HR 2729 · 107th Congress 2001–2003, ended

Omnibus Mercury Emissions Reduction Act of 2001

Introduced Aug 2, 2001 Originated House Sponsor Thomas H. Allen D-ME

Fact sheet Spreadsheet

Latest action · Aug 16, 2001 Referred to the Subcommittee on Energy and Air Quality.

Progress

Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.

  1. IntroducedAug 2, 2001
  2. Passed HouseNot reached
  3. Passed SenateNot reached
  4. To the PresidentNot reached
  5. Became lawNot reached

Summary

Omnibus Mercury Emissions Reduction Act of 2001 - Amends the Clean Air Act to require the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to promulgate regulations to establish standards for mercury and mercury compound emissions applicable to: (1) electric utility steam generating units; (2) coal- and oil-fired boiler units of a specified capacity; (3) chlor-alkali plants that use the mercury cell production process; and (4) dust from Portland cement plants. Sets forth permit requirements.

Requires the Administrator to authorize methods of emissions control.

Establishes mercury emission baselines for electric utility and coal- and oil-fired boiler units.

Requires the regulations to ensure that recovered mercury is disposed of in a manner that ensures that: (1) mercury hazards are not transferred between environmental media; and (2) there is no release of mercury into the environment.

Directs the Administrator to establish a program of long-term disposal research and publicize emission data for each facility.

Amends the Solid Waste Disposal Act to direct the Administrator to publish a list of mercury-containing items to be separated and removed from the waste streams that feed solid waste facilities.

Requires mercury-content labeling by manufacturers.

Requires persons that transfer solid waste that may contain a listed mercury-containing item to submit separation and removal plans.

Directs the Administrator to promulgate regulations concerning measurement of mercury emissions from solid waste combustion flue gases.

Requires permits for solid waste incineration units to specify inspection, entry, monitoring, compliance certification, and reporting requirements. Directs the Administrator to require incineration units that exceed the maximum emission rate to install measures that will result, within three years, in a rate below the specified maximum.

Prohibits, three years after this Act's enactment, the sale of mercury-containing products unless the manufacturer has been granted an exemption.

Requires reports on reductions of mercury emissions from medical and hazardous waste incinerators, military uses of mercury, the sources and extent of emissions in North America, sedimentation trends in water bodies of concern, and fish consumption advisories.

Directs the Administrator to establish a program to evaluate and address mercury-related health effects on high-risk populations.

Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the Administrator to establish an advisory committee to report on the progress made in complying with this Act's amendments.

Cosponsors 27

Members who signed on, in the order they did. All signed on Aug 2, 2001.

SeatCosponsorSigned on
D-CABarbara LeeOriginalAug 2, 2001
I-VTBernard SandersOriginalAug 2, 2001
D-MABill DelahuntOriginalAug 2, 2001
D-NYCarolyn B. MaloneyOriginalAug 2, 2001
D-MICarolyn C. KilpatrickOriginalAug 2, 2001
D-GACynthia A. McKinneyOriginalAug 2, 2001
D-MIDavid E. BoniorOriginalAug 2, 2001
D-OHDennis J. KucinichOriginalAug 2, 2001
D-CAFortney Pete StarkOriginalAug 2, 2001
D-CAGeorge MillerOriginalAug 2, 2001
D-CAHenry A. WaxmanOriginalAug 2, 2001
R-NYJack QuinnOriginalAug 2, 2001
D-ILJanice D. SchakowskyOriginalAug 2, 2001
D-WAJay InsleeOriginalAug 2, 2001
R-NJJim SaxtonOriginalAug 2, 2001
D-MEJohn Elias BaldacciOriginalAug 2, 2001
D-MAJohn W. OlverOriginalAug 2, 2001
D-NYJose E. SerranoOriginalAug 2, 2001
D-NYMaurice D. HincheyOriginalAug 2, 2001
D-MAMichael E. CapuanoOriginalAug 2, 2001
R-NJMike FergusonOriginalAug 2, 2001
D-HINeil AbercrombieOriginalAug 2, 2001
D-RIPatrick J. KennedyOriginalAug 2, 2001
D-MARichard E. NealOriginalAug 2, 2001
D-WITammy BaldwinOriginalAug 2, 2001
D-WIThomas M. BarrettOriginalAug 2, 2001
D-CATom LantosOriginalAug 2, 2001

Committees 1

Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.

ChamberCommitteeWhat it did
HouseEnergy and Commerce Committee
Referred Aug 2, 2001
Energy Subcommittee
Referred Aug 16, 2001

Actions 3

Everything that happened, newest first.

  1. Aug 16, 2001Referred to the Subcommittee on Energy and Air Quality.
  2. Aug 2, 2001Introduced in House
  3. Aug 2, 2001Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.

Titles 2

Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.

Official Title as Introduced
To amend the Clean Air Act to establish requirements concerning the operation of fossil fuel-fired electric utility steam generating units, commercial and industrial boiler units, solid waste incineration units, medical waste incinerators, hazardous waste combustors, chlor-alkali plants, and Portland cement plants to reduce emissions of mercury to the environment, and for other purposes.
Short Titles as Introduced
Omnibus Mercury Emissions Reduction Act of 2001

Subjects

Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Environmental Protection.

Text 1

Each version as it was printed, newest first.

  1. Aug 2, 2001Introduced in House

Support LegiList

This page is free, carries no paywall, and is built and maintained by one person. If the record here is useful to you, a few dollars keeps it going.

$1 $5 $10

Processed by Stripe in a separate window. LegiList never sees card details.

Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.