HB 1349

HB 1349-LOCAL - AS AMENDED BY THE SENATE

AN ACT authorizing the department of environmental services to collect the costs of administering air pollution control from polluters at different rates for different pollutants, and relative to the mercury emissions reduction program and ash landfill study.

SPONSORS: Rep. MacGillivray, Hills 21; Rep. Norelli, Rock 31

I. Establishes a program whereby certain solid waste management districts and regional refuse disposal districts may be reimbursed for eligible costs incurred pursuant to the mercury emissions reduction and control program.

II. Provides that the implementation of mercury controls on municipal waste combustors be accompanied by, as opposed to being implemented after, a study of ash landfills in the state by the department of environmental services.

III. Requires that combustors with a design capacity to burn less than 250 tons per day but not less than 100 tons per day of municipal solid waste submit an application for a permit or permit modification and compliance plan within 3 months of the effective date of this act.

IV. Provides that the compliance deadlines established by RSA 125-M shall be suspended for any combustor that, despite best efforts, has been unable to obtain all final regulatory approvals necessary, provided any such suspension shall conclude no later than 12 months after the combustor's procurement of such approvals.

V. Extends to September 1, 2000 the date by which the department of environmental services shall report its ash landfill study findings.

VI. Authorizes the department of environmental services to collect the costs of administering air pollution control from polluters at different rates for different pollutants.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.

Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:

1 Mercury Emissions Reduction and Control Program; Findings and Purpose. Amend RSA 125-M:1, V to read as follows:

V. Ash landfills which serve municipal waste combustors may experience increased mercury levels in the ash disposed at such landfills as a result of efforts to lower mercury emissions from such municipal waste combustors. Therefore, the general court finds that it is appropriate [~~to implement~~] that the implementation of mercury controls on municipal waste combustors [~~after the department of environmental services conducts~~] be accompanied by a detailed study and review of the ash landfills in the state by the department of environmental services to make certain that all necessary safeguards are in place to protect against environmental degradation from such sources and ensure the protection of drinking water supplies.

2 Mercury Emissions Reduction and Control Program; Definitions; Eligible Costs. Amend RSA 125-M:2, V to read as follows:

V. "Eligible costs" means [~~that percentage of the cost~~] those costs incurred by any [~~municipality~~] regional refuse disposal district or solid waste management district formed pursuant to the mandates of RSA 149-M to the extent that any such district is legally obligated to pay for pollution control equipment [~~required~~] installed as a result of the enactment of this chapter, including the cost of engineering services[,] and installation, [~~and related services,~~] as well as the [~~actual~~] capital cost for the pollution control equipment[~~. Eligible costs shall exclude any administrative, legal, operational, and fiscal costs related to the pollution control~~] and any amortization costs, meaning principal and interest, resulting from the installation of such equipment.

3 Mercury Emissions Reduction and Control Program; Reduction of Mercury Emissions for Certain Municipal Waste Combustors. Amend RSA 125-M:3, I to read as follows:

I. Any municipal waste combustor with a design capacity to burn 100 tons per day or more of municipal solid waste [~~which is subject to a federal maximum mercury emission rate of 0.08 milligrams per dry standard cubic meter (mg/dscm) or less~~] shall reduce its mercury emissions to achieve a mercury emission rate of no greater than 0.028 mg/dscm corrected to 7 percent oxygen by volume on a dry basis, or at least 85 percent control efficiency.

4 New Paragraph; Mercury Emissions Reduction and Control Program; Rulemaking. Amend RSA 125-M:4 by inserting after paragraph II the following new paragraph:

III. Establishment and administration of the grant program in accordance with RSA 125-M:8.

5 Mercury Emissions Reduction and Control Program; Compliance. RSA 125-M:5, I is repealed and reenacted to read as follows:

I.(a) No person shall operate a municipal waste combustor with the design capacity to burn 100 tons per day or more of municipal solid waste without a temporary or operating permit issued by the department in accordance with RSA 125-C. Any source subject to this section shall file a complete application for a permit or permit modification under the provisions of RSA 125-C and a plan for achieving compliance with this chapter.

(b) Combustors with a design capacity of 250 tons per day or more shall submit such plan and application by July 1, 2000 in order to comply by January 1, 2001 with the emission limits established by this chapter.

(c) Combustors with a design capacity of less than 250 tons per day but not less than 100 tons per day shall submit such plan and application within 3 months after the effective date of this subparagraph in order to comply within 18 months after the effective date of this subparagraph with the emission limits established by this chapter.

(d) The compliance deadlines established by this paragraph shall be suspended by the department for any combustor that, notwithstanding its best efforts, has been unable to obtain all final regulatory approvals necessary to achieve compliance, provided that any such suspension shall conclude no later than 12 months after the combustor's procurement of all such approvals.

6 New Section; Mercury Emissions Reduction and Control Program; Reimbursement of Mandated Costs. Amend RSA 125-M by inserting after section 7 the following new section:

I. The department shall fund and reimburse eligible costs from its budget. The department shall reimburse such eligible costs over the same period as any such district has amortized those costs, provided that such amortization period shall not be less than 5 years.

II. The department shall determine the eligible costs of each district served by a municipal waste combustor subject to this chapter, and reimburse such eligible costs with prior approval of the governor and council.

350:2 Ash Landfill Study. The department of environmental services shall study the implications of having increased mercury levels in ash in order to ensure maximum protection measures from ash contaminants. The department shall review current environmental protection practices at ash landfills that serve combustors with a design capacity of 100 tons per day or more, including methods used to handle and treat ash, the adequacy of leak detection systems and groundwater monitoring, and the ability to effectively mitigate environmental contamination, if it should occur, to protect drinking water supplies. The department shall report its findings by [~~February~~] September 1, 2000 to the house science, technology and energy committee, the house environment and agriculture committee, the house resources, recreation and development committee, the senate environment committee, the governor, the state library, the New Hampshire/Vermont Solid Waste Project, all of the municipalities in the Sullivan County Regional Refuse Disposal District, and the Concord Regional Solid Waste/Resource Recovery Cooperative and its member municipalities.

8 New Paragraphs; Air Pollution Control; Costs Assessed at Different Rates. Amend RSA 125-C:12 by inserting after paragraph V the following new paragraphs:

VI. The fee schedules authorized in paragraphs IV and V may include different fees per ton for different pollutants, subject to the following conditions:

(a) Differences in fees shall be justified either on the basis of differences in the impact of the different pollutants on public health or on the environment, or on the basis of differences in the cost of administration for different pollutants.

(b) The total fees collected pursuant to paragraphs IV through VI shall be the same amount as would have been collected pursuant to paragraphs IV and V in the absence of this paragraph.

(c) No additional pollutants shall be assessed as a result of this paragraph. New pollutants may be assessed if the federal government adds additional pollutants to its list of pollutants requiring Title V permits, or if the state adds to the list of regulated toxic air pollutants in accordance with RSA 125-I:4, V.

(d) Different fees per ton may only be applied to the following categories of pollutants, and not to individual pollutants within these categories:

(1) Total suspended particulates, excluding particulate matter smaller than 10 microns.

(e) The maximum fee per ton for any category shall not exceed 4 times the minimum fee per ton for any category. For emissions during calendar year 2001 only, the maximum fee per ton for any category shall not exceed 2 times the minimum fee per ton for any category.

VII. The department may set a de minimis amount for fees under paragraphs IV, V and VI and may waive the collection of all fees less than this amount.