S-1697               _______________________________________________

                                         SUBSTITUTE SENATE BILL NO. 5570

                        _______________________________________________

State of Washington                              50th Legislature                              1987 Regular Session

By Senate Committee on Parks & Ecology (originally sponsored by Senators Kreidler, Bluechel, Bottiger and Stratton)

Read first time 2/13/87.

AN ACT Relating to disposal of incinerator ash residues; amending RCW 70.105.130; adding a new section to chapter 70.105 RCW; and creating a new section.

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

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1.     The legislature recognizes that raw garbage poses significant environmental and public health risks.  The legislature has recognized that mixed municipal solid waste incineration constitutes a higher waste management priority than the land disposal of untreated mixed municipal solid waste due to its reduction of waste volumes and environmental health risks.  The legislature further recognizes that incineration serves as an intermediate technology to further enable implementation of the other higher management priorities of waste reduction and recycling.

        Sec. 2.  Section 1, chapter 144, Laws of 1980 and RCW 70.105.130 are each amended to read as follows:

          (1) The department is designated as the state agency for implementing the federal resource conservation and recovery act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 6901 et seq.).

          (2) The power granted to the department by this section is the authority to:

          (a) Establish a permit system for owners or operators of facilities which treat, store, or dispose of dangerous or special wastes:  PROVIDED, That spent containers of pesticides or herbicides which have been used in normal farm operations and which are not extremely hazardous wastes, shall not be subject to the permit system;

          (b) Establish standards for the safe transport, treatment, storage, and disposal of dangerous wastes as may be necessary to protect human health and the environment;

          (c) Establish, to implement this section:

          (i) A manifest system to track dangerous wastes;

          (ii) Reporting, monitoring, recordkeeping, labeling, sampling requirements; and

          (iii) Owner, operator, and transporter responsibility;

          (d) Enter at reasonable times establishments regulated under this section for the purposes of inspection, monitoring, and sampling; and

          (e) Adopt rules necessary to implement this section.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3.  A new section is added to chapter 70.105 RCW to read as follows:

          Ash residues resulting from the operation of incinerator facilities handling mixed municipal solid waste, including solid waste from residential, commercial, and selected industrial establishments which would otherwise be regulated as a hazardous waste under chapter 70.105 RCW shall be regulated by the department of ecology pursuant to the provisions of this section as a "special waste" and shall not constitute a "dangerous waste" or "extremely hazardous waste" as set forth therein:  PROVIDED, That prior to disposal, owners and/or operators of mixed municipal solid waste incinerator facilities must develop and implement plans for managing the special wastes.  At a minimum, these plans must:

          (1) Set forth procedures for the protection of public health, the environment, and employee safety, for all aspects relating to the management of the special wastes;

          (2) Require submittal to the department of ecology of annual reports setting forth the results of a testing program to monitor the toxic chemical and physical properties of the special wastes or treated special wastes as necessary to ensure the adequacy of the procedures set forth in this section;

          (3) Comply with such requirements as may be established by rule by the department of ecology under RCW 70.105.130 for management of special wastes; and

          (4) Be submitted as part of any application for a special waste permit required by RCW 70.105.130(2)(a).

          The department shall take action to approve, reject, or approve with conditions such application within ninety days of submittal of the application unless the owner or operator and the department agree to additional time for such action.

          Nothing in this section shall affect the department's authorities pursuant to this chapter to implement and enforce the federal resource conservation and recovery act, 42 U.S.C. Sec. 6901 et seq., if such "special wastes" constitute hazardous waste pursuant to the terms of that federal act.