PRINTER'S NO. 3990
No. 2781 Session of 2000
INTRODUCED BY WANSACZ, GEORGE, BARD, BEBKO-JONES, BELFANTI,
BLAUM, CAWLEY, M. COHEN, COLAFELLA, COSTA, DeLUCA, EVANS,
FRANKEL, FREEMAN, GEIST, GORDNER, GRUCELA, HARHAI, HENNESSEY,
JAMES, JOSEPHS, KAISER, LAUGHLIN, LEVDANSKY, LUCYK,
MANDERINO, McCALL, McILHATTAN, McNAUGHTON, MELIO, MUNDY,
PETRARCA, SHANER, SOLOBAY, SURRA, TANGRETTI, TIGUE, WALKO,
WOJNAROSKI, YOUNGBLOOD AND YUDICHAK, SEPTEMBER 27, 2000
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENTAL RESOURCES AND ENERGY,
SEPTEMBER 27, 2000
AN ACT
1 Providing for increased municipal control over the application
2 process for creation, expansion or modification of landfills
3 subject to an exception based on public need; establishing a
4 fee and bonding for vehicles that collect and transport
5 municipal and residual waste to certain municipal waste
6 disposal and processing facilities; and imposing penalties.
7 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
8 hereby enacts as follows:
9 Section 1. Short title.
10 This act shall be known and may be cited as the Waste Control
11 and Transportation Act.
12 Section 2. Definitions.
13 The following words and phrases when used in this act shall
14 have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
15 context clearly indicates otherwise:
16 "Department." The Department of Environmental Protection of
17 the Commonwealth and its authorized representatives.
1 "Facility." A municipal waste landfill,
2 construction/demolition waste landfill, resource recovery
3 facility or commercial residual waste disposal facility.
4 "Gross vehicle weight." The combined weight of a vehicle or
5 combination of vehicles and its load, excluding the driver's
6 weight.
7 "Hazardous waste." Any garbage, refuse, sludge from an
8 industrial or other waste water treatment plant, sludge from a
9 water supply treatment plant or air pollution control facility
10 and other discarded material including solid, liquid, semisolid
11 or contained gaseous material resulting from municipal,
12 commercial, industrial, institutional, mining, or agricultural
13 operations, and from community activities, or any combination of
14 the above, but does not include solid or dissolved material in
15 domestic sewage, or solid or dissolved materials in irrigation
16 return flows or industrial discharges which are point sources
17 subject to permits under § 402 of the Federal Water Pollution
18 Control Act (62 Stat. 1155, 33 U.S.C. § 1251 et seq.) or source,
19 special nuclear, or by-product material as defined by the Atomic
20 Energy Act of 1954, (68 Stat. 921, 42 U.S.C. § 2011 et seq.),
21 which because of its quantity, concentration, or physical,
22 chemical or infectious characteristics may:
23 (1) cause or significantly contribute to an increase in
24 mortality or an increase in morbidity in either an individual
25 or the total population; or
26 (2) pose a substantial present or potential hazard to
27 human health or the environment when improperly treated,
28 stored, transported, disposed of or otherwise managed.
29 The term shall not include coal refuse as defined in the act of
30 September 24, 1968 (P.L.1040, No.318), known as the Coal Refuse
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1 Disposal Control Act. The term shall not include treatment
2 sludges from coal mine drainage treatment plants, disposal of
3 which is being carried on pursuant to and in compliance with a
4 valid permit issued pursuant to the act of June 22, 1937
5 (P.L.1987, No.394), known as The Clean Streams Law.
6 "Host municipality." The city, borough, incorporated town,
7 township or home rule municipality within which a facility is
8 located or is to be located.
9 "Municipal waste." Any garbage, refuse, industrial lunchroom
10 or office waste and other material including solid, liquid,
11 semisolid or contained gaseous material resulting from operation
12 of residential, municipal, commercial or institutional
13 establishments and from community activities and any sludge not
14 meeting the definition of residual or hazardous waste under this
15 section from a municipal, commercial or institutional water
16 supply treatment plant, waste water treatment plant or air
17 pollution control facility.
