Bill Text: CT SB00999 | 2017 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: An Act Establishing A Pilot Program For The Harnessing Of Cow Power In The State Of Connecticut.
Spectrum: Committee Bill
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2017-04-05 - File Number 445 [SB00999 Detail]
Download: Connecticut-2017-SB00999-Introduced.html
General Assembly |
Raised Bill No. 999 | ||
January Session, 2017 |
LCO No. 4952 | ||
*04952_______ENV* | |||
Referred to Committee on ENVIRONMENT |
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Introduced by: |
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(ENV) |
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AN ACT CONCERNING PERMITTING PROCEDURES FOR WASTE CONVERSION FACILITIES AND THE USE OF COW MANURE IN ANAEROBIC DIGESTION FACILITIES.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:
Section 1. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2017) For purposes of title 16 of the general statutes and any anaerobic digestion facility permitted pursuant to section 22a-207 of the general statutes, as amended by this act, anaerobic digestion shall be derived from an anaerobic digestion facility that utilizes not less than thirty per cent manure for its operation, including, but not limited to, the production of digestate.
Sec. 2. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2017) The Commissioner of Agriculture shall develop educational information for persons engaged in farming in the state concerning the benefits of utilizing anaerobic digestion facility digestate in lieu of raw manure. Such information shall discuss the frequency with which such digestate may be utilized and any environmental benefits of such digestate. The commissioner shall cause such information to be posted on the Internet web site of the Department of Agriculture.
Sec. 3. Section 22a-207 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2017):
For the purposes of this chapter and chapter 103b:
(1) "Commissioner" means the Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection or his authorized agent;
(2) "Department" means the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection;
(3) "Solid waste" means unwanted or discarded solid, liquid, semisolid or contained gaseous material, including, but not limited to, demolition debris, material burned or otherwise processed at a resources recovery facility or incinerator, material processed at a recycling facility and sludges or other residue from a water pollution abatement facility, water supply treatment plant or air pollution control facility;
(4) "Solid waste facility" means any solid waste disposal area, volume reduction plant, transfer station, wood-burning facility or biomedical waste treatment facility;
(5) "Volume reduction plant" means any location or structure, whether located on land or water, where more than two thousand pounds per hour of solid waste generated elsewhere may be reduced in volume, including but not limited to, resources recovery facilities, waste conversion facilities and other incinerators, recycling facilities, pulverizers, compactors, shredders, balers and composting facilities;
(6) "Solid waste disposal area" means any location, including a landfill or other land disposal site, used for the disposal of more than ten cubic yards of solid waste. For purposes of this subdivision, "disposal" means the placement of material at a location with the intent to leave it at such location indefinitely, or to fail to remove material from a location within forty-five days, but does not mean the placement of material required to be recycled under section 22a-241b in a location on the premises of a recycling facility, provided such facility is in compliance with all requirements of state or federal law and any permits required thereunder;
(7) "Recycling" means the processing of solid waste to reclaim material therefrom;
(8) "Recycling facility" or "recycling center" means land and appurtenances thereon and structures where recycling is conducted, including but not limited to, an intermediate processing center as defined in section 22a-260;
(9) "Resources recovery facility" means a facility [utilizing processes to reclaim energy from municipal solid waste] that combusts municipal solid waste to generate electricity;
(10) "Waste conversion facility" means a facility that uses thermal, chemical or biological processes to convert solid waste, including, but not limited to, municipal solid waste and organic farm waste, into electricity, heat, animal bedding, soil amendment, fuel, gas, chemical or other products and that is not a facility that combusts mixed municipal solid waste to generate electricity;
[(10)] (11) "Transfer station" means any location or structure, whether located on land or water, where more than ten cubic yards of solid waste, generated elsewhere, may be stored for transfer or transferred from transportation units and placed in other transportation units for movement to another location, whether or not such waste is stored at the location prior to transfer;
[(11)] (12) "Municipality" means any town, city or borough within the state;
[(12)] (13) "Municipal authority" means the local governing body having legal jurisdiction over solid waste management within its corporate limits which shall be, in the case of any municipality which adopts a charter provision or ordinance pursuant to section 7-273aa, the municipal resource recovery authority;
[(13)] (14) "Regional authority" means the administrative body delegated the responsibility of solid waste management for two or more municipalities which have joined together by creating a district or signing an interlocal agreement or signing a mutual contract for a definitive period of time;
[(14)] (15) "Region" means two or more municipalities which have joined together by creating a district or signing an interlocal agreement or signing a mutual contract for a definite period of time concerning solid waste management within such municipalities;
[(15)] (16) "Solid waste management plan" means an administrative and financial plan for an area which considers solid waste storage, collection, transportation, volume reduction, recycling, reclamation and disposal practices for a twenty-year period, or extensions thereof;
[(16)] (17) "Municipal collection" means solid waste collection from all residents thereof by a municipal authority;
