2015 -- H 5273

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2015

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A N   A C T

RELATING TO HEALTH AND SAFETY - RHODE ISLAND RESOURCE RECOVERY

CORPORATION

     Introduced By: Representatives Ucci, Fellela, Costantino, and Carnevale

     Date Introduced: February 04, 2015

     Referred To: House Environment and Natural Resources

     It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

     SECTION 1. Section 23-19-3 and 23-19-11 of the General Laws in Chapter 23-19

entitled "Rhode Island Resource Recovery Corporation" are hereby amended to read as follows:

     23-19-3. Declaration of policy. -- The following are declared to be policies of the state:

      (1) That the ultimate solid waste management objective of the state is to maximize

recycling and reuse of solid waste;

      (2) That solid waste management facilities and projects are to be implemented either by

the state or under state auspices, in furtherance of these goals;

      (3) That appropriate governmental structure, processes, and support must be provided so

that an effective and integrated statewide network of solid waste management facilities may be

planned, financed, developed and operated for the benefit of the people and municipalities of the

state;

      (4) That solid waste management activities be conducted in an environmentally sound

manner;

      (5) That private industry be encouraged to continue playing a key role in the state's solid

waste management programs;

      (6) That solid waste management facilities and services be provided for municipalities,

institutions, and persons in the state at reasonable costs, by state solid waste management systems

and facilities, where the services and facilities are considered necessary and desirable; the

facilities and services shall be used by all persons and municipalities within the state under terms

and conditions that the Rhode Island resource recovery corporation shall reasonably fix and

establish; provided, however, that municipalities operating their own landfills on December 1,

1986 shall be free to continue to use the landfills until the closure of the landfills; and provided,

further, that this subdivision shall not be construed to affect or impair any valid contract for

disposal of municipal waste which was in effect on March 1, 1985 until the expiration of the

original term of the contract, or the expiration of any extension approved by the corporation, or

sooner termination of the contract; after the closure of the landfill or expiration or earlier

termination of the contracts, the municipalities shall be required to use the facilities and services

as the corporation shall direct;

      (7) That provision shall be made for planning, research, and development, and

appropriate innovation in the design, management, and operation of the state's system for solid

waste management, in order to permit continuing improvement and provide adequate incentives

and processes for lowering operating and other costs;

      (8) That the Rhode Island resource recovery corporation established pursuant to this

chapter shall plan and implement solid waste management facilities where necessary and

desirable throughout the state, in accordance with the general laws and with applicable state

regulations, including, without limitation, regulations of the department of health and the

department of environmental management;

      (9) The creation, licensing, and operation of landfill solid waste disposal facilities should

be limited to what is reasonably required to service the needs of the inhabitants and businesses of

this state, having regard for alternative technologies for waste disposal;

      (10) That the Rhode Island resource recovery corporation will provide, either by contract

with a private concern or directly by the corporation, a recycling facility as defined by the

department of environmental management at, or within a convenient distance of, all solid waste

disposal facilities under its jurisdiction. These recycling facilities will provide cities and towns

with a place to deposit their recyclable materials at no tipping cost to the municipalities; provided,

however, that tipping fees may be charged in accordance with this chapter when the solid waste

processing facility is designed to process nonsource separated or partially source separated solid

waste for recycling at least seventy percent (70%) of the municipal solid waste stream.

      (11) An integrated approach shall be adopted with respect to solid waste management

planning and implementation activities that shall be based on the following priorities to the extent

economically feasible:

      (i) Reduction of the amount of source waste generated;

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      (ii) Source separation and recycling;

      (iii) Waste processing such as recycling based technology to reduce the volume of waste

necessary for land disposal;

      (iv) Land disposal;

      (12) That the central landfill should be reserved for the disposal of solid waste generated

within the state; and

      (13) That the resource recovery corporation will operate the central landfill in a manner

designed to afford to the environment and to the citizens of the state who reside near the landfill

the maximum protection which is available for the land disposal of rubbish and minimize or

eliminate land disposal of solid waste.

      (14) That due to the myriad of over four hundred (400) toxic pollutants including lead,

mercury, dioxins, and acid gasses known to be emitted by solid waste incinerators, the known and

unknown threats posed by solid waste incinerators to the health and safety of Rhode Islanders,

particularly children, along with the known and unknown threats to the environment are

unacceptable.

      (15) That despite the use of state of the art landfill liner systems and leachate collection

systems, landfills, and particularly incinerator ash landfills, release toxic leachate into ground and

surface waters which poses an unacceptable threat to public health, the environment, and the

state's limited ground and surface water resources.

