Bill Text: HI SB1244 | 2010 | Regular Session | Introduced

---

Bill Title: Solid Waste; Management Commission

Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 9-1)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2009-05-11 - Carried over to 2010 Regular Session. [SB1244 Detail]

Download: Hawaii-2010-SB1244-Introduced.html

---

Report Title:

Solid Waste; Management Commission

 

Description:

Establishes a solid waste management commission.  Assigns responsibility for developing the State's integrated solid waste management plan to the commission and authorizes the commission to establish an advisory council.  Establishes the waste resource management special fund.  Funds the special fund with moneys from the environmental response tax and the deposit beverage container deposit special fund.

 

THE SENATE	S.B. NO.	1244
TWENTY-FIFTH LEGISLATURE, 2009
STATE OF HAWAII

A BILL FOR AN ACT

 

 

relating to solid waste.

 

 

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

 

     SECTION 1.  The legislature finds that Hawaii produces almost twice as much solid waste per person per day compared to the rest of the United States.  Between 1990 and 2006, while municipal solid waste generation grew twenty-two per cent across the United States, it grew an astounding one hundred five per cent in Hawaii.  Chapter 342G, Hawaii Revised Statutes, Integrated Solid Waste Management, was enacted in 1991 and established the State's Office of Solid Waste Management, which provides for the development of a coordinated statewide solid-waste management plan.  The plan, last revised in July 2000, established specific goals for the State to reduce, through source reduction, recycling, and bioconversion, the solid waste stream prior to disposal by twenty-five per cent by January 1, 1995, and fifty per cent by January 1, 2000.  After some initial progress in the 1990s, Hawaii has not come close to meeting these goals since.  Despite being revisited by the legislature in 2004 with a recommendation to reaffirm these goals, this recommendation was ignored, and nothing has been done since then.

     The legislature also finds that chapter 342G requires each county to submit a revised solid waste management plan every five years.  Section 342G-29, Hawaii Revised Statutes, provides that the office of solid waste management should reconvene a task force to review and revise the State's integrated solid waste management plan, when all four county revised plans have been approved by the office.  It has been nearly a decade since the last task force was convened and the State's integrated solid waste management plan was last revised.  An informal joint legislative task force (hereafter informal task force), convened in 2003, discussed numerous problems with the State's solid waste management system and focused its efforts on assessing the critical and pressing issues of diminished landfill capacity, illegal dumping, and underutilized recycling.  The informal task force, however, failed to rally the necessary political support to convene a formal task force, revise the 2000 integrated solid waste management plan, or substantively change the status quo in any way.

     The legislature also finds that the problems posed by the growing waste stream, and the State's apparent inability to address them, have left Hawaii with severely limited and unsustainable waste disposal options.  Landfills across the State are either at or near capacity, yet government continues to allocate funds to resolve short term or administrative problems such as shipping the trash out-of-State at a significant cost, rather than allocating funds to generate long term solutions.  The informal task force acknowledged that the statewide solid waste disposal system was out-dated and in need of modernization.

     In a January 2004 report to the legislature evaluating the administration of the office of solid waste management by the department of health, the auditor reported that "the Department of Health is not carrying out its solid waste management responsibilities for public health and environmental protection.  Ultimately, the Department has failed in its duties to the public and the environment."  Referencing a 1994 audit, as well as a 1996 follow-up audit, the auditor stated that "prior audits show management problems that continue to exist," including "no orderly or efficient management of solid waste programs," and that "very little has changed."  The auditor found that "the State is facing a solid waste crisis ... [which] has reached a critical point and [the State] is now faced with making last-minute decisions to address pressing solid waste issues" and concluded that "the Department of Health's lack of oversight has resulted in out-dated solid waste management plans that cannot guide effective development and implementation of its solid waste programs."