[(17)] (18) "Contract collection" means collection by a private collector under a formal agreement with a municipal authority in which the rights and duties of the respective parties are set forth;
[(18)] (19) "Solid waste planning region" means those municipalities within the defined boundaries of regional councils of governments or as prescribed in the state solid waste management plan;
[(19)] (20) "Biomedical waste" means infectious waste, pathological waste and chemotherapy waste generated during the administration of medical care or the performance of medical research involving humans or animals and which, because of its quantity, character or composition, has been determined by the commissioner to require special handling but excluding any solid waste which has been classified by the department as a hazardous waste pursuant to section 22a-115 or is a radioactive material regulated pursuant to section 22a-148;
[(20)] (21) "Generator of biomedical waste" means any person who owns or operates a facility that produces biomedical waste in any quantity, including, but not limited to the following: General hospitals, skilled nursing facilities or convalescent hospitals, intermediate care facilities, chronic dialysis clinics, free clinics, health maintenance organizations, surgical clinics, acute psychiatric hospitals, laboratories, medical buildings, physicians' offices, veterinarians, dental offices and funeral homes. Where more than one generator is located in the same building, each individual business entity shall be considered a separate generator;
[(21)] (22) "Biomedical waste treatment facility" means a solid waste facility capable of storing, treating or disposing of any amount of biomedical waste, excluding any facility where the only biomedical waste treated, stored or disposed of is biomedical waste generated at the site and any licensed acute care facility or licensed regional household hazardous waste collection facility accepting untreated solid waste generated during the administration of medical care in a single or multiple family household by a resident of such household;
[(22)] (23) "Throughput" means the amount of municipal solid waste processed by a resources recovery facility determined by dividing the average annual tonnage of municipal solid waste by three hundred sixty-five days;
[(23)] (24) "Municipal solid waste" means solid waste from residential, commercial and industrial sources, excluding solid waste consisting of significant quantities of hazardous waste as defined in section 22a-115, land-clearing debris, demolition debris, biomedical waste, sewage sludge and scrap metal;
[(24)] (25) "Wood-burning facility" means a facility, as defined in section 16-50i, whose principal function is energy recovery from wood for commercial purposes. "Wood-burning facility" does not mean a biomass gasification plant that utilizes land clearing debris, tree stumps or other biomass that regenerates, or the use of which will not result in a depletion of, resources;
[(25)] (26) "Person" has the same meaning as in subsection (b) of section 22a-2;
[(26)] (27) "Closure plan" means a comprehensive written plan, including maps, prepared by a professional engineer licensed by the state that details the closure of a solid waste disposal area and that addresses final cover design, stormwater controls, landfill gas controls, water quality monitoring, leachate controls, postclosure maintenance and monitoring, financial assurance for closure and postclosure activities, postclosure use and any other information that the commissioner determines is necessary to protect human health and the environment from the effects of the solid waste disposal areas;
[(27)] (28) "Designated recyclable item" means an item designated for recycling by the Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection in regulations adopted pursuant to subsection (a) of section 22a-241b, or designated for recycling pursuant to section 22a-208v or 22a-256;
[(28)] (29) "Composting facility" means land, appurtenances, structures or equipment where organic materials originating from another process or location that have been separated at the point or source of generation from nonorganic material are recovered using a process of accelerated biological decomposition of organic material under controlled aerobic or anaerobic conditions;
[(29)] (30) "Source-separated organic material" means organic material, including, but not limited to, food scraps, food processing residue and soiled or unrecyclable paper that has been separated at the point or source of generation from nonorganic material.
Sec. 4. Section 22a-207a of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2017):
(a) As used in [sections] section 22a-208d [, 22a-208q] and subsection (b) of section 22a-228: (1) "Composting" means a process of accelerated biological decomposition of organic material under controlled conditions; and (2) "mixed municipal solid waste" means municipal solid waste that consists of mixtures of solid wastes which have not been separated at the source of generation or processed into discrete, homogeneous waste streams such as glass, paper, plastic, aluminum or tire waste streams provided such wastes shall not include any material required to be recycled pursuant to section 22a-241b. [; and (3) "mixed municipal solid waste composting facility" means a volume reduction plant where mixed municipal solid waste is processed using composting technology.]
(b) As used in this chapter, "end user" means any person who uses a material for such material's original use or any manufacturer who uses a material as feedstock to make a marketable product.
Sec. 5. Section 22a-208d of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2017):
(a) On and after July 1, 1989, the Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection shall not issue a permit under section 22a-208a to construct or expand a resources recovery facility [or a mixed municipal solid waste composting facility] where any mixed municipal solid waste will be processed or a disposal area for ash residue generated by resources recovery facilities or mixed municipal solid waste unless said commissioner makes a written determination that such facility or disposal area is necessary to meet the solid waste disposal needs of the state and will not result in substantial excess capacity of resources recovery facilities [,] or disposal areas. [or mixed municipal solid waste composting facilities.]
