Pennsylvania Act 2002-111 — WASTE TIRE RECYCLING, REUSE, DISPOSAL AND CLEANUP - OMNIBUS AMENDMENTS

Act text

WASTE TIRE RECYCLING, REUSE, DISPOSAL AND CLEANUP - OMNIBUS AMENDMENTS
                 Act of Jul. 10, 2002, P.L. 781, No. 111              Cl. 27
                             Session of 2002
                               No. 2002-111

     HB 754

                                  AN ACT

     Amending the act of December 19, 1996 (P.L.1478, No.190),
        entitled "An act relating to the recycling and reuse of waste
        tires; providing for the proper disposal of waste tires and
        the cleanup of stockpiled tires; authorizing investment tax
        credits for utilizing waste tires; providing remediation
        grants for the cleanup of tire piles and for pollution
        prevention programs for small business and households;
        establishing the Small Business and Household Pollution
        Prevention Program and management standards for small
        business hazardous waste; providing for a household hazardous
        waste program and for grant programs; making appropriations;
        and making repeals," adding definitions; further providing
        for disposal of whole waste tires, for the priority
        enforcement list and for remediation grants; providing for
        remediation liens, for an authorization program, for
        documentation and recordkeeping, for revocation of
        authorization and for collection programs; authorizing civil
        penalties; and repealing obsolete provisions relating to tire
        recycling investment tax credits.

        The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
     hereby enacts as follows:

        Section 1.  The definition of "waste tire" in section 104 of
     the act of December 19, 1996 (P.L.1478, No.190), entitled, "An
     act relating to the recycling and reuse of waste tires;
     providing for the proper disposal of waste tires and the cleanup
     of stockpiled tires; authorizing investment tax credits for
     utilizing waste tires; providing remediation grants for the
     cleanup of tire piles and for pollution prevention programs for
     small business and households; establishing the Small Business
     and Household Pollution Prevention Program and management
     standards for small business hazardous waste; providing for a
     household hazardous waste program and for grant programs; making
     appropriations; and making repeals," is amended and the section
     is amended by adding definitions to read:
      Section 104.  Definitions.
        The following words and phrases when used in this chapter
     shall have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
     context clearly indicates otherwise:
        * * *
        "Energy recovery."  The use of whole or processed waste tires
     to supplement the combustion of fossil fuels or the combustion
     of whole or processed waste tires in a resource recovery
     facility.
        * * *
        "Waste tire."  A tire that will no longer be used for the
     purpose for which it was originally intended. The term includes
     a tire that has been discarded.
        "Waste tire hauler."  Any person that transports whole used
     or waste tires in this Commonwealth for business-related
     purposes. This term does not include persons who haul their own
     waste tires in the course of routine tire replacement.
        Section 2.  Section 106(a) of the act is amended to read:
      Section 106.  Disposal of whole waste tires.
        (a)  Landfill disposal prohibited.--No person shall knowingly
     mix any whole used or waste tires with solid waste for disposal
     in a landfill. Owners or operators of landfills shall not accept
     whole used or waste tires for disposal. Nothing in this section
     shall be construed:
            (1)  to prohibit the disposal at landfills of occasional
        whole used or waste tires unknowingly and inadvertently mixed
        with solid waste[.]; or
            (2)  to preclude the department from such disposal if it
        determines that such disposal is necessary.
        * * *
        Section 3.  The act is amended by adding sections to read:
      Section 106.1.  Authorization program.
        (a)  Duty of department.--The department shall establish an
     authorization program for waste tire haulers.
        (b)  Authorization number to be issued.--The department shall
     issue an authorization number for each waste tire hauler.
        (c)  Renewal required.--Authorization expiration and renewal
     shall be determined by the department.
        (d)  Authorization fee.--Each waste tire hauler shall pay an
     annual authorization fee of $50. All fees received by the
     department pursuant to this subsection shall be deposited into
     the Used Tire Pile Remediation Restricted Account established in
     section 110 and shall be used by the department for the
     implementation and management of the authorization program. The
     department shall evaluate and modify the authorization fee in an
     amount to cover the actual costs of the department in
     implementing and managing the authorization program. The
     department shall publish any such modification as a notice in
     the Pennsylvania Bulletin.
        (e)  Authorization required.--It shall be unlawful for a
     waste tire hauler to transport waste tires without obtaining
     authorization from the department under this section.
        (f)  Nontransferability.--An authorization for a waste tire
     hauler shall not be transferable.
        (g)  Powers and duties of Environmental Quality Board.--The
     Environmental Quality Board shall have the power and duty to
     adopt such regulations of the department as it deems necessary
     and appropriate to accomplish the purposes and to carry out the
     provisions of this act.
      Section 106.2.  Documentation and recordkeeping.
        (a)  Duty of waste tire haulers.--Each waste tire hauler
     shall maintain records of waste tires transported. The record
     shall be on a form approved by the department.
        (b)  Nature of records to be maintained.--Recordkeeping
     requirements shall be determined by the department and shall
     include at least the following:
            (1)  The number of waste tires transported.
            (2)  The waste tire hauler authorization number.
            (3)  The location where the waste tires were disposed of
        or transported to.
        (c)  Records retention.--All records shall be retained by the
     waste tire hauler for a period of five years. The records shall
     be made available to the department upon request.
      Section 106.3.  Waste tire registry.
        (a)  Establishment.--The department shall establish and
     maintain a registry of authorized waste tire haulers in this
     Commonwealth. The registry shall include the information
     required for issuance of an authorization under this section and
     any other relevant information as the department deems necessary
     and appropriate. The information in the registry shall be a
     matter of public record and shall be made readily available to
     the public.
        (b)  Toll-free number.--The department shall establish and
     maintain a toll-free number which any person in this
     Commonwealth may call to request information contained in the
     registry established under subsection (a). Any person suspecting
     a violation of this act may also call this toll-free number to
     report a suspected violation to the department.
        (c)  Duty to use authorized hauler.--No person may accept
     whole used or waste tires from a waste tire hauler that does not
     have a valid authorization as provided under this act. Failure
     to comply with this provision shall result in a civil penalty
     assessment as provided under section 108.1.
      Section 106.4.  Revocation.
        The department may suspend, revoke or deny any authorization
     issued under this act for a specified length of time to be
     determined by the department for:
            (1)  Failure to maintain a complete and accurate record
        of waste tires transported.
            (2)  Alteration of recordkeeping documents.
