§2611 — Title 15 Commerce and Trade | U.S. Code

Summary

Most chemicals made, processed, or sold in the United States only to be shipped out of the country and marked with an export label are not covered by most rules in this chapter. But the Administrator can apply the rules if a chemical is found to pose an unreasonable health or environmental risk in the United States, and can require testing. If someone exports or plans to export a chemical that must have information sent to the Administrator under sections 2603 or 2604(b), they must tell the Administrator, who will notify the foreign government that the information is available. The same notice is required when a chemical is subject to an order, a proposed or final rule, a pending action, or relief under the listed sections. Elemental mercury may not be exported from the United States starting January 1, 2013. Within one year after October 14, 2008, the Administrator must report to Congress about certain mercury compounds (including mercuric chloride, mercurous chloride/calomel, mercuric oxide, and others) covering imports, domestic uses and 2010 estimates, recent exports, whether they can be turned into elemental mercury after export, and other relevant facts. U.S. residents may petition for a limited exemption to export elemental mercury to a named foreign facility; the Administrator can grant a rulemaking exemption only if strict conditions are met (no local nonmercury alternative, no other domestic source in that country, the country agrees, the mercury will be used and managed safely and not diverted, and the export fits U.S. international obligations). Each exemption can last up to three years and cover no more than 10 metric tons and can be suspended for violations, which carry penalties and allow citizen suits. Starting January 1, 2020, exports of certain mercury compounds are banned (listed compounds plus any added by the Administrator if they can be used to regenerate elemental mercury). The Administrator must publish a list within 90 days after June 22, 2016, may add compounds by rule, and must report to Congress within five years after June 22, 2016 about exports for disposal. Exports of listed compounds to OECD countries for environmentally sound disposal are allowed only if they will not be recovered, recycled, reclaimed, or reused. The rules do not change U.S. trade obligations, do not ban coal exports, and do not affect the Administrator’s authority under the Solid Waste Disposal Act.

Title 15, §2611

Commerce and Trade — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)(1)Except as provided in paragraph (2) and subsections (b) and (c), this chapter (other than section 2607 of this title) shall not apply to any chemical substance, mixture, or to an article containing a chemical substance or mixture, if—

(A)it can be shown that such substance, mixture, or article is being manufactured, processed, or distributed in commerce for export from the United States, unless such substance, mixture, or article was, in fact, manufactured, processed, or distributed in commerce, for use in the United States, and

(B)such substance, mixture, or article (when distributed in commerce), or any container in which it is enclosed (when so distributed), bears a stamp or label stating that such substance, mixture, or article is intended for export.

(2)Paragraph (1) shall not apply to any chemical substance, mixture, or article if the Administrator finds that the substance, mixture, or article presents an unreasonable risk of injury to health within the United States or to the environment of the United States. The Administrator may require, under section 2603 of this title, testing of any chemical substance or mixture exempted from this chapter by paragraph (1) for the purpose of determining whether or not such substance or mixture presents an unreasonable risk of injury to health within the United States or to the environment of the United States.

(b)(1)If any person exports or intends to export to a foreign country a chemical substance or mixture for which the submission of information is required under section 2603 or 2604(b) of this title, such person shall notify the Administrator of such exportation or intent to export and the Administrator shall furnish to the government of such country notice of the availability of the information submitted to the Administrator under such section for such substance or mixture.

(2)If any person exports or intends to export to a foreign country a chemical substance or mixture for which an order has been issued under section 2604 of this title or a rule has been proposed or promulgated under section 2604 or 2605 of this title, or with respect to which an action is pending, or relief has been granted under section 2604 or 2606 of this title, such person shall notify the Administrator of such exportation or intent to export and the Administrator shall furnish to the government of such country notice of such rule, order, action, or relief.

(c)(1)Effective January 1, 2013, the export of elemental mercury from the United States is prohibited.

(2)Subsection (a) shall not apply to this subsection.

