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Introduced Version Senate Bill 591 History

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Key: Green = existing Code. Red = new code to be enacted

Senate Bill No. 591

(By Senators Unger, Kessler (Mr. President), Beach and Edgell)

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[Introduced February 14, 2014; referred to the

Committee on the Judiciary.]

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A BILL to amend and reenact §22-15-2 and §22-15-10 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended; and to amend and reenact §22C-3-3 of said code, all relating to the types and amounts of wastes that may be received at commercial solid waste facilities; defining “solid waste” consistently throughout the Department of Environmental Protection and Solid Waste Management statutes; and correcting a conflict between two statutes relating to a public landfill’s ability to refuse waste based on its origin.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:

    That §22-15-2 and §22-15-10 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended and reenacted; and that §22C-3-3 of said code be amended and reenacted, all to read as follows:

CHAPTER 22. ENVIRONMENTAL RESOURCES.

ARTICLE 15. SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT ACT.

§22-15-2. Definitions.

    The amendment to the definition of “solid waste” in this section during the regular session of the 81st Legislature in 2014 is to clarify the intent of the Legislature as to the meaning of the existing definition of “solid waste”. Unless the context clearly requires a different meaning, as used in this article the terms:

    (1) "Agronomic rate" means the whole sewage sludge application rate, by dry weight, designed:

    (A) To provide the amount of nitrogen needed by the food crop, feed crop, fiber crop, cover crop or vegetation on the land; and

    (B) To minimize the amount of nitrogen in the sewage sludge that passes below the root zone of the crop or vegetation grown on the land to the groundwater.

    (2) "Applicant" means the person applying for a commercial solid waste facility permit or similar renewal permit and any person related to such person by virtue of common ownership, common management or family relationships as the director may specify, including the following: Spouses, parents and children and siblings.

    (3) "Approved solid waste facility" means a solid waste facility or practice which has a valid permit under this article.

    (4) "Back hauling" means the practice of using the same container to transport solid waste and to transport any substance or material used as food by humans, animals raised for human consumption or reusable item which may be refilled with any substance or material used as food by humans.

    (5) "Bulking agent" means any material mixed and composted with sewage sludge.

    (6) "Class A facility" means a commercial solid waste facility which handles an aggregate of between ten thousand and thirty thousand tons of solid waste per month. Class A facility includes two or more Class B solid waste landfills owned or operated by the same person in the same county, if the aggregate tons of solid waste handled per month by such landfills exceeds nine thousand nine hundred ninety-nine tons of solid waste per month.

    (7) "Commercial recycler" means any person, corporation or business entity whose operation involves the mechanical separation of materials for the purpose of reselling or recycling at least seventy percent by weight of the materials coming into the commercial recycling facility.

    (8) "Commercial solid waste facility" means any solid waste facility which accepts solid waste generated by sources other than the owner or operator of the facility and does not include an approved solid waste facility owned and operated by a person for the sole purpose of the disposal, processing or composting of solid wastes created by that person or such person and other persons on a cost-sharing or nonprofit basis and does not include land upon which reused or recycled materials are legitimately applied for structural fill, road base, mine reclamation and similar applications.

    (9) "Compost" means a humus-like material resulting from aerobic, microbial, thermophilic decomposition of organic materials.

    (10) "Composting" means the aerobic, microbial, thermophilic decomposition of natural constituents of solid waste to produce a stable, humus-like material.

    (11) "Commercial composting facility" means any solid waste facility processing solid waste by composting, including sludge composting, organic waste or yard waste composting, but does not include a composting facility owned and operated by a person for the sole purpose of composting waste created by that person or such person and other persons on a cost-sharing or nonprofit basis and shall not include land upon which finished or matured compost is applied for use as a soil amendment or conditioner.

    (12) "Cured compost" or "finished compost" means compost which has a very low microbial or decomposition rate which will not reheat or cause odors when put into storage and that has been put through a separate aerated curing cycle stage of thirty to sixty days after an initial composting cycle or compost which meets all regulatory requirements after the initial composting cycle.

