PRINTER'S NO. 347
No. 326 Session of 2005
INTRODUCED BY GEORGE, DeWEESE, SURRA, VEON, CASORIO, CAWLEY,
EACHUS, FAIRCHILD, GOODMAN, HENNESSEY, McILHATTAN, MELIO,
MUNDY, O'NEILL, ROONEY, RUFFING, SHANER, TANGRETTI, THOMAS,
WALKO AND YOUNGBLOOD, FEBRUARY 8, 2005
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENTAL RESOURCES AND ENERGY,
FEBRUARY 8, 2005
AN ACT
1 Establishing a moratorium on the issuance of certain permits
2 relating to municipal waste landfills; providing for
3 rescission of unused capacity, for municipal control and for
4 rebuttable presumptions and defenses; authorizing grants for
5 municipal recycling improvements; and prescribing penalties.
6 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
7 hereby enacts as follows:
8 Section 1. Short title.
9 This act shall be known and may be cited as the Municipal
10 Solid Waste Control Act.
11 Section 2. Purpose.
12 The General Assembly declares the purposes of this act as
13 follows:
14 (1) To provide municipalities across this Commonwealth
15 with the ability to control the disposal of solid waste in
16 their communities.
17 (2) To ensure the protection of public health and
18 safety.
1 (3) To provide a means of reconciling the amount of
2 solid waste that is disposed of in this Commonwealth with the
3 amount of solid waste that is permitted to be disposed of in
4 this Commonwealth.
5 (4) To provide municipalities with the ability to impose
6 restrictions upon solid waste disposal facilities within
7 their borders.
8 (5) To preserve and extend the existing solid waste
9 disposal capacity within this Commonwealth.
10 Section 3. Definitions.
11 The following words and phrases when used in this act shall
12 have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
13 context clearly indicates otherwise:
14 "Daily volume." The amount of solid waste actually disposed
15 of each day at a facility.
16 "Department." The Department of Environmental Protection of
17 the Commonwealth.
18 "Facility." A municipal waste landfill,
19 construction/demolition waste landfill, resource recovery
20 facility or commercial residual waste disposal facility.
21 "Gross vehicle weight." The combined weight of a vehicle or
22 combination of vehicles and its load, excluding the driver's
23 weight.
24 "Host municipality." A city, borough, incorporated town,
25 township or home rule municipality within which a facility is
26 located or proposed to be located or has been permitted but not
27 constructed.
28 "Municipal Waste Planning, Recycling and Waste Reduction
29 Act." The act of July 28, 1988 (P.L.556, No.101), known as the
30 Municipal Waste Planning, Recycling and Waste Reduction Act.
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1 "Permitted daily volume." The amount of solid waste
2 permitted by the Department of Environmental Protection to be
3 disposed of at a facility each day.
4 "Region." The geographical area designated by the Department
5 of Environmental Protection for each of its regional field
6 operations.
7 "Secretary." The Secretary of Environmental Protection of
8 the Commonwealth.
9 "Solid waste." Solid waste as defined in the act of July 7,
10 1980 (P.L.380, No.97), known as the Solid Waste Management Act.
11 "Solid Waste Management Act." The act of July 7, 1980
12 (P.L.380, No.97), known as the Solid Waste Management Act.
13 "Transporter." The owner of a semitrailer used for the
14 transportation of municipal or residual waste.
15 Section 4. Moratorium.
16 (a) General rule.--For a period of two years from the
17 effective date of this section, and subject to continuation of
18 such period under subsection (b):
19 (1) The department may not accept an application for a
20 permit modification nor issue a permit or permit modification
21 under the Solid Waste Management Act for the construction,
22 expansion or operation of a facility.
23 (2) The department may not accept for review nor issue a
24 permit modification that would result in an increase in
25 average daily volume or maximum daily volume at a facility.
26 (b) Review of Statewide landfill capacity and usage.--
27 (1) Ninety days before the expiration of the two-year
28 moratorium period set forth in subsection (a), the secretary
29 shall review Statewide landfill capacity and usage.
30 (2) If the secretary determines that unused Statewide
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1 landfill capacity continues to be equal or more than six
2 years of unused landfill capacity remains, then the
3 moratorium shall continue for one additional year beyond the
4 original ending date of the moratorium and the secretary
5 shall publish notice of such continuation as a notice in the
6 Pennsylvania Bulletin.
7 Section 5. Rescission of unused capacity.
8 (a) Duty of secretary.--The secretary shall rescind
9 permitted daily volume amounts which exceed the actual daily
10 volume amounts as calculated by the department in accordance
11 with subsection (b).
12 (b) Calculations by department.--The department shall
13 calculate actual daily volume amounts by averaging the disposal
14 of actual daily volume at each facility for the preceding 12-
15 month period. Any amount of daily volume in excess of the
16 determined actual daily volume shall be subject to the
17 rescission under subsection (a).
18 Section 6. Public comment.
19 A proposed host municipality agreement shall be made
20 available for public comment and review at least 60 days prior
21 to adoption. During this 60-day public comment period, the
22 municipality shall publish this notice on the municipal Internet
23 website, if one exists, at the main municipal office, if one
24 exists, and in a local newspaper.
25 Section 7. Municipality control.
26 (a) Denial of permits.--The governing body of a host
27 municipality may deny any permit or permit modification for a
28 facility located in the municipality, except as provided in
29 subsection (b).
30 (b) Exception for public need.--
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1 (1) The host municipality may not deny a permit or
2 permit modification of a facility located in the municipality
3 if the department determines that there is a public need for
4 the additional capacity contained within that permit or
5 permit modification.