(3)(A)Not later than one year after October 14, 2008, the Administrator shall publish and submit to Congress a report on mercuric chloride, mercurous chloride or calomel, mercuric oxide, and other mercury compounds, if any, that may currently be used in significant quantities in products or processes. Such report shall include an analysis of—

(i)the sources and amounts of each of the mercury compounds imported into the United States or manufactured in the United States annually;

(ii)the purposes for which each of these compounds are used domestically, the amount of these compounds currently consumed annually for each purpose, and the estimated amounts to be consumed for each purpose in 2010 and beyond;

(iii)the sources and amounts of each mercury compound exported from the United States annually in each of the last three years;

(iv)the potential for these compounds to be processed into elemental mercury after export from the United States; and

(v)other relevant information that Congress should consider in determining whether to extend the export prohibition to include one or more of these mercury compounds.

(B)For the purpose of preparing the report under this paragraph, the Administrator may utilize the information gathering authorities of this subchapter, including section 2609 and 2610 of this title.

(4)(A)Any person residing in the United States may petition the Administrator for an exemption from the prohibition in paragraph (1), and the Administrator may grant by rule, after notice and opportunity for comment, an exemption for a specified use at an identified foreign facility if the Administrator finds that—

(i)nonmercury alternatives for the specified use are not available in the country where the facility is located;

(ii)there is no other source of elemental mercury available from domestic supplies (not including new mercury mines) in the country where the elemental mercury will be used;

(iii)the country where the elemental mercury will be used certifies its support for the exemption;

(iv)the export will be conducted in such a manner as to ensure the elemental mercury will be used at the identified facility as described in the petition, and not otherwise diverted for other uses for any reason;

(v)the elemental mercury will be used in a manner that will protect human health and the environment, taking into account local, regional, and global human health and environmental impacts;

(vi)the elemental mercury will be handled and managed in a manner that will protect human health and the environment, taking into account local, regional, and global human health and environmental impacts; and

(vii)the export of elemental mercury for the specified use is consistent with international obligations of the United States intended to reduce global mercury supply, use, and pollution.

(B)Each exemption issued by the Administrator pursuant to this paragraph shall contain such terms and conditions as are necessary to minimize the export of elemental mercury and ensure that the conditions for granting the exemption will be fully met, and shall contain such other terms and conditions as the Administrator may prescribe. No exemption granted pursuant to this paragraph shall exceed three years in duration and no such exemption shall exceed 10 metric tons of elemental mercury.

(C)The Administrator may by order suspend or cancel an exemption under this paragraph in the case of a violation described in subparagraph (D).

(D)A violation of this subsection or the terms and conditions of an exemption, or the submission of false information in connection therewith, shall be considered a prohibited act under section 2614 of this title, and shall be subject to penalties under section 2615 of this title, injunctive relief under section 2616 of this title, and citizen suits under section 2619 of this title.

(5)Nothing in this subsection affects, replaces, or amends prior law relating to the need for consistency with international trade obligations.

(6)Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to prohibit the export of coal.

(7)(A)Effective January 1, 2020, the export of the following mercury compounds is prohibited:

(i)Mercury (I) chloride or calomel.

(ii)Mercury (II) oxide.

(iii)Mercury (II) sulfate.

(iv)Mercury (II) nitrate.

(v)Cinnabar or mercury sulphide.

(vi)Any mercury compound that the Administrator adds to the list published under subparagraph (B) by rule, on determining that exporting that mercury compound for the purpose of regenerating elemental mercury is technically feasible.

(B)Not later than 90 days after June 22, 2016, and as appropriate thereafter, the Administrator shall publish in the Federal Register a list of the mercury compounds that are prohibited from export under this paragraph.

(C)Any person may petition the Administrator to add a mercury compound to the list published under subparagraph (B).

(D)This paragraph does not prohibit the export of mercury compounds on the list published under subparagraph (B) to member countries of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development for environmentally sound disposal, on the condition that no mercury or mercury compounds so exported are to be recovered, recycled, or reclaimed for use, or directly reused, after such export.

