HB 0799

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 makes an appropriation for new positions within the department for fiscal years 2004 and 2005.

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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.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

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] $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.~~]

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 Appropriation from General Fund. The sum of $60,334 is appropriated to the department of environmental services for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2004, 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.

5 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, 2005.

6 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, 2005, to employ a program specialist IV and a part-time accountant I.

The Department of Environmental Services has determined this bill will increase state restricted revenue and expenditures by $3,428,000 in FY 2004 and each year thereafter. Local revenue will increase by $3,348,312 in FY 2004, $3,347,061 in FY 2005, $3,344,052 in FY 2006 and $3,341,541 in FY 2007. Local expenditures will increase by $326,000 in FY 2004 and each year thereafter. There will be no fiscal impact on county revenue or expenditures.

This bill appropriates $60,334 from the general fund in FY 2004 to the Department of Environmental Services. The bill further requires the general fund to be reimbursed $60,334 by the Department of Environmental Services from the recycling and waste management fund in FY 2005.

The Department stated this bill establishes a $2/ton surcharge to be assessed on solid waste disposed at landfills and incinerators. The surcharge is deposited in a special fund and used for grants for eligible waste reduction and management programs and activities. The Department made the following assumptions to calculate revenues and expenditures:

· Based on data from 2001, in-state total disposal of 991,000 (landfill & incineration) tons per year and exported waste destined for land-filling or incineration is estimated at 73,000 tons per year.

· Based on data from 2002, imported waste destined for land-filling or incineration in NH is estimated at 650,000 tons per year.

· There would be interest on the fund, however, the Department is unable to estimate the exact amount.

· The Department will annually after paying administrative expenses, award grants to municipalities for the balance in the account.

· Municipalities that run their own disposal and treatment facilities, will be required to pay the per tonnage fee, as well as commercial landfills. The Department projects a total cost of $326,000/year to the three public landfills and 5 small waste incinerators.

· Exact costs cannot be determined, but there is the assumption that facilities will pass the cost of the surcharge to their customers, which will include municipalities. The amount towns will pay will depend on the amount of waste they dispose of. The Department assumes that collectively, towns should receive more than they contribute, since the revenue will be derived from three main sources, imported solid waste, commercial solid waste, and municipal solid waste, but the towns will be the only recipients of the grants.

Revenue

Disposal Type

In-state disposal 991,000 tons/year

Exports 73,000 tons/year

Imports 650,000 tons/year

Total 1,714,000 tons/year

1,714,000 tons/year @ $2.00/ton = $3,428,000 restricted revenue per year

The Department will hire a Program Specialist III and one part-time Accountant I to facilitate the program.

Department Expenditure

Program Specialist IV FY 2004 FY 2005 FY 2006 FY 2007

Salary & Benefits $51,613 $53,964 $56,396 $58,907

Current Expense 2,500 2,500 2,500 2,500

Overtime 1,100 1,000 1,000 1,000

Maintenance 433 433 433 433

Rent 2,111 2,111 2,111 2,111

Equipment 1,000 1,000 1,000 1,000

In-state travel 1,000 1,000 1,000 1,000

Out-of State travel 500 500 500 500

Total $60,257 $62,508 $64,940 $67,451

Part-time Accountant I

Current Expense $ 1,000 $ 1,000 $ 1,000 $ 1 000

Maintenance 433 433 433 433

Rent 2,111 2,111 2,111 2,111

Equipment 2,000 1,000 1,000 1,000

Part-time salary & benefits 13,887 13,887 14,464 14,464

Total $19,431 $18,431 $19,008 $19,008

Labor Costs

Program Specialist IV $ 60,257 $ 62,508 $ 64,940 $ 67,451

Part-time Accountant I 19,431 18,431 19,008 19,008

Total Labor Costs $79,688 $80,939 $83,948 $86,459