18 "Municipal waste landfill." Any facility that is designed,
19 operated or maintained for the disposal of municipal waste,
20 whether or not such facility possesses a permit from the
21 department under the act of July 7, 1980 (P.L.380, No.97), known
22 as the Solid Waste Management Act. The term shall not include
23 any facility that is used exclusively for disposal of
24 construction/demolition waste or sludge from sewage treatment
25 plants or water supply treatment plants.
26 "Permit application." An application filed with the host
27 municipality for the creation, expansion or modification of a
28 facility.
29 "Region." The geographical area designated by the Department
30 of Environmental Protection for each of its regional field
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1 operations.
2 "Residual waste." Any garbage, refuse, other discarded
3 material or other waste, including solid, liquid, semisolid or
4 contained gaseous materials resulting from industrial, mining
5 and agricultural operations and any sludge from an industrial,
6 mining or agricultural water supply treatment facility, waste
7 water treatment facility or air pollution control facility,
8 provided that it is not hazardous. The term shall not include
9 coal refuse as defined in the act of September 24, 1968
10 (P.L.1040, No.318), known as the Coal Refuse Disposal Control
11 Act. The term shall not include treatment sludges from coal mine
12 drainage treatment plants, disposal of which is being carried on
13 pursuant to and in compliance with a valid permit issued
14 pursuant to the act of June 22, 1937 (P.L.1987, No.394), known
15 as The Clean Streams Law.
16 "Resource recovery facility." A processing facility that
17 provides for the extraction and utilization of materials or
18 energy from municipal waste that is generated offsite,
19 including, but not limited to, a facility that mechanically
20 extracts materials from municipal waste, a combustion facility
21 that converts the organic fraction of municipal waste to usable
22 energy, and any chemical and biological process that converts
23 municipal waste into a fuel product. The term also includes any
24 facility for the combustion of municipal waste that is generated
25 offsite, whether or not the facility is operated to recover
26 energy. The term does not include:
27 (1) Any composting facility.
28 (2) Methane gas extraction from a municipal waste
29 landfill.
30 (3) Any separation and collection center, drop-off point
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1 or collection center for recycling, or any source separation
2 or collection center for composting leaf waste.
3 (4) Any facility, including all units in the facility,
4 with a total processing capacity of less than 50 tons per
5 day.
6 "Secretary." The Secretary of Environmental Protection of
7 the Commonwealth.
8 "Semitrailer." A trailer so constructed that some part of
9 its weight rests upon or is carried by the towing vehicle.
10 "Solid Waste Management Act." The act of July 7, 1980
11 (P.L.380, No.97), known as the Solid Waste Management Act.
12 "Substantially affected municipality." A municipality that
13 is either:
14 (1) adjacent to the community within which the facility
15 is or shall be located; or
16 (2) located along an immediate approach route within two
17 miles of the regulated facility.
18 "Transporter." The owner of a semitrailer used for the
19 transportation of municipal or residual waste.
20 Section 3. Municipal control.
21 (a) Denial of permits.--The governing body of a host
22 municipality may deny any permit application for a facility
23 located in that municipality, except as provided in subsections
24 (b) and (c).
25 (b) Ratification by substantially affected municipalities.--
26 (1) In the event that a host municipality approves a
27 permit application for the creation, expansion or
28 modification of a facility, each substantially affected
29 municipality shall, by resolution, accept or reject the host
30 municipality's approval decision within 30 days of the
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1 approval.
2 (2) A substantially affected municipality's failure to
3 formally accept or reject the host municipality's approval
4 decision within 30 days shall be construed as a ratification
5 of the host municipality's approval.
6 (3) If a majority of the substantially affected
7 municipalities reject the host municipality's approval
8 decision, the host municipality shall within 60 days either
9 change or reaffirm its decision. If the host municipality
10 changes its decision from approval of the permit application
11 to a denial of the application, the host municipality's new
12 decision is binding, except as provided in subsection (c). If
13 the host municipality reaffirms its approval of the permit
14 application after rejection of that decision by a majority of
15 substantially affected municipalities, the question of
16 whether to approve the permit application shall be submitted
17 to a referendum of the electorate of the host municipality
18 and each substantially affected municipality.