            (3)  Failure to comply with any rule or regulation
        established by the department under this act or the act of
        July 7, 1980 (P.L.380, No.97), known as the Solid Waste
        Management Act.
        Section 4.  Section 107 of the act is amended to read:
      Section 107.  Priority enforcement list.
        (a)  Development of list of waste tire sites.--Within 90 days
     of the effective date of this act, the department shall identify
     and develop a Statewide list of waste tire sites with more than
     10,000 waste tires known or estimated to be stockpiled. The
     department shall rank the waste tire sites according to their
     potential for creating environmental health and safety hazards
     and designate these sites as priority sites to those facilities
     requesting tax investment credits under section 109.
        (b)  Maintenance of updated list.--The department shall
     review and update the priority enforcement list every two years.
        (c)  Municipal notification.--For the purposes of section
     112, the department shall notify in writing the counties and
     municipalities of the waste tire sites selected to be listed on
     the priority enforcement list that are located within their
     borders.
        (d)  Additional waste tire sites to be listed.--Within one
     year from the effective date of this subsection, each
     municipality shall report to the department the existence and
     location of waste tire sites within its jurisdiction that
     contain more than 1,500 but less than 10,000 waste tires known
     or estimated to be stockpiled. Upon receipt of this information,
     the department shall develop and maintain a Statewide list of
     waste tire sites containing the amount of waste tires specified
     in this subsection.
        Section 5.  Section 108 heading of the act is amended to
     read:
      Section 108.  [Penalties] Criminal penalties.
        * * *
        Section 6.  The act is amended by adding a section to read:
      Section 108.1.  Civil penalties.
        (a)  Authority to issue.--
            (1)  In addition to proceeding under any other remedy
        available at law or in equity for a violation of any
        provision of this act, any rule or regulation of the
        department or order of the department or any term or
        condition of any permit issued by the department, the
        department may assess a civil penalty upon a person for such
        violation. Such a penalty may be assessed whether or not the
        violation was willful or negligent.
            (2)  In determining the amount of the penalty, the
        department shall consider the willfulness of the violation,
        damage to air, water, land or other natural resources of the
        Commonwealth or their uses, cost of restoration and
        abatement, savings resulting to the person in consequence of
        such violation and other relevant factors.
        (b)  Notice and appeal.--
            (1)  When the department assesses a civil penalty, it
        shall inform the person or municipality of the proposed
        amount of said penalty.
            (2)  The person charged with the penalty shall then have
        30 days to pay the penalty in full or, if the person wishes
        to contest either the amount of the penalty or the fact of
        the violation, the person shall within such 30-day period
        file an appeal of such action with the Environmental Hearing
        Board.
            (3)  Failure to appeal within 30 days shall result in a
        waiver of all legal rights to contest the violation or the
        amount of the penalty.
        (c)  Amount.--The maximum civil penalty which may be assessed
     pursuant to this section is $25,000 per offense. Each violation
     for each separate day and each violation of any provision of
     this act, any rule or regulation under this act, any order of
     the department or any term or condition of a permit shall
     constitute a separate and distinct offense under this section.
        (d)  Deposit of penalties collected.--All penalties collected
     under this section and section 108 shall be deposited into the
     Used Tire Pile Remediation Restricted Account established in
     section 110.
        Section 7.  Sections 109 and 110(c) of the act are repealed.
        Section 8.  Section 111(e) of the act is amended to read:
      Section 111.  Remediation grants.
        * * *
        (e)  Limitation.--
            (1)  Grants under this section shall not be used for the
        purchase of equipment.
            (2)  No grant recipient may dispose of whole used or
        waste tires in landfills if the whole used or waste tires are
        acceptable for recycling, reuse or energy recovery.
            (3)  Grant recipients shall make the whole used or waste
        tires or processed tires available to an appropriate facility
        for reuse, recycling or energy recovery, including resource
        recovery.
        * * *
        Section 9.  The act is amended by adding a section to read:
      Section 111.1.  Remediation liens.
        (a)  Effect of remediation activity.--The amount of a grant
     issued under section 111 for remediation that is attributable to
     or expended on a specific site where the grant recipient
     conducts remediation activity and the benefits accruing to the
     land on which the site is located shall be chargeable against
     the land and shall mitigate or offset any claim in or any action
     brought by any owner of any interest in the land for any damages
     by virtue of the remediation activity. This subsection shall not
     be construed to establish a new right of action or eliminate any
     existing immunity.
        (b)  Statement to be filed with prothonotary.--Within six
     months after the completion of remediation activity by a grant
     recipient on a site, the department shall itemize the amount of
     grant moneys expended on remediation of the site and may file a
     statement thereof in the office of the prothonotary of the
     county in which the land is situated. The department shall affix
     to the statement a notarized appraisal by an independent
     appraiser of the value of the land before and after the
     remediation if the moneys so expended shall result in a
     significant increase in property value. The statement shall
     constitute a lien upon the land as of the date of the
     expenditure of the moneys and shall have priority as a lien
     second only to the lien of real estate taxes imposed on the
