Chapter 271

2012 -- S 2395 SUBSTITUTE A AS AMENDED

Enacted 06/19/12

 

A N A C T

RELATING TO HEALTH AND SAFETY - REFUSE DISPOSAL

          

     Introduced By: Senators Lombardo, Lanzi, Cote, Picard, and Sheehan

     Date Introduced: February 15, 2012

  

It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

 

     SECTION 1. Section 23-18.9-14 of the General Laws in Chapter 23-18.9 entitled "Refuse

Disposal" is hereby amended to read as follows:

 

     23-18.9-14. Testing and analysis of air and water -- Environmental management

district.-- (a) Applicability. - This section applies to all solid waste management

facilities/activities regulated pursuant to this chapter that are undertaken within and in the vicinity

of an area known as the environmental management district, located in the town of Johnston and

the city of Cranston; the district is bounded by Plainfield Pike on the south; Peck Hill Road on the

west; Central Avenue on the north; and I-295 on the east.

      (b) On-site monitoring.

      (1) The director of the department of environmental management (DEM), in consultation

with the director of the department of health (DOH), is authorized to promulgate any rules and

regulations that are necessary to require the development and implementation of onsite ambient

air and water monitoring plans for all facilities/activities covered by this section. The regulations

shall be promulgated no later than December 31, 2000, and shall be subject to the Administrative

Procedures Act, chapter 35 of title 42. These regulations shall, at a minimum, provide for the

following:

      (i) Define the minimum criteria that shall require the development and implementation

of an onsite ambient air and water monitoring plan;

      (ii) Establish the time period that a facility/activity shall have to initially prepare an

onsite ambient air and water monitoring plan and submit it to DEM for review;

      (iii) Define the minimum content that shall be included in an onsite ambient air and

water monitoring plan;

      (iv) Establish the criteria that DEM shall use for review and approval of an onsite

ambient air and water monitoring plan;

      (v) Establish the criteria that DEM shall use for determining how long an approved

onsite ambient air and water monitoring plan must remain in effect and the criteria for

termination of an approved onsite ambient air and water monitoring plan; and

      (vi) Define the process for public involvement in the development and review of onsite

ambient air and water monitoring plans.

      (2) The facility shall implement the outside ambient air and water monitoring plan within

thirty (30) days of DEM approval. Data collected under onsite ambient air and water monitoring

plans shall be evaluated by both DEM and DOH. DOH shall provide a written evaluation of this

data to the host community(s), the facility(s), any oversight council or organization that focuses

on the environmental management district, and any members of the public who request the

evaluation.

      (3) Should a facility not abide by the newly promulgated rules and regulations requiring

a party to conduct an onsite ambient air and water monitoring plan, the director shall take

enforcement action to compel those activities. The director may, at his or her discretion, prepare

and implement an onsite ambient air and water monitoring plan for facilities that do not comply

with the order. The facility shall be responsible to reimburse DEM for all costs, including interest,

incurred in developing and implementing a plan.

      (c) Offsite monitoring. - (1) If, upon the evaluation of data provided pursuant to

subsection (b), the DEM and DOH directors jointly determine that any facility/activity is causing

emissions of air or water pollutants at levels that could cause adverse health impacts, create

objectionable or nuisance odors, or otherwise adversely impact human health or the environment,

either individually or in conjunction with other sources in the surrounding community(s), the

DEM director, in consultation with the DOH director, is authorized to require the

facility(s)/activity(s) to develop and implement offsite ambient air and/or water monitoring plans

within the environmental management district. Regulations governing the development and

implementation of these offsite plans shall be promulgated in conjunction with, and subject to the

same provisions as those authorized under subsection (b).

      (2) Any facility subject to the offsite monitoring requirement shall implement the offsite

ambient air and/or water monitoring plan within thirty (30) days of DEM approval. Data collected

under offsite ambient air and/or water monitoring plans shall be evaluated by both DEM and

DOH. DOH shall provide a written evaluation of this data to the host community(s), the

facility(s), any oversight council or organization that focuses on the environmental management

district, and any members of the public who request the evaluation.

      (3) Should a facility not abide by the newly promulgated rules and regulations requiring

a party to conduct an offsite ambient air and/or water monitoring plan, the director shall take

enforcement action to compel those activities. The director may, at his or her discretion, prepare

and implement an offsite ambient air and/or water monitoring plan for facilities that do not

comply with the order. That facility shall be responsible to reimburse DEM for all costs,

including interest, incurred in developing and implementing a plan.

     (d) Ambient monitoring. In addition to any off-site monitoring required pursuant to

subsection (c) above, Rhode Island Resource Recovery Corporation shall establish and operate an

off-site ambient air monitoring network consisting of not less than six (6) monitoring locations,

four (4) of which shall be located in Johnston and two (2) of which shall be located in Cranston.

The objective of the monitoring network shall be to continuously monitor ambient air for the

presence of odorous contaminants from landfill gas. Wind speed and wind direction shall also be

recorded continuously at the monitoring locations. The locations of said monitors shall be

determined by the department of environmental management, in consultation with the host

community of the subject monitor. The contaminants of concern to be monitored and the

methodology of monitoring shall be determined by the department of environmental

management, in consultation with the department of health. Results from monitoring shall be

submitted to the department of environmental management, the department of health, the town of

Johnston, the city of Cranston, and posted on a publicly accessible page on the Rhode Island

Resource Recovery Corporation website for reference by the public. All costs of purchasing,

installing, and operating the monitoring network shall be paid by Rhode Island Resource

Recovery Corporation.

 

     SECTION 2. Ambient monitoring pursuant to the act shall continue until December 31,

2022. The director of the department of environmental management and the director of the

department of health shall report an evaluation of all data collected pursuant to this act to the

general assembly on or before December 31, 2020. After evaluation of data provided pursuant to

section 23-18.9-14.1, if the director of the department of environmental management and the

director of the department of health jointly determine that any facility/activity is causing

emissions of air or water pollutants at levels that could cause adverse health impacts, have created

objectionable or nuisance odors, or otherwise have adversely impacted human health or the

environment, either individually or in conjunction with other sources in the surrounding

community(ies), then the director of the department of environmental management, in

consultation with the director the department of health is authorized to require the

facility(ies)/activity(ies) to maintain ambient monitoring until December 31, 2032 or until said

evaluation of data shows that such facility(ies)/activity(ies) would not impact human health or

environment as stated herein.

 

     SECTION 3. This act shall take effect upon passage.

     

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LC01555/SUB A

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