19 (4) (i) The referendum shall be conducted at the next
20 primary or general municipal election occurring not
21 less than 60 days following a host municipality's
22 reaffirmation of its approval. The outcome of the
23 referendum shall be binding upon the host
24 municipality.
25 (ii) The form of the referendum question shall be
26 substantially as follows:
27 Do you favor the approval of the (name of
28 operator) permit application for the (creation,
29 expansion or modification) of the (name of
30 facility) facility, located in (name of
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1 municipality)?
2 (iii) If a majority of the aggregate votes from the
3 referendum are in favor of approving the permit
4 application, the permit application shall be granted.
5 (iv) If a majority of the aggregate votes from the
6 referendum are against approving the permit application,
7 the permit application shall be denied, except as
8 provided in subsection (c).
9 (c) Exception for public need.--
10 (1) The host municipality may not deny the permit
11 application of a facility located in the municipality if the
12 department determines that a public need for the additional
13 capacity proposed by the permit application exists. The
14 department shall determine the public need for additional
15 capacity at least every three years by totaling the available
16 disposal capacity within that region. If the total disposal
17 capacity within that region is at or below the two-year
18 capacity, the department may issue a certificate of public
19 need which shall override any host municipality determination
20 in regard to that permit application.
21 (2) The department may issue permits within that region
22 until such time as the permitted capacity within that region
23 reaches the seven-year capacity.
24 (3) (i) If the department determines to issue a
25 certificate of public need under this subsection, the
26 department shall conduct at least one public hearing in
27 the host municipality before the permit is finally
28 approved. The public hearing shall be scheduled with at
29 least 30 days' public notice prior to the hearing date.
30 The public notice shall be in the form of an
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1 advertisement in a newspaper of general circulation
2 throughout the host municipality and any substantially
3 affected municipality. The department shall also provide
4 a comment period of at least 30 days prior to the hearing
5 and at least 60 days after the hearing date during which
6 it accepts written comments on the permit application.
7 (ii) At the public hearing, the department shall
8 present information, including, but not limited to, the
9 following:
10 (A) The nature of the proposed facility.
11 (B) The site of the proposed facility or
12 expanded facility.
13 (C) The potential generators of waste.
14 (D) The life expectancy of the proposed facility
15 or expansion of an existing facility.
16 (E) An explanation of the host municipality's
17 and substantially affected municipality's rights with
18 regard to abatement of nuisances at the facility,
19 including, but not limited to, traffic problems,
20 litter, odors, noise, dust or other nuisances that
21 may emanate from the facility.
22 Section 4. Transporter program.
23 (a) Written authorization required.--It shall be unlawful
24 for a transporter to transport municipal or residual waste to a
25 facility in this Commonwealth on a vehicle or combination of
26 vehicles that exceeds 56,000 pounds gross vehicle weight unless
27 the transporter has obtained a written authorization from the
28 department under this section. A combination of vehicles shall
29 include the tractor and semitrailer.
30 (b) One-time application fee.--The initial application for a
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1 written authorization submitted by the transporter shall be
2 accompanied by a one-time application fee of $1,000 per vehicle.
3 (c) Vehicle and weight fee.--The initial application and
4 each annual submission to the department shall be accompanied by
5 a fee based on the number of vehicles and gross vehicle weight
6 of the vehicles owned by the transporter that are subject to
7 this section, as follows:
8 (1) Combination of vehicles licensed for 56,000-64,000
9 pounds gross vehicle weight - $1,500 per vehicle.
10 (2) Combination of vehicles licensed for 64,001-74,000
11 pounds gross vehicle weight - $2,500 per vehicle.
12 (3) Combination of vehicles licensed for more than
13 74,000 pounds gross vehicle weight - $5,000 per vehicle.
