H-3931              _______________________________________________

                                                   HOUSE BILL NO. 1569

                        _______________________________________________

State of Washington                              50th Legislature                              1988 Regular Session

By Representatives Todd, Crane, Winsley, Rasmussen, Lux, Valle, Unsoeld, Barnes, Leonard, Patrick and Spanel

Read first time 1/20/88 and referred to Committee on Environmental Affairs.

AN ACT Relating to the siting of new solid waste incinerators; adding new sections to chapter 70.95 RCW; creating a new section; and declaring an emergency.

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

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1.     The legislature finds that the siting of new solid waste incinerators and energy recovery facilities has generated considerable controversy within the state.  Local opposition to the siting of such facilities has generally been based on concern over possible adverse health effects on people who are within the general proximity of such incinerators, particularly the mass burn incinerators.  Scientific evidence of the health risks from the incineration process offers conflicting conclusions.  Recent financial analyses raise serious questions about the ability to finance and pay for certain types of incinerators.  In order to protect the public from possible adverse health and economic effects, the legislature declares that state-wide regulations for the siting of solid waste incinerators and energy recovery facilities shall be adopted, and these regulations shall include a prohibition against siting any mass burn solid waste incinerator or energy recovery facility designed to burn unprocessed waste within a three-mile radius of an established school, residential or agricultural area, a designated watershed, or any area where the ash plume from an incinerator would fall on an area occupied by humans for more than seventy-five percent of any given day.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2.  A new section is added to chapter 70.95 RCW to read as follows:

          The department shall adopt rules of state-wide applicability for the siting of new incinerators and energy recovery facilities on which construction has not begun as of the effective date of this section which manage municipal solid waste, including solid waste from residential, commercial, and industrial establishments.  These rules shall include, at a minimum, a state-wide prohibition on locating any new mass burn solid waste incinerator or energy recovery facility designed to burn unprocessed waste within a three-mile radius of an established school, residential or agricultural area, a designated watershed, or any area where the ash plume from an incinerator would fall on an area occupied by humans for more than seventy-five percent of any given day.

          The siting standards shall be developed with the assistance of a committee which represents a balance between industry and environmental interests.  The standards shall be submitted to the legislature by December 15, 1988, and shall be effective June 1, 1988 unless disapproved by the legislature.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3.  A new section is added to chapter 70.95 RCW to read as follows:

          Any governmental entity proposing construction of an incinerator or energy recovery facility shall:

          (1) Have in place a waste reduction and recycling plan capable of significantly diminishing the waste stream and which includes source separation;

          (2) Have an approved solid waste management plan;

          (3) Have undertaken a detailed review of all available technologies and strategies for managing and/or incinerating solid waste utilizing a consultant or consultants who are not biased toward a certain form of incineration;

          (4) Have developed a least-cost option plan for managing and disposing of solid waste that has the least impact on the environment and which uses the best available technology and strategies;

          (5) Have fully analyzed the financing options to ensure the economic feasibility of the plan;

          (6) Have an approved plan for handling the ash residue from the incinerator;

          (7) Have a plan for public access to incinerator operations including all data related to incinerator excursions with such data permanently recorded and maintained for at least five years; and

          (8) Have an analysis of the economic and environmental impacts of any incinerator located within the jurisdiction or within a fifty-mile radius of the proposed facility.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 4.     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.