Bill Text: MS HB965 | 2026 | Regular Session | Engrossed
Bill Title: Hazardous waste management; revise provisions relating to.
Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Republican 2)
Status: (Failed) 2026-03-11 - Died On Calendar [HB965 Detail]
Download: Mississippi-2026-HB965-Engrossed.html
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2026 Regular Session
To: Energy
By: Representative Powell
House Bill 965
(As Passed the House)
AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 17-17-27, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO REMOVE THE PROHIBITION ON COMMERCIAL HAZARDOUS WASTE AND UNDERGROUND INJECTION WELLS; TO AMEND SECTION 17-17-151, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO REMOVE REFERENCES TO THE MISSISSIPPI CAPACITY ASSURANCE PLAN; TO AMEND SECTION 17-17-153, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO REMOVE CERTAIN REFERENCES TO FEDERAL REQUIREMENTS UNDER THE COMPREHENSIVE ENVIRONMENTAL RESPONSE, COMPENSATION AND LIABILITY ACT OF 1980 FOR STATE CAPACITY ASSURANCE PLANS; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. Section 17-17-27, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
17-17-27. (1) The department shall exercise such supervision over restrictions, equipment, methodology and personnel in the management of solid wastes as may be necessary to enforce sanitary requirements; and the commission shall adopt such rules and regulations as may be needed to specify methodology and procedures to meet the requirements of this chapter, which shall include at a minimum:
(a) Criteria for the determination of whether any waste or combination of wastes is hazardous for the purposes of this chapter;
(b) Rules and regulations for the storage, treatment and disposal of solid wastes;
(c) Rules and regulations for the transportation, containerization and labeling of hazardous wastes, which rules shall be consistent with those issued by the United States Department of Transportation;
(d) Rules and regulations specifying the terms and conditions under which the Permit Board shall issue, modify, suspend, revoke or deny such permits as may be required by this chapter. Such rules and regulations shall include, and not by way of limitation, specific authority for the Permit Board to consider the financial capability and performance history of an applicant;
(e) Rules and regulations establishing standards and procedures for the safe storage or transportation of hazardous waste and for the safe operation and maintenance of hazardous waste treatment or disposal facilities or sites or equipment;
(f) A listing of those wastes or combinations of wastes which are not compatible, and which may not be stored or disposed of together;
(g) Procedures and requirements for the use of a manifest during the transport of hazardous wastes;
(h) Standards for financial responsibility to cover the liability, closure and post-closure of any site and perpetual care of a commercial hazardous waste landfill. Rules and regulations promulgated hereunder may include, and not by way of limitation, requirements for maintaining liability insurance coverage if such coverage is not required under rules and regulations promulgated by the United States Environmental Protection Agency;
(i) Rules and regulations establishing minimum distances within which any hazardous waste disposal facility may be located from any municipality, school, residence, church or health care facility;
(j) Other rules and regulations as the commission deems necessary to manage hazardous wastes in the state, provided that such rules and regulations shall be equivalent to the United States Environmental Protection Agency's rules and regulations.
(2) In complying with this section the commission shall consider the variations within this state in climate, geology, population density and such other factors as may be relevant to the management of hazardous wastes. It is the intent of the Legislature that commercial hazardous waste landfills be located on those sites which, by virtue of their geologic conditions, provide a high degree of environmental protection. In carrying out the intent of this provision, the commission is authorized to adopt siting criteria for commercial hazardous waste landfills which are more stringent or extensive in scope, coverage and effect than the rules and regulations promulgated by the United States Environmental Protection Agency.
(3) * * * A
commercial hazardous waste landfill shall not be located on the same site or
within one thousand (1,000) feet of an existing or abandoned ordinary waste
disposal site, unless the hazardous waste to be disposed of in said commercial
landfill is specifically approved as exempted.
(4) After promulgation of the regulations required under this section, no person shall construct, substantially alter or operate any solid waste treatment or disposal facility or site, nor shall any person store, treat or dispose of any hazardous waste without first obtaining a permit from the Permit Board for such facility, site or activity. However, no person shall construct any new hazardous waste treatment or disposal facility or site or substantially alter any such existing facility or site, nor shall the Permit Board issue a permit for any such construction or alteration, until the commission has promulgated rules and regulations under the provisions of subsection (1)(j) of this section. Said rules and regulations shall be equivalent to counterpart rules and regulations of the Environmental Protection Agency whether now in effect or hereinafter promulgated. Any person who has made an application for a permit for an existing facility under this section shall be treated as having been issued such permit until such time as final administrative disposition of such application has been made unless the cause of such delay is the result of the failure of the applicant to furnish information reasonably required or requested in order to process the application.
(5) Any permit issued under this section may be revoked by the issuing agency at any time when the permittee fails to comply with the terms and conditions of the permit. Where the obtaining of or compliance with any permit required under this section would, in the judgment of the department, cause undue or unreasonable hardship to any person, the department may issue a variance from these requirements. In no case shall the duration of any such variance exceed one (1) year. Renewals or extensions may be given only after an opportunity has been given for public comment on each such renewal or extension.
