SB 388-FN-LOCAL - AS INTRODUCED
2000 SESSION
SENATE BILL 388-FN-LOCAL
AN ACT assessing a surcharge on waste disposed at solid waste landfills and incinerators.
SPONSORS: Sen. Russman, Dist 19; Sen. Cohen, Dist 24; Sen. D'Allesandro, Dist 20; Sen. Wheeler, Dist 21; Rep. Gilmore, Straf 11
This bill establishes a surcharge assessed on solid waste disposed at landfills and incinerators. The surcharge shall be collected by the department of environmental services to be deposited in a special fund and used for grants for eligible waste reduction and management programs and activities.
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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
00-2155
08/10
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand
AN ACT assessing a surcharge on waste disposed at solid waste landfills and incinerators.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 Findings. The general court finds and declares that the state will not attain the 40 percent solid waste diversion goal established by the state for the year 2000 under RSA 149-M:2, and that additional funds are needed to ensure future statewide solid waste disposal capacity and to divert a greater amount of the waste stream from disposal in landfills and incinerators.
2 New Subdivision; Solid Waste Surcharge. Amend RSA 149-M by inserting after section 50 the following new subdivision:
149-M:51 Solid Waste Surcharge.
I. A solid waste disposal surcharge shall be imposed upon all solid waste delivered for disposal or incineration inside the state. The surcharge shall be similarly imposed on solid waste delivered to a landfill or incinerator outside the state.
II. The surcharge shall be assessed on solid waste for each calendar quarter, or part thereof, and shall be placed upon every business or person operating a landfill or incinerator, or transporter who transports solid waste to a landfill or incinerator in another state. A surcharge shall be imposed in the amount of $5 per ton of solid waste delivered for disposal or incineration at the facility. If a weight scale is unavailable, the surcharge shall be assessed at a rate of $1.25 per cubic yard or solid waste delivered for disposal at the landfill or incinerator.
III. The surcharge imposed by this section shall be in addition to any other fees imposed on such solid waste. The amount and identification of the surcharge shall be listed separately and identified as "New Hampshire Solid Waste Surcharge" on all billing documents.
IV. If payment required by this chapter is not filed or furnished, or is incorrect or insufficient, the commissioner shall make a finding as such, and determine the amount of surcharge due from any information available. If adequate information is not available to determine the surcharge otherwise due under this section, the commissioner may assess a surcharge at the rate of $5 per year per person served by the facility. The number of persons served by a facility shall be determined by the commissioner and shall be based upon estimates of solid waste disposal as calculated by the department.
V. To make payment in accordance with paragraph II, every person identified in paragraph III shall use a weight scale that accurately gauges the weight of the solid waste and shall keep accurate contemporaneous records of the weight or volume of all solid waste disposed. However, a landfill or incinerator receiving less than 1,000 tons of municipal solid waste per year, with no access to weight scales that accurately gauge the weight of the waste, may compute weight indirectly from volume using accurate records of solid waste delivered to a landfill or incinerator.
VI. The solid waste weight or volume records relating to the surcharge imposed by this section shall be available for inspection or examination at any time upon demand by the commissioner of environmental services or the commissioner of revenue, or their duly authorized agents or employees, and shall be preserved for a period of five years.
149-M:52 Exemptions. The following shall not be subject to the surcharge imposed by RSA 149-M:51:
I. Wastes delivered to a recycling facility and accepted by the facility for recycling.
II. Hazardous waste as defined by RSA 147-A:2, VII.
III. Brush, logs, stumps, leaves and roots, but not other wood wastes or products, deposited into a stump dump.
IV. Roadside wastes delivered to a landfill or incinerator when the disposal or treatment operator certifies that he or she has accepted those wastes without fee on a duly designated clean up day, or the business day immediately following.
V. Solid waste delivered to a transfer station for transfer to a disposal facility located inside the state as defined in rules adopted by the commissioner under RSA 149-M:7.
VI. Cover material that is placed over solid waste at a landfill as defined by rules adopted by the commissioner under RSA 149-M:7.
VII. Construction, demolition, and land clearing materials that are processed for market and diverted from disposal.
149-M:53 Waste Reduction and Management Fund.
I. There is hereby established the waste reduction and management fund, to be used for the purposes of this subdivision. This nonlapsing, revolving special fund is hereby continually appropriated to be expended by the department in accordance with RSA 149-M. Notwithstanding RSA 147-B:3, all moneys collected under this subdivision and not currently needed to meet the obligations of the department under this subdivision, shall be deposited with the state treasurer who shall keep this money in a separate fund, designated the waste reduction and management fund, notwithstanding RSA 6:12. The state treasurer shall invest the moneys deposited as provided by law. Interest received on investments made by the state treasurer shall also be credited to the fund.
