RESOURCE RECOVERY ACT OF 1969 MONDAY, JUNE 23, 1969 U.S. SENATE, SUBCOMMITTEE ON AIR AND WATER POLLUTION, Jacksonville, Fla. The subcommittee met, pursuant to recess, at 10:30 a.m., at the city hall council chamber, Jacksonville, Fla., Senator Jennings Randolph presiding. Present: Senator Randolph. Staff members present: Richard B. Royce, chief clerk and staff director; Richard D. Grundy, professional staff member; and Thomas C. Jorling, minority counsel. OPENING STATEMENT BY SENATOR RANDOLPH Senator RANDOLPH. A pleasant good morning, ladies and gentlemen. We are gratified that there are many officals at several levels of government who are present as we begin our hearing this morning. We are gratified also that there are individuals who are intensely interested, who come to listen and to learn, as all of us wish to learn, about the vital subject matter which concerns our hearing in Jacksonville today. I regret that Governor Kirk is unable to appear personally to present testimony. That testimony will be given to the subcommittee by Mr. Patton, and presumably he will be joined by others in a more general presentation. We are gratified, as I have indicated, to the officials and to the citizens, and now I wish to say that the members of the Public Work Committee of the Senate are gratified that we can, through our subcommittee, hold a hearing in Jacksonville today. We realize that there is an important facet to this subject which is beginning to be sensed by the American people; that is, what are we going to do about the air and water pollution problems that press down upon us in the rural areas of the United States, as well as in the metropolitan centers? Perhaps for the record, I will take a minute or two to say that which is factual, in that there are generated 30 million tons of paper, 4 million tons of plastics, 48 billion cans, 26 billion bottles each year. These are the approximate amounts of waste of each type which are being thrown away each year in this country, about 312 billion tons of solid waste thrown away every year. When we think of the cost of $4.5 billion to do this throw-away job, not control job, you can understand why people are becoming concerned. 30-057 069-pt. 1-11 In the last 30 years I expect we have spent $20 billion to dispose, and very poorly, of the solid waste in this country. So, as we think in terms of the technology and the managerial techniques that are being developed, we realize, with you, the importance of our assignment. Certainly, it is a fact that we have damaged approximately 7,000 square miles of land in the United States in disposing of these wastes which I have mentioned. So, you see the considerable impact of the solid waste problem. This is our second day of field hearings. We had 1 day of hearing with two sessions, morning and afternoon, in Boston a few weeks ago, but this is the second day of field hearings. The subcommittee is chaired by the very knowledgeable and distinguished Senator from Maine, Edmund S. Muskie. He regrets that he cannot be present today. Also I wish to add that we regret very much that a shift in the schedule of Senator Edward Gurney of Florida, who is a member of the Public Works Committee, has made it impossible for him to be with us on this occasion. Today we will consider S. 2005, a measure introduced in the Senate on April 29, 1969. That legislation is cosponsored by several Senators. I am one of those Senators who has joined with Senator Muskie in the introduction of this bill to amend the Solid Waste Disposal Act, provide financial assistance for the construction of solid waste disposal facilities, to improve research programs, and to develop other programs that might be associated with this effort. And so the Resources Recovery Act of 1969 is a vehicle that we use in connection with these hearings. We are going to explore also the problems of general pollution, and certainly air pollution from the incineration of municipal waste, often with outmoded facilities. Frankly, you have outmoded facilities in Jacksonville and you have them in Miami and you have them in other cities and municipalities in the State of Florida. We have them in my own State, West Virginia, and throughout the country; but when we think of this incineration we know that the outmoded facilities are not a satisfactory solution to the problems, either in Jacksonville or any other community. Certainly, here in Jacksonville, you have your air burdened with pollution which comes from the exhausts of the automobiles and from the industry, which is, of course, a reflection of the economic well-being of the area. I have felt, and I express it rather strongly, that Jacksonville has the typical features of an area that has a general pollution problem to solve, but you also have unique features. We think that if the legislation I mention, S. 2005, is passed and becomes law, and we have the money to fund the authorization, that it would be helpful in your solid waste problems. You have the typical problem of any metropolitan center in that you have a population increase and with this the economic growth that flows from the population expansion. Certainly there are the rising costs from the purchase of land and it makes landfill disposal of solid waste expensive. It will be increasingly expensive if we go just this route alone. About 80 percent of the cost of the disposal of municipal waste is just for the transportation of the waste from so-called curbside to disposal site; you can see the problem where it has had its greatest impact. Now, you are typical also of other metropolitan centers in that your solid waste management problem or effort has been fractured among individual municipal programs, and most of these programs have been carried forward with incinerator facilities that were obsolete or have become obsolescent. Your unique features, as contrasted with the typical features which make you like any other city, are a high water table, and this presents a difficulty in the development of sanitary land fills and the prevention of water pollution that may come from that type of disposal method. Also your area is unique in that rail facilities and proximity of this great area of Jacksonville to rich farming lands, the intensively farmed areas, makes it a favorable potential for composting as a means of dealing with this problem. Finally, Jacksonville is unique in the institutional structure which is being developed to make a reality of the countywide city of Jacksonville. We are going to have testimony from local and State officials, and we will have testimony from technical experts and from interested citizens. S. 2005 is a major effort of the subcommittee this year. I think that Congress is intensely interested and responsive to responsible citizens, like those who gather today. Certainly the Federal effort in the field of solid waste management has been concentrated as of now in research, and this is also supplemented in planning assistance that has been given in some degree, not enough, to the States and to the local governments. As we study this legislation in an attempt to redraft it and pass it, we will think in terms of the recycling and the reutilization of waste. We regard solid waste, as well as the liquid and gaseous wastes that enter our rivers and streams and our atmosphere, as very valuable natural resources. So there are great problems but there are also great potentialities and great possibilities; because inherent in what we do is the opportunity to take that which is bad, and turn it into perhaps that which can be positive. The figures that I gave you at the beginning I think indicate the massive impact of the problem and the staggering degree of the waste of our resources. These resources can serve to produce a better quality of life in America. We hope that in the hearing today we will have the counsel and the advice of the people who gather with us on this occasion. I wish to call special attention to the members of the city council who are here from the Health and Welfare Committee. 91ST CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 2005 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES APRIL 29, 1969 Mr. MUSKIE (for himself, Mr. BAYH, Mr. BOGGS, Mr. COOPER, Mr. EAGLETON, Mr. METCALF, Mr. MONTOYA, Mr. RANDOLPH, Mr. SPONG, Mr. YARBOROUGH, and Mr. YOUNG of Ohio) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Public Works A BILL To amend the Solid Waste Disposal Act in order to provide financial assistance for the construction of solid waste disposal facilities, to improve research programs pursuant to such Act, and for other purposes. 1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 3 That this Act may be cited as the "Resource Recovery Act 4 of 1969", 5 SEC. 2. Section 203 of the Solid Waste Disposal Act 6 is amended by inserting at the end thereof the following: 7 "(7) The term 'municipality' means a city, town, bor |