| 1898 | First energy recovery in the
United States | Energy recovery from garbage incineration started in New York City.
The primary focus for the next eight decades was on waste volume
reduction through incineration, and energy recovery was used
primarily for process heat. |
| 1970s | Commercialization | First-generation research was followed by construction of refuse-
derived fuel systems and pyrolysis units in the late 1970s. The first
commercial units were characterized by poor performance and overly
complex technology and were subsequently closed. Writeoffs during
1980-1984 were estimated at $300 million. |
| 1970s | U.S. firms' licensing of European mass burn
technology | U.S. Navy, Wheelabrator, and Ogden acquired the European mass burn
technologies that would dominate the U.S. industry by the late 1980s. |
| 1976 | Resource Conservation and
Recovery Act (RCRA) | RCRA empowered the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to
regulate residues from solid waste incinerators. Unclear wording made
application of the law to MSW power plants uncertain, and the issue
was taken to court. |
| 1978 | Public Utility Regulatory Policies
Act (PURPA) enacted | PURPA mandated the purchase of electricity from qualifying facilities (QFs) at a utility's avoided cost of energy and capacity. This legislation
was used to require utilities to pay a higher price for power from
MSW power plants than the plants had traditionally received. |
| 1978 | City of Philadelphia vs. New Jersey | The U.S. Supreme Court defined waste to be an article of interstate commerce that cannot be discriminated against unless there is some reason, apart from its origin, to treat it differently, or unless Congress
specifies otherwise for particular articles of commerce. |
| 1986 | Tax Reform Act | The Tax Reform Act of 1986 eliminated the tax-free status of MSW
power plants financed with industrial development bonds, reduced
accelerated depreciation, and eliminated the 10-percent tax credit. The
Act also reduced State caps on private tax-exempt bonds in 1988,
further reducing funding sources and increasing the cost of capital. |
| 1987 | Doubling of landfill tipping fees | Landfill tipping fees doubled, and doubled again about every 2 years
due to rising landfill costs resulting from the RCRA. Siting issues
became increasingly difficult. |
| 1989 | EPA report on recycling | The Solid Waste Dilemma: An Agenda for Action advocated recycling as a waste management tool. |
| 1990 | Clean Air Act Amendments | The EPA recognized MSW power as a renewable fuel that would
qualify for up to 30,000 sulfur dioxide emission allowances from a
special pool of 300,000 designed to promote conservation and
renewable energy. The EPA also required MSW power plants over 250
tons per day to employ best available control technology (BACT).
Retrofit costs caused some facilities to close. |
| 1991 | Resource Conservation and
Recovery Act, Subtitle D | The EPA announced that small, unlined landfills would be required to
close by December 31, 1993. This action spurred the infant recycling
industry and increased tipping fees around the country. Most landfills
requested and received extensions. |
| 1992 | EPA ash memo | An EPA memorandum excluded ash from regulation as a hazardous
waste under Subtitle C of the RCRA, as long as it was not
characterized as toxic. This action did very little to clarify legal issues. |
| 1992 | Boom in State recycling legislation | In 1988, only Washington had recycling legislation mandating a state
MSW reduction goal through recycling. By 1992, 15 States had adopted
recycling legislation. Today, there are over 7,000 recycling programs,
covering one-third of the U.S. population; more than 1,000 bills are
proposed per year that endorse some type of recycling law, incentive,
or program. Many State goals are to reduce MSW by 50 percent or
more by 2000. |
| 1992 | Fort Gratiot Sanitary Landfill vs. Michigan
Department of Natural Resources | The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that State-imposed waste import
restrictions were illegal "economic protectionist" measures that violated the Commerce Clause and were, therefore, unconstitutional. The Court's decision stated that "a State (or one of its political subdivisions)
may not avoid the strictures of the Commerce Clause by curtailing the
movement of articles of commerce through the subdivisions of the
State, rather than through the State itself." The stage was set for a similar ruling in a flow control case. |
| 1994 | EPA vs. City of Chicago | In May 1994, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the exemption of MSW
(from a hazardous waste definition) under the RCRA did not extend to
ash. MSW ash must be tested and disposed of in hazardous waste
landfills if found to exceed EPA regulations on hazardous wastes
under RCRA. |
| 1994 | Carbone vs. Clarkstown | Also in May 1994, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld challenges to flow
control. As a result, existing flow control contracts could be rendered
invalid under specific situations (on a case-by-case basis). Several
plants have shut down as a result. The California Supreme Court also
ruled against flow control. |
| 1994 | New air emission regulations proposed by
EPA | In September 1994, the EPA strengthened air emission standards for
MSW combustion plants by requiring maximum achievable control
technologies (MACT). It also included plants as small as 40 tons per
day under regulations. |
| 1995 | Senate flow control bill | The Senate passed a flow control bill to grandfather in existing flow
control contracts to prevent the major risk of MSW bond default in 14
States |