H-4439.2 _______________________________________________
SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL 2640
_______________________________________________
State of Washington 52nd Legislature 1992 Regular Session
By House Committee on Environmental Affairs (originally sponsored by Representatives R. Johnson, Rust, Kremen, Roland, Heavey, Rasmussen and Spanel)
Read first time 02/05/92.
AN ACT Relating to municipal sewage sludge; amending RCW 43.19A.010, 43.21B.110, 47.28.220, and 70.95.255; adding a new chapter to Title 70 RCW; recodifying RCW 70.95.255; and prescribing penalties.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. (1) The legislature finds that:
(a) Municipal sewage sludge is an unavoidable byproduct of the wastewater treatment process;
(b) Population increases and technological improvements in wastewater treatment processes will double the amount of sludge generated within the next ten years;
(c) Sludge management is often a financial burden to municipalities and to ratepayers;
(d) Properly managed municipal sewage sludge is a valuable commodity and can be beneficially used in agriculture, silviculture, and in landscapes as a soil conditioner; and
(e) Municipal sewage sludge can contain metals and microorganisms that, under certain circumstances, may pose a risk to public health.
(2) The legislature declares that a program shall be established to manage municipal sewage sludge and that the program shall, to the maximum extent possible, ensure that municipal sewage sludge is reused as a beneficial commodity and is managed in a manner that minimizes risk to public health and the environment.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. The purpose of this chapter is to provide the department of ecology and local governments with the authority and direction to meet federal regulatory requirements for municipal sewage sludge.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, the definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter.
(1) "Department" means the department of ecology.
(2) "Local health department" has the same meaning as "jurisdictional health department" in RCW 70.95.030.
(3) "Municipal sewage sludge" means a semisolid substance consisting of settled sewage solids combined with varying amounts of water and dissolved materials generated from a publicly owned wastewater treatment plant.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. (1) The department shall adopt rules to implement a sludge management program within twelve months of the adoption of federal rules, 40 C.F.R. Sec. 503, relating to technical standards for the use and disposal of municipal sewage sludge. The sludge management program shall, at a minimum, conform with all applicable federal rules adopted pursuant to the federal clean water act as it existed on February 4, 1987.
(2) In addition to any federal requirements, the state sludge management program may include, but not be limited to, an education program to provide relevant legal and scientific information to local governments and citizen groups.
(3) Rules adopted by the department under this section shall provide for public input and involvement for all state and local permits.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. The department may work with all appropriate state agencies, local governments, and private entities to establish beneficial uses for municipal sewage sludge.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 6. If a person violates any provision of this chapter, or a permit issued or rule adopted pursuant to this chapter, the department may issue an appropriate order to assure compliance with the chapter, permit, or rule.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 7. The department, with the assistance of the attorney general, may bring an action at law or in equity, including an action for injunctive relief, to enforce this chapter or a permit issued or rule adopted by the department pursuant to this chapter.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 8. A person who willfully violates, without sufficient cause, any of the provisions of this chapter, or a permit or order issued pursuant to this chapter, is guilty of a gross misdemeanor. Willful violation of this chapter, or a permit or order issued pursuant to this chapter is a gross misdemeanor punishable by a fine of up to ten thousand dollars and costs of prosecution, or by imprisonment for up to one year, or by both. Each day of violation may be deemed a separate violation.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 9. In addition to any other penalty provided by law, a person who violates this chapter or rules or orders adopted or issued pursuant to it shall be subject to a penalty in an amount of up to five thousand dollars a day for each violation. Each violation shall be a separate violation. In the case of a continuing violation, each day of violation is a separate violation. An act of commission or omission that procures, aids, or abets in the violation shall be considered a violation under this section.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 10. The department may delegate to a local health department the powers necessary to issue and enforce permits to use or dispose of municipal sewage sludge. A delegation may be withdrawn if the department finds that a local health department is not effectively administering the permit program.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 11. (1) Any permit issued by a local health department under section 10 of this act may be reviewed by the department to ensure that the proposed site or facility conforms with:
(a) All applicable laws and rules; and
(b) The approved comprehensive solid waste management plan under chapter 70.95 RCW.
(2) If the department does not approve or disapprove a permit within sixty days, the permit shall be considered approved.
(3) A local health department may appeal the department's decision to disapprove a permit to the pollution control hearings board, as provided in chapter 43.21B RCW.
Sec. 12. RCW 43.19A.010 and 1991 c 297 s 2 are each amended to read as follows:
Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, the definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter.
(1) "Compost products" means mulch, soil amendments, ground cover, or other landscaping material derived from the biological or mechanical conversion of municipal sewage sludge or cellulose-containing waste materials.
(2) "Department" means the department of general administration.
(3) "Director" means the director of the department of general administration.
(4) "Local government" means a city, town, county, special purpose district, school district, or other municipal corporation.
(5) "Lubricating oil" means petroleum-based oils for reducing friction in engine parts and other mechanical parts.
(6) "Mixed waste paper" means assorted low-value grades of paper that have not been separated into individual grades of paper at the point of collection.
(7) "Municipal sewage sludge" means a semisolid substance consisting of settled sewage solids combined with varying amounts of water and dissolved materials generated from a municipal wastewater treatment plant.
(8) "Paper and paper products" means all items manufactured from paper or paperboard.
(((8)))
(9) "Postconsumer waste" means a material or product that has served
its intended use and has been discarded for disposal or recovery by a final
consumer.
