEPTEMBER 25, 2019 Reported by Mr. BARRASSO, with an amendment [Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] A BILL To provide for the improvement of domestic infrastructure in order to prevent marine debris, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; DEFINITIONS. 3 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 4 ‘‘Save Our Seas 2.0: Improving Domestic Infrastructure 5 to Prevent Marine Debris Act’’. 6 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:15 Sep 26, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S2260.RS S2260 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 2260 RS (b) DEFINITIONS.—In this Act: 1 (1) EPA ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘EPA 2 Administrator’’ means the Administrator of the En- 3 vironmental Protection Agency. 4 (2) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian Tribe’’ 5 has the meaning given the term ‘‘Indian tribe’’ in 6 section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Edu- 7 cation Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304), without re- 8 gard to capitalization. 9 (3) INTENDED USE PLAN.—The term ‘‘intended 10 use plan’’ means a plan developed by a State under 11 section 3(c)(1). 12 (4) NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION.—The term 13 ‘‘nonprofit organization’’ means an organization that 14 is described in section 501(c) of the Internal Rev- 15 enue Code of 1986 and exempt from tax under sec- 16 tion 501(a) of such Code. 17 (5) POST-CONSUMER MATERIALS MANAGE- 18 MENT.—The term ‘‘post-consumer materials man- 19 agement’’ means the systems, operation, supervision, 20 and aftercare of processes and equipment used for 21 post-use material (including packaging, goods, prod- 22 ucts, and other materials), including— 23 (A) collection; 24 (B) transport; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:15 Sep 26, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S2260.RS S2260 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 2260 RS (C) safe disposal of waste that cannot be 1 recovered, reused, recycled, repaired, or refur- 2 bished; and 3 (D) systems and processes related to post- 4 use materials that can be recovered, reused, re- 5 cycled, repaired, or refurbished. 6 (6) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means— 7 (A) a State; 8 (B) an Indian Tribe; 9 (C) the District of Columbia; and 10 (D) a territory or possession of the United 11 States. 12 (7) STATE LOAN FUND.—The term ‘‘State loan 13 fund’’ means a post-consumer materials manage- 14 ment revolving State loan fund established by a 15 State under section 3(a)(2)(B). 16 (8) UNDER SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Under 17 Secretary’’ means the Under Secretary of Commerce 18 for Oceans and Atmosphere and Administrator of 19 the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administra- 20 tion. 21 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:15 Sep 26, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S2260.RS S2260 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 2260 RS SEC. 2. STRATEGY FOR IMPROVING POST-CONSUMER MA- 1 TERIALS MANAGEMENT AND WATER MAN- 2 AGEMENT. 3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the 4 date of enactment of this Act, the EPA Administrator 5 shall, in consultation with stakeholders, develop a strategy 6 to improve post-consumer materials management and resi- 7 dential recycling infrastructure, particularly for post-con- 8 sumer materials management that is (at the time of enact- 9 ment of this Act) not meeting existing national standards, 10 for the purpose of reducing potential leakage of plastic 11 waste and other post-consumer materials into waterways 12 and oceans. 13 (b) RELEASE.—On development of the strategy 14 under subsection (a), the EPA Administrator shall— 15 (1) distribute the strategy to States and units 16 of local government; and 17 (2) make the strategy publicly available for use 18 by— 19 (A) for-profit private entities involved in 20 post-consumer materials management; and 21 (B) other nongovernmental entities. 22 (c) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con- 23 gress that the strategy under subsection (a) should include 24 guidance, for the purpose of reducing potential leakage of 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:15 Sep 26, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S2260.RS S2260 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 2260 RS plastic waste and other post-consumer materials into wa- 1 terways and oceans, relating to— 2 (1) the harmonization of post-consumer mate- 3 rials management protocols, such as waste collection 4 and municipal recycling, including— 5 (A) best practices for the collection of resi- 6 dential recyclables; 7 (B) improved quality and sorting of resi- 8 dential recyclable materials through opportuni- 9 ties such as— 10 (i) education and awareness pro- 11 grams; 12 (ii) improved infrastructure, including 13 new equipment and innovative technologies 14 for processing of recyclable materials; 15 (iii) enhanced markets for recycled 16 material; and 17 (iv) standardized measurements; and 18 (C) increasing capacity for more types of 19 plastic (including plastic films) and other mate- 20 rials to be collected, processed, and recycled or 21 repurposed into usable materials or products; 22 (2) the development of new strategies and pro- 23 grams that prioritize engagement and cooperation 24 with States and the private sector to expedite efforts 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:15 Sep 26, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S2260.RS S2260 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 2260 RS and assistance in States to partner with, encourage, 1 advise, and facilitate the development and execution, 2 where practicable, of projects, programs, and initia- 3 tives— 4 (A) to improve the capacity, security, and 5 standards of operations for post-consumer ma- 6 terials management; 7 (B) to monitor and track how well post- 8 consumer materials management entities are 9 functioning, based on uniform and transparent 10 standards developed in cooperation with munic- 11 ipal, industrial, Federal, and civil society stake- 12 holders; 13 (C)(i) to identify the operational challenges 14 of post-consumer materials management; and 15 (ii) to develop policy and programmatic so- 16 lutions to those challenges; and 17 (D) to end intentional and unintentional 18 incentives for municipalities, industries, and in- 19 dividuals to improperly dispose of municipal 20 post-consumer materials; and 21 (3) strengthening markets for products with 22 high levels of recycled plastic content. 23 (d) COMPLEMENTARY ACTIVITIES.—It is the sense of 24 Congress that the strategy developed under subsection (a) 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:15 Sep 26, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S2260.RS S2260 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 2260 RS should include guidance on activities that are complemen- 1 tary to the activities described in subsection (c), such as— 2 (1) reducing waste at the source of the waste, 3 including anti-litter initiatives; 4 (2) developing effective post-consumer materials 5 management provisions for— 6 (A) national pollutant discharge elimi- 7 nation system permits issued to municipal sepa- 8 rate storm sewer systems under section 402 of 9 the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 10 U.S.C. 1342); and 11 (B) stormwater management plans; 12 (3) capturing post-consumer materials at 13 stormwater inlets, at stormwater outfalls, or in bod- 14 ies of water; 15 (4) providing education and outreach relating to 16 post-consumer materials movement and reduction; 17 and 18 (5) monitoring or modeling post-consumer ma- 19 terial flows and the reduction of post-consumer ma- 20 terials resulting from the implementation of best 21 management practices. 22 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:15 Sep 26, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S2260.RS S2260 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •S 2260 RS SEC. 3. POST-CONSUMER MATERIALS MANAGEMENT STATE 1 REVOLVING FUNDS. 2 (a) BLOCK GRANTS TO STATES TO ESTABLISH LOAN 3 FUNDS.— 4 (1) IN GENERAL.—The EPA Administrator 5 shall offer to enter into agreements with eligible 6 States to make capitalization block grants, including 7 letters of credit, to the States under this sub- 8 section— 9 (A) to support improvements to local post- 10 consumer materials management, including mu- 11 nicipal recycling programs; 12 (B) to assist local waste management au- 13 thorities in making improvements to local waste 14 management systems— 15 (i) to meet waste management stand- 16 ards, particularly with respect to systems 17 falling significantly below national stand- 18 ards, as determined by the EPA Adminis- 19 trator; and 20 (ii) to implement the strategy devel- 21 oped under section 2(a); 22 (C) to deploy waste interceptor tech- 23 nologies, such as ‘‘trash wheels’’ and litter 24 traps, to manage the collection and cleanup of 25 aggregated waste from waterways; and 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:15 Sep 26, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S2260.RS S2260 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •S 2260 RS (D) for such other purposes as the EPA 1 Administrator determines to be appropriate. 2 (2) ELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible to receive a 3 capitalization block grant under this subsection, a 4 State shall— 5 (A) enter into a capitalization agreement 6 with the EPA Administrator under paragraph 7 (1); and 8 (B) establish a post-consumer materials 9 management revolving State loan fund. 10 (3) DEPOSIT.—Funds from a capitalization 11 block grant to a State under this subsection shall be 12 deposited in the State loan fund established by the 13 State. 