Chapter
122
2008 -- H 8380 SUBSTITUTE A
Enacted 07/01/08
A N A C T
RELATING TO HEALTH
AND SAFETY
Introduced By: Representative Jan Malik
Date Introduced: June 12, 2008
It is
enacted by the General Assembly as follows:
SECTION
1. Section 23-18.8-2 of the General Laws in Chapter 23-18.8 entitled
"Waste
Recycling"
is hereby amended to read as follows:
23-18.8-2.
Legislative findings. -- The general assembly recognizes and declares
that:
(1) Any environmentally and economically sound solid waste management system
must
incorporate
recycling;
(2) A sound recycling program will be best achieved by cooperation of the Rhode
Island
resource
recovery corporation, the department of administration, the department of
environmental
management
and the cities and towns of the state;
(3) All solid waste capable of being recycled should be recycled, as a target,
no less than
fifteen
percent (15%) thirty-five percent
(35%) of the solid waste generated in the state should be
disposed
of through recycling; every effort should be made to exceed this target;
(4) A recycling facility should be operational at the central landfill;
(5) Upon full implementation of the recycling program, all solid waste
management,
both
from cities and towns, and from commercial establishments, will be separated
into
recyclable
and nonrecyclable components;
(6) Recycling operations should begin at resource recovery plants upon
initiation of plant
operations;
(7) In order to develop a workable implementation schedule the department of
environmental
management should develop schedules for the entry of cities and towns into the
source
separation system;
(8) Private contractor arrangements for recovery of recyclables at the point of
origin or at
the
municipal level should be encouraged and not interfered with;
(9) Recyclable materials recovered at recycling facilities are to be made
available to
private
industry in the first instance, and where cost effective, operation of
recycling facilities
should
be by the private sector;
(10) The corporation should provide, for a period of three (3) years, the
reasonable
additional
allowable costs for implementing this program for the cities and towns;
(11) The definition of recyclable materials should be the responsibility of the
department
of
environmental management and should be changed from time to time depending upon
new
technologies,
economic conditions, waste stream characteristics, environmental effects, or
other
factors;
(12) Telephone directories, five hundred thousand (500,000) of which, at an
average
weight
of five and one-quarter (5.25) pounds, are distributed yearly in the state,
contribute
significantly
to the solid waste stream, which would be greatly reduced if directories were
printed
on
recyclable paper and bound with a binder which will not interfere with
recyclability.
(13)
Any person who generates commercial solid waste and employs fifty (50) or more
employees,
shall contract for recycling services as part of any agreement between a
private waste
hauler
and the commercial establishment for the disposal of solid waste. A commercial
establishment
of any size may work with the city or town where it is located to consider
options
that
would allow the city or town to collect the commercial recyclables generated by
the
commercial
establishment.
SECTION
2. Section 23-18.9-1 of the General Laws in Chapter 23-18.9 entitled
"Refuse
Disposal"
is hereby amended to read as follows:
23-18.9-1.
Responsibility for refuse disposal. -- (a) (1) Each city and town is
required to
make
provision for the safe and sanitary disposal of all refuse which is generated
within its
boundaries,
including refuse from commercial and industrial sources, but excluding refuse
from
sources
owned or operated by the state or federal governments, hazardous waste as
defined in
chapter
19.1 of this title and any refuse which is not acceptable at a facility
provided by the
Rhode
Island resource recovery corporation under chapter 19 of this title. The
disposal facilities
used to
meet this responsibility may be located within or outside the municipality, may
be
publicly
or privately owned, and may include facilities used only by the owner. Each
city and
town
will be required to separate solid waste into recyclable and non-recyclable
components
before
the material is disposed of in any state owned facility. Implementation of the
program of
separation
by any city or town may be by separation at the source of generation or by
separation
at
collection points or transfer stations. Cities and towns may allow private and
volunteer
collection
of recyclables. The department of environmental management shall adopt and
promulgate
regulations to define recyclable materials, and shall from time to time
determine an
implementation
schedule for the recyclable separation programs of the cities and towns. The
implementation
schedule shall be determined and adopted by the department of environmental
management
after consultation and cooperation with the cities and towns. The department
shall
adopt
and promulgate an implementation schedule and rules and regulations which
require that
commercial
solid waste be separated into recyclable and non-recyclable components before
the
material
may be disposed of at any state owned solid waste disposal facility. The
department shall
adopt
and promulgate an implementation schedule and rules and regulations which
require that
the
solid waste generated at state facilities be separated into recyclable and
non-recyclable
components
before the material may be disposed of in any state owned solid waste disposal
facility.
