SB 0460

AN ACT establishing a grant program to reimburse eligible districts served by municipal waste combustors.

SPONSORS: Sen. Cohen, Dist 24; Sen. Johnson, Dist 3; Sen. Larsen, Dist 15; Sen. Disnard, Dist 8; Rep. Bradley, Carr 8

This bill requires certain municipal waste combustors to reduce mercury emissions to specified levels. This bill also establishes a grant 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.

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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.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; Definitions; Eligible Costs. RSA 125-M:2, V is repealed and reenacted to read as follows:

V. "Eligible costs" means those costs incurred by any 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 installed as a result of the enactment of this chapter, including the cost of engineering services and installation, as well as the capital cost for the pollution control equipment and any amortization costs, meaning principal and interest, resulting from the installation of such equipment.

2 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.

3 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 a grant program in accordance with RSA 125-M:8.

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

I. 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. 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. Combustors with a design capacity of less than 250 tons per day but not less than 100 tons per day [~~which are subject to RSA 125-M:3, I~~] shall submit such plan and application by January 1, 2001 in order to comply by July 1, 2001 with the emission limits established by this chapter.

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

I. The department shall establish a grant program, pursuant to rules adopted by the commissioner under RSA 541-A, to reimburse eligible costs to any solid waste management district or regional refuse disposal district served by a municipal waste combustor required to comply with the emission limits established by this chapter. 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.

The Department of Environmental Services has stated that this bill will increase state and local expenditures and local revenue by $225,195 in FY 2002, $214,801 in FY 2003, and $204,408 in FY 2004. There will be no fiscal impact on county expenditures or state and county revenue.

The Department assumed this bill will provide reimbursement of 100% of eligible costs to those New Hampshire municipalities served by the municipal combustors affected by this bill. Eligible costs include capital and interest costs. The only facility that would be required to install pollution control equipment, as a result of this bill, would be the Claremont Wheelabrator municipal waste combustor. The total capital cost of installing the pollution control equipment at the Claremont facility is $1,850,000. The capital cost will be passed on to New Hampshire and Vermont municipalities and private waste haulers in the form of higher tipping fees over a five-year period, effective January 1, 2001. Private waste haulers will pay 19%, or $351,500 of the total cost. By contract, New Hampshire and Vermont municipalities pay 81%, or $1,498,500. New Hampshire municipalities will pay 57.8% of $1,498,500, or $866,133 of the total cost over a five-year period. Total eligible costs of $866,133 over a five-year period at 6% will result in increased local expense of $225,195 in FY 2002, $214,801 in FY 2003, $204,408 in FY 2004, $194,014 in FY 2005, and $183,621 in FY 2006.