Colleagues-
Senator Marc Dann (D-Trumbul and Ashtabula counties) presented Senate Bill 119, his construction and demolition debris legislation yesterday before the Ohio Senate Energy, Natural Resources, and Environment Committee. Here is a news report on that hearing.
Without pressure, this legislation may never get another hearing. Please contact your state senator and tell them that you want them to use all of their influence to call for further hearings on the bill.
DEMOLITION DEBRIS DISPOSAL (Dann) Replaces the construction and demolition debris facility license fee with a disposal fee, revises the siting criteria for a construction and demolition debris facility, requires background checks for the operation of such a facility, and requires post-closure bonding for certain construction and demolition debris facilities.
Senator Dann started the long trek to seek enactment of the legislation with the presentation of his sponsor testimony. He reported the bill was a rewrite of SB199, (124th General Assembly) sponsored by Senator James Carnes (R-St. Clairsville) and passed in the Senate only to see it die in the House. Asked why Mr. Carnes was not pursuing the bill again this session, Mr. Dann said due to House inactivity on the bill he believed Mr. Carnes did not want to "beat his head up against the wall again." Mr. Carnes later confirmed that he did not see any change in the House's attitude toward the bill and, therefore, saw no reasons to pursue the issue further.
Mr. Dann said the bill's re-introduction is a direct result of the growing number of landfills as Ohio is becoming the dumping grounds for New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts. He said Ohio imported nearly 2 million tons of out-of-state waste in 2001 with more to come especially with Ohio Rail Development Commission's approval of a loan to improve a section of track in Eastern Ohio for a railroad that specifically hauls construction and demolition debris to landfills. (See Ohio Report No. 177, Sept. 12, 2003)
He charged current law provides only minimum standards for the design, construction, operation, monitoring and closure of CDD landfills but doesn't come close to being comprehensive enough or give local entities enough critical rulemaking authority. He added that the existing fee structure doesn't allow local health departments to properly inspect landfills.
Specifically the legislation would establish citing criteria for new facilities and modifications to existing ones including minimum setbacks from private property, water supply wells, lakes, streams, parks and natural areas, schools and retirement communities; establish financial assurance requirements for post closure care; require background checks on the owners and operators of a CDD landfill, require public hearings to be held within the unit of local government where a new facility is being proposed and provide funding for local health departments to carry out licensing and inspection duties with the replacement of an annual licensure fee with a disposal fee of 22-cents per cubic yard or 66-cents per ton.
Mr. Dann said the shortfalls in the law are making Ohio a construction and demolition debris paradise. He concluded the trucks and trains bound for landfills cannot be stopped, but the proposed changes in the law will ensure clean air and water.