    (13) “Department” means the Department of Environmental Protection.

    (14) "Energy recovery incinerator" means any solid waste facility at which solid wastes are incinerated with the intention of using the resulting energy for the generation of steam, electricity or any other use not specified herein.

    (15) "Incineration technologies" means any technology that uses controlled flame combustion to thermally break down solid waste, including refuse-derived fuel, to an ash residue that contains little or no combustible materials, regardless of whether the purpose is processing, disposal, electric or steam generation or any other method by which solid waste is incinerated.

    (16) "Incinerator" means an enclosed device using controlled flame combustion to thermally break down solid waste, including refuse-derived fuel, to an ash residue that contains little or no combustible materials.

    (17) "Landfill" means any solid waste facility for the disposal of solid waste on or in the land for the purpose of permanent disposal. Such facility is situated, for purposes of this article, in the county where the majority of the spatial area of such facility is located.

    (18) "Materials recovery facility" means any solid waste facility at which source-separated materials or materials recovered through a mixed waste processing facility are manually or mechanically shredded or separated for purposes of reuse and recycling, but does not include a composting facility.

    (19) "Mature compost" means compost which has been produced in an aerobic, microbial, thermophilic manner and does not exhibit phytotoxic effects.

    (20) "Mixed solid waste" means solid waste from which materials sought to be reused or recycled have not been source-separated from general solid waste.

    (21) "Mixed waste processing facility" means any solid waste facility at which materials are recovered from mixed solid waste through manual or mechanical means for purposes of reuse, recycling or composting.

    (22) "Municipal solid waste incineration" means the burning of any solid waste collected by any municipal or residential solid waste disposal company.

    (23) "Open dump" means any solid waste disposal which does not have a permit under this article, or is in violation of state law, or where solid waste is disposed in a manner that does not protect the environment.

    (24) "Person" or "persons" means any industrial user, public or private corporation, institution, association, firm or company organized or existing under the laws of this or any other state or country; State of West Virginia; governmental agency, including federal facilities; political subdivision; county commission; municipal corporation; industry; sanitary district; public service district; drainage district; soil conservation district; watershed improvement district; partnership; trust; estate; person or individual; group of persons or individuals acting individually or as a group; or any legal entity whatever.

    (25) "Publicly owned treatment works" means any treatment works owned by the state or any political subdivision thereof, any municipality or any other public entity which processes raw domestic, industrial or municipal sewage by any artificial or natural processes in order to remove or so alter constituents as to render the waste less offensive or dangerous to the public health, comfort or property of any of the inhabitants of this state before the discharge of the plant effluent into any of the waters of this state, and which produces sewage sludge.

    (26) "Recycling facility" means any solid waste facility for the purpose of recycling at which neither land disposal nor biological, chemical or thermal transformation of solid waste occurs: Provided, That mixed waste recovery facilities, sludge processing facilities and composting facilities are not considered recycling facilities nor considered to be reusing or recycling solid waste within the meaning of this article, article fifteen-a of this chapter and article four, chapter twenty-two-c of this code.

    (27) "Sewage sludge" means solid, semisolid or liquid residue generated during the treatment of domestic sewage in a treatment works. Sewage sludge includes, but is not limited to, domestic septage, scum or solids removed in primary, secondary or advanced wastewater treatment processes and a material derived from sewage sludge. "Sewage sludge" does not include ash generated during the firing of sewage sludge in a sewage sludge incinerator.

    (28) “Secretary” means the Secretary of the Department of Environmental Protection or such other person to whom the Secretary has delegated authority or duties pursuant to article one of this chapter.

    (29) "Sewage sludge processing facility" is a solid waste facility that processes sewage sludge for: (A) Land application; (B) incineration; or (C) disposal at an approved landfill. Such processes include, but are not limited to, composting, lime stabilization, thermophilic, microbial and anaerobic digestion.

    (30) "Sludge" means any solid, semisolid, residue or precipitate, separated from or created by a municipal, commercial or industrial waste treatment plant, water supply treatment plant or air pollution control facility or any other such waste having similar origin.

