Senate Bill No. 145

(By Senator Deem)

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[Introduced January 10, 2002; referred to the Committee

on the Judiciary.]

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A BILL to amend and reenact section three, article three, chapter twenty-two-c of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to definitions relating to solid waste; and excluding yard waste from the definition of solid waste.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section three, article three, chapter twenty-two-c of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:

ARTICLE 3. SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT BOARD.
§22C-3-3. Definitions.

As used in this article, unless the context clearly requires a different meaning:
(1) "Board" means the solid waste management board provided for in section four of this article, the duties, powers, responsibilities and functions of which are specified in this article.
(2) "Bond" or "solid waste disposal revenue bond" means a revenue bond or note issued by the solid waste management board, previously known as the West Virginia resource recovery -- solid waste disposal authority, to effect the intents and purposes of this article.
(3) "Construction" includes reconstruction, enlargement, improvement and providing furnishings or equipment for a solid waste disposal project.
(4) "Cost" means, as applied to solid waste disposal projects, the cost of their acquisition and construction; the cost of acquisition of all land, rights-of-way, property, rights, easements, franchise rights and interests required by the board for such the acquisition and construction; the cost of demolishing or removing any buildings or structures on land so acquired, including the cost of acquiring any land to which such the buildings or structures may be moved; the cost of diverting highways, interchange of highways and access roads to private property, including the cost of land or easements therefor; the cost of all machinery, furnishings and equipment; all financing charges and interest prior to and during construction and for no more than eighteen months after completion of construction; the cost of all engineering services and all expenses of research and development with respect to solid waste facilities; the cost of all legal services and expenses; the cost of all plans, specifications, surveys and estimates of cost and revenues; all working capital and other expenses necessary or incident to determining the feasibility or practicability of acquiring or constructing any such project; all administrative expenses and such other expenses as may be necessary or incident to the acquisition or construction of the project; the financing of such the acquisition or construction, including the amount authorized in the resolution of the board providing for the issuance of solid waste disposal revenue bonds to be paid into any special funds from the proceeds of such the bonds; and the financing of the placing of any such project in operation. Any obligation or expenses incurred by any governmental agency, with the approval of the board, for surveys, borings, preparation of plans and specifications, and other engineering services in connection with the acquisition or construction of a project are a part of the cost of such the project and shall be reimbursed out of the proceeds of loans or solid waste disposal revenue bonds as authorized by the provisions of this article.
(5) "Governmental agency" means the state government or any agency, department, division or unit thereof; counties; municipalities; watershed improvement districts; soil conservation districts; sanitary districts; public service districts; drainage districts; regional governmental authorities and any other governmental agency, entity, political subdivision, public corporation or agency having the authority to acquire, construct or operate solid waste facilities; the United States government or any agency, department, division or unit thereof; and any agency, commission or authority established pursuant to an interstate compact or agreement.
(6) "Industrial waste" means any solid waste substance resulting from, or incidental to, any process of industry, manufacturing, trade or business or from or incidental to the development, processing or recovery of any natural resource.
(7) "Owner" includes all persons, partnerships or governmental agencies having any title or interest in any property rights, easements and interests authorized to be acquired by this article.
(8) "Person" means any public or private corporation, institution, association, firm or company organized or existing under the laws of this or any other state or country; the United States or the state of West Virginia; governmental agency; political subdivision; county commission; municipality; industry; sanitary district; public service district; drainage district; soil conservation district; solid waste disposal shed district; partnership; trust; estate; individual; group of individuals acting individually or as a group; or any other legal entity.
(9) "Pollution" means the discharge, release, escape or deposit, directly or indirectly, of solid waste of whatever kind or character, on lands or in waters in the state in an uncontrolled, unregulated or unapproved manner.
(10) "Revenue" means any money or thing of value collected by, or paid to, the solid waste management board as rent, use fee, service charge or other charge for use of, or in connection with, any solid waste disposal project, or as principal of or interest, charges or other fees on loans, or any other collections on loans made by the solid waste management board to governmental agencies to finance, in whole or in part, the acquisition or construction of any solid waste development project or projects, or other money or property which is received and may be expended for or pledged as revenues pursuant to this article.
(11) "Solid waste" means any garbage, paper, litter, refuse, cans, bottles, waste processed for the express purpose of incineration, sludge from a waste treatment plant, water supply treatment plant or air pollution control facility, other discarded material, including offensive or unsightly matter, solid, liquid, semisolid or contained liquid or gaseous material resulting from industrial, commercial, mining or community activities but does not include solid or dissolved material in sewage or solid or dissolved materials in irrigation return flows or industrial discharges which are point sources and have permits under article eleven, chapter twenty-two of this code, or source, special nuclear or by-product material as defined by the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, including any nuclear or by-product material considered by federal standards to be below regulatory concern, or a hazardous waste either identified or listed under article eighteen, chapter twenty-two of this code, or refuse, slurry, overburden or other waste or material resulting from coal-fired electric power or steam generation, the exploration, development, production, storage and recovery of coal, oil and gas and other mineral resources placed or disposed of at a facility which is regulated under article two, three, four, six, seven, eight, nine or ten, chapter twenty-two or twenty-two-a of this code, so long as such the placement or disposal is in conformance with a permit issued pursuant to said these chapters. "Solid waste" does not include materials which are recycled by being used or reused in an industrial process to make a product, as effective substitutes for commercial products, or are returned to the original process as a substitute for raw material feedstock. "Solid waste" does not include yard waste, including, but not limited to, grass clippings, leaves, branches and tree stumps.
(12) "Solid waste facility" means any system, facility, land, contiguous land, improvements on land, structures or other appurtenances or methods used for processing, recycling or disposing of solid waste, including landfills, transfer stations, materials recovery facilities and other such facilities not herein specified. Such The facility is situated, for purposes of this article, in the county where the majority of the spatial area of such the facility is located.
(13) "Solid waste disposal project" or "project" means any solid waste facility, wastewater treatment plants, sewer treatment plants, water and sewer systems and connecting pipelines the acquisition or construction of which is authorized by the solid waste management board or any acquisition or construction which is financed, in whole or in part, from funds made available by grant or loan by, or through, the board as provided in this article, including all buildings and facilities which the board deems considers necessary for the operation of the project, together with all property, rights, easements and interests which may be required for the operation of the project.
(14) "Solid waste disposal shed" or "shed" means a geographical area which the solid waste management board designates as provided in section nine of this article for solid waste management.
(15) "Solid waste facility operator" means any person or persons possessing or exercising operational, managerial or financial control over a commercial solid waste facility, whether or not such the person holds a certificate of convenience and necessity or a permit for such the facility.



NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to amend the definition of "solid waste" to exclude yard waste, allowing residents to pile up yard waste on their own property.

Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.