(2) During the first three (3) years after a city or town enters the recycling
program, a
city or
town shall be deemed to have achieved compliance with the requirement of
separation if
that
city or town shall have achieved at least the same percentage of separation as
achieved by
similar
communities with compulsory programs of separation of recyclables.
(3)
Beginning July 1, 2012 every city or town that enters into a contract with the
Rhode
Island
resource recovery corporation to dispose of solid waste shall be required to
recycle a
minimum
of thirty-five percent (35%) of its solid waste and to divert a minimum of
fifty percent
(50%)
of its solid waste. The recycling and diversion rate shall be achieved as
prescribed in the
addendum
required in subdivision 23-19-13(e)(3). For purposes of this section
"diversion rate"
means
the total amount (reflected as a percentage) of material, diverted from
disposal through
waste
prevention, recycling or re-use.
(b) The governing body of each city and town shall discharge its responsibility
set forth
in
subsection (a) by:
(1) Adopting reasonable rules and regulations governing the licensing of all
qualified
persons
engaged in the business of collection and hauling of refuse and operation of
transfer
stations
with respect to all refuse within its boundaries. All persons engaged in the
business of
collection
or hauling of refuse and operation of transfer stations within the boundaries
of a
municipality,
shall be issued a license upon application. No municipality shall unreasonably
deny
a
license to any reasonably qualified person.
(2) Contracting with the Rhode Island resource recovery corporation or a person
approved
by the Rhode Island resource recovery corporation for the disposal of municipal
refuse,
unless a
municipality is operating its own landfill on December 1, 1986 or is disposing
of its
municipal
refuse under a contract approved by the corporation which was in effect on
March 1,
1985, in
which case the municipality shall be free to continue to use the landfill until
its closure,
or to
continue to dispose of its municipal refuse under the contract until the
expiration of the
original
term of the contract or the expiration of any extension of the contract
approved by the
corporation
or sooner termination.
(3) In the case of cities and towns where municipal waste collection is
provided by
private
contract between the generator of the waste and the hauler, adopting rules and
regulations
for the
fair allocation of the municipal rate provided under the provisions of section
23-19-13(g)
among
those haulers licensed to collect and haul refuse within the cities and towns.
(4) Adopting rules and regulations that govern the separation of solid waste
into
recyclable
and non-recyclable components. Regulations adopted under this chapter may not
be
inconsistent
with any rules, regulations, standards, and criteria adopted by the department
of
environmental
management or the Rhode Island resource recovery corporation. Each city and
town is
empowered to adopt the regulations and to contract with the Rhode Island
resource
recovery
corporation for the enforcement of the licensing provisions thereof, including
compliance
with the provisions of a license designating a final disposal site for all
refuse
collected
or hauled by the licensee within the municipality's boundaries and requiring
the
separation
of recyclable materials. from municipal, non-municipal, residential
and commercial
sources.
(c) To assist each city and town in carrying out these responsibilities, the department
of
environmental
management Rhode Island resource
recovery corporation shall:
(1) Administer any financial assistance granted by the state to localities, as
provided in
this
chapter, and establish and publish rules and regulations concerning
eligibility, disbursement,
and use
of financial assistance.
(2) Provide technical assistance to cities and towns concerning their refuse
problems.
SECTION
3. Section 23-19-13 of the General Laws in Chapter 23-19 entitled "Rhode
Island
Resource Recovery Corporation" is hereby amended to read as follows:
23-19-13.
Municipal participation in state program. -- (a) (1) Any person or
municipality
which intends to transfer, treat, or dispose of solid waste originating or
collected
within
the state, or which intends to make arrangements to do so, shall utilize,
exclusively, a
system
or facility designated by the corporation as provided under this chapter. All
transfer
stations
in existence as of December 1, 1986 are empowered so long as they maintain the
appropriate
license to continue their operations, and the corporation shall not exercise
its powers
under
this chapter to compete with their operation and activity. No municipality
shall have power
to
engage in, grant any license, or permit for or enter into any contract for the
collection,
treatment,
transportation, storage, or disposal of solid waste, and no municipality or any
person
shall
engage in any activities within the state, including disposal of solid waste,
which would
impair
the ability of the corporation to meet its contractual obligations to its
bondholders and
others,
or which would be in competition with the purposes of the corporation as
provided in this
chapter.