6 (2) The public need for additional capacity shall be
7 determined by the department, at least every three years, by
8 totaling the available disposal capacity within that region.
9 If the total disposal capacity within that region is at or
10 below the two-year capacity, the department may issue a
11 certificate of public need which shall override any host
12 municipality denials of permits or permit modifications.
13 (3) The department may issue permits and permit
14 modifications within that region until such time as the
15 permitted capacity within that region reaches the seven-year
16 capacity.
17 (c) Public hearing.--
18 (1) If the department determines to issue a certificate
19 of public need under subsection (b), the department shall
20 conduct at least one public hearing in the host municipality
21 before the permit or permit modification is approved. The
22 public hearing shall be scheduled with a minimum of 30 days'
23 public notice prior to the hearing date. A comment period of
24 not less than 60 days shall be provided to accept written
25 comments on the permit or permit modification.
26 (2) At the public hearing, the department shall present
27 information, including, but not limited to:
28 (i) The nature of the proposed facility.
29 (ii) The site of the proposed facility or expansion
30 of existing facility.
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1 (iii) The potential generators of waste.
2 (iv) The life expectancy of the proposed facility or
3 expansion of existing facility.
4 (v) An explanation of the host municipality's rights
5 with regard to abatement of nuisances at the facility,
6 including, but not limited to, traffic problems, litter,
7 odors, noise, dust or other nuisances that may emanate
8 from the facility or that may increase daily volume at
9 the facility.
10 Section 8. Rebuttable presumption and defenses.
11 (a) Liability of facility operator.--It shall be rebuttably
12 presumed, as a matter of law, that a facility operator is liable
13 without proof of fault, negligence or causation for all
14 pollution or diminution of public or private water supplies
15 within 2,500 linear feet of the boundaries of the facility.
16 (b) Defenses limited.--There shall only be five defenses to
17 the rebuttable presumption of liability provided for in
18 subsection (a). A facility operator must affirmatively prove by
19 a preponderance of evidence that one of the following conditions
20 exists:
21 (1) The landowner is not within 2,500 linear feet of the
22 facility boundary.
23 (2) The landowner or water supply company refused to
24 allow the facility operator access to conduct a survey prior
25 to commencing operations.
26 (3) The pollution or diminution existed prior to
27 facility operation as determined by a survey conducted prior
28 to commencing facility operations.
29 (4) The pollution or diminution occurred as a result of
30 some cause other than the facility operation.
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1 (5) The landowner, water supply user or water company
2 refused to allow the facility operator access to determine
3 the cause of pollution or diminution or to replace or restore
4 the water supply.
5 Section 9. Grants for municipal recycling improvements.
6 (a) Authorization.--
7 (1) The department shall pay $5,000,000 in fiscal year
8 2005-2006 from the Recycling Fund to municipalities that
9 propose to significantly increase their recycling efforts.
10 The department shall pay an additional $5,000,000 from the
11 Recycling Fund in each of the two following fiscal years to
12 municipalities that propose to significantly increase their
13 recycling efforts. For the fiscal year 2004-2005 and the two
14 following fiscal years, the department shall continue to
15 award other recycling grants under the Municipal Waste
16 Planning, Recycling and Waste Reduction Act at or above the
17 current level of funding.
18 (2) For the purposes of this section, a significant
19 increase in recycling efforts is defined as a 10% or more
20 increase in recycling percentage or recycling tonnage.
21 (b) Application and use of grant funds.--
22 (1) On an application form approved by the department,
23 each municipality shall detail its plans to significantly
24 improve recycling percentage or tonnage. A municipality that
25 is awarded a grant under this section shall spend those grant
26 funds only for the purposes and programs detailed on its
27 grant application and approved by the department in its grant
28 award.
29 (2) A municipality awarded a State grant under this
30 section must agree to maintain its level of municipal funding
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1 for recycling programs at or above the level of the previous
2 year. No municipality may receive more than $1,000,000 a year
3 from this grant program.
4 (c) Regulations.--In the second and third year of this
5 program, the department shall promulgate regulations to
6 implement this section.
7 Section 10. Proximity to State parks.
8 (a) General rule.--A new municipal waste or residual waste
9 landfill or resource recovery facility may not be permitted to
10 operate within 2,500 feet of a Pennsylvania State park.
11 (b) Definition.--As used in this section, the terms
12 "municipal waste," "residual waste" and "resource recovery
13 facility" shall have the meanings given those terms in section
14 103 of the act of July 28, 1988 (P.L.556, No.101), known as the
15 Municipal Waste Planning, Recycling and Waste Reduction Act.
16 Section 11. Disclosure.
17 The department shall require an applicant for a municipal
18 landfill permit to disclose in the application whether a person
19 who is not one of the applicant's officers, directors or
20 employees listed in the permit application was paid or promised
21 payment, to help plan, manage or advise the applicant about the
22 structure or activities of the applicant's organization or about
23 the application for a permit for this facility or the operation
24 of the proposed facility after receiving this permit. The
25 person's name, business name, address, the amounts paid or
26 promised to be paid and the person's role shall be required.
27 Section 12. Regulations.
28 Within 120 days of the effective date of this section, the
29 department shall promulgate rules and regulations to administer
30 the provisions of this act.
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1 Section 13. Repeal.
2 All acts and parts of acts are repealed insofar as they are
3 inconsistent with this act.
4 Section 14. Effective date.
5 This act shall take effect as follows:
6 (1) Sections 3 and 4 shall take effect immediately.
7 (2) This section shall take effect immediately.
8 (3) The remainder of this act shall take effect in 60
9 days.
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