     The legislature finds that office of solid waste management has been assigned too many functions and duties by section 342G-14, Hawaii Revised Statutes, making it practically impossible for it to effectively accomplish all that the legislature and the governor expect.  Many of these functions and duties could be effectively reassigned, shifting the responsibilities associated with long-range planning and effective implementation of the integrated solid waste management plan to a separate entity, while retaining the office's administrative operations function.  This revision of the State's solid waste management system will permit the State to develop innovative and unique approaches to the consistent challenges and persistent problems plaguing the management of Hawaii's growing waste stream.

     The purpose of this Act is to establish and fund an efficient, effective, up-to-date, and comprehensive solid waste management program.  Reorganizing, rejuvenating, and investing in Hawaii's solid waste management infrastructure will not only stimulate the economy but also promote a more sustainable future for Hawaii.

     SECTION 2.  Chapter 342G, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding two new sections to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:

     "§342G-A  Commission on waste resource management.  (a)  There is established within the department a commission on waste resource management consisting of seven members, which shall have exclusive jurisdiction and final authority in all matters relating to implementation and administration of the state integrated solid waste management plan, except as otherwise specifically provided in this chapter.

     (b)  Five members shall be appointed by the governor subject to section 26-24, in a manner prescribed in subsection (d).  Each member shall have substantial experience in the area of waste resource management.

     (c)  The members of the commission shall serve without compensation but shall be reimbursed for expenses, including travel expenses, necessary for the performance of their duties.

     (d)  In appointing a member to the commission, the governor shall select from a list submitted by a nominating committee.  The nominating committee shall be composed of four individuals chosen as follows:  two persons appointed by the governor; one person appointed by the president of the senate; and one person appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives.  The committee shall solicit applications and send to the governor the names of at least three individuals for each open position.

     §342G-B  Waste resource management fund.  (a)  There is established in the department a special fund to be designated as the waste resource management fund.  The fund shall be administered by the commission.  The waste resource management fund shall be used for the following:

     (1)  Monitoring programs and activities concerning waste resource collection, diversion, and management;

     (2)  Research programs and activities concerning waste resource diversion and investigation of alternative waste resource technologies;

     (3)  Preparation and dissemination of information to the public concerning activities authorized under this chapter;

     (4)  Data collection, development, and updating of long-range planning documents authorized or required under this chapter; and

     (5)  Any other protection, management, operational, or maintenance functions authorized and deemed necessary by the commission, including but not limited to funding permanent or temporary staff positions.

     (b)  The following shall be deposited into the waste resource management fund:

     (1)  Appropriations by the legislature to the waste resource management fund;

     (2)  Appropriations from the environmental response revolving fund established by section 128D-2;

     (3)  Appropriations from the deposit beverage container deposit special fund established by section 342G-104;

     (4)  All fees and administrative charges collected under this chapter or any rule adopted hereunder;

     (5)  Moneys collected as fines or penalties imposed under this chapter or any rule adopted hereunder;

     (6)  Moneys derived from public and private sources to benefit waste resource management; and

     (7)  Moneys derived from interest, dividend, or other income from sources enumerated in paragraphs (1) to (6)."

     SECTION 3.  Section 128D-2, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (b) to read as follows:

     "(b)  Moneys from the fund shall be expended by the department for response actions and preparedness, including removal and remedial actions, consistent with this chapter; provided that the revenues generated by the "environmental response and waste resource management tax" and deposited into the environmental response revolving fund:

     (1)  Shall also be used:

         (A)  For oil spill planning, prevention, preparedness, education, research, training, removal, and remediation;

         (B)  For direct support for county used oil recycling programs; [and]

         (C)  For deposit into the energy security special fund, established under section 201-12.8, as may be appropriated by the legislature; and

         (D)  For deposit into the waste resource management fund, established by section 342G-B, as may be appropriated by the legislature; and

     (2)  May also be used to support environmental protection and natural resource protection programs, including but not limited to energy conservation and alternative energy development, and to address concerns related to air quality, global warming, clean water, polluted runoff, solid and hazardous waste, drinking water, and underground storage tanks, including support for the underground storage tank program of the department and funding for the acquisition by the State of a soil remediation site and facility."

