2014 -- S 2441 SUBSTITUTE A
Enacted 07/02/14
A N A C T
RELATING TO HEALTH AND SAFETY - REFUSE DISPOSAL
Introduced By: Senator Daniel DaPonte
Date Introduced: February 27, 2014
It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:
SECTION 1. Sections 23-18.9-7 and 23-18.9-8 of the General Laws in Chapter 23-18.9 entitled "Refuse Disposal" are hereby amended to read as follows:
23-18.9-7. Definitions. -- As used in this chapter, the following terms shall, where the context permits, be construed as follows:
(1) "Beneficial reuse material" means a processed, nonhazardous, solid waste not already defined as recyclable material by this chapter and by regulations of the Rhode Island department of environmental management that the director has determined can be reused in an environmentally beneficial manner without creating potential threats to public health, safety, welfare, or the environment or creating potential nuisance conditions.
(2) "Beneficial use determination" (BUD) means the case-by-case process by which the director evaluates a proposal to use a specific solid waste as a beneficial reuse material for a specific purpose at a specific location within the host municipality.
(3) "Cocktailing" means the
adding, combining, or mixing of hazardous
waste as defined in section §23-19.1-4 with construction debris and
demolition debris.
(4) "Construction and demolition
(C&D) debris" means non-hazardous solid waste resulting from the
construction, remodeling, repair, and demolition of utilities and structures; and uncontaminated solid waste resulting from
land clearing. This waste includes, but is not limited to, wood (including
painted, treated, and coated wood,
and wood products),; land-clearing debris,;
wall coverings,; plaster,; drywall,;
plumbing fixtures,; non-asbestos insulation,;
roofing shingles and other roof coverings,; glass,;
plastics that are not sealed in a manner that conceals other wastes,;
empty buckets ten (10) gallons or less in size and having no more than one inch
of residue remaining on the bottom,; electrical wiring and
components containing no hazardous liquids,; and pipe and metals
that are incidental to any of the previously described waste. Solid waste that
is not C&D debris (even if resulting from the construction, remodeling,
repair, and demolition of utilities, structures,
and and roads, and land clearing) includes, but is not limited
to, asbestos,; waste,; garbage,;
corrugated container board,; electrical fixtures containing
hazardous liquids, such as fluorescent
light ballasts or transformers, fluorescent lights,; carpeting,;
furniture,; appliances,; tires,;
drums,; containers greater than ten (10) gallons in size,;
any containers having more than one inch of residue remaining on the bottom,;
and fuel tanks. Specifically excluded from the definition of construction and
demolition debris is solid waste (including what otherwise would be
construction and demolition debris) resulting from any processing technique,
other than that employed at a department-approved C&D debris processing
facility, that renders individual waste components unrecognizable, such as
pulverizing or shredding.
(5) "Construction and demolition
debris processing facility" means a solid waste management facility that
receives and processes construction and demolition debris of more than fifty (50) tons per day. These
facilities must demonstrate, through records maintained at the facility and
provided to the department, that seventy-five percent (75%) of all material
received by the facility is processed and removed from the site within six (6)
weeks of receipt on a continuous basis, and that in no case stores material on
site for over three (3) months; provided, however, these facilities do not
include municipal compost facilities.
(6) "Construction and demolition
debris separation facility" means a facility that receives, separates, and or
screens construction and demolition debris into its components for subsequent
resale or processing which that includes, but is not limited to, grinding,
shredding, crushing, or landfilling at another location separate and apart from
the location on which the separation occurs.
(7) "Director" means the director of the department of environmental management or any subordinate or subordinates to whom the director has delegated the powers and duties vested in him or her by this chapter.
(8) "Expansion" means any
increase in volume, size, or scope, either vertically, horizontally, or
otherwise; provided, however, that this section does not apply to the vertical
expansion of the Charlestown Mmunicipal landfill until the closure date of July
1, 2000.
(9) "Person" includes an individual, firm, partnership, association, and private or municipal corporation.