14 (4) PERIOD.—Funds from a capitalization block 15 grant to a State under this subsection shall be avail- 16 able to the State for obligation— 17 (A) during the fiscal year for which the 18 funds are authorized; and 19 (B) during the following fiscal year. 20 (5) ALLOTMENT.—Funds made available to 21 carry out this section shall be allotted to States at 22 the discretion of the EPA Administrator. 23 (6) REALLOTMENT.—Any funds not obligated 24 by a State by the last day of the period for which 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:15 Sep 26, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S2260.RS S2260 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •S 2260 RS the block grants are available shall be reallotted in 1 accordance with paragraph (5). 2 (b) USE OF FUNDS.— 3 (1) IN GENERAL.—Amounts deposited in a 4 State loan fund, including loan repayments and in- 5 terest earned on the amounts, shall be used only— 6 (A) for providing loans or loan guarantees; 7 (B) for outcomes-based or performance 8 payments; or 9 (C) as a source of reserve and security for 10 leveraged loans. 11 (2) LIMITATIONS.—Loans or loan guarantees 12 made by a State under paragraph (1)(A)— 13 (A) may be used only for expenditures of 14 a type or category that the EPA Administrator 15 has determined, through guidance, will— 16 (i) facilitate compliance with an in- 17 tended use plan; or 18 (ii) otherwise significantly further the 19 purposes described in subparagraphs (A) 20 through (C) of subsection (a)(1); and 21 (B) may not be used for the acquisition of 22 real property or an interest in real property, 23 unless the acquisition is— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:15 Sep 26, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S2260.RS S2260 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •S 2260 RS (i) integral to an intended use plan; 1 and 2 (ii) from a willing seller. 3 (c) INTENDED USE PLANS.— 4 (1) IN GENERAL.—After providing for public 5 review and comment, each State that has entered 6 into a capitalization agreement under subsection 7 (a)(1) annually shall prepare a plan that identifies 8 the intended uses of the amounts available from the 9 State loan fund of the State. 10 (2) CONTENTS.—An intended use plan shall in- 11 clude— 12 (A) a list of the projects to be carried out 13 by entities receiving the loans in the first fiscal 14 year that begins after the date of the intended 15 use plan, including a description of the project; 16 (B) a description of how the funds will 17 support disadvantaged communities; 18 (C) an explanation of any local restrictions, 19 such as flow control measures, that restrict ac- 20 cess to recyclable materials; 21 (D) the criteria and methods established 22 for the use of the funds; and 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:15 Sep 26, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S2260.RS S2260 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 12 •S 2260 RS (E) a description of the financial status of 1 the State loan fund and the short- and long- 2 term goals of the State loan fund. 3 (3) LIST OF PROJECTS.—Each State, after no- 4 tice and opportunity for public comment, shall pub- 5 lish, and periodically update, a list of projects in the 6 State that are eligible for assistance under this sec- 7 tion, including— 8 (A) the priority assigned to each project; 9 and 10 (B) to the maximum extent practicable, 11 the expected funding schedule for each project. 12 (d) FUND MANAGEMENT.— 13 (1) IN GENERAL.—Each State loan fund shall 14 be established, maintained, and credited with repay- 15 ments and interest, and the fund corpus shall be 16 available in perpetuity in accordance with this sec- 17 tion. 18 (2) INVESTMENT AUTHORIZED.—To the extent 19 amounts in the State loan fund of a State are not 20 required for current obligation or expenditure, the 21 amounts shall be invested in interest bearing obliga- 22 tions. 23 (e) STATE CONTRIBUTIONS.—Each capitalization 24 agreement entered into under subsection (a)(1) shall re- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:15 Sep 26, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S2260.RS S2260 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 13 •S 2260 RS quire that the State deposit in the State loan fund from 1 State funds an amount equal to not less than 20 percent 2 of the total amount of the block grant to be made to the 3 State on or before the date on which the block grant pay- 4 ment is made to the State. 5 (f) ADMINISTRATION OF STATE LOAN FUND.— 6 (1) IN GENERAL.—Each State annually may 7 use not greater than 4 percent of the funds allotted 8 to the State under this section to cover the reason- 9 able costs of administration of the programs under 10 this section, including the [Text truncated for display. 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