PRINTER'S NO. 609
No. 40 Session of 1991
INTRODUCED BY CAWLEY AND TIGUE, MARCH 11, 1991
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON RULES, MARCH 11, 1991
A RESOLUTION
1 Memorializing Congress to enact legislation requiring each state
2 to be responsible to provide for the capacity for disposal of
3 solid waste generated within its borders.
4 WHEREAS, The Constitution of Pennsylvania declares that the
5 people of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania have a right to clean
6 air, pure water and the preservation of the natural, scenic,
7 historic and esthetic values of the environment; that
8 Pennsylvania's public natural resources are the common property
9 of all the people, including generations yet to come; and that
10 the Commonwealth, as trustee of these resources, shall conserve
11 and maintain them for the benefit of all the people; and
12 WHEREAS, The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is responsible for
13 the protection of the health, safety and welfare of its citizens
14 through effective control of solid waste management practices;
15 and
16 WHEREAS, The General Assembly has found and determined that
17 all aspects of solid waste management, particularly the
18 disposition of solid waste, pose a critical threat to the
1 health, safety and welfare of the citizens of Pennsylvania; and
2 WHEREAS, The existing permitted capacity for municipal waste
3 disposal in Pennsylvania is not sufficient to accommodate
4 increasing waste generated by nearby states; and
5 WHEREAS, The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania's efforts to
6 preserve its natural resources by reducing the waste it
7 generates are being threatened by the closure of landfills in
8 nearby states and the flow of waste into Pennsylvania; and
9 WHEREAS, The additional capacity of all pending municipal
10 waste applications before the Department of Environmental
11 Resources far exceeds the disposal needs of Pennsylvania; and
12 WHEREAS, Permitting of excessive disposal capacity may
13 violate Pennsylvania's constitutional duties as trustees of the
14 resources of the environment; and
15 WHEREAS, Unless legislation is enacted on the national level,
16 there will be many disparities and inequities among the states
17 regarding the interstate shipping and disposal of solid waste;
18 therefore be it
19 RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the
20 Commonwealth of Pennsylvania memorialize the Congress of the
21 United States to consider and enact legislation that would
22 require each state to be responsible for providing for the
23 capacity for disposal of solid waste generated within its
24 borders; and be it further
25 RESOLVED, That copies of this resolution be transmitted to
26 the presiding officers of each house of Congress and to each
27 member of Congress from Pennsylvania.
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