(10) "Recyclable materials" means those materials separated from solid waste for reuse. The director of the department of environmental management through regulations shall specify those materials that are to be included within the definition of recyclables. The materials to be included may change from time to time depending upon new technologies, economic conditions, waste stream characteristics, environmental effects, or other factors.
(11) "Segregated solid waste" means material separated from other solid waste for reuse.
(12) "Solid waste" means garbage, refuse, tree waste as defined by subsection 14 of this section, and other discarded solid materials generated by residential, institutional, commercial, industrial, and agricultural sources, but does not include solids or dissolved material in domestic sewage or sewage sludge or dredge material as defined in chapter 6.1 of title 46, nor does it include hazardous waste as defined in chapter 19.1 of this title, nor does it include used asphalt, concrete, or Portland concrete cement.
(13) "Solid waste management facility" means any plant, structure, equipment, real and personal property, except mobile equipment or incinerators with a capacity of less than one thousand pounds (1,000 lbs.) per hour, operated for the purpose of processing, treating, or disposing of solid waste but not segregated solid waste. Any solid waste management facility that stores waste materials containing gypsum on site over three (3) months must install and maintain an active gas collection system approved by the department of environment management.
(14) (a) "Tree Waste" means
all parts of a tree, including stumps,
branches, and logs which that shall
be considered solid waste for purposes of this chapter unless the tree waste
meets the following criteria:
(1) The tree waste remains on the property where it was generated; or
(2) The tree waste remains in the possession of the person who generated it and is stored above the ground surface, on property that the same person controls, for purposes of recycling and reuse; or
(3) The tree waste, whether generated on or off-site, is being actively managed as a usable wood product such as landscape mulch, wood chips, firewood, or mulch.
(b) The application of the criteria set forth in this section shall not be deemed to abrogate, diminish, or impair the enforcement of the requirements established pursuant to chapter 28.1 of this title or the authority of the state and/or a city or town to protect the public health, safety or welfare from a public nuisance resulting from the storage and handling of tree waste.
23-18.9-8. Licenses. -- (a) (1) No person shall
operate any solid waste management facility or construction and demolition
(C&D) debris processing facility or expand an existing facility unless a
license is obtained from the director except as authorized by section §23-18.9-8.
The director shall have full power to make all rules and regulations
establishing standards to be met for the issuance of the licenses.
(2) The director shall promulgate rules and regulations governing the uses and content of materials accepted and generated by a construction and demolition debris processing facility. Any costs associated with testing these materials by the facility or by the department to verify the results of the facility's tests shall be borne by the facility. Each facility shall be required to establish a fund with the department to cover the cost of these tests.
(b) Any person who desires to construct a solid waste management facility or install any equipment in a solid waste management facility must first submit to the director for approval plans and specifications and other related data required by the director.
(c)
Processing facilities that accept less than one hundred and fifty (150) tons
per day of construction and demolition debris (C&D) are exempt from the
requirement of obtaining a solid waste management facility license; however,
they are not exempt from complying with all other applicable requirements for
the construction and operation of a construction and demolition debris
processing facility and are subject to the rules and regulations for these
facilities promulgated in accordance with this section.
(d)(c) No construction and demolition debris
processing facility shall be issued a license or be able to operate unless it
has:
(1) Received a letter of compliance from the host municipality that all applicable zoning requirements and local ordinances of the host municipality have been complied with.
(2) Submitted a fire protection plan which that has
been approved by the local fire chief, or his or her designee in which the
facility is located; and
(3) For the purposes of this subsection, the letter of compliance from the host municipality shall issue from either:
(i) The town or city manager with town or city council approval in a municipality with a managerial form of government; or
(ii) The elected mayor with town or
city council approval in a municipal municipality with a non- managerial from of
government.
