H. B. 2204
(By Delegate Prunty)
[Introduced January 24, 1995; referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary.]
A BILL to amend and reenact section ten, article fifteen, chapter
twenty-two of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine
hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to solid waste
disposal and limiting to three percent the amount of solid
waste originating from out-of-state sources that may be
disposed of at solid waste facilities.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section ten, article fifteen, chapter twenty-two of the
code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 15. SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT ACT.
§22-15-10. Prohibitions; permits required; priority of disposal.
(a) Open dumps are prohibited and it is unlawful for any
person to create, contribute to or operate an open dump or for
any landowner to allow an open dump to exist on the landowner's
property unless that open dump is under a compliance schedule
approved by the director. Such compliance schedule shall contain
an enforceable sequence of actions leading to compliance and
shall not exceed two years. Open dumps operated prior to the
first day of April, one thousand nine hundred eighty-eight, by a
landowner or tenant for the disposal of solid waste generated by
the landowner or tenant at his or her residence or farm are not
a violation of this section if such open dump did not constitute
a violation of law on the first day of January, one thousand nine
hundred eighty-eight, and unauthorized dumps which were created
by unknown persons do not constitute a violation of this section:
Provided, That no person shall contribute additional solid waste
to any such dump after the first day of April, one thousand nine
hundred eighty-eight, except that the owners of the land on which unauthorized dumps have been or are being made are not liable for
such unauthorized dumping unless such landowners refuse to
cooperate with the division in stopping such unauthorized
dumping.
(b) It is unlawful for any person, unless the person holds
a valid permit from the division to install, establish,
construct, modify, operate or abandon any solid waste facility.
All approved solid waste facilities shall be installed,
established, constructed, modified, operated or abandoned in
accordance with this article, plans, specifications, orders,
instructions and rules in effect.
(c) Any permit issued under this article shall be issued in
compliance with the requirements of this article, its rules and
article eleven of this chapter and the rules promulgated
thereunder, so that only a single permit is required of a solid
waste facility under these two articles. Each permit issued
under this article shall have a fixed term not to exceed five
years: Provided, That the director may administratively extend a permit beyond its five-year term if the approved solid waste
facility is in compliance with this article, its rules and
article eleven of this chapter and the rules promulgated
thereunder: Provided, however, That such administrative
extension may not be for more than one year. Upon expiration of
a permit, renewal permits may be issued in compliance with rules
promulgated by the director.
(d) For existing solid waste facilities which formerly held
division of health permits which expired by law and for which
complete permit applications for new permits pursuant to this
article were submitted as required by law, the division may enter
an administrative order to govern solid waste activities at such
facilities, which may include a compliance schedule, consistent
with the requirements of the division's solid waste management
rules, to be effective until final action is taken to issue or
deny a permit for such facility pursuant to this article, or
until further order of the division.
(e) No person may dispose in the state of any solid waste, whether such waste originates in state or out of state, in a
manner which endangers the environment or the public health,
safety or welfare as determined by the director: Provided, That
the carcasses of dead animals may be disposed of in any solid
waste facility or in any other manner as provided for in this
code. Upon request by the director, the commissioner of the
bureau of public health shall provide technical advice concerning
the disposal of solid waste or carcasses of dead animals within
the state.
(f) A commercial solid waste facility shall first ensure
that the disposal needs of the wasteshed in which it is located
are met. If one or more local solid waste authorities in the
wasteshed in which the facility is located determine that the
present or future disposal needs of the wasteshed are not being,
or will not be, met by the commercial solid waste facility, such
authorities may apply to the director o to modify the applicable
permit. The director, in consultation with the solid waste
management board, may then modify the applicable permit in order to reduce the total monthly tonnage of out of wasteshed waste
the facility is permitted to accept by an amount that shall not
exceed the total monthly tonnage necessary to ensure the disposal
needs of the wasteshed in which the facility is located.
(g) No solid waste facility may accept any solid waste
originating from out-of-state sources in excess of three percent
of the total amount of solid waste received at that facility. In
order to protect the public health and the environment of the
state, the director of the division of natural resources shall
coordinate disposal of solid waste originating from out-of-state
sources and shall monitor the total tonnage of solid waste
generated and disposed at solid waste facilities in this state.
The director is authorized and shall enforce compliance with the
provisions of this section.
(g) (h) In addition to all the requirements of this article
and the rules promulgated hereunder, a permit to construct a new
commercial solid waste facility or to expand the spatial area of
an existing facility, not otherwise allowed by an existing permit, may not be issued unless the public service commission
has granted a certificate of need, as provided in section one-c,
article two, chapter twenty-four of this code. If the director
approves a permit or permit modification, the certificate of need
shall become a part of the permit and all conditions contained
in the certificate of need shall be conditions of the permit and
may be enforced by the division in accordance with the provisions
of this article.
(h) (i) The director shall promulgate legislative rules
pursuant to article three, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code
which reflect the purposes as set forth in this section.
The director of the department division of natural resources
shall promulgate rules pursuant to chapter twenty-nine-a of this
code which reflect the purposes as set forth in this article.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to limit disposal of
solid waste at any single facility originating from out-of-state
to not more than 3% of the total tonnage of solid waste disposed
in that facility.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language
that would be added.