AN ACT Relating to solid waste; amending RCW 70.95.030, 70.95.040, 70.95.060, 70.95.090, 70.95.165, 70.95.170, 70.95.180, and 70.95.185; and adding a new section to chapter 70.95 RCW.

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

Sec. 1. Section 3, chapter 134, Laws of 1969 ex. sess. as last amended by section 2, chapter 123, Laws of 1984 and RCW 70.95.030 are each amended to read as follows:

As used in this chapter, unless the context indicates otherwise:

(1) "City" means every incorporated city and town.

(2) "Committee" means the solid waste advisory committee.

(3) "Department" means the department of ecology.

(4) "Director" means the director of the department of ecology.

(5) "Disposal site" means the location where any final treatment, utilization, processing, or depository of solid waste occurs.

(6) "Functional standards" means criteria for solid waste handling expressed in terms of expected performance or solid waste handling functions.

(7) "Jurisdictional health department" means city, county, city-county, or district public health department.

(8) "Person" means individual, firm, association, copartnership, political subdivision, government agency, municipality, industry, public or private corporation, or any other entity whatsoever.

(9) "Solid waste" means all putrescible and nonputrescible solid and semisolid wastes including, but not limited to, garbage, rubbish, ashes, industrial wastes, swill, demolition and construction wastes, abandoned vehicles or parts thereof, and discarded commodities.

(10) "Solid waste handling" means the management, storage, collection, transportation, treatment, utilization, processing, and final disposal of solid wastes, including the recovery and recycling of materials from solid wastes, the recovery of energy resources from such wastes or the conversion of the energy in such wastes to more useful forms or combinations thereof.

(11) "Waste reduction" means reducing the amount or type of waste generated.

(12) "Waste recycling" means reusing waste materials and extracting valuable materials from a waste stream.

(13) "Energy recovery or incineration" means reducing the volume of wastes by use of an enclosed device using controlled flame combustion.

(14) "Landfill" means a disposal facility or part of a facility at which waste is placed in or on land and which is not a land treatment facility.

(15) "Cost-effective" means that the collection and sale of materials for reuse or recycling is projected to be of equal or greater economic value over time than the collection and disposal of the same material. Evaluations of the cost of disposal shall include the costs of pollution prevention, closing the disposal site, and post-closure monitoring.

Sec. 2. Section 1, chapter 10, Laws of 1977 as amended by section 1, chapter 108, Laws of 1982 and RCW 70.95.040 are each amended to read as follows:

There is created a solid waste advisory committee to provide consultation to the department of ecology concerning matters covered by this chapter. The committee shall advise on the development of programs and regulations for solid and dangerous waste handling, resource recovery, and recycling, and shall supply recommendations concerning methods by which existing solid and dangerous waste handling, resource recovery, and recycling practices and the laws authorizing them may be supplemented and improved.

The committee shall consist of eleven members, including the assistant director for the division of solid waste management within the department. The director shall appoint ten members ((~~with due regard to~~)). At least three members shall represent the interests of the public((,)). The remaining members shall represent local government, agriculture, industry, public health, and the refuse removal and resource recovery industries. The director shall include among his ten appointees representatives of activities from which dangerous wastes arise and the Washington state patrol's hazardous materials technical advisory committee. ((~~The term of appointment shall be determined by the director.~~)) The director shall provide for staggered terms of office. No appointee may serve more than six years. The committee shall elect its own chairman and meet at least four times a year, in accordance with such rules of procedure as it shall establish. Members shall receive no compensation for their services but shall be reimbursed their travel expenses while engaged in business of the committee in accordance with RCW 43.03.050 and 43.03.060 as now existing or hereafter amended.

Sec. 3. Section 6, chapter 134, Laws of 1969 ex. sess. and RCW 70.95.060 are each amended to read as follows:

The department in accordance with procedures prescribed by the Administrative Procedure Act, chapter 34.04 RCW, as now or hereafter amended, ((~~may~~)) shall adopt ((~~such~~)) minimum functional standards for solid waste handling ((~~as it deems appropriate~~)). These standards shall be designed to use the best available technology to protect the environment and human health and shall be revised periodically to reflect new technology and information. The standards shall be reviewed by the solid waste advisory committee established pursuant to RCW 70.95.040 during their promulgation and prior to their adoption. The department in adopting such standards may classify areas of the state with respect to population density, climate, geology, and other relevant factors bearing on solid waste ((~~disposal~~)) handling standards.

Sec. 4. Section 9, chapter 134, Laws of 1969 ex. sess. as last amended by section 5, chapter 123, Laws of 1984 and RCW 70.95.090 are each amended to read as follows:

Each county and city solid waste management plan shall include the following:

(1) A detailed inventory and description of all existing solid waste handling facilities including an inventory of any deficiencies in meeting current solid waste handling needs.

(2) The estimated long-range needs for solid waste handling facilities projected twenty years into the future.

(3) A program for the orderly development of solid waste handling facilities in a manner consistent with the plans for the entire county which shall:

(a) Meet the minimum functional standards for solid waste handling adopted by the department and all laws and regulations relating to air and water pollution, fire prevention, flood control, and protection of public health;

(b) Take into account the comprehensive land use plan of each jurisdiction;

(d) Contain a plan for financing both capital costs and operational expenditures of the proposed solid waste management system.

(4) A program for surveillance and control.

(5) A current inventory and description of solid waste collection needs and operations within each respective jurisdiction which shall include:

(a) Any franchise for solid waste collection granted by the utilities and transportation commission in the respective jurisdictions including the name of the holder of the franchise and the address of his place of business and the area covered by his operation;

(b) Any city solid waste operation within the county and the boundaries of such operation;

(c) The population density of each area serviced by a city operation or by a franchised operation within the respective jurisdictions;

(d) The projected solid waste collection needs for the respective jurisdictions for the next six years.

