Bill H.2917

HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 3459 FILED ON: 1/20/2017

HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 2917

By Ms. Ferrante of Gloucester, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 2917) of Ann-Margaret Ferrante for legislation to establish a solid waste reduction assistance fund. Environment, Natural Resources and Agriculture.

[SIMILAR MATTER FILED IN PREVIOUS SESSION
SEE SENATE, NO. 2389 OF 2015-2016.]

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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In the One Hundred and Ninetieth General Court
(2017-2018)

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An Act establishing a special commission on municipal solid waste.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:

SECTION 1. Chapter 29 of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting after section 2TTTT the following section:-

Section 2UUUU. There shall be a solid waste reduction assistance fund. The commissioner of environmental protection shall be the trustee of the fund. The fund shall be credited with revenues transferred to it through: (i) penalties assessed to solid waste haulers for waste ban violations on waste disposed of at a solid waste disposal facility; (ii) appropriations, bond proceeds or other funds authorized by the general court and specifically designated to be credited to the fund; (iii) other amounts credited or transferred to the fund from another fund or source; and (iv) interest earned on the money in the fund. The amount credited to the fund shall be expended without further appropriation.

Money in the fund shall be allocated by the department to fund municipal and other recycling programs, composting programs, composting and recycling public education programs and programs promoting zero waste principles. Money in the fund may also be allocated to provide grants to solid waste haulers and generators for equipment to assist in meeting the commonwealth’s waste ban requirements.

The unexpended balance in the fund at the end of a fiscal year shall not revert to the General Fund but shall remain available for expenditure in subsequent fiscal years. The commissioner of environmental protection shall annually, not later than December 31, file a report with the clerks of the senate and house of representatives, who shall forward the same to the senate and house chairs of the joint committee on environment, natural resources and agriculture, detailing the amount and source of money credited to the fund and the expenditures and grants provided from the solid waste reduction assistance fund.

SECTION 1A. The commissioner of environmental protection shall establish performance standards for the reduction of municipal solid waste, as described in section 2, to achieve the purposes of the solid waste master plan and greenhouse gas reduction plan and to protect the natural environment, preserve resources, achieve progress toward the goals to reduce greenhouse gases and create green jobs. The performance standards shall be promulgated by July 1, 2017.

SECTION 2. The department of environmental protection shall establish performance standards for municipal solid waste reduction in each municipality on the basis of pounds per capita of solid waste disposed. The standards shall reduce solid waste to not more than 600 pounds per capita by July 1, 2018 and not more than 450 pounds per capita by July 1, 2022. A municipality that does not administer trash and recycling collection shall be exempt from meeting performance standards for municipal solid waste reduction established in this section; provided, however, that the municipality shall confer with its residents and private waste disposal companies to establish solid waste performance standards for the municipality.

SECTION 3. Not later than December 1, 2017, the secretary of energy and environmental affairs, in consultation with the department of environmental protection and the department of energy resources, shall develop a municipal solid waste standards action plan to assist municipalities in achieving the standards set forth in this act. The secretary shall review the effectiveness of existing recycling programs and other incentives available to achieve these standards and shall make any recommendations available to the public on the website of the executive office of energy and environmental affairs. Recommendations may include, but shall not be limited to, potential regulatory or statutory changes to the solid waste master plan, the Clean Energy and Climate Plan for 2020 or the green communities program. The secretary shall consult with the solid waste advisory committee in developing the plan.

SECTION 4. Each city and town shall report to the department of environmental protection annually, by not later than September 1, the total weight of solid waste disposed of through the solid waste program of the city or town during the prior fiscal year, as well as the number of households and residents who participated in the program; provided, however, that if a city or town enters into a contract with a solid waste hauler for the transportation of material for disposal and recycling, the contract may provide for the solid waste hauler to make the report to the department. If the department makes a determination that a city or town has not met the municipal solid waste reduction performance standards as prescribed by the department by July 1, 2018, that city or town shall submit a report to the department setting forth the reasons that the town did not meet the standards and detailing a plan to achieve the performance standards by July 1, 2022. The department shall issue a report on the municipal solid waste programs not later than December 1 of that year that provides per capita solid waste disposal statistics for the municipal solid waste programs and shall file the report with the clerks of the senate and house of representatives and the senate and house chairs of the joint committee on environment, natural resources and agriculture. The report may disaggregate solid waste tonnage information to highlight categories of waste, including waste that is beyond the control of a city or town such as waste created as a result of a natural disaster.

SECTION 5. A city or town that has a high risk of failing to reach the per capita municipal solid waste reduction standard under section 2 may file hardship documentation with the department of environmental protection detailing the reasons for not reaching the municipal solid waste reduction standard. The department shall prioritize sustainable materials recovery program municipal grant applications from cities and towns that submit hardship documentation under this section.

SECTION 6. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, in a city or town that does not provide solid waste removal, a privately contracted waste disposal and trash hauling contract entered into on or after the effective date of this act shall include a recycling option for the customers served under the contract.

SECTION 7. This act shall be subject to appropriation.

Name:	District/Address:	Date Added:
Ann-Margaret Ferrante	5th Essex	1/20/2017