(6) Information obtained by the commission concerning environmental protection including, but not limited to, information contained in applications for solid or hazardous waste disposal permits shall be public information and shall be made available upon proper request. Other information obtained by the commission, department, or Permit Board in the administration of Sections 17-17-1 through 17-17-47 concerning trade secrets, including, but not limited to, marketing or financial information, treatment, transportation, storage or disposal processes or devices, methods of manufacture, or production capabilities or amounts shall be kept confidential if and only if: (a) a written confidentiality claim is made when the information is supplied; (b) such confidentiality claim allows disclosure to authorized department employees and/or the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA); and (c) such confidentiality claim is determined by the commission to be valid. If the confidentiality claim is denied, the information sought to be covered thereby shall not be released or disclosed, except to the Environmental Protection Agency, until the claimant has been notified in writing and afforded an opportunity for a hearing and appeal therefrom, as with other orders of the commission. Disclosure of confidential information by the EPA shall be governed by federal law and EPA regulations. Misappropriation of a trade secret shall be governed by the Mississippi Uniform Trade Secrets Act, Sections 75-26-1 through 75-26-19.
(7) Anyone making unauthorized disclosure of information determined to be confidential as herein provided shall be liable in a civil action for damages arising therefrom and shall also be guilty of a misdemeanor punishable as provided by law.
(8) Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, the executive director, upon receipt of information that the generation, storage, transportation, treatment or disposal of any solid waste may present an imminent and substantial hazard to the public health or to the environment, may take any legal, equitable or other action, including injunctive relief, necessary to protect the health of such persons or the environment.
SECTION 2. Section 17-17-151, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
17-17-151. (1) Each application for the issuance of a permit to operate a commercial hazardous waste management facility shall be accompanied by a demonstration of need for that facility in the anticipated service area, which shall be of the form and content as the Permit Board may prescribe. Applications for the reissuance, transfer or modification of previously issued permits, except modifications seeking an increase in the volume of hazardous waste to be managed on an annual basis, shall not be subject to the requirements of this section.
(2) The demonstration of need shall be specific as to the types of hazardous waste to be managed and shall include, but not be limited to:
(a) Documentation of the available capacity at existing commercial hazardous waste management facilities in the area to be served by the facility;
(b) Documentation of the current volume of hazardous waste generated in the area to be served by the facility and the volume of hazardous waste reasonably expected to be generated in the area to be served over the next twenty (20) years; and
(c) A description of any additional factors, such as physical limitations on the transportation of the hazardous waste or the existence of additional capacity outside the area to be served which may satisfy the projected need.
(3) The Permit Board shall consider the following factors in evaluating the need for the proposed facility:
* * *
( * * *a) An approximate service area for the
proposed facility which takes into account the economics of hazardous waste
collection, transportation, treatment, storage and disposal;
( * * *b) The quantity of hazardous waste
generated within the anticipated service area suitable for treatment, storage
or disposal at the proposed facility;
( * * *c) The design capacity of existing
commercial hazardous waste management facilities located within the anticipated
service area of the proposed facility; and
( * * *d) The extent to which the proposed
facility is needed to replace other facilities, if the need for a proposed
commercial hazardous waste management facility cannot be established under
paragraphs (a) through ( * * *dc).
(4) Based on the needs of the State of Mississippi, it is the intent of the Legislature that there shall not be a proliferation of unnecessary facilities in any one (1) county of the state.
(5) If the Permit Board determines that a proposed commercial hazardous waste management facility is inconsistent with or contradictory to the factors set forth in subsection (3), the Permit Board is hereby empowered to deny any permit for such facility.
(6) The commission shall develop and adopt criteria and standards to be considered in location and permitting of commercial hazardous waste management facilities. The standards and criteria shall be developed through public participation, shall be enforced by the Permit Board and shall include, in addition to all applicable state and federal rules and regulations, consideration of:
(a) Hydrological and geological factors such as flood plains, depth to water table, soil composition and permeability, cavernous bedrock, seismic activity, and slope;
(b) Natural resource factors such as wetlands, endangered species habitats, proximity to parks, forests, wilderness areas and historical sites, and air quality;
(c) Land use factors such as local land use, whether residential, industrial, commercial, recreational or agricultural, proximity to public water supplies, and proximity to incompatible structures such as schools, churches and airports;
(d) Transportation factors, such as proximity to waste generators and to population, route safety and method of transportation; and
(e) Aesthetic factors such as the visibility, appearance and noise level of the facility.
SECTION 3. Section 17-17-153, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
17-17-153. (1) The Legislature finds that:
(a) The beauty and quality of Mississippi's environment and the public health, safety and welfare of the citizens of the State of Mississippi must be protected from unsound waste management practices which might result from lack of access to proper hazardous waste management facilities.
(b) Inefficient and improper methods of managing waste create hazards to public health, cause pollution of the lands, air and water resources, and constitute a waste of natural resources.
(c) It is the policy of the State of Mississippi that the generation of waste should be reduced or eliminated at the source, whenever feasible; waste that is generated should be recycled or reused, whenever feasible; waste that cannot be reduced, recycled or reused should be treated in an environmentally safe manner; and disposal should be employed only as a last resort and should be conducted in an environmentally safe manner.
* * *
(2) It is the intent of the Legislature that proper facilities must be sited as needed for the management of hazardous waste to meet the needs of Mississippi generators, and allow maximum effective use of regional hazardous waste management facilities; however, the Legislature believes that these objectives should be accomplished without Mississippi becoming a magnet for the hazardous waste from all other states and without the proliferation of unnecessary and unsafe facilities in this state.
SECTION 4. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2026.