    (31) "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; and other discarded materials, 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 five-a of this chapter, or source, special nuclear or byproduct material as defined by the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, including any nuclear or byproduct material considered by federal standards to be below regulatory concern, or a hazardous waste either identified or listed under article five-e of this chapter or refuse, slurry, overburden or other wastes 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 chapter twenty-two, twenty-two-a or twenty-two-b of this code, so long as placement or disposal is in conformance with a permit issued pursuant to such chapters 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 byproduct material as defined by the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, including any nuclear or byproduct 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 chapter twenty-two-a of this code, so long as such placement or disposal is in conformance with a permit issued pursuant to said 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.

    (32) "Solid waste disposal" means the practice of disposing of solid waste including placing, depositing, dumping or throwing or causing any solid waste to be placed, deposited, dumped or thrown.

    (33) "Solid waste disposal shed" means the geographical area which the solid waste management board designates and files in the state register pursuant to section eight, article twenty-six, chapter sixteen of this code.

    (34) "Solid waste facility" means any system, facility, land, contiguous land, improvements on the land, structures or other appurtenances or methods used for processing, recycling or disposing of solid waste, including landfills, transfer stations, materials recovery facilities, mixed waste processing facilities, sewage sludge processing facilities, commercial composting facilities and other such facilities not herein specified, but not including land upon which sewage sludge is applied in accordance with section twenty of this article. Such facility shall be deemed to be situated, for purposes of this article, in the county where the majority of the spatial area of such facility is located: Provided, That a salvage yard, licensed and regulated pursuant to the terms of article twenty-three, chapter seventeen of this code, is not a solid waste facility.

    (35) "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 person holds a certificate of convenience and necessity or a permit for such facility.

    (36) "Source-separated materials" means materials separated from general solid waste at the point of origin for the purpose of reuse and recycling but does not mean sewage sludge.

§22-15-10. Prohibitions; permits required.

    (a) Open dumps are prohibited and it is unlawful for any person to create, contribute to or operate an open dump or for any landowner to allow an open dump to exist on the landowner's property unless that open dump is under a compliance schedule approved by the director. Such compliance schedule shall contain an enforceable sequence of actions leading to compliance and shall not exceed two years. Open dumps operated prior to April 1, 1988, by a landowner or tenant for the disposal of solid waste generated by the landowner or tenant at his or her residence or farm are not a violation of this section if such open dump did not constitute a violation of law on January 1, 1988, and unauthorized dumps which were created by unknown persons do not constitute a violation of this section: Provided, That no person may contribute additional solid waste to any such dump after April 1, 1988, except that the owners of the land on which unauthorized dumps have been or are being made are not liable for such unauthorized dumping unless such landowners refuse to cooperate with the division in stopping such unauthorized dumping.

    (b) It is unlawful for any person, unless the person holds a valid permit from the division to install, establish, construct, modify, operate or abandon any solid waste facility. All approved solid waste facilities shall be installed, established, constructed, modified, operated or abandoned in accordance with this article, plans, specifications, orders, instructions and rules in effect.

    (c) Any permit issued under this article shall be issued in compliance with the requirements of this article, its rules and article eleven of this chapter and the rules promulgated thereunder, so that only a single permit is required of a solid waste facility under these two articles. Each permit issued under this article shall have a fixed term not to exceed five years: Provided, That the director may administratively extend a permit beyond its five-year term if the approved solid waste facility is in compliance with this article, its rules and article eleven of this chapter and the rules promulgated thereunder: Provided, however, That such administrative extension may not be for more than one year. Upon expiration of a permit, renewal permits may be issued in compliance with rules promulgated by the director.

    (d) For existing solid waste facilities which formerly held division of health permits which expired by law and for which complete permit applications for new permits pursuant to this article were submitted as required by law, the division may enter an administrative order to govern solid waste activities at such facilities, which may include a compliance schedule, consistent with the requirements of the division's solid waste management rules, to be effective until final action is taken to issue or deny a permit for such facility pursuant to this article, or until further order of the division.

