Resource Recycling and Conservation Act

Resource Recycling and Conservation Act - Declares the findings of Congress and purposes of this Act, including to promote the use of materials that can be used again through recovery, reuse, and recycling and to discourage the unnecessary use and depletion of virgin natural resource materials.

Defines the terms used in this Act.

Requires the Interstate Commerce Commission and the Federal Maritime Commission to: (1) conduct an investigation, based upon the identification and examination of such rates as are significant to such investigation, of the rate structure for the transportation of recycled materials by transportation carriers subject to their respective jurisdiction and determine whether such transportation rate structure is in whole or in part unjustly discriminatory, or, in the case of interstate commerce, unreasonable; and (2) in all cases where the rate structure applicable to the transportation of recycled materials is found to be unreasonable or unjustly discriminatory, issue orders requiring the removal from such rate structure of such unjust discrimination or, unreasonableness.

Provides, with regard to such rates, for the filing of complaints, investigation, proceedings, and review of orders issued by the Commissions.

Provides that, with respect to procurement items purchased through advertisements for bids, no procurement shall be made of any item unless it is, by comparison with competing items offered for sale by suppliers, composed of the greatest percentage of reclaimed materials and is, to the greatest extent, recyclable or reusable following the use for which it is designed or used, whenever a significant difference exists between such item and competing items with respect to such characteristics.

Directs the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to prepare guidelines for the use of procuring agencies, setting forth recommended practices with respect to the procurement of reclaimed, recyclable, and reusable materials.

Directs the Administrator in consultation with the National Bureau of Standards to promulgate regulations: (1) identifying products (or classes of products), the manufacturing, distribution, or disposal practices of which may use an unreasonable amount of energy or virgin materials identified by the President to be critical for the national welfare, and in actual or potential short supply; (2) giving information on existing technology and practices for reducing the amount of energy or virgin materials used in the manufacturing, distribution, or disposal of such products; and (3) establishing standards for the control of such products.

States that the Administrator shall establish a central reference library for performance and cost effectiveness records and other data with respect to the methods of energy and resource recovery.

Creates a National Commission on Environmental Costs to conduct studies and make recommendations on enumerated disposal operation aspects of this Act.

Directs the Director of the National Bureau of Standards to issue regulations with respect to recycled oil.

Requires each manufacturer, producer, or importer of any product which is governed by any standard under a regulation issued under this Act to maintain records, detailing the information to be collected. Requires any person who stores, treats, transports, disposes of, or otherwise to admit any duly designated officer or employee of the Environmental Protection Agency, an involved regional authority, or a State or local agency having jurisdiction to any site or facility and to furnish all records relating to such waste for purpose of examination and copying.

Imposes criminal and civil penalties for violations of this Act, and grants, in specified instances, any person authority to commence a civil action on his own behalf for violations of this Act.

Provides for: (1) judicial review of any final regulation issued under this Act; and (2) public availability of information obtained under this Act, with trade secret exemptions.

Authorizes the Federal Power Commission to review, and modify where necessary, its existing policies, rules, and regulations as they affect the operation of public utilities and natural gas companies to bring such policies, rules, and regulations, into conformance with the purposes of this Act.

Authorizes specific appropriations for fiscal years 1975, 1976, and 1977.