Congressman John D. Dingell

Washington, DC - Today, the US House of Representatives passed unanimously by voice vote HR 2491, the International Solid Waste Importation and Management Act of 2006. If passed by the Senate and signed by the President, the bill would give the State of Michigan more control over trash imports coming across the border from Canada. Since 1996, when Michigan started collecting data, the amount of Canadian waste being disposed of in Michigan has risen by 335 percent. Essentially, the City of Toronto is using Michigan and Detroit as its dumping ground.

"The people of Michigan are one step closer to having a say on what trash crosses our international border," said Congressman John D. Dingell (D-MI15), one of the architects of the bill. "I want to thank my Michigan colleagues on the House Energy and Commerce Committee - Congressmen Upton, Stupak and Rogers - for their hard work on this legislation. I am pleased that HR 2491 has cleared the House and sincerely hope the Republican leadership in the Senate allows this bill to come up for consideration before Congress adjourns.

The Committee on Energy and Commerce passed HR 2491 by voice vote a year ago.

Specifically, the bill requires the Environmental Protection Agency to implement and enforce the "notice and consent" provisions of the bilateral US-Canadian Agreement -- an Agreement the United States signed in 1986 to govern the transboundary movement of hazardous waste and amended in 1992 to include municipal solid waste.

Congressman Dingell has argued the Bush Administration should be complying with the notice and consent provisions of the bilateral agreement, which requires that both countries use "best efforts" in the absence of regulations. The bilateral agreement is especially important because Canada is a party to the Basel Convention and the US is not. The Basel Convention specifically prohibits Basel parties from exporting waste to a non-party. Thus, this US-Canadian bilateral agreement is the only way waste can travel between the two countries at all.

In his statement on the House floor today, Dingell said: "The more than 400 trucks of waste that cross every day into Michigan from Canada are more than just a nuisance. These trucks and their cargo pose an environmental risk, a possible security risk, and a potential health hazard, as well as being detrimental to our roads. The citizens of Michigan need action by this Congress and I am pleased they are getting action by the House. It is unfortunate; however, that consideration of this important bill comes so late in the legislative session. Republican leadership has a major responsibility to move this important legislation."