     land.
        (c)  Amount of lien.--The amount of the lien shall not exceed
     the amount determined by the appraisal to be the increase in the
     market value of the land as a result of the remediation
     immediately after the grant recipient has completed its work,
     and the lien shall extend only to that portion of the land
     directly involved in the remediation activity.
        (d)  Rights of landowner.--The landowner may proceed as
     provided in the act of June 22, 1964 (Sp.Sess., P.L.84, No.6),
     known as the Eminent Domain Code, to petition for a board of
     view within 60 days of the filing of the lien to determine the
     increase in the market value of that portion of the land
     directly involved in the remediation activity. The amount
     reported by the board of viewers to be the increase in value of
     the land shall constitute the amount of the lien and shall be
     recorded with the statement required by subsection (b).
        (e)  Right of appeal.--Any party aggrieved by the decision of
     the board of viewers may appeal as provided in the Eminent
     Domain Code.
        (f)  Entry and enforcement of lien.--The lien authorized by
     this section shall be entered in the judgment index and shall be
     given the effect of a judgment against the land. The lien shall
     be enforced by the direct issuance of a writ of execution
     without prosecution to judgment of a writ of scire facias in the
     manner provided by law for enforcement, collection and
     enforcement of Commonwealth liens.
        (g)  Construction.--Entry by a grant recipient upon lands for
     the purpose of remediation under this act shall not be construed
     as an act of condemnation of property or of trespass thereon.
        Section 10.  Section 113 of the act is amended to read:
      Section 113.  Commonwealth recycling and use of waste tires.
        (a)  Use of waste tires by Commonwealth agencies.--[Within
     two years after the effective date of this act] By July 30,
     2004, the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, the
     Department of Corrections, the Department of Education, the
     Department of Environmental Protection [and], the Department of
     General Services, the Department of Transportation, the State
     System of Higher Education and the State-related universities
     shall, to the maximum extent practicable and feasible, give due
     consideration to the use of waste tires in all appropriate
     construction and engineering activities which are paid with
     public funds.
        (b)  Reports.--[Within three years after the effective date
     of this act, the Department of Conservation and Natural
     Resources, the Department of Environmental Protection and the
     Department of Transportation] By July 30, 2004, the Department
     of Environmental Protection shall submit a report to the
     Environmental Resources and Energy Committee of the Senate and
     the Environmental Resources and Energy Committee of the House of
     Representatives concerning the implementation of this section.
     The report shall include a description of what actions the
     agencies have taken in the previous two years to implement this
     section.
        Section 11.  The act is amended by adding sections to read:
      Section 114.  Waste tire collection programs.
        (a)  General rule.--An individual, local government,
     business, corporation or other organization shall operate waste
     tire collection programs only in accordance with requirements
     established by the department.
        (b)  Department approval.--No person, local government,
     business, corporation or other organization shall establish a
     program for the collection of whole used or waste tires without
     approval from the department.
        (c)  Qualifications.--No individual, local government,
     business, corporation or other organization may be selected to
     operate a waste tire collection program unless the ability to
     properly collect, transport and process waste tires is
     demonstrated to the satisfaction of the department.
        (d)  Program recordkeeping.--Each approved program shall
     maintain records regarding the collection, transportation and
     processing of whole used or waste tires. Recordkeeping
     requirements shall be determined by the department and shall
     include at least the following:
            (1)  The number of whole used or waste tires collected.
            (2)  The number of tires transported.
            (3)  The waste tire hauler authorization number.
        (e)  Availability of records.--All records shall be made
     available to the department upon request.
     Section 115.  Grants for waste tire collection programs.
        (a)  General rule.--The department may provide grants to
     individuals, local governments, businesses, corporations or
     other organizations for reimbursement of eligible costs for
     waste tire collection programs approved by the department.
        (b)  Grant disbursement.--The department shall establish a
     grant ceiling for each proposed collection program based on the
     number of tires to be collected and the estimated processing
     costs.
        (c)  Restrictions.--Grants awarded under this section shall
     be subject to the following:
            (1)  Grant recipients shall apply the funds received from
        the department only to those purposes and activities
        authorized by the department or otherwise approved by the
        department.
            (2)  The department may not award the grants to any
        individual, local government, business, corporation or other
        organization that has contributed in any manner to the
        creation of a waste tire pile.
            (3)  Any additional restrictions which the Environmental
        Quality Board, by regulation, may designate so long as the
        restriction is promulgated in regulation.
        (d)  Funding limitation.--Commencing with the fiscal year
     beginning July 1, 2002, and continuing through the fiscal year
     beginning July 1, 2006, the department may not expend more than
     $250,000 each fiscal year from the Recycling Fund created by
     section 706 of the act of July 28, 1988 (P.L.556, No.101), known
     as the Municipal Waste Planning, Recycling and Waste Reduction
     Act, for awarding grants under this section.
        Section 12.  This act shall take effect in 60 days.

     APPROVED--The 10th day of July, A. D. 2002.

     MARK S. SCHWEIKER