(4) If, after thirty (30) days of receipt of a written request to the city or town by the applicant for a license requesting a letter of compliance, the letter of compliance is not issued because the host municipality finds that the requirements of the applicable zoning requirements or other ordinances have not been met, a letter of non-compliance must be issued setting forth the particular requirements that have not been met. If after a license is issued, the host community finds that all applicable zoning or other applicable ordinances are no longer complied with they are authorized to issue a non-compliance letter.
(5) Upon issuance of a letter of non-compliance, the applicant for a license shall have all rights of appeal under the provisions of chapter 24 of title 45 as to zoning issues and any other rights to appeal that may be applicable as to the determination of non-compliance with other ordinances.
(i) In the case of an application or renewal of an existing license for an increase in the acceptance and processing of the amount of (C&D) debris per day the letter of non-compliance shall stay the issuance of the license allowing said increase until the appeal process provided for herein is final.
(ii) In the case of an application or
renewal of an existing license that does not request an increase in the
acceptance and/or processing of the amount of (C&D) debris per day where
the applicant for renewal has timely filed an appeal as contained herein, the letter of non-compliance shall not be used
as grounds for denial of the approval of the renewable license; however, if upon final determination by a zoning board or
court of competent jurisdiction upon appeal, it is found that the facility is
in non-compliance, said the license
shall be revoked by the director.
(e)(d) The local fire chief, or his or her designee, is authorized to conduct random, unannounced
inspections of facilities licensed under this section to insure ensure
continued compliance with the approved fire protection plan. If any facility at
the time of inspection is found not to be in compliance with the approved plan, that facility shall immediately cease operation
until the time that they it corrects
any deficiency and the local fire chief or his or her designee finds the
facility is in compliance with the approved fire protection plan.
(f)(e) Any facility that is found to be in violation
of the fire protection plan under this section on three (3) separate
inspections, within any three-(3) year (3)
time period, shall have its license to operate under this section revoked.
(g)(f) A municipality that desires to evaluate
available technologies, equipment, or methodologies for managing solid waste, may request approval from the director to
perform a limited demonstration pilot project prior to submission of an
application for a license. Demonstration projects shall not exceed fifty (50)
tons per day maximum capacity. The municipality must first submit to the
director, for approval, plans and specifications,
including fire protection plans and other related data as required by the
director. The municipality shall also give public notice of the request and
allow a thirty-(30) day (30)
period for the director to receive public comment on the proposed project.
After the close of the public comment period, the director is authorized to
approve or deny the request. Approval for a demonstration pilot project shall
be granted for a period not exceeding six (6) months.
(h)(g) Any facility that is licensed or registered
by the department under this chapter as of July 1, 2006, that accepts greater than three (3) cubic yards
of tree waste as defined by subsection §23-18.9-7(14) shall be considered an existing
tree waste management facility. Existing tree waste management facilities shall
notify the department and the local fire chief of the existence and scope of
their tree waste management activities in writing no later than August 30,
2006, and shall incorporate their tree waste management activities in a revised
operating plan as part of the next renewal of their license or registration.
(i)(h) Any construction and demolition (C&D)
debris processing facility under this section that is within a one thousand
feet (1000') radius of a residential zone district shall not be conduct all
operations covered under the license inside a structure completely enclosed by four solid walls
the confines of an enclosed, permanent building
allowed to accept and/or process in excess of one
hundred fifty (150) tons per day of construction and demolition (C&D)
debris where the owner or owners of the greater part of the land within a one
thousand foot (1,000') radius of the property boundary lines of the facility
files an objection to the granting of a license permitting the acceptance
and/or processing in excess of one hundred fifty (150) tons per day of
construction and demolition debris.
(i) Granting of a license, license renewal, or permission for an equipment addition under this section shall in no way affect the applicant's responsibility to comply with all zoning and other local ordinances, nor the applicant's responsibility to obtain any local permits, except as specifically provided by Rhode Island General Law. When multiple uses are in place on a site with a licensed solid waste facility, the terms and conditions of the license are only applicable to the activities and operations subject to the license and not the other uses of the property.
SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.
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LC004721/SUB A/2
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