SENATE BILL NO. 161
INTRODUCED BY D. HARGROVE
AN ACT REVISING AND CLARIFYING THE AUTHORITY OF THE DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY AND THE BOARD OF ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW TO ESTABLISH AND ASSESS FEES RELATED TO SOLID WASTE; AUTHORIZING THE DEPARTMENT TO ASSESS PENALTIES FOR LATE OR NONPAYMENT OF ALL SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT FEES; REPEALING THE QUARTERLY SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT FEE OF $5 PER TON ON THE IN-STATE DISPOSAL OR INCINERATION OF OUT-OF-STATE WASTE; REPEALING THE MORATORIUM ON CERTAIN INTERSTATE TRANSPORT OF SOLID WASTE; AMENDING SECTIONS 7-13-231, 75-10-104, 75-10-105, 75-10-106, 75-10-115, 75-10-116, 75-10-117, 75-10-204, 75-10-206, AND 75-10-221, MCA; REPEALING SECTIONS 75-10-118 AND 75-10-209, MCA; AND PROVIDING AN IMMEDIATE EFFECTIVE DATE.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MONTANA:
Section 1. Section 7-13-231, MCA, is amended to read:
"7-13-231. Authorization for charges for services. (1) To defray the cost of maintenance and operation of a solid waste management district, the board shall establish a fee for service, with approval of the county commissioners, provided that a public hearing has been held if written protest has been made as provided in 7-13-211. An increase in fees may not be approved and implemented unless notice of the increase is given as provided in 7-13-208(1) and (2) and an opportunity for protest is allowed as provided in 7-13-209 and 7-13-211.
(2) This fee must be assessed to all units in the district that are receiving a service, for the purpose of maintenance and operation of the district.
(3) An opportunity for protest or hearing is not required to increase fees for the purpose of paying
fees imposed collected by the department of environmental quality under 75-10-115. Notice must be
provided to all units of the rate or portion of any rate that is directly attributable to the fee imposed.
(4) In order to aid in the determination of rates for service charges under 7-13-232, the department of revenue shall assist the board by providing the board with information pertaining to new construction, demolition, remodeling that changes the use of a building, and the location of mobile homes within the district boundaries."
Section 2. Section 75-10-104, MCA, is amended to read:
"75-10-104. Duties of department. The department shall:
(1) prepare a state solid waste management and resource recovery plan as required by 75-10-807 for submission to the board;
(2) prepare rules necessary for the implementation of this part for submission to the board, including but not limited to rules:
(a) governing the submission of plans for a solid waste management system;
(b) governing procedures to be followed in applying for and making loans;
(c) governing agreements between a local government and the department for grants or loans under this part;
(d) establishing, for the purpose of determining the tonnage or volume-based solid waste
management fee to which that a facility is subject to under 75-10-118 75-10-115(1)(c), methods for
determining or estimating the amount of solid waste incinerated or disposed of at a facility;
(e) establishing the license application fee that a facility is subject to under 75-10-115(1)(a);
(f) establishing the flat annual license renewal fee that a facility is subject to under 75-10-115(1)(b);
(g) establishing the tonnage or volume-based annual renewal fee that a facility is subject to under 75-10-115(1)(c);
(e)(h) providing procedures for the quarterly collection of the solid waste management fee provided
for in 75-10-118 75-10-204(6); and
(f)(i) providing guidelines for integrated waste management;
(3) provide financial assistance to local governments for front-end planning activities for a proposed
solid waste management system which that is compatible with the state plan whenever financial
assistance is available;
(4) provide technical assistance to persons within the state for planning, designing, constructing, financing, and operating:
(a) a solid waste management system in order to ensure that the system conforms to the state plan;
(b) integrated waste management programs; and
(c) collection, disposal, reduction, and educational programs for household hazardous waste and conditionally exempt small quantities of hazardous waste as defined in ARM 16.44.402;
(5) provide front-end organizational loans for the implementation of an approved solid waste management system whenever funds for loans are available;
(6) enforce and administer the provisions of this part;
(7) administer loans made by the state under the provisions of this part;
(8) approve plans for a proposed solid waste management system submitted by a local government; and
(9) serve as a clearinghouse for information on waste reduction and reuse, recycling technology and markets, composting, and household hazardous waste disposal, including chemical compatibility."