(((9)))
(10) "Procurement officer" means the person that has the
primary responsibility for procurement of materials or products.
(((10)))
(11) "State agency" means all units of state government,
including divisions of the governor's office, the legislature, the judiciary,
state agencies and departments, correctional institutions, vocational technical
institutions, and universities and colleges.
(((11)))
(12) "Recycled content product" or "recycled
product" means a product containing recycled materials.
(((12)))
(13) "Recycled materials" means waste materials and
by-products that have been recovered or diverted from solid waste and that can
be utilized in place of a raw or virgin material in manufacturing a product and
consists of materials derived from postconsumer waste, manufacturing waste,
industrial scrap, agricultural wastes, and other items, all of which can be
used in the manufacture of new or recycled products.
(((13)))
(14) "Re-refined oils" means used lubricating oils from which
the physical and chemical contaminants acquired through previous use have been
removed through a refining process. Re-refining may include distillation,
hydrotreating, or treatments employing acid, caustic, solvent, clay, or other
chemicals, or other physical treatments other than those used in reclaiming.
(((14)))
(15) "USEPA product standards" means the product standards of
the United States environmental protection agency for recycled content
published in the code of federal regulations.
Sec. 13. RCW 43.21B.110 and 1989 c 175 s 102 are each amended to read as follows:
(1) The hearings board shall only have jurisdiction to hear and decide appeals from the following decisions of the department, the director, and the air pollution control boards or authorities as established pursuant to chapter 70.94 RCW, or local health departments:
(a)
Civil penalties imposed pursuant to RCW 70.94.431, 70.105.080, 70.107.050,
90.03.600, 90.48.144, and ((90.48.350)) 90.56.330.
(b) Orders issued pursuant to RCW 43.27A.190, 70.94.211, 70.94.332, 70.105.095, 86.16.020, 90.14.130, and 90.48.120.
(c) The issuance, modification, or termination of any permit, certificate, or license by the department or any air authority in the exercise of its jurisdiction, including the issuance or termination of a waste disposal permit, the denial of an application for a waste disposal permit, or the modification of the conditions or the terms of a waste disposal permit.
(d) Decisions of local health departments regarding the grant or denial of solid waste permits pursuant to chapter 70.95 RCW.
(e) Decisions of local health departments regarding the issuance and enforcement of permits to use or dispose of municipal sewage sludge under section 10 of this act.
(f) Any other decision by the department or an air authority which pursuant to law must be decided as an adjudicative proceeding under chapter 34.05 RCW.
(2) The following hearings shall not be conducted by the hearings board:
(a) Hearings required by law to be conducted by the shorelines hearings board pursuant to chapter 90.58 RCW.
(b) Hearings conducted by the department pursuant to RCW 70.94.332, 70.94.390, 70.94.395, 70.94.400, 70.94.405, 70.94.410, and 90.44.180.
(c) Proceedings by the department relating to general adjudications of water rights pursuant to chapter 90.03 or 90.44 RCW.
(d) Hearings conducted by the department to adopt, modify, or repeal rules.
(3) Review of rules and regulations adopted by the hearings board shall be subject to review in accordance with the provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act, chapter 34.05 RCW.
Sec. 14. RCW 47.28.220 and 1991 c 297 s 14 are each amended to read as follows:
(1) A contract awarded in whole or in part for the purchase of compost products as a soil cover or soil amendment to state highway rights of way shall specify that compost products be purchased in accordance with the following schedule:
(a) For the period July 1, 1991, through June 30, 1993, twenty-five percent of the total dollar amount purchased;
(b) For the period July 1, 1993, through June 30, 1995, fifty percent of the total dollar amount purchased. The percentages in this subsection apply only to the materials' value, and do not include services or other materials.
(2) In order to carry out the provisions of this section, the department of transportation shall develop and adopt bid specifications for compost products used in state highway construction projects.
(3) For purposes of this section, "compost products" means mulch, soil amendments, ground cover, or other landscaping material derived from the biological or mechanical conversion of municipal sewage sludge or cellulose-containing waste materials.
Sec. 15. RCW 70.95.255 and 1986 c 297 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:
After January 1, 1988, the department of ecology may prohibit disposal of municipal sewage sludge or septic tank sludge (septage) in landfills for final disposal, except on a temporary, emergency basis, if the jurisdictional health department determines that a potentially unhealthful circumstance exists. Beneficial uses of sludge in landfill reclamation is acceptable utilization and not considered disposal.
The department of ecology shall adopt rules that provide exemptions from this section on a case-by-case basis. Exemptions shall be based on the economic infeasibility of using or disposing of the sludge material other than in a landfill.
((The
department of ecology, after consulting with representatives from cities,
counties, special purpose districts, and operators of septic tank pump-out
services, shall adopt rules for the environmentally safe use of municipal
sewage sludge and septage in this state.))
The department of ecology, after consulting with representatives from the pulp and paper industry and the food processing industry, may adopt rules for the environmentally safe use of appropriate industrial sludges, such as pulp and paper sludges or food processing wastes, used to improve the texture or nutrient content of soils.
The department of ecology, in conjunction with the department of social and health services and the department of agriculture, shall adopt rules establishing labeling and notification requirements for sludge material sold commercially or given away to the public. The department shall specify mandatory wording for labels and notification to warn the public against improper use of the material.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 16. RCW 70.95.255 shall be recodified as a section in the new chapter created in section 17 of this act.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 17. Sections 1 through 11 of this act shall constitute a new chapter in Title 70 RCW.