II. The department shall be responsible for the disbursement of the waste reduction and management fund through a performance based grants program under rules adopted by the commissioner, pursuant to RSA 541-A. The department shall distribute funds to towns based upon the town's population and local and regional waste management needs. The disbursements shall be consistent with the waste reduction and diversionary goals as provided in the state's solid waste management plan. The department may use the fund for the costs of collection, disbursement and administration of this subdivision, including employing up to 3 full-time positions. Programs and activities eligible for funding under the grants program shall include:
(a) Public facilities, including the costs of planning, designing, constructing, and operating state, regional, or local facilities for the processing of recyclable materials and solid waste materials that, because of their nature or composition, create particular or unique environmental, health, safety or management problems;
(b) Grants for the proper collection, storage, and transfer of household hazardous waste, consistent with the purpose of this subdivision, with priority given to permanent regional collection facilities;
(c) Market development for recyclable materials and associated costs;
(d) Competitive grants to political subdivisions, non-profit organizations, or private corporations whose primary activity is to reduce or divert waste from disposal to alternative uses or endpoints; and
149-M:54 Waste Reduction and Management Fund Disbursement Board Established; Membership.
I. There is established the waste reduction and management fund disbursement board, to be comprised of the following members:
(a) The commissioner of environmental services or designee.
(b) Two members representing the waste disposal and treatment industry, appointed by the governor with the consent of the council.
(c) Two public members, appointed by the governor, with the consent of the council.
(d) Two members representing the recycling industry, appointed by the governor, with the consent of the council.
(e) Two members of the senate, appointed by the president of the senate.
(f) Two members of the house of representatives, appointed by the speaker of the house.
II. The board shall select a chairperson from among its members at its organizational meeting. The chairperson shall serve in the role for a term of one year, at the conclusion of which the board shall select another chairperson.
III. The board members shall serve without compensation, except that legislative members shall receive mileage at the legislative rate when attending to duties of the board, and non-legislative members shall be reimbursed for mileage incurred when attending to duties of the board at the state employee rate. Such reimbursements shall be a charge against the waste reduction and management fund.
IV. Any member of the board having an interest differing from the public on an issue under the consideration by the board shall not participate in any deliberations or vote of the board on the issue before the board.
V. Terms for state agency and legislative members shall be the same as their terms in office. Board members appointed under subparagraphs I(b), (c), and (d) shall serve 3-year terms, except that the initial term for a member representing the waste disposal and treatment industry shall be for one year and the initial terms for a member representing the recycling industry and for one of the public members shall be for 2 years. Upon term expiration, each appointed member shall hold office until a successor shall be appointed and qualified. Board members may be reappointed to subsequent terms.
149-M:55 Board Powers and Duties. The board shall have the authority to approve, deny, or modify grant awards to be funded by the waste reduction and management fund. The board shall adopt rules, pursuant to RSA 541-A, relative to:
I. Processing applications for compensation from the waste reduction and management fund.
II. Procedures for determining the appropriate grant award in relation to the submitted grant request.
III. Developing eligibility criteria in addition to the requirements under 149-M:53.
149-M:56 Report. The department shall submit an annual report by September 1 of each year to the senate environment committee and the house environment and agriculture committee, commencing September 1, 2000, relative to the activities of the waste reduction and management fund, and any fund disbursements.
2 Solid Waste Management; Surcharge; Amount Assessed. Amend RSA 149-M:6, XI to read as follows:
XI. Assess a surcharge on the disposal of [out-of-state] solid waste in the amount of [$1] $5 per ton, which shall be assessed against the disposal or treatment facility located within the state or person transporting the [out-of-state] solid waste to [the facility and not assessed against the facility] an out of state landfill or incinerator. The surcharge shall be assessed and collected only with respect to the first point of disposal[, processing,] or treatment within this state. [The proceeds shall be used by the department to reduce and offset general fund expenditures for solid waste management.]
3 Solid Waste Management; Rulemaking. Amend RSA 149-M:7, VII to read as follows:
VII. Administration of and standards for the assessment and collection of the [out-of-state] solid waste surcharge pursuant to RSA 149-M:6, XI.
4 Effective Date. This act shall take effect July 1, 2000.
LBAO
00-2155
12/17/99
SB 388-FN-LOCAL - FISCAL NOTE
AN ACT assessing a surcharge on waste disposed at solid waste landfills and incinerators.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The Department of Environmental Services indicates that this bill will increase state restricted revenue by $9.281 million, increase state restricted expenditures by $8.2 million, and increase local revenue by $5.5 million in FY 2001 and each year thereafter. There is no fiscal impact on county and local expenditures or county revenue.
METHODOLOGY:
The Department determined the fiscal impact of this bill by using 1998 total landfill/incineration data and 1997 exported waste data. The Department calculated the increase in state restricted revenue to be deposited in a dedicated account to total $9.281 million; $8.781 million from total landfill/incineration (1,756,200 tons x $5 surcharge), and $0.5 million from exported waste (100,000 tons x $5).
The Department assumed that state restricted expenditures would increase by $8.2 million; $7.0 million for performance based grants, $0.5 million for household hazardous waste grants to local cities and towns, $0.2 million for the public facilities program stated in this bill, $0.3 million market development for recyclable materials, and $0.2 million for administrative staffing.
The Department assumed that local revenue would increase by $5.5 million; $5.0 million for performance based grants, and $0.5 million for household hazardous waste grants.