The corporation shall not be empowered to engage in the transportation,
transfer, or
storage
of solid waste, except in temporary situations where a municipality has
defaulted in its
obligation
under this section, or in conjunction with its activities at its disposal
sites. Provided,
however,
that municipal contracts which were in existence on March 1, 1985, are excepted
from
this
requirement until expiration of the original term of the contract or the
expiration of any
extension
approved by the corporation, or sooner termination of the contracts, and
provided,
further,
that municipalities operating their own landfills on December 1, 1986 shall be
free to
continue
to use the landfills until closure of the landfills. Without limiting the
generality of the
preceding,
municipalities and persons are expressly empowered to contract with the
corporation
and/or,
subject to the approval of the corporation, with a duly licensed private
disposal facility for
the
disposal of solid wastes. The approval shall be conditioned upon a finding by
the board of
commissioners
of the corporation that any proposed contract with a Rhode Island municipality
or
person
is in conformity with the statewide resource recovery system development plan
and this
chapter,
and that the proposed contract will not impair the ability of the corporation
to meet its
contractual
obligations to its bondholders and others. The contracts may have a maximum
total
term,
including all renewals, of up to fifty (50) years.
(2) The corporation shall charge fees for its solid waste management services
that,
together
with other revenues available to the corporation, will, at a minimum, be
sufficient to
provide
for the support of the corporation and its operations on a self-sustaining
basis, including
debt
service on its bonds and other obligations.
(b) Insofar as the provisions of this chapter are inconsistent with the
provisions of any
other
laws of this state, general, special, or local, restricting the power of any
municipality to
enter
into long term contracts with the corporation, the provisions of this chapter
shall be
controlling.
The corporation shall provide suitable and appropriate assistance to
communities
under
these circumstances. Notwithstanding the preceding, if the corporation deems it
desirable,
it may
from time to time permit municipalities to contract among themselves for the
disposal of
their
wastes.
(c) Municipalities, along with private producers of waste which contract with
the
corporation
for disposal of their wastes, shall continue to be free to make their own
arrangements
for
collection of wastes at the source and/or the hauling of wastes to the
designated processing
and/or
transfer stations, so long as those arrangements are in compliance with the
provisions of
chapter
18.9 of this title and with this chapter, and any municipal license relating
thereto.
(d) All municipalities and state agencies which are participants in the state
waste
disposal
program shall initiate a separation and recycling program within one year after
the date
on which
the resource recovery facility utilized by that municipality or agency is
operational and
accepting
waste for incineration.
(e) (1) The corporation and any municipality may enter into a contract or
contracts
providing
for or relating to the disposal of solid waste originating in the municipality
and the cost
and
expense of the disposal.
(2) The contract may be made with or without consideration and for a specified
or
unspecified
time not to exceed fifty (50) years, and on any terms and conditions which may
be
approved
by the municipality and which may be agreed to by the corporation in conformity
with
its
contracts with the holders of any bonds or other obligations. Subject to the
contracts with the
holders
of bonds, the municipality is authorized and directed to do and perform any and
all acts or
things
necessary, convenient, or desirable to carry out and perform the contract and
to provide for
the
payment or discharge of any obligation under the contract in the same manner as
other
obligations
of the municipality.
(3)
All municipalities that contract with the corporation for the disposal of solid
waste
shall
prepare as an addendum to its fiscal year 2010 contract with the corporation a
plan that
includes
a description of the process by which thirty-five percent (35%) of its solid
waste will be
recycled
and fifty percent (50%) of its solid waste will be diverted beginning July 1,
2012. This
addendum
shall include a residential and municipal waste stream evaluation, a plan for
the
reduction
of solid waste and recyclables generated and the process by which recyclable
materials
are
to be segregated. The corporation shall have the right to execute or deny
execution of the
municipal
solid waste and recycling services contract pending approval of the addendum.
Once
the
corporation approves this addendum, the municipality must implement the plan
and report on
the
results annually to the corporation. The corporation shall enforce the
provisions of this section
pursuant
to subdivision 23-19-13(g)(3).