     SECTION 4.  Section 243-3.5, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

     "§243-3.5  Environmental response and waste resource management tax; uses.  (a)  In addition to any other taxes provided by law, subject to the exemptions set forth in section 243-7, there is hereby imposed [at times provided in section 128D-2] a state environmental response and waste resource management tax of [5] 10 cents on each barrel or fractional part of a barrel of petroleum product sold by a distributor to any retail dealer or end user, other than a refiner, of petroleum product; provided that        cents of the tax on each barrel shall be used pursuant to section 128D-2 to address concerns relating to drinking water.  The tax imposed by this subsection shall be paid by the distributor of the petroleum product.

     (b)  Revenues collected pursuant to this section shall be distributed as follows, with excess revenues, if any, to be deposited into the general fund:

     (1)  5 cents of the revenue collected on each barrel shall be deposited into the environmental response revolving fund established by section 128D-2; and

     (2)  5 cents of the revenue collected on each barrel shall be deposited into the waste resource management fund established by section 342G-B.

     [(b)] (c)  Each distributor subject to the tax imposed by subsection (a), on or before the last day of each calendar month, shall file with the director, on forms prescribed, prepared, and furnished by the director, a return statement of the tax under this section for which the distributor is liable for the preceding month.  The form and payment of the tax shall be transmitted to the department of taxation in the appropriate district.

     [(c)] (d)  Notwithstanding section 248-8 to the contrary, the environmental response tax collected under this section shall be paid over to the director of finance for deposit into the environmental response revolving fund established by section 128D-2.

     [(d)] (e)  Every distributor shall keep in the State and preserve for five years a record in such form as the department of taxation shall prescribe showing the total number of barrels and the fractional part of barrels of petroleum product sold by the distributor during any calendar month.  The record shall show such other data and figures relevant to the enforcement and administration of this chapter as the department may require."

     SECTION 5.  Section 342G-29, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

     "[[]§342G-29[]]  Revisions to the state integrated solid waste management plan.  (a)  The [office] commission shall be responsible for preparing revisions to the state integrated solid waste management plan.  The first revision shall be completed within six months of the date that all four initial county plans have been approved by the office.  The [office] commission shall complete each additional state revised plan within six months of the date that all four county revised plans have been approved by the [office.] commission.  In the event that not all four county revised plans have been approved by December 31, 2009, the commission shall complete a state revised plan by July 1, 2010.

     (b)  For each state revised plan, the [office] commission shall convene a state integrated solid waste management [task force.] advisory council.  The [office] commission shall involve the [task force] advisory council in the review of the county plans and the development of the state revised plan.  The commission shall convene an advisory council to review and revise the state revised plan at least once every five years.

     (c)  For each state revised plan, the [office] commission shall:

     (1)  Revise and update the material contained in the previous plan or revised plan; and

     (2)  With comment from the [task force,] advisory council, address other issues of statewide concern regarding integrated solid waste management."

     SECTION 6.  Section 342G-104, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (b) to read as follows:

     (b)  Moneys in the deposit beverage container deposit special fund shall be used to reimburse refund values, pay handling fees to redemption centers, fund the reverse vending machine rebate program under section 342G-102.5, [and] fund the redemption center and recycling infrastructure improvement program established pursuant to section 342G-114.5[.], and fund the waste resource management fund established by section 342G‑B.  The department may also use the money to:

     (1)  Fund administrative, audit, and compliance activities associated with collection and payment of the deposits and handling fees of the deposit beverage container program;

     (2)  Conduct recycling education and demonstration projects;

     (3)  Promote recyclable market development activities;

     (4)  Support the handling and transportation of the deposit beverage containers to end-markets;

     (5)  Hire personnel to oversee the implementation of the deposit beverage container program, including permitting and enforcement activities; and

     (6)  Fund associated office expenses."

     SECTION 7.  In codifying the new sections added by section 2 of this Act, the revisor of statutes shall substitute appropriate section numbers for the letters used in designating the new sections in this Act.

     SECTION 8.  Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken.  New statutory material is underscored.

     SECTION 9.  This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2009.

 

INTRODUCED BY:	_____________________________