(6) A review of potential areas that meet the criteria as outlined in RCW 70.95.165.

(7) An evaluation of a waste reduction and recycling program to implement the top two solid waste management priorities as specified in RCW 70.95.010. Program options to be studied shall include, but not be limited to:

(a) Centralized composting facilities;

(b) Franchises for the collection of recyclables; and

In addition, if a new disposal site that accepts solid waste from residential garbage collection service is planned, separate facilities for compostables, household items, used oil, and any other item that may be separated for reuse or recycling shall be studied to determine if they would result in a cost-effective waste reduction and recycling program for the county or city.

(8) Plans to implement those program options evaluated under subsection (7) of this section that are shown to be cost-effective.

Sec. 5. Section 4, chapter 123, Laws of 1984 and RCW 70.95.165 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) Each county or city siting a solid waste disposal facility shall review each potential site for conformance with the standards as set by the department for:

(a) Geology;

(b) Ground water;

(d) Flooding;

(e) Surface water;

(f) Slope;

(g) Cover material;

(h) Capacity;

(i) Climatic factors;

(j) Land use;

(k) Toxic air emissions; and

(l) Other factors as determined by the department.

(2) The standards in subsection (1) of this section shall be designed to use the best available technology to protect the environment and human health, and shall be revised periodically to reflect new technology and information.

(3) Each county shall establish a local solid waste advisory committee to assist in the development of programs and policies concerning solid waste handling and disposal and to review and comment upon proposed rules, policies, or ordinances prior to their adoption. Such committees ((~~shall consist of up to nine members and~~)) shall represent a balance of interests including, but not limited to, citizens, public interest groups, business, the waste management industry, and local elected public officials. The members shall be appointed by the county legislative authority. A county or city shall not apply for funds from the state and local improvements revolving account, Waste Disposal Facilities, 1980, under chapter 43.99F RCW, for the preparation, update, or major amendment of a comprehensive solid waste management plan unless the plan or revision has been prepared with the active assistance and participation of a local solid waste advisory committee.

Sec. 6. Section 17, chapter 134, Laws of 1969 ex. sess. and RCW 70.95.170 are each amended to read as follows:

After approval of the comprehensive solid waste plan by the department no solid waste disposal site or disposal site facilities shall be maintained, established, substantially altered, expanded, or improved until the county, city, or other person operating such site has obtained a permit from the jurisdictional health department pursuant to the provisions of RCW 70.95.180. This section does not apply to businesses that engage solely in waste reduction and recycling activities.

Sec. 7. Section 18, chapter 134, Laws of 1969 ex. sess. and RCW 70.95.180 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) Applications for permits to operate new or existing solid waste disposal sites shall be on forms prescribed by the department of environmental quality and shall contain a description of the proposed and existing facilities and operations at the site, plans and specifications for any new or additional facilities to be constructed, and such other information as the jurisdictional health department may deem necessary in order to determine whether the site and solid waste disposal facilities located thereon will comply with local and state regulations.

(2) Upon receipt of an application for a permit to establish, alter, expand, improve, or continue in use a solid waste disposal site, the jurisdictional health department shall refer one copy of the application to the department of environmental quality which shall report its findings to the jurisdictional health department.

(3) The jurisdictional health department shall investigate every application as may be necessary to determine whether an existing or proposed site and facilities meet all applicable laws and regulations, and conforms with the approved comprehensive solid waste handling plan, and complies with all zoning requirements.

(4) When the jurisdictional health department finds that the permit should be issued, it shall issue such permit. Every application shall be approved or disapproved within ninety days after its receipt by the jurisdictional health department.

(5) The jurisdictional board of health may establish reasonable fees for permits and renewal of permits. All permit fees collected by the health department shall be deposited in the treasury and to the account from which the health department's operating expenses are paid.

(6) Permits for new disposal sites that accept solid waste from residential collection services shall only be granted if the disposal site has:

(a) A full-line recycling center on site or in the immediate vicinity that accepts at least four materials to be recycled and is open at least as many hours as the disposal site;

(b) Separate facilities for any item that may be segregated for reuse or recycling as part of a cost-effective waste reduction or recycling program. Items to be considered include: (i) Wood waste, (ii) compostables, (iii) household items, and (iv) used oil; and

Sec. 8. Section 8, chapter 123, Laws of 1984 and RCW 70.95.185 are each amended to read as follows:

Every permit issued by a jurisdictional health department under RCW 70.95.180 shall be reviewed by the department to ensure that the proposed site or facility conforms with:

(1) All applicable laws and regulations including the minimal functional standards for solid waste handling; and

(2) The approved comprehensive solid waste management plan.

The department shall review the permit within thirty days after the issuance of the permit by the jurisdictional health department. The department or other person aggrieved by the issuance of the permit may appeal the issuance of the permit by the jurisdictional health department to the pollution control hearings board, as described in chapter 43.21B RCW, for noncompliance with subsection (1) or (2) of this section.

No permit issued pursuant to RCW 70.95.180 after June 7, 1984, shall be considered valid unless it has been reviewed by the department.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 9. A new section is added to chapter 70.95 RCW to read as follows:

In accordance with the solid waste management priorities as specified in RCW 70.95.010, no city, county, or other political subdivision of the state may require any materials that could be used for waste reduction and recycling purposes to be disposed of in any solid waste disposal facility, including energy recovery facilities, incineration facilities, or landfills.