Section 3. Section 75-10-105, MCA, is amended to read:
"75-10-105. Powers of department. The department may:
(1) accept loans and grants from the federal government and other sources to carry out the provisions of this part;
(2) make loans to a local government for the planning, design, and implementation of a solid waste management system;
(3) make grants for a local government for planning or implementation of a solid waste management system; and
(4) collect the solid waste management fee fees provided for in 75-10-118 75-10-115."
Section 4. Section 75-10-106, MCA, is amended to read:
"75-10-106. Duties of board. The board shall:
(1) adopt a state solid waste management and resource recovery plan after complying with the procedures outlined in 75-10-111; and
(2) adopt rules necessary for the implementation of this part, including but not limited to rules governing the following:
(a) submission of plans for a solid waste management system;
(b) the procedures to be followed in applying for and making loans and grants;
(c) the requirements for eligibility for grants; and
(d) the agreements between the local government and the department for grants and loans under this part; and
(e) the application fee, flat annual license renewal fee, and tonnage or volume-based renewal fee for solid waste management systems prepared by the department pursuant to 75-10-104 and 75-10-115."
Section 5. Section 75-10-115, MCA, is amended to read:
"75-10-115. Solid waste management fee. (1) The department may establish and collect prepare
rules for adoption by the board, pursuant to 75-10-104 and 75-10-106, that set fees for the management
and regulation of solid waste disposal at facilities subject to regulation pursuant to part 2 of this chapter.
Upon adoption by the board, the department may collect the fees. These fees may include:
(a) a license application fee that reflects the cost of reviewing a new solid waste management system or a substantial change to an existing facility;
(b) an a flat annual license renewal fee that reflects a minimal base fee related to the fixed costs of
an annual inspection and license renewal and that is based upon the following formula: categorization
of solid waste management systems into separate classes identified by the following criteria:
(i) the quantity of solid waste received by the solid waste management system;
(ii) the nature of the solid waste received; and
(iii) the nature of the waste management occurring within the solid waste management system;
(i) for a major facility with a planned capacity of more than 25,000 tons of solid waste a year,
$3,500;
(ii) for an intermediate facility with a planned capacity of more than 5,000 tons a year but not more
than 25,000 tons a year, $3,000;
(iii) for a minor facility with a planned capacity of not more than 5,000 tons a year, $2,500; and
(c) a tonnage or volume-based fee on solid waste disposal.
(2) All fees collected must be deposited in the solid waste management account provided for in 75-10-117."
Section 6. Section 75-10-116, MCA, is amended to read:
"75-10-116. Penalties for failure to pay fee. A person who owns a solid waste disposal facility
that is subject to a fee the fees under 75-10-118 75-10-115 and who fails to pay the fee in the manner
provided by department rule is subject to a fine of not more than $2,000 or imprisonment not to exceed
6 months, or both, and shall reimburse the department for the amount of the fee owed and interest
calculated at a rate equal to the previous fiscal year's average rate of return on the board of investments'
short-term investment pool."
Section 7. Section 75-10-117, MCA, is amended to read:
"75-10-117. Solid waste management account. (1) There is a solid waste management account in the state special revenue fund provided for in 17-2-102.
(2) There must be deposited in the account:
(a) all revenue from the solid waste management fee fees provided for in 75-10-118 75-10-115; and
(b) money received by the department in the form of legislative appropriations, reimbursements,
gifts, federal funds, or appropriations from any source, that is intended to be used for the purposes of the
account.