    (e) No person may dispose in the state of any solid waste in a manner which endangers the environment or the public health, safety or welfare as determined by the director: Provided, That the carcasses of dead animals may be disposed of in any solid waste facility or in any other manner as provided for in this code. Upon request by the director, the Commissioner of the Bureau of Public Health shall provide technical advice concerning the disposal of solid waste or carcasses of dead animals within the state.

    (f) A Except as provided in section eleven, article four, chapter twenty-two-c of this code, a commercial solid waste facility shall not discriminate in favor of or against the receipt of any waste otherwise eligible for disposal at the facility based on its geographic origin.

    (g) In addition to all the requirements of this article and the rules promulgated hereunder, a permit to construct a new commercial solid waste facility or to expand the spatial area of an existing facility, may not be issued unless the Public Service Commission has granted a certificate of need, as provided in section one-c, article two, chapter twenty-four of this code. If the director approves a permit or permit modification, the certificate of need shall become a part of the permit and all conditions contained in the certificate of need shall be conditions of the permit and may be enforced by the division in accordance with the provisions of this article. If the director approves a permit or permit modification, the certificate of need shall become a part of the permit and all conditions contained in the certificate of need shall be conditions of the permit and may be enforced by the division in accordance with the provisions of this article.

    (h) The director shall promulgate legislative rules pursuant to article three, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code which reflect the purposes as set forth in this section.

CHAPTER 22C. ENVIRONMENTAL RESOURCES; BOARDS, AUTHORITIES, COMMISSIONS AND COMPACTS.

ARTICLE 3. SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT BOARD.

§22C-3-3. Definitions.

    The amendment to the definition of “solid waste” in this section during the regular session of the 81st Legislature in 2014 is to clarify the intent of the Legislature as to the meaning of the existing definition of “solid waste”. 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 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 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 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 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 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 five-a, chapter twenty of this code, or source, special nuclear or byproduct material as defined by the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, including any nuclear or byproduct material considered by federal standards to be below regulatory concern, or a hazardous waste either identified or listed under article five-e, chapter twenty 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 chapter twenty-two, twenty-two-a or twenty-two-b of this code, so long as such placement or disposal is in conformance with a permit issued pursuant to said 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 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 byproduct material as defined by the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, including any nuclear or byproduct 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 chapter twenty-two-a of this code, so long as such placement or disposal is in conformance with a permit issued pursuant to said 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.

    (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 facility is situated, for purposes of this article, in the county where the majority of the spatial area of such 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 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 eight 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 person holds a certificate of convenience and necessity or a permit for such facility.



 

    NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to update obsolete definitions of solid waste in §22-15-2 and §22C-3-3, and to make them consistent with the modern definition in code §22C-4-2. This amendment is not for the purpose of changing existing law, but rather to clarify the intent of the Legislature as to the apparently-conflicting definitions of "solid waste" and to correct cross references and other language that render the obsolete definitions meaningless. All the above definitions of "solid waste" would have been consistent with one-another but for a mistake made during budget week in 1994. A comprehensive bill had just been passed that reorganized, repealed, moved and otherwise amended statutes pertaining to the DEP, including modernizing the definition of "solid waste." However, after the DEP reorganization bill had already passed, the Governor sent up a bill to extend the landfill closure deadline and to authorize bonds to fund loans for landfill closure assistance. The Governor's bill used the old code sections that had just been repealed or amended by the reorganization bill and that no longer existed. That caused old definitions to be recodified in §22-15-2 and §22C-3-3. The error was recently discovered and this bill corrects that error.


    In 1997 Judge Stamp declared several sections of our solid waste code unconstitutional because they required landfills to discriminate against out of state waste in violation of the Commerce Clause. The Legislature took corrective action in 1998 to bring our statutes into compliance, including amendments to §22-15-10. However, §22-15-10 should have contained the reference to §22C-4-11, which properly allows (rather than requires) publicly-owned landfills to accept only local waste, to avoid a conflict between the two statutes. This bill adds that language and removes the conflict.


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

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