      (16) That incineration of solid waste is the most costly method of waste disposal with

known and unknown escalating costs that would place substantial and unreasonable burdens on

both state and municipal budgets to the point of seriously jeopardizing the public's interest.

      (17)(16) That the highest and best use of leaf and yard debris is for use in the composting

process and the resulting compost material is a valuable soil amendment for agricultural and

landscaping operations. The corporation shall accept segregated leaf and yard debris collected

from municipalities as part of a municipal leaf and yard waste diversion program. Municipalities

shall have a .025 ton per person cap on the amount of leaf and yard debris they deliver to the

corporation's facility annually beginning on July 1, 2009. The corporation shall establish a

municipal leaf and yard debris borrowing program that allows municipalities to share portions of

their choosing of their unutilized cap tonnage with municipalities that are in excess of their cap

tonnage. This program shall not allow an individual municipality to borrow more than one-half

(1/2) of its established tonnage cap. This material shall be accepted at no charge to municipalities,

provided that the corporation may charge twenty-five dollars ($25.00) per ton for every ton that

exceeds the per person cap not including any tonnage that a municipality utilized from the leaf

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and yard debris borrowing program established for the municipality. This material shall be

composted at the corporation's facility. The resulting compost shall be used by the corporation for

operational and construction needs, may be marketed by the corporation to help offset processing

costs and may be periodically available to municipalities and state agencies at no charge. The

corporation shall quantify the amount of leaf and yard debris it requires on an annual basis to

create compost for landfill and construction operation purposes. The corporation shall report this

amount to the general assembly no later than September 1, 2008.

     23-19-11. Planning requirements. -- Planning responsibilities of the corporation shall

include, but not be limited to:

      (1) The preparation of a statewide resource recovery system development plan which

will indicate the location, type, and size of solid waste management facilities, including without

limitation, transfer stations, waste processing facilities, and ultimate disposal facilities which may

be required to serve the future needs of the state and its municipalities through the development

of an integrated statewide resource recovery system for the effective management of solid waste;

      (2) The plan shall be in conformity with the applicable provisions of the state guide plan;

      (3) The plan will be subject to amendment;

      (4) In developing the plan, the corporation will assure that:

      (i) The orderly extension of future solid waste facilities and management systems are

provided for in a manner consistent with the needs and plans of the whole area, and in a manner

consistent with the state departments of health and environmental management rules and

regulations for locating and operating solid waste facilities;

      (ii) All aspects of planning, zoning, population estimates, engineering, and economics

are taken into consideration to delineate with all practical precision those portions of the area

which may reasonably be expected to be served by a given time frame, as determined by the

corporation;

      (iii) Appropriate time schedules are set for the phasing in of the required component

parts of the system.

      (iv) Future solid waste disposal facilities shall be regional in size and emphasize the

geographic and political nature of the surrounding area.

      (5) In the interim prior to the completion of the statewide plan, the corporation is

authorized to develop component facilities as may be required to carry out the purposes of this

chapter; provided, however, upon completion of the plan, all projects of the corporation

undertaken thereafter shall be in conformity with the plan; and

      (6) The corporation shall cooperate with the department of environmental management

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and other state and local agencies in the development of a comprehensive statewide solid waste

management plan, of which the corporation's statewide resource recovery system development

plan shall be a component part. Nothing in this chapter shall be interpreted as limiting the

authority of the department of environmental management to prepare a statewide, comprehensive,

solid waste management plan, including, but not limited to, any plan required by any federal law,

rules, or regulations to meet federal requirements that may be conditions precedent to receiving

federal assistance.

      (7) The plan shall not include incineration of solid waste.

      (8)(7) The plan shall limit the use of landfills to providing temporary backup or bypass

disposal capacity and residue disposals from waste processing facilities. The plan shall also seek

to minimize landfilling of any type of waste and phase out the use of landfills for waste disposal.

      (9)(8) The plan shall include composting of yard waste and other appropriate organic

wastes.

      (10)(9) The plan shall consider the financial feasibility of modifying, curtailing, or

supplanting the provisions of chapter 19.1 of this title in light of the requirements for waste

processing facilities.

      (11)(10) The plan shall primarily rely on a system of waste processing facilities.

      (12)(11) The plan shall provide that the corporation actively pursue research and develop

new uses for materials recovered from solid waste to maximize revenue from recycled materials.

     SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.

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EXPLANATION

BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL

OF

A N   A C T

RELATING TO HEALTH AND SAFETY - RHODE ISLAND RESOURCE RECOVERY

CORPORATION

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     This act would allow the Rhode Island Resource Recovery Corporation to consider the

use of incineration as a method to dispose of solid waste.

     This act would take effect upon passage.

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