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Daniel T. Fantozzi Director for Environmental Policy Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs U.S. Department of State Statement of the United States of America Delivered at the Fifth Conference of the Parties to the Basel Convention (December 6-10, 1999) Basel, Switzerland, December 10, 1999

Thank you Mr. Chairman

We are honored to have this opportunity to attend this Fifth Conference of the Parties of the Basel Convention and to participate in celebrating the tenth anniversary of this important agreement.

You will not be surprised to learn that, at Conferences of the Parties, we are often reminded, as we were again yesterday morning, that we are not yet a party to the convention. What this fact obscures, however, is the important truth that the United States is and has been a strong supporter of the convention's ideals and a leader in the environmentally sound handling of hazardous wastes.

The United States was an early proponent of the convention, and played an active role in its negotiation. However, contrary to the impression some may have, we did not succeed in negotiating a document fully consistent with our domestic legislation. We became signatories to the convention in 1990, at which time the goals and objectives of the convention, already incorporated in our regulatory framework, became a formal component of our national waste management policy.

When we obtained our Senate's advice and consent to ratification, a broad range of interests, including industry and environmental organizations, spoke in favor of ratification. Since that time we have been using all the regulatory tools at our disposal to implement provisions of the Basel Convention. These tools include a domestic notice and consent regime for transboundary movements of hazardous waste adopted in 1987, and one of the first cradle-to-grave hazardous waste tracking systems in the world.

In addition to our efforts to implement the Basel convention, we remain active supporters of its work, participating in its technical functions and supporting both the secretariat and activities funded through the technical cooperation fund. Our voluntary contributions currently make us the third largest contributor to the convention's B/C and B/D funds. This support has included funds for the subregional centers in the Caribbean and Central America, the regional center in Dakar and the proposed Dakar II conference on the environmentally sound management of hazardous wastes.

I would like to briefly mention the figures you heard yesterday about U.S. exports of hazardous wastes. These figures are misleading. The large majority of our exports and imports of waste are with our neighbor, Canada, pursuant to the U.S.- Canada bilateral waste agreement which is registered as an Article 11 agreement with the Basel secretariat. We mutually consider these movements to be Basel-consistent, both because of the similarities of our regulatory systems, and because a cross-border disposal often satisfies the concept of proximity better than a cross-continent domestic disposal. We have a very much smaller trade, estimated at about 5%, in certain, mostly-recyclable, wastes within the OECD. We have virtually no exports of hazardous wastes for disposal to countries outside the OECD, in particular we have an indefinite moratorium on exporting government ships for dismantling in recognition of the potential environmental and worker safety problems related to such exports. In sum, since before the Basel Convention, we have been in the forefront of efforts to manage hazardous wastes more safely, and we will continue in this role into the next decade.

Now, to return to the issue of ratification, let me assure you that it is of continued importance to my government, and is under active consideration. However, before we can ratify, we need domestic legislation granting certain authorities that will allow us to fully implement our obligations under the convention and to address differences 1n our definitions of hazardous waste. We are very pleased to have in our delegation two senior congressional delegates representing both major political parties - an important indication of congressional interest.

Speaking of Congress, however, I must sadly note the untimely death a few weeks ago of Senator Chafee, one of the Senate's most ardent supporters of Basel. Before I conclude, I would like to express my appreciation for the opportunity we have had to take some part in the work belong done at this conference. We well understand the environmental benefits and safeguards that a sound liability regime can provide, and congratulate the parties on developing a liability protocol, an impressive achievement after 10 years of joint effort. When work on the financial annex resumes, we urge the parties to keep the viability and practicality of the protocol foremost in mind, in order to assure ratification by a large number of states.

We also support the Basel Declaration and program of work on the environmentally sound management of wastes. As the convention enters a new decade, we hope it will be able to turn its attentions to the very real need to develop the capacity of all parties to safely manage hazardous and other wastes, including through recovery and recycling.

The recent mandate to the technical working group to take up issues relating to ship-breaking coincides with a domestic pilot project being undertaken by our Department of the Navy the to identify environmentally sound methods of dismantling ships. We hope this coincidence will allow us to participate constructively in the development of the guidelines on ship dismantling. We also hope the completion of the annex vii study in the near future will provide an opportunity for the parties to discuss a rational approach to the implementation of Decision III/I.

In closing, I wish to express our ongoing commitment to the vital objectives of the Basel convention and our intention to continue to contribute to its activities in the decade ahead.

Finally, we would like to thank the secretariat and the translators for an excellent conference. And we thank you, Mr. Chairman, the Government of Switzerland, and the city of Basel, for your initiative in hosting this 10th anniversary celebration and the exceptional hospitality you have shown us.

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