(b) The commissioner shall publish, at the expense of the applicant, notice of the preliminary determination of need for the proposed facility or disposal area in a newspaper having a substantial circulation in the area affected. Publication shall be within sixty days of determination by the commissioner that the application is complete. Any person may submit written comments on the preliminary determination of need in the same manner as provided by the commissioner for the submission of comments on the application. The commissioner shall not make a final determination of need for the facility or disposal area unless a permit is issued. A preliminary determination of need shall be void if a permit is not issued. As used in this section, "preliminary determination of need" means a statement by the commissioner of the need for a resources recovery facility [, a mixed municipal solid waste composting facility] or disposal area during the pendency of an application to construct such facility or area.
(c) (1) The applicant for a permit to construct or expand a resources recovery facility [or a mixed municipal solid waste composting facility] requiring a determination of need under subsection (a) of this section shall provide such information as the commissioner deems necessary, including but not limited to:
(A) The design capacity of the proposed facility;
(B) The planned operating rate and throughput for the facility;
(C) An explanation of any difference between the information provided under subparagraphs (A) and (B) of this subdivision;
(D) The estimated amount of the following: (i) The mixed municipal solid waste generated by and received from each municipality and other customers that will send waste to the facility, in tons per day evidenced by contracts or letters of intent, (ii) the mixed municipal solid waste to be recycled pursuant to regulations adopted by the commissioner under section 22a-241b, and (iii) change in the amount of mixed municipal solid waste generated because of population growth, waste generation, source reduction and industrial and commercial development over the design life of the facility. Information submitted under this subdivision shall include the methodology used to determine the estimates;
(E) A contingency plan for use of facility capacity if throughput declines or increases by at least ten per cent from the throughput estimated in the application;
(F) An analysis of reasonable levels of reserve capacity for seasonal peaks and unexpected facility outages;
(G) The capability of the applicant to complete the project;
(H) The technical feasibility of the proposed facility; and
(I) A demonstration that the throughput capacity of the proposed facility, when combined with the throughput capacity of all other resources recovery facilities with permits to construct under the provisions of section 22a-208a [,] and existing resources recovery facilities with construction permits to expand [and mixed municipal solid waste composting facilities,] shall not exceed the total throughput capacity of resources recovery facilities [and mixed municipal solid waste composting facilities] needed to process waste generated in the state as set forth in the solid waste management plan adopted pursuant to section 22a-228.
(2) In making the determination required under this section, the commissioner shall consider the information submitted under subdivision (1) of this subsection, the current and anticipated availability of throughput capacity for mixed municipal solid waste at resources recovery facilities, [mixed municipal solid waste composting facilities,] land disposal areas, recycling facilities and other facilities that process or dispose of mixed municipal solid waste that have obtained all necessary permits to construct and any other information the commissioner deems pertinent and shall insure that no waste is accounted for more than once as a result of transfer from one vehicle or facility to another or for any other reason.
(d) (1) The applicant for a permit to construct a disposal area for ash residue generated by resources recovery facilities or mixed municipal solid wastes which requires a certificate of need under subsection (a) of this section shall submit such information as the commissioner deems necessary, including but not limited to, (A) the name of the resources recovery facilities or municipalities to be served by the disposal area; (B) the transportation system needed to serve the disposal area; (C) the available capacity of other disposal areas for ash residue or mixed municipal solid waste in the state that have obtained all necessary permits to construct; and (D) the design capacity of the disposal area.
(2) In making the determination required under this subsection, the commissioner shall consider the information submitted pursuant to subdivision (1) of this subsection and any other information the commissioner deems pertinent.
(e) The provisions of this section shall apply to any application for a permit under section 22a-208a for a resources recovery facility, for a disposal area for ash residue generated by resources recovery facilities, [for a mixed municipal solid waste composting facility] or for a disposal area for mixed municipal solid wastes which is pending on or submitted after July 1, 1989.
(f) This section shall not apply to an application for a permit or permit modifications of any resources recovery facility operating as of June 30, 1993, provided there is no expansion after that date of the facility's boilers or waste handling and processing equipment. Any such facility shall comply with all applicable environmental laws and regulations. Nothing in this subsection and no action taken by the commissioner pursuant hereto shall validate or invalidate any permit or determination of need issued or approved prior to June 30, 1993, for any resources recovery facility not operating as of that date, or otherwise affect any action of the commissioner, proceedings or judicial review relating thereto, pending on or commenced after that date.
Sec. 6. Section 22a-208q of the general statutes is repealed. (Effective October 1, 2017)
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections: | ||
Section 1 |
October 1, 2017 |
New section |
Sec. 2 |
October 1, 2017 |
New section |
Sec. 3 |
October 1, 2017 |
22a-207 |
Sec. 4 |
October 1, 2017 |
22a-207a |
Sec. 5 |
October 1, 2017 |
22a-208d |
Sec. 6 |
October 1, 2017 |
Repealer section |
Statement of Purpose:
To facilitate the permitting of waste conversion facilities, educate farmers on the benefits of using digestate from anaerobic digestion facilities and facilitate the use of cow manure in such anaerobic digestion facilities.
[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline, except that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not underlined.]