14 (d) Semitrailer stickers.--The department shall provide the
15 transporter with two stickers for each semitrailer indicating
16 the transporter's authorization number and authorization
17 expiration date. One sticker shall be displayed prominently on
18 the left front bulkhead, and the other sticker shall be
19 similarly displayed on the back of the semitrailer used to
20 transport the waste. Each tractor used in combination with the
21 semitrailer shall carry a copy of the written authorization
22 issued by the department to the transporter.
23 (e) Term of written authorization.--The written
24 authorization shall be valid for a maximum of one year. The fees
25 established in subsection (c) shall be paid to the department by
26 July 1 of each year, at which point the department shall renew
27 the authorization in writing and shall issue updated stickers.
28 Section 5. Collateral bond required.
29 (a) General rule.--Prior to the issuance of a written
30 authorization under section 4 for the transportation of
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1 municipal or residual waste, the applicant for the written
2 authorization shall file with the department a collateral bond
3 on a form prescribed and furnished by the department. The
4 department may waive the bonding requirement for municipalities
5 that are transporters upon written request from the
6 municipality.
7 (b) Conditions.--The bond shall be payable to the
8 Commonwealth and conditioned upon compliance by the transporter
9 with this act, the Solid Waste Management Act, rules,
10 regulations and orders of the department and the terms and
11 conditions of the written authorization.
12 (c) Amount of bond.--The amount of the bond shall be in an
13 amount determined by the secretary and shall be based upon the
14 number of semitrailers a transporter uses under section 4(c),
15 but shall not be less than $10,000.
16 (d) Additional amount.--The department may require
17 additional bond amounts if the department determines such
18 additional amounts are necessary to guarantee compliance.
19 (e) Alternate security.--The transporter may elect to
20 deposit cash or automatically renewable irrevocable letters of
21 credit which are terminable only upon 90 days' written notice to
22 the transporter and the department, or negotiable bonds of the
23 United States Government or the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania,
24 the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission, the Department of General
25 Services, the State Public School Building Authority, or any
26 municipality within this Commonwealth. No corporate surety bond
27 may be used to satisfy this subsection. The cash amount of such
28 deposit, irrevocable letters of credit or market value of such
29 securities shall be equal at least to the sum of the bond.
30 (f) Deposit.--The secretary shall, upon receipt of any such
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1 deposit of cash or negotiable bonds, immediately place the same
2 with the State Treasurer, whose duty it shall be to receive and
3 hold the same in the name of the Commonwealth, in trust, for the
4 purposes for which the deposit is made. The State Treasurer
5 shall, at all times, be responsible for the custody and
6 safekeeping of such deposits.
7 (g) Rights of transporter.--
8 (1) The transporter making the deposit shall be entitled
9 from time to time to demand and receive from the State
10 Treasurer, on the written order of the secretary, the whole
11 or any portion of any collateral so deposited, upon
12 depositing with the State Treasury, in lieu thereof, other
13 collateral of the classes specified in this subsection having
14 a market value at least equal to the sum of the bond, and
15 also to demand, receive and recover the interest and income
16 from the negotiable bonds as they become due and payable.
17 (2) Where negotiable bonds are deposited, mature or are
18 called, the State Treasurer, at the request of the
19 transporter, shall convert the negotiable bonds into other
20 negotiable bonds of the classes specified in this subsection
21 as may be designated by the transporter.
22 (h) Termination of letter of credit.--Where notice of intent
23 to terminate a letter of credit is given, the department shall,
24 after 30 days' written notice to the transporter and in the
25 absence of a replacement of the letter of credit within the 30-
26 day period by the transporter with other acceptable bond
27 guarantees provided under this section, draw upon and convert
28 the letter of credit into cash and hold it as a collateral bond
29 guarantee. Liability under the bond shall be for the duration of
30 the written authorization and for a period of one year after the
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1 expiration of the written authorization.
