AN ACT Relating to hazardous waste planning; amending RCW 70.105.010; creating new sections; making an appropriation; and declaring an emergency.

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

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. (1) The legislature finds that the proper handling and disposal of hazardous waste in the state is of paramount importance and necessary to prevent creation of new contaminated hazardous waste sites and to afford the greatest protection to the citizens of the state. The legislature further finds that in order to continue receiving federal moneys for cleanup of the state's worst contaminated sites it is in the state's best interest to begin addressing the need for additional capacity for the disposal, treatment, recycling, reduction, stabilization, and/or containment of hazardous wastes in the state. The legislature recognizes that the federal government has given states until October 17, 1989, to develop adequate capacity to handle hazardous waste generated in the state in the next twenty years or risk losing entitlement to federal superfund moneys which would burden the state with enormous cleanup and cleanup administration costs. The legislature further recognizes that additional hazardous wastes will be created in coming years because of an accelerated federal superfund program, a growing state hazardous waste site cleanup effort and recent changes in federal law. In the interest of insuring that federal funds will not be lost and hazardous waste is disposed of in the safest and most environmentally appropriate way, the legislature finds it necessary for the department of ecology to begin addressing the future hazardous waste disposal needs.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. (1) The department of ecology shall develop a comprehensive plan addressing state-wide capacity of hazardous waste facilities as required by the federal CERCLA (94 Stat. 2767; 42 U.S.C. Sec. 969) amendments.

(2) The comprehensive plan developed by the department shall be consistent with the hazardous waste management priorities established pursuant to chapter 70.105 RCW.

(3) In developing the comprehensive plan, the department shall assess the need for new and/or expanded facilities to treat, recycle, contain, stabilize, and dispose of hazardous waste as defined in chapter 70.105 RCW. The department shall base this assessment on both present and future generation of hazardous wastes. Moderate risk wastes are to be included in this assessment.

(4) The department shall identify opportunities for recycling and/or reducing wastes to the maximum extent possible. The department shall also identify financial and regulatory incentives and penalties for implementing the hazardous waste management priorities established pursuant to chapter 70.105 RCW. A thorough evaluation of facilities and programs needed to effectively implement the hazardous waste management priorities shall accompany the identification of incentives and penalties. Needed administrative statutory and staffing requirements shall be identified, accompanied with potential revenue sources.

(5) In evaluating programs and/or facilities needed to implement the hazardous waste management priorities, the department shall identify methods of providing needed hazardous waste capacity that may include:

(a) Strategies for waste reduction, recycling, and treatment aimed at reducing the volume of waste generated;

(b) Opportunities to enter into compacts or agreements with other states to handle hazardous waste generated in Washington;

(c) Specific geographic areas which are environmentally suitable for hazardous waste facilities and methods to locate appropriate facilities;

(d) Resources and statutory authority needed to enter into agreements with private contractors to develop hazardous waste facilities on public land;

(e) Methods used by other states to address hazardous waste capacity issues;

(f) Resources and statutory authority needed to implement waste exchanges;

(g) The feasibility of incentives for facility construction; and

(h) Other methods.

(6) In developing the plan, the department shall consult with representatives of the waste treatment and disposal industry, representatives from large and small industries that generate toxic metal solutions and residuals, corrosives, inorganic residuals and sludges, cleanup residuals, and other types of waste the agency deems appropriate. The agency shall also consult with representatives of the environmental community including recycling organizations and public interest groups.

(7) The agency shall conduct at least two hearings on its proposed plan. One shall be held in western Washington and one in eastern Washington.

(8) The plan shall be submitted to the appropriate standing committees of the legislature on or before December 15, 1987.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. In developing a comprehensive plan, the department shall base its findings and conclusions on information collected from hazardous waste and moderate-risk generators, transporters, and from handlers who reduce, recycle, reuse, store, treat, incinerate, stabilize, and landfill these wastes. The department is hereby authorized to collect this information from such businesses.

Sec. 4. Section 1, chapter 101, Laws of 1975-'76 2nd ex. sess. as amended by section 1, chapter 448, Laws of 1985 an RCW 70.105.010 are each amended to read as follows:

The words and phrases defined in this section shall have the meanings indicated when used in this chapter unless the context clearly requires otherwise.

