SB1007: Permit fees for solid waste facilities; establishes same fee structure for sanitary landfills, etc.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. That § 10.1-1402.1:1 of the Code of Virginia is amended and reenacted as follows:
§ 10.1-1402.1:1. Annual fees for nonhazardous solid waste management facilities.
A. In addition to the permit fees assessed and collected pursuant to § 10.1-1402.1, the Board shall collect an annual fee from any person operating a sanitary landfill or other facility permitted under this chapter for the disposal, storage, or treatment of nonhazardous solid waste. The fees shall be exempt from statewide indirect cost charged and assessed by the Department of Accounts. Annual fees shall reflect the time and complexity of inspecting and monitoring the different categories of facilities. Any annual fee that is based on volume shall be calculated using the tonnage reported by each facility pursuant to § 10.1-1413.1 for the preceding year, and shall be adjusted annually by the Consumer Price Index. The annual fee shall be assessed as follows:
1.
construction and demolition debris landfills shall be assessed
$0.115 per ton.
assessed
Incinerators and energy recovery facilities that have already paid the Virginia per ton fee for disposal of ash are exempted from paying at the landfill.
fee as follows:
Composting
Regulated medical waste
Materials recovery
Transfer station
Facilities in post-
closure care
The annual fee for active captive landfills shall be as
follows:
Small landfills (landfilling less than 100,000 tons per year $2,500
Large landfills (landfilling 100,000 tons or more per year) $7,500
B. The Board shall by regulation prescribe the manner and
schedule for remitting fees imposed by this section and may allow for the
quarterly payment of any such fees. The payment of any annual fee amounts
owed shall be deferred until January 1, 2005, if the person subject to those
fees submits a written request to the Department prior to October 1, 2004. The
selection of this deferred payment option shall not reduce the amount owed.
C. The regulation shall include provisions allowing the Director to waive or reduce fees assessed during a state of emergency or for waste resulting from emergency response actions.
D. The Board may promulgate regulations establishing a schedule of reduced permit fees for facilities that have established a record of compliance with the terms and requirements of their permits and shall establish criteria, by regulation, to provide for reductions in the annual fee amount assessed for facilities based upon acceptance into the Department's programs to recognize excellent environmental performance.
E. The operator of a facility owned by a private entity and subject to any fee imposed pursuant to this section shall collect such fee as a surcharge on any fee schedule established pursuant to law, ordinance, resolution or contract for solid waste processing or disposal operations at the facility.
2. That the Department of Environmental Quality [ , in
consultation with the Virginia Waste Management Board, shall develop and
implement policies and procedures to maximize efficiency and eliminate
unnecessary delays in acting upon applications for waste management facility
permits and permit amendments. Such policies and procedures shall include the
following:
a. Establishment and enforcement of standardized
departmental deadlines for reviewing and acting upon permit applications;
b. Assignment of sufficient staff to ensure
compliance with deadlines, including assignment of staff from other regional
offices where necessary and appropriate;
c. Designation of a senior coordinator for each
major permit application who shall be responsible for ensuring that timely
action is taken on permit applications, resolving disputes between staff and
the applicant, and allocating sufficient resources;
d. Evaluation of the permitting process to
determine the benefits of employing private contractors to assist
with application review, and the development of criteria for that purpose;
e. Development of criteria for establishing the
presumptive validity of plans, specifications, reports, and analyses certified
by professional engineers or professional geologists licensed in the
Commonwealth, so as to avoid redundancy in reviewing application materials;
f. Training of Department of Environmental Quality
staff in the implementation of permitting policies and procedures;
g. Establishment of standards for ensuring
consistency among regional offices in the implementation of permitting policies
and procedures;
h. Review and implementation of pertinent sections
of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's LEAN Program; and
i. Review and implementation of "ditto"
or no-charge permitting where appropriate.