(E)Not later than 5 years after June 22, 2016, the Administrator shall evaluate any exports of mercury compounds on the list published under subparagraph (B) for disposal that occurred after June 22, 2016, and shall submit to Congress a report that—

(i)describes volumes and sources of mercury compounds on the list published under subparagraph (B) exported for disposal;

(ii)identifies receiving countries of such exports;

(iii)describes methods of disposal used after such export;

(iv)identifies issues, if any, presented by the export of mercury compounds on the list published under subparagraph (B);

(v)includes an evaluation of management options in the United States for mercury compounds on the list published under subparagraph (B), if any, that are commercially available and comparable in cost and efficacy to methods being utilized in such receiving countries; and

(vi)makes a recommendation regarding whether Congress should further limit or prohibit the export of mercury compounds on the list published under subparagraph (B) for disposal.

(F)Nothing in this paragraph shall be construed to affect the authority of the Administrator under the Solid Waste Disposal Act (42 U.S.C. 6901 et seq.).

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

The Solid Waste Disposal Act, referred to in subsec. (c)(7)(F), is title II of Pub. L. 89–272, Oct. 20, 1965, 79 Stat. 997, as amended generally by Pub. L. 94–580, § 2, Oct. 21, 1976, 90 Stat. 2795, which is classified generally to chapter 82 (§ 6901 et seq.) of Title 42, The Public Health and Welfare. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see

Short Title

note set out under section 6901 of Title 42 and Tables.

Amendments

2016—Subsec. (a)(2). Pub. L. 114–182, § 10(a), substituted “presents” for “will present”. Subsec. (b)(1). Pub. L. 114–182, § 19(k), substituted “information” for “data” in two places. Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 114–182, § 10(b)(1), inserted “and mercury compounds” after “mercury” in heading. Subsec. (c)(7). Pub. L. 114–182, § 10(b)(2), added par. (7). 2008—Subsec. (a)(1). Pub. L. 110–414, § 4(1), substituted “subsections (b) and (c)” for “subsection (b)” in introductory provisions. Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 110–414, § 4(2), added subsec. (c).

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

Section effective Jan. 1, 1977, see section 31 of Pub. L. 94–469, set out as a note under section 2601 of this title. Findings Pub. L. 110–414, § 2, Oct. 14, 2008, 122 Stat. 4341, provided that: “Congress finds that— “(1) mercury is highly toxic to humans, ecosystems, and wildlife; “(2) as many as 10 percent of women in the United States of childbearing age have mercury in the blood at a level that could put a baby at risk; “(3) as many as 630,000 children born annually in the United States are at risk of neurological problems related to mercury; “(4) the most significant source of mercury exposure to people in the United States is ingestion of mercury-contaminated fish; “(5) the Environmental Protection Agency reports that, as of 2004—“(A) 44 States have fish advisories covering over 13,000,000 lake acres and over 750,000 river miles; “(B) in 21 States the freshwater advisories are statewide; and “(C) in 12 States the coastal advisories are statewide; “(6) the long-term solution to mercury pollution is to minimize global mercury use and releases to eventually achieve reduced contamination levels in the environment, rather than reducing fish consumption since uncontaminated fish represents a critical and healthy source of nutrition worldwide; “(7) mercury pollution is a transboundary pollutant, depositing locally, regionally, and globally, and affecting water bodies near industrial sources (including the Great Lakes) and remote areas (including the Arctic Circle); “(8) the free trade of elemental mercury on the world market, at relatively low prices and in ready supply, encourages the continued use of elemental mercury outside of the United States, often involving highly dispersive activities such as artisinal [probably should be “artisanal”] gold mining; “(9) the intentional use of mercury is declining in the United States as a consequence of process changes to manufactured products (including batteries, paints, switches, and measuring devices), but those uses remain substantial in the developing world where releases from the products are extremely likely due to the limited pollution control and waste management infrastructures in those countries; “(10) the member countries of the European Union collectively are the largest source of elemental mercury exports globally; “(11) the European Commission has proposed to the European Parliament and to the Council of the European Union a regulation to ban exports of elemental mercury from the European Union by 2011; “(12) the United States is a net exporter of elemental mercury and, according to the United States Geological Survey, exported 506 metric tons of elemental mercury more than the United States imported during the period of 2000 through 2004; and “(13) banning exports of elemental mercury from the United States will have a notable effect on the market availability of elemental mercury and switching to affordable mercury alternatives in the developing world.”

§2611 Exports