2 Section 6. Transporter or agent noncompliance.
3 (a) General rule.--The department may deny, suspend, modify
4 or revoke any written authorization issued under section 4 if it
5 finds that:
6 (1) The transporter or its agent has failed or continues
7 to fail to comply with any provision of:
8 (i) this act;
9 (ii) the Solid Waste Management Act;
10 (iii) the act of July 28, 1988 (P.L.556, No.101),
11 known as the Municipal Waste Planning, Recycling and
12 Waste Reduction Act;
13 (iv) the act of June 22, 1937 (P.L.1987, No.394),
14 known as the Clean Streams Law;
15 (v) the act of January 8, 1960 (1959 P.L.2119,
16 No.787), known as the Air Pollution Control Act;
17 (vi) the act of November 26, 1978 (P.L.1375,
18 No.325), known as the Dam Safety and Encroachments Act;
19 (vii) any other Federal or State statute relating to
20 environmental protection or to the protection of the
21 public health, safety and welfare;
22 (viii) any rule or regulation of the department;
23 (ix) any order of the department; or
24 (x) any condition of any permit, license or other
25 written authorization issued by the department.
26 (2) The transporter has shown a lack of ability or
27 intention to comply with:
28 (i) any provision of this act;
29 (ii) any of the acts referred to in this subsection;
30 (iii) any rule or regulation of the department or
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1 order of the department; or
2 (iv) any condition of any permit or license issued
3 by the department as indicated by past or continuing
4 violations.
5 (b) Violation of act by corporate transporter.--In the case
6 of a corporate transporter, the department may deny the issuance
7 of a written authorization if the department finds that a
8 principal of the corporation was or is a principal of another
9 corporation that committed violations of this act.
10 (c) Revocation or modification of authorization.--A written
11 authorization issued under section 4 shall be revocable or
12 subject to modification or suspension at any time the department
13 determines that the solid waste transportation:
14 (1) Is being or has been conducted in violation of this
15 act, the Solid Waste Management Act or the rules or
16 regulations adopted pursuant to this act or the Solid Waste
17 Management Act.
18 (2) Creates a public nuisance.
19 (3) Creates a potential hazard to the public health,
20 safety and welfare or the environment.
21 (4) Was conducted pursuant to an authorization that was
22 not granted in accordance with law.
23 (d) Correction of noncompliance.--
24 (1) Any person or municipality that has engaged in
25 unlawful conduct as defined in this act, the Solid Waste
26 Management Act or the Municipal Waste Planning, Recycling and
27 Waste Reduction Act or whose partner, associate, officer,
28 parent corporation, subsidiary corporation, contractor,
29 subcontractor or agent has engaged in such unlawful conduct
30 shall be denied a written authorization under this section
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1 unless the written authorization application demonstrates to
2 the satisfaction of the department that the unlawful conduct
3 has been corrected.
4 (2) Independent contractors and agents who operate under
5 the written authorization shall be subject to this section
6 and shall be jointly and severally liable, without regard to
7 fault, for violations of this act which occur during the
8 independent contractor's or agent's involvement in the course
9 of operations.
10 (e) Penalty.--A person who violates section 4 commits a
11 misdemeanor of the third degree and shall, upon conviction, for
12 the first offense, pay a penalty of not less than $5,000 nor
13 more than $10,000. Upon a second or a subsequent conviction for
14 a violation of section 4, a person commits a misdemeanor of the
15 second degree and shall, upon conviction, pay a penalty of not
16 less than $10,000 nor more than $25,000, and the court may order
17 the operating privilege of the vehicle operator to be suspended
18 for a period of up to one year or both.
19 (f) Deposit of fees and penalties.--All written
20 authorization fees, fines and penalties collected under this act
21 shall be paid into the Solid Waste Abatement Fund established
22 under section 701 of the Solid Waste Management Act and shall be
23 used for the purposes enumerated in that act. The fees may also
24 be used to implement the written authorization program and to
25 support efforts to inspect vehicles used to transport municipal
26 and residual waste.
27 (g) Forfeiture of semitrailers.--A semitrailer used in
28 commission of an offense under this act shall be deemed
29 contraband and may be forfeited to the department. The
30 provisions of law relating to seizure, summary and judicial
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1 forfeiture and condemnation of intoxicating liquor shall apply
2 to seizures and forfeitures under this section. Proceeds from
3 the sale of forfeited semitrailers shall be deposited in the
4 Solid Waste Abatement Fund.
5 Section 7. Effective date.
6 This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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