(4)
The corporation shall notify every city or town that it contracts with no later
than
August
1, 2008 as to the addendum requirements that must be included in the fiscal
year 2010
contracts
to recycle thirty-five percent (35%) and divert fifty percent (50%) of solid
waste
beginning
July 1, 2012.
(f) The municipalities and the state have shared responsibility for the payment
of the cost
of
municipal solid waste disposal. The state will pay its share of the cost of the
solid waste
disposal
services to be provided by the corporation to the municipalities at its solid
waste
management
facilities and its central landfill in the town of Johnston, and at any back-up
facility
which
the corporation is required to provide, by providing solid waste disposal
operating
subsidies
as provided in subsections (i) and (j).
(g) (1) The corporation shall charge each municipality with which it has a
long-term
contract
for solid waste disposal services a tipping fee per ton of source separated
solid waste
excluding
separated recyclable materials, sludge, and demolition debris delivered to any
corporation
facility computed in accordance with this subsection. For purposes of this
chapter,
"fiscal
year" shall mean the twelve-month period, July 1 to June 30. The municipal
tipping fee
shall be
equal to one hundred seven and one-half percent (107.5%) of the prior fiscal
year's
municipal
tipping fee through the end of the 2009 fiscal year. One dollar and ten cents
($1.10) per
ton on
all garbage, including recycled garbage, collected by the corporation as
tipping fee shall be
paid to
the town of Johnston. In addition to any other fees the corporation shall also
charge a
three
dollar ($3.00) tipping fee per vehicle. Any vehicle carrying municipal solid
waste shall be
exempt
from this three dollar ($3.00) tipping fee. All fees collected shall be paid to
the town of
Johnston
on a biannual basis. No tipping fee shall be charged for recyclable materials
delivered to
a
recycling facility provided by or through the corporation.
(2) Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision (g)(1), the municipal tipping
fee may
be
increased, if, due to the commencement of operation of a new resource recovery
facility during
the
previous fiscal year, the state subsidy as calculated pursuant to subsection
(i), not considering
landfill
revenues and losses, is projected to be greater than the state subsidy
projected by the
corporation
and the department of administration when the projections were officially
accepted
by the
corporation on the basis of contracts entered into for the initial resource
recovery facility.
The
amount by which the projected state subsidy exceeds the original projections
will be
apportioned
between the state and the municipalities in the same ratio as the state subsidy
for the
previous
year divided by the number of tons of municipal solid waste processed by the
corporation
bears to the municipal tipping fee for that year. The increased municipal
tipping fee
herein
provided shall be subject to the same escalation factor as the municipal
tipping fee set forth
above.
(3) The corporation shall establish in the contract, the maximum amount of
municipal
solid
waste that each municipality will be entitled to deliver to the corporation at
the municipal
tipping
fee. Solid waste in excess of the contract amount will be charged to the
municipality at the
non-municipal
rate. In determining the maximum amount of municipal solid waste which will
qualify
for the municipal tipping fee, the corporation shall consider the
municipality's solid waste
per
capita average, the statewide solid waste per capita average, and any other
factors that it shall
deem
appropriate.
(4) Seaweed collected and removed by a municipality shall be deemed "yard
waste" for
purposes
of this chapter and any rules, regulations and/or plans promulgated by the
corporation
pursuant
to this chapter, and shall be accepted by the corporation at the same rate and
cost as all
other
municipal yard waste.
(h) The corporation, after the initial resource recovery facility becomes
operational, shall
charge
each non-municipal user of its facilities a fee per ton equal to the projected
annual
resource
recovery system cost less energy revenues and interest earnings on bond reserve
funds,
if any,
divided by the projected tons to be processed by the corporation at its
resource facilities
for the
year. Landfill costs shall not be considered in the calculation unless landfill
costs exceed
revenues
generated at the landfills; in those cases, excess landfill costs will be added
to the
system
costs.
(i) The annual state subsidy for the cost of disposal of municipal solid waste
shall be
calculated
for each fiscal year or portion of each fiscal year according to the following
formula:
The
annual state subsidy shall equal the total projected annual resource recovery
system costs
(minus
costs associated with the central landfill) for the next fiscal year less the
sum of the
following:
(1) projected resource recovery system revenues for the year; and (2) projected
landfill
revenues;
provided, however, that in the event that the landfill is projected to operate
at a loss, the
amount
of the loss shall be added to the subsidy.
