HB 0728

AN ACT assessing a surcharge on waste disposed at solid waste landfills and incinerators, and making an appropriation therefor.

SPONSORS: Rep. Gilmore, Straf 11; Rep. B. Hall, Hills 20

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. This bill appropriates sums for the employment of positions within the department for fiscal years 2002 and 2003.

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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.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 Findings. The general court finds and declares that the state did 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 divert a greater amount of the waste stream from disposal in landfills and incinerators, thereby also preserving disposal capacity in New Hampshire.

2 New Subdivision; Solid Waste Surcharge. Amend RSA 149-M by inserting after section 57 the following new subdivision:

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 and shall be assessed to the solid waste transporter in accordance with paragraph II.

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 $2 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 $0.50 per cubic yard of 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 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 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 $2 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 II shall use a weight scale that accurately gauges the weight of the solid waste. However, a landfill or incinerator 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. The facility shall keep accurate contemporaneous records of the weight or volume of all solid waste disposed.

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 3 years.

149-M:59 Exemptions. The following shall not be subject to the surcharge imposed by RSA 149-M:58:

I. Wastes delivered to a recycling facility and accepted by the facility for recycling.

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 under RSA 149-M:7.

VII. Construction, demolition, and land clearing materials that are processed for market and diverted from disposal.

I. There is hereby established the recycling and waste reduction 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 non-lapsing fund, designated the recycling and waste reduction 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 recycling and waste reduction fund through a 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, with the funds uniformly applied per capita statewide. The department may use the fund for the costs of collection, disbursement and administration of this subdivision, including employing up to 1 1/2 full-time positions. Recycling programs and activities of existing programs are eligible for funding under the grants program, including operation and maintenance.

3 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] $2 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.~~]

4 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.

5 Appropriation from General Fund. The sum of $60,334 is appropriated to the department of environmental services for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2002, for the purpose of employing a program specialist IV. The governor is authorized to draw a warrant for said sum out of any money in the treasury not otherwise appropriated.

6 Reimbursement to General Fund. The commissioner of environmental services shall transfer to the state treasurer for deposit in the general fund the sum of $60,334 from the recycling and waste management fund for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2003.

7 Transfer of Appropriations. The commissioner of environmental services shall provide funds from the recycling and waste management fund totaling $79,365, for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2003, to employ a program specialist IV and a part-time accountant I.

The Department of Environmental Services states this bill will increase state general fund expenditures by $60,334 in FY 2002, and increase state general fund revenue by $60,334 in FY 2003. This bill will increase state restricted revenue and expenditures by $3,120,000 in FY 2002 and each year thereafter. The Department states this bill will also increase local expenditures by $300,000 in FY 2002 and each year thereafter, and increase local revenue by $3,059,666 in FY 2002, $3,040,635 in FY 2003, $3,038,254 in FY 2004, and $3,035,802 in FY 2005. There will be no fiscal impact on county revenue or expenditures.

This bill appropriates $64,334 from the general fund to the Department of Environmental Services for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2002.

The Department states this bill establishes a $2.00 surcharge assessed on solid waste disposed at landfills and incinerators, which will be collected by the Department and deposited into the newly established non-lapsing recycling and waste reduction fund for purposes of grants for eligible waste reduction and management programs and activities. The Department estimates disposal of solid waste of 1,493,000 tons per year, and exported waste destined for landfills or incinerators at 67,000 tons per year, for a total of 1,560,000 tons of solid waste annually. This will produce revenue of approximately $3,120,000 (1,560,000 X $2 surcharge) to be deposited in the recycling and waste reduction fund in FY 2002 and each year thereafter.

In FY 2002, $60,334 is appropriated from the general fund for the initial funding of the Program Specialist IV position established in this bill. In FY 2003, the general fund will be reimbursed $60,334 from the recycling and waste reduction fund. An additional $79,635 is appropriated from the newly established fund in FY 2003 for the purposes of employing the Program Specialist IV position, and a part-time Accountant I. The Department estimates annual increases of 3% which will increase expenditures from the fund to $81,746 in FY 2004 and $84,198 in FY 2005.

The Department will provide grants to municipalities totaling $3,059,666 in FY 2002, $3,040,635 in FY 2003, $3,038,254 in FY 2004, and $3,035,802 in FY 2005. The grants will be provided to municipalities for eligible waste reduction and management programs as determined by rules established by the Commissioner. To the extent local governments have chosen to run their own disposal and treatment facilities, there will be some initial impact to those facilities. The Department projects a total collective cost of $300,000 for the three public landfills and eight small waste incinerators. It is assumed that the facilities will pass these costs on to their customers, which will include municipalities.