HB 3120 Text

H. B. 3120
(By Delegates Browning, Burdiss, Ellis,
Frederick, Hrutkay, Kominar, Long,

Moore, Porter, Rodighiero and White)

[Introduced February 19, 2007; referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary.]

A BILL to amend the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by adding thereto a new section, designated §22-15-9a, relating generally to solid waste facilities; providing procedure to allow certain facilities to handle up to one hundred thousand tons of solid waste per month; providing solid waste assessment fee; specifying when special solid waste assessment fee applies in lieu of regular fees and how it is to be administered, collected, enforced, and paid; and dedicating use of special assessment fee proceeds for certain purposes.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended by adding thereto a new section, designated §22-15-9a, to read as follows:

ARTICLE 15. SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT ACT.

§22-15-9a. Exemption for solid waste facilities handling up to fifty thousand tons per month.

(a) When a referendum held in accordance with subsection (b), section nine of this article, resulted in a majority of the legal votes cast being in favor of a commercial solid waste facility handling in excess of thirty thousand tons of solid waste per month and such facility has obtained a solid waste permit issued pursuant to this article to handle up to fifty thousand tons of solid waste per month, then, notwithstanding any other provision of this code to the contrary, such facility shall be eligible for an increase of such monthly tonnage amount not to exceed one hundred thousand tons per month, upon obtaining the approval of the county commission and county solid waste authority of the county in which the facility is located: Provided, That if the county solid waste authority is the owner of the commercial solid waste facility then only the approval of the county commission shall be required.
(b) In order for a commercial solid waste facility described in subsection (a) of this section to receive an increase in the amount of solid waste tonnage it may handle each month, the owner or operator shall petition the county commission and the county solid waste authority of the county in which the facility is located for their approval to accept up to one hundred thousand tons of solid waste per month at the facility: Provided, That when the commercial solid waste facility is owned by the county solid waste authority, then the petition shall be filed only with the county commission. After public notice and a public hearing, the commission, and, if necessary, the county solid waste authority, shall either approve or deny the petition within ninety days of the filing of the petition with the county commission and, if necessary, the county solid waste authority, as the case may be.
In determining whether to approve the request to allow the facility to accept up to one hundred thousand tons per month, the following factors, at a minimum, shall be considered: (i) Whether the facility has substantially complied with applicable state and federal environmental laws; (ii) whether the acceptance of the additional tonnage will benefit the county; and (iii) whether the acceptance of the additional tonnage will create undue burdens for the infrastructure of the county.
(c) Upon receipt of the approval of the county commission and, if necessary, the county solid waste authority, no further approval from any other state or local agency, office or political subdivision shall be required before the facility can begin to handle up to one hundred thousand tons of solid waste per month at that solid waste facility. Any modification to the permit issued pursuant to this article as a result of this increase in tonnage, including, but not limited to, those necessary to reflect the approved increase in tonnage that may be handled at the facility, shall be treated as minor modifications.
(d) No certificate of need from the Public Service Commission pursuant to the provision of section one-c, article two, chapter twenty-four of this code, shall be required by the commercial solid waste facility for the increase in tonnage that may be handled at the facility, and no additional certificate of need shall be required from the Public Service Commission pursuant to the provisions of section one-c, article two, chapter twenty-four of this code for any future major modifications of the solid waste facility's permit issued pursuant to this article, other than for the transfer of the permit to another person. The solid waste facility shall continue to operate under the terms and conditions of its existing tariff issued to it by the Public Service Commission, unless the owner of the commercial solid waste facility elects, at its sole discretion, to seek and increase or decrease its rates. When the tariffs approved by the Public Service Commission for the solid waste facility expressly include the assessment fees imposed by section eleven of this article; section nineteen, article fifteen-a, and section four, article sixteen, both of this chapter; section thirty, article four, chapter twenty-two-c of this code; and section twenty-two, article five, chapter seven of this code; the amount of the authorized tariffs shall automatically adjust, downwards or upwards depending upon whether the assessment fee being collected is the amount imposed by this section or aggregate amount imposed by section eleven of this article; section nineteen, article fifteen-a, and section four, article sixteen, both of this chapter; section thirty, article four, chapter twenty-two-c of this code; and section twenty-two, article five, chapter seven of this code. Additionally, the increase in tonnage authorized and approved pursuant to this section shall be reflected in the tariff by operation of this section, without approval or further action by the Public Service Commission being required.
(e) Notwithstanding any other provision of this code to the contrary, the requirements contained in section eleven of this article; section nineteen, article fifteen-a, and section four, article sixteen, all of this chapter; section thirty, article four, chapter twenty-two-c of this code; and section twenty-two, article five, chapter seven of this code shall not apply in any year after six hundred thousand tons of solid waste have been handled by the facility during that calendar year. On solid waste handled at the facility in excess of six hundred thousand tons during a calendar year there is hereby imposed a special solid waste assessment fee equal to four dollars per ton or part thereof of solid waste, which fee shall be administered, assessed, collected, enforced, paid and remitted to the Tax Commissioner in the same manner and at the same time as the fee imposed by section fifteen of this article.
(f) There is hereby created in the State Treasury a special revenue account, designated the "County Solid Waste Assessment Fee Account" which is an interest-bearing account and shall be invested in the manner described in section nine-c, article six, chapter twelve of this code with the interest and other return earned a proper credit to this account. A separate subaccount within this account shall be established for each county commission that has approved increasing to one hundred thousand tons per month the solid waste that may be handled by an approved solid waste disposal facility located in that county.
(g) The Tax Commissioner shall deposit all the proceeds from the solid waste assessment fee imposed by this section in the appropriate subaccount established for the county in which the solid waste disposal facility is located that generated the fee. All moneys collected and deposited in each subaccount shall be remitted at least quarterly by the State Treasurer as follows: (i) Two dollars and eighty cents per ton shall be distributed to the county commission of the county in which the solid waste disposal facility that generates the distribution is located; (ii) twenty-five cents per ton shall be distributed to the county commission of the county in which the solid waste disposal that generates the distribution is located to be allocated in equal amounts to those entities within the county that provide the services related to libraries, humane society, senior citizens, ambulance, and health care; (iii) thirty-five cents per ton shall be distributed in equal amounts to the economic development authority in the county in which the solid waste facility is located and to the economic development authorities in the counties which are contiguous to such county as determined by the Tax Commissioner; (iv) thirty cents per ton shall be distributed to the economic development authority operating on a multicounty or regional basis which includes the county in which the commercial solid waste facility is located, as determined by the county commission of the county in which the solid waste authority is located; and (v) thirty cents per ton shall be distributed to an economic development authority associated with a corridor that generally serves the region in which the solid waste facility is located, as determined by the Joint Committee on Government and Finance.

NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to provide a procedure that may be used by a county solid waste disposal facility to obtain an increase in the tonnage of solid waste it may handle each month. Additionally, this bill imposes a special $4 per ton solid waste assessment fee which applies to tonnage received in excess of 600,000 tons per year in lieu of the regular aggregate fees of $8.75 per ton. Seventy percent of the proceeds from this special fee is dedicated to the county commission of the county in which the solid waste disposal facility is located. The balance is dedicated to economic development and social services in McDowell County and the region.

Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.

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