(j) (1) On or before October 1 of each year, the corporation shall submit a
budget to the
director
of administration for the succeeding fiscal year using actual resource recovery
system
revenues
and costs, and the audit of the preceding fiscal year prepared by the
corporation's
independent
auditors and accepted by the auditor general. On or before December 1 of each
year,
the
director of administration, in consultation with the corporation, shall review
the budget of the
corporation
and shall determine and certify the annual state subsidy for the succeeding
fiscal year
to the
governor who shall submit to the general assembly printed copies of a budget
which shall
include
the state subsidy as previously determined in this subsection. The state
subsidy
appropriation
shall be on a system basis but shall contain specific appropriations for each
resource
recovery facility. If the amount appropriated exceeds the amount needed for a
specific
facility,
the corporation, with the approval of the director of administration, may
reallocate the
appropriated
but unadvanced funds to other corporation facilities or costs. If the audit
prepared by
the
corporation's independent auditors indicates that the amounts appropriated and
disbursed to
the
corporation as a subsidy were in excess of the amounts which would have been
required for
the year
if actual resource recovery system revenues and costs had been used in the
calculation of
the
subsidy, the excess shall be credited against the current fiscal year's
subsidy.
(2) At any time, if the corporation determines that the state subsidy will be
insufficient to
discharge
the corporation's obligations for the current fiscal year, it shall request, in
writing, to
the
director of administration for a supplemental appropriation. After review, the
director of
administration
will recommend to the governor additional funding for the corporation, and the
governor
after further review, shall submit a supplemental appropriation bill request
for the funds
to the
general assembly.
(3) From the appropriations made by the general assembly, the state controller
is
authorized
and directed to draw his or her orders upon the general treasurer every month
for the
payment
of those sums that may be required upon receipt by him or her of properly
authenticated
vouchers.
(k) If, in any fiscal year, the appropriation for the state subsidy is not made
and if the
corporation
has insufficient other funds to discharge its obligations to holders of its
bonds and
notes as
certified by the state auditor general, the corporation shall be empowered to
charge both
municipal
and non-municipal users whatever fees are necessary to discharge its
obligations to
holders
of its bonds and notes, and the municipal tipping fee set forth in subsection
(g) shall not
be
applicable for the fiscal year.
(l) On or after the date established for separation of recyclable solid waste
in the
statewide
plan for separation of recyclables by the department of environmental
management,
only
segregated solid waste shall be accepted at the corporation's facilities.
(m) Costs associated with participation in the state program shall not
constitute state
mandated
costs under section 45-13-7.
SECTION
4. Section 39-3-11.2 of the General Laws in Chapter 39-3 entitled
"Regulatory
Powers
of Administration" is hereby amended to read as follows:
39-3-11.2.
Interim rates. -- Notwithstanding the provisions of titles 23 and 39,
the
municipal
tipping fee charged by the resource recovery corporation shall be as follows:
(1)
thirty-two Thirty-two dollars ($32.00) per ton from July 1, 2007
2008 to June 30,
2008 2009, for any municipality that recycles between
zero percent (0%) and twenty-four percent
(24%)
of its solid waste at the corporation's material recycling facility
("MRF") in Johnston.
(2)
Thirty-one dollars ($31.00) per ton from July 1, 2008 to June 30, 2009, for any
municipality
that recycles between twenty-five percent (25%) and twenty-nine percent (29%)
of
its
solid waste at the Corporation's ("MRF") in Johnston.
(3)
Thirty dollars ($30.00) per ton from July 1, 2008 to June 30, 2009, for any
municipality
that recycles between thirty percent (30%) and thirty-four percent (34%) of its
solid
waste
at the Corporation's ("MRF") in Johnston.
(4)
Twenty-nine dollars ($29.00) per ton from July 1, 2008 to June 30, 2009, for
any
municipality
that recycles thirty-five percent (35%) or more of its solid waste at the
Corporation's
("MRF")
in Johnston.
(5)
The corporation shall issue a rebate not later than August 1, 2009 to those
municipalities
qualifying for a year end tipping fee adjustment according to the
municipality's
actual
recorded tonnage delivered to the MRF in Johnston, and in accordance with the
provisions
of
the municipality's current-year signed solid waste and recycling services
agreement with the
corporation.
SECTION
5. This act shall take effect upon passage.
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LC03091/SUB A
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