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                       ENGROSSED SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL 1865

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State of Washington              52nd Legislature             1991 Regular Session

 

By House Committee on Environmental Affairs (originally sponsored by Representatives Rust, Chandler, Valle and Prince).Read first time March 6, 1991.  Providing for hazardous waste planning.


     AN ACT Relating to the sizing of hazardous waste disposal facilities; amending RCW 70.105.215; adding a new section to chapter 70.105 RCW; and declaring an emergency.

 

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

 

     Sec. 1.  RCW 70.105.215 and 1986 c 210 s 3 are each amended to read as follows:

     (1) The legislature recognizes ((the)) that even if efforts at hazardous substance use reduction and waste reduction reduce the quantity of hazardous wastes generated in this region, there will probably be a need for new, modified, or expanded facilities to treat, store, incinerate, or otherwise process or dispose of hazardous substances safely.  In order to ((encourage)) plan for the development of such facilities when needed, the department shall adopt rules as necessary regarding the permitting of such facilities to ensure the most expeditious permit processing possible consistent with the substantive requirements of applicable law.

     (2) The department may issue a draft permit for a new hazardous waste incinerator or landfill only if the department determines that the proposed facility is sized no larger than is necessary to meet current and future needed capacity of the region, as determined pursuant to section 2 of this act.  The department may impose conditions on or deny a permit application based on the results of this determination.

     (3) If the owner((s)) and operator((s)) of a proposed hazardous waste incinerator or landfill are not the same entity, the operator shall be the permit applicant and responsible for the development of the permit application and all accompanying materials, as long as the owner also signs the application and certifies its ownership of the real property described in the application, and acknowledges its awareness of the contents of the application and receipt of a copy thereof.

 

     NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2.  A new section is added to chapter 70.105 RCW to read as follows:

     As part of the hazardous waste management plan developed pursuant to RCW 70.105.200, the department shall estimate the need for landfill and incineration capacity for hazardous wastes generated in this state in the following ten years.  When a draft permit is issued pursuant to RCW 70.105.215, the information in the plan shall be updated with a facility-specific needs determination, using the best available information.  To the extent feasible, the department shall take into consideration the following factors in the needs determination:

     (1) The available incinerator and landfill capacity and demand on capacity in Washington, Idaho, Oregon, and Alaska, based on information supplied by those states;

     (2) The potential for future decreases in demand for incineration and landfilling if the preferred management hierarchy established in RCW 70.105.150 were applied to all hazardous waste generated in this state, so that wastes destined for landfill or incineration would be only those which are appropriate for that method of management; and

     (3) The potential future increases in demand due to economic growth, regulatory changes, expanded cleanup activities, and other relevant impacts.

 

     NEW SECTION.  Sec. 3.      If any provision of this act or its application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the remainder of the act or the application of the provision to other persons or circumstances is not affected.

 

     NEW SECTION.  Sec. 4.      This act is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety, or support of the state government and its existing public institutions, and shall take effect immediately.