August 15, 2002

Recent Legislative Meetings

Recent legislative committee meetings that affect the solid waste industry are summarized in this Bulletin. Please feel free to contact us for more detailed information on any of these issues.

Meeting of the Waste Disposal Surcharge Subcommittee of the Virginia Recycling Markets Development Council

Three subcommittee members, Tom Smith, Bob Kerlinger, and Phil Abraham, were present at the July 24, 2002, meeting of the Waste Disposal Surcharge Subcommittee of the Recycling Markets Development Council. Kathy Framm, Hassan Vakili, and Alan Lassiter of the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) attended the meeting. This subcommittee was formed to provide the Recycling Markets Development Council with recommendations concerning the proposed waste disposal surcharge legislation from the recycling market’s perspective. The general consensus was that most counties do not appear to trust that money will be returned to them from a state agency fund, and most do not appear to be in support of the proposed legislation. Comments from VACO included remarks that the timing for this surcharge is poor due to the current shortages in state funding. This funding shortage increases the level of distrust by the public that the state will actually use the revenue generated by the surcharge for its designated purpose. However, the subcommittee continued with its task to recommend changes to the language of the proposed legislation.

At this meeting, the subcommittee discussed that Pennsylvania recently increased the $3.25 surcharge by $4.00 (i.e., currently there is a $7.25 surcharge). However, based on current regulations, the $3.25 surcharge will be eliminated by 2004, resulting in a $4.00 surcharge. Pennsylvania allocates $50 million of the surcharge funds to preservation of green spaces and improvement of water quality. The remaining money is allocated to the State’s General Fund.

At this meeting, the subcommittee continued to discuss how the fund would be allocated, and proposed to present one option to full Council rather than the two options discussed during the June 18, 2002, meeting. The subcommittee intends to recommend allowing the money generated by the surcharge to fund programs other than solid waste planning. Therefore, all solid waste facilities that dispose of waste, including CDD and incinerator facilities, would be required to pay the surcharge. Transfer stations and captive industrial landfills would be exempt from the surcharge. The subcommittee will recommend that a mechanism be provided to insure that incinerators not be double-charged for the waste brought into the facility and for the ash generated by the incinerator. The subcommittee will also recommend that a more accurate average volume-to-ton ratio should be used for CDD facilities (6 cubic yards to 1 ton was proposed by a CDD landfill operator).

Based on the current ratio of in-state waste to out-of-state waste disposed of in Virginia, the subcommittee will recommend that 70% of the money be distributed to localities using a formula based on existing population-based formulas for allocating funds to counties, and the remaining 30% be distributed to the State. Of the 70% to be returned to the localities, 30% could be used for recycling, composting, and grants (administered by the localities) to private landfills. Twenty percent could be used for waste management, including closure of House Bill 1205 facilities and for landfill operations. The remaining 20% could be used to fund a list of appropriate environmental programs, such as Brownfields projects, abandoned sites, open space, and water quality projects. The subcommittee will recommend that language be included in the legislation to insure that money be returned to localities whose solid waste programs are managed by a regional authority. Of the 30% to be allocated to the State, 2% would be distributed to DEQ for administrative purposes.

The subcommittee believes that the $5 per ton surcharge is too high, and reiterated its previous decision to recommend a $2-$3 per ton surcharge. They also reiterated that they will recommend that the legislation include a mechanism for protecting the fund, such as establishing a commodity board, foundation, or including an enactment clause within the legislation (i.e., the law would be repealed if money were diverted from the fund for uses other than those established in the legislation). The subcommittee mentioned that there was no guarantee that such language would survive the legislative process. To allow localities to budget for the surcharge, the subcommittee will also recommend that the law, once promulgated, not become effective for one budget cycle. For example, if the legislation were passed in January 2003, the law would not become effective until July 2004.

The subcommittee presented their recommendations at the full Recycling Markets Development Council meeting on August 13, 2002. Again, the subcommittee welcomes and encourages input from the regulated community.

NOIRA Public Meeting for the Amendment of Solid Waste Management Facility Permit Application Fees

On July 31, 2002, the public meeting for the Notice of Intended Regulatory Action (NOIRA) for amending the Solid Waste Facility Permit Application Fees regulation was held at DEQ’s Central Office. No public comments were made. The proposed amendment is intended to become effective at the termination of the current emergency regulation, which tripled the application fees until July 2003. The current concept is for the amendment to maintain the tripled fees for solid waste facilities into 2004, at which time the fees would revert to some lesser amount to be determined. Annual increases based on the inflation rate may also be included in the fee schedule. If you are interested in serving on the Technical Advisory Committee for this amendment, please contact Melissa Porterfield in DEQ’s Central Office.