(3) The account may be used by the department only for the administration of part 2, this part, and
75-2-215, part 2 of this chapter, and this part."
Section 8. Section 75-10-204, MCA, is amended to read:
"75-10-204. Powers and duties of department. The department shall, subject to the provisions of 75-10-107, adopt rules governing solid waste management systems that must include but are not limited to:
(1) requirements for the plan of operation and maintenance that must be submitted with an application under this part;
(2) the classification of disposal sites according to the physical capabilities of the site to contain the type of solid waste to be disposed of;
(3) the procedures to be followed in the disposal, treatment, or transport of solid wastes;
(4) the suitability of the site from a public health standpoint when hydrology, geology, and climatology are considered;
(5) requirements relating to ground water monitoring, including but not limited to:
(a) information that owners and operators of municipal solid waste landfills and other disposal sites
specified in 75-10-207 must are required to submit to the department to enable the department to
prepare the priority compliance list authorized by 75-10-207(3);
(b) the content of plans for the design, construction, operation, and maintenance of monitoring wells and monitoring systems; and
(c) recordkeeping and reporting;
(6) fees related to the review of solid waste management system license applications;
(7) the renewal of solid waste management system licenses and related fees;
(8) the imposition of a quarterly fee based on the justifiable direct and indirect costs to the state of
administering Title 75, chapter 10, parts 1 and 2, for solid waste generated outside Montana and
disposed of or incinerated within Montana;
(9)(7) requirements to maintain financial assurance payable to the state of Montana with a surety
satisfactory to the department in an amount sufficient to provide for waste tire treatment, removal,
transportation, and disposal, fire suppression, or other measures necessary to protect the environment
and the health, safety, and welfare of the public;
(10)(8) any other factors relating to the sanitary disposal or management of solid wastes."
Section 9. Section 75-10-206, MCA, is amended to read:
"75-10-206. Variance. (1) Any A person may apply to the board for a variance from rules adopted
by the department pursuant to 75-10-204, except for rules adopted pursuant to 75-10-204(8)(6). The
board may grant a variance if it finds that:
(a) failure to comply with the rules does not result in a danger to public health or safety; or
(b) compliance with the rules from which a variance is sought would produce hardship without producing benefits to the health and safety of the public that outweigh the hardship.
(2) No A variance may not be granted pursuant to this section except after a hearing pursuant to the
Montana Administrative Procedure Act and consideration by the board of the relative interests of the
applicant and owners of the property likely to be affected by the waste disposal system under
consideration.
(3) Nothing in this This section may not be construed as relieving the board from the obligation to
comply with the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976, as amended, or as allowing the
board to grant a variance less restrictive than that act."
Section 10. Section 75-10-221, MCA, is amended to read:
"75-10-221. License required -- application. (1) Except as provided in 75-10-214, no a person
may not dispose of solid waste or operate a solid waste management system without a license from the
department.
(2) The department shall provide application forms for a license as provided in this part.
(3) The application shall must contain the name and business address of the applicant, the location
of the proposed solid waste management system, a plan of operation and maintenance, and such other
information as that the department may by rule require.
(4) The license provided for in this section is for a period not to exceed 12 months unless renewed
by the department. The department may provide exceptions to the 12-month requirement for a 2-year
period following July 1, 1991.
(5) The department may require submission of a new application if the department determines that the plan of operation, the management of the solid waste system, or the geological or ground water conditions have changed since the license was initially approved.
(6) In preparing rules for board adoption that establish establishing fees for licenses and the review
of applications pursuant to 75-10-104(2), the department shall consider the tonnage or volume of waste
to be managed and the size of the proposed solid waste management system. The fees adopted by the
board must encourage reduction in the tonnage or volume of waste to be managed and cover the costs to
the department of initially reviewing and annually licensing the solid waste management system."
Section 11. Repealer. Sections 75-10-118 and 75-10-209, MCA, are repealed.
Section 12. Effective date. [This act] is effective on passage and approval.
- END -
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