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

(2) "Director" means the director of the department of ecology or his designee.

(3) "Disposal site" means a geographical site in or upon which hazardous wastes are disposed of in accordance with the provisions of this chapter.

(4) "Dispose or disposal" means the discarding or abandoning of hazardous wastes or the treatment, decontamination, or recycling of such wastes once they have been discarded or abandoned.

(5) "Dangerous wastes" means any discarded, useless, unwanted, or abandoned nonradioactive substances, including but not limited to certain pesticides, or any residues or containers of such substances which are disposed of in such quantity or concentration as to pose a substantial present or potential hazard to human health, wildlife, or the environment because such wastes or constituents or combinations of such wastes:

(a) Have short-lived, toxic properties that may cause death, injury, or illness or have mutagenic, teratogenic, or carcinogenic properties; or

(b) Are corrosive, explosive, flammable, or may generate pressure through decomposition or other means.

(6) "Extremely hazardous waste" means any dangerous waste which

(a) will persist in a hazardous form for several years or more at a disposal site and which in its persistent form

(i) presents a significant environmental hazard and may be concentrated by living organisms through a food chain or may affect the genetic make-up of man or wildlife, and

(ii) is highly toxic to man or wildlife

(b) if disposed of at a disposal site in such quantities as would present an extreme hazard to man or the environment.

(7) "Person" means any person, firm, association, county, public or municipal or private corporation, agency, or other entity whatsoever.

(8) "Pesticide" shall have the meaning of the term as defined in RCW 15.58.030 as now or hereafter amended.

(9) "Solid waste advisory committee" means the same advisory committee as per RCW 70.95.040 through 70.95.070.

(10) "Designated zone facility" means any facility that requires an interim or final status permit under rules adopted under this chapter and that is not a preempted facility as defined in this section.

(11) "Facility" means all contiguous land and structures, other appurtenances, and improvements on the land used for recycling, storing, treating, incinerating, or disposing of hazardous waste.

(12) "Preempted facility" means any facility that includes as a significant part of its activities any of the following operations: (a) Landfill, (b) incineration, (c) land treatment, (d) surface impoundment to be closed as a landfill, or (e) waste pile to be closed as a landfill.

(13) "Hazardous household substances" means those substances identified by the department as hazardous household substances in the guidelines developed under RCW 70.105.220.

(14) "Hazardous substances" means any liquid, solid, gas, or sludge, including any material, substance, product, commodity, or waste, regardless of quantity, that exhibits any of the characteristics or criteria of hazardous waste as described in rules adopted under this chapter.

(15) "Hazardous waste" means and includes all dangerous and extremely hazardous waste.

(16) "Local government" means a city, town, or county.

(17) "Moderate-risk waste" means (a) any waste that exhibits any of the properties of hazardous waste but is exempt from regulation under this chapter solely because the waste is generated in quantities below the threshold for regulation, and (b) any household wastes which are generated from the disposal of substances identified by the department as hazardous household substances.

(18) "Containment" means isolating, controlling, and monitoring waste in a waste facility in order to prevent a release of waste from the facility that would have an adverse impact upon human health and the environment.

(19) "Stabilization" means a chemical or thermal process in which materials or energy are added to waste in order to reduce the possibility of migration of any hazardous constituents of the resulting stabilized waste in preparation for placement of the waste in a stabilization and containment facility.

(20) "Stabilization and containment facility" means a waste facility that is designed for stabilization and containment of waste, together with other appurtenant facilities needed to process waste for stabilization, containment, or transfer to another facility.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. Nothing in this chapter shall be construed as interfering with the processing of applications currently underway for the siting and constructing of hazardous waste facilities. The department shall prioritize its activities such that all necessary resources are applied to expedite permitting activities except that funds necessary for enforcement shall not be used for this purpose. The department may charge fees in an amount sufficient to cover the administrative costs of processing such application.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 6. There is appropriated from the general fund to the department of ecology for the biennium ending June 30, 1989, the sum of forty-nine thousand dollars, or so much thereof as may be necessary, to carry out the purposes of section 2 of this act.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 7. This act is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, and safety, the support of the state government and its existing public institutions, and shall take effect immediately.