3. That the Department of Environmental
Quality shall confer with interested stakeholders in developing such policies
and procedures, which shall be published as agency guidance not later than
January 1, 2012. shall continue its efforts to improve its solid
waste program and submit a report to the General Assembly regarding such
efforts by December 1, 2011. ]
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. That § 10.1-1402.1:1 of the Code of Virginia is amended and reenacted as follows:
§ 10.1-1402.1:1. Annual fees for nonhazardous solid waste management facilities.
A. In addition to the permit fees assessed and collected pursuant to § 10.1-1402.1, the Board shall collect an annual fee from any person operating a sanitary landfill or other facility permitted under this chapter for the disposal, storage, or treatment of nonhazardous solid waste. The fees shall be exempt from statewide indirect cost charged and assessed by the Department of Accounts. Annual fees shall reflect the time and complexity of inspecting and monitoring the different categories of facilities. Any annual fee that is based on volume shall be calculated using the tonnage reported by each facility pursuant to § 10.1-1413.1 for the preceding year, and shall be adjusted annually by the Consumer Price Index. The annual fee shall be assessed as follows:
1.
construction and demolition debris landfills shall be assessed
$0.115 per ton.
assessed
Incinerators and energy recovery facilities that have already paid the Virginia per ton fee for disposal of ash are exempted from paying at the landfill.
fee as follows:
Composting
Regulated medical waste
Materials recovery
Transfer station
Facilities in post-
closure care
The annual fee for active captive landfills shall be as
follows:
Small landfills (landfilling less than 100,000 tons per year $2,500
Large landfills (landfilling 100,000 tons or more per year) $7,500
B. The Board shall by regulation prescribe the manner and schedule
for remitting fees imposed by this section and may allow for the quarterly
payment of any such fees. The
payment of any annual fee amounts owed shall be deferred until January 1, 2005,
if the person subject to those fees submits a written request to the Department
prior to October 1, 2004. The selection of this deferred payment option shall
not reduce the amount owed.
C. The regulation shall include provisions allowing the Director to waive or reduce fees assessed during a state of emergency or for waste resulting from emergency response actions.
D. The Board may promulgate regulations establishing a schedule of reduced permit fees for facilities that have established a record of compliance with the terms and requirements of their permits and shall establish criteria, by regulation, to provide for reductions in the annual fee amount assessed for facilities based upon acceptance into the Department's programs to recognize excellent environmental performance.
E. The operator of a facility owned by a private entity and subject to any fee imposed pursuant to this section shall collect such fee as a surcharge on any fee schedule established pursuant to law, ordinance, resolution or contract for solid waste processing or disposal operations at the facility.
2. That the Department of Environmental Quality, in consultation with the Virginia Waste Management Board, shall develop and implement policies and procedures to maximize efficiency and eliminate unnecessary delays in acting upon applications for waste management facility permits and permit amendments. Such policies and procedures shall include the following:
a. Establishment and enforcement of standardized departmental deadlines for reviewing and acting upon permit applications;
b. Assignment of sufficient staff to ensure compliance with deadlines, including assignment of staff from other regional offices where necessary and appropriate;
c. Designation of a senior coordinator for each major permit application who shall be responsible for ensuring that timely action is taken on permit applications, resolving disputes between staff and the applicant, and allocating sufficient resources;
d. Evaluation of the permitting process to determine the benefits of employing private contractors to assist with application review, and the development of criteria for that purpose;
e. Development of criteria for establishing the presumptive validity of plans, specifications, reports, and analyses certified by professional engineers or professional geologists licensed in the Commonwealth, so as to avoid redundancy in reviewing application materials;
f. Training of Department of Environmental Quality staff in the implementation of permitting policies and procedures;
g. Establishment of standards for ensuring consistency among regional offices in the implementation of permitting policies and procedures;
h. Review and implementation of pertinent sections of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's LEAN Program; and
i. Review and implementation of "ditto" or no-charge permitting where appropriate.
3. That the Department of Environmental Quality shall confer with interested stakeholders in developing such policies and procedures, which shall be published as agency guidance not later than January 1, 2012.