MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE

1997 Regular Session

To: Environment Prot, Cons and Water Res; Appropriations

By: Senator(s) Dearing, Scoper

Senate Bill 2499

(As Sent to Governor)

AN ACT TO CREATE A NEW CODE SECTION TO BE CODIFIED AS SECTION 17-17-65, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO ESTABLISH THE LOCAL GOVERNMENTS SOLID WASTE ASSISTANCE FUND AND TO PROVIDE FOR ITS USES IN MAKING GRANTS TO COUNTIES, MUNICIPALITIES, REGIONAL SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT AUTHORITIES OR MULTI-COUNTY ENTITIES; TO PRESCRIBE THE ALLOCATION OF AVAILABLE FUNDS; TO PROHIBIT THE USE OF GRANTS FOR CERTAIN PURPOSES AND THE ISSUANCE OF GRANTS UNDER CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES, AND TO AUTHORIZE THE CONSOLIDATION OF GRANTS UNDER CERTAIN PROGRAMS; TO AMEND SECTION 17-17-63, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO AUTHORIZE THE TRANSFER OF ANY BALANCE OVER $5,000,000.00 AND CERTAIN INTEREST PROCEEDS FROM THE NONHAZARDOUS SOLID WASTE CORRECTIVE ACTION TRUST FUND TO THE LOCAL GOVERNMENTS SOLID WASTE ASSISTANCE FUND; TO AMEND SECTION 17-17-219, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO AUTHORIZE THE DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY TO PAY FUNDS TO THE LOCAL GOVERNMENTS SOLID WASTE ASSISTANCE FUND IN LIEU OF THE NONHAZARDOUS SOLID WASTE CORRECTIVE TRUST FUND UNDER CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES. 

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:

SECTION 1. The following shall be codified as Section 17-17-65, Mississippi Code of 1972:

17-17-65. (1) There is created in the State Treasury a fund designated as the Local Governments Solid Waste Assistance Fund, referred to in this section as "fund," to be administered by the executive director of the department.

(2) The fund shall be used to provide grants to counties, municipalities, regional solid waste management authorities or multi-county entities as provided in subsection (4) of this section for one or more of the following purposes:

(a) Cleanup of existing and future unauthorized dumps on public or private property, subject to the limitation in subsection (3) of this section;

(b) Establishment of a collection center or program for white goods, recyclables or other bulky rubbish waste not managed by local residential solid waste collection programs;

(c) Provision of public notice and education related to the proper management of solid waste, including recycling;

(d) Payment of a maximum of fifty percent (50%) of the cost of employing a local solid waste enforcement officer; and

(e) Development of other local solid waste management program activities associated with the prevention, enforcement or abatement of unauthorized dumps, as approved by the commission.

(3) If a person is found to be responsible for creating an unauthorized dump, the grantee shall make a reasonable effort to require that person to clean up the property before expending any monies from the fund to clean up the property. If the grantee is unable to locate the person responsible for creating the dump, or if the grantee determines that person is financially or otherwise incapable of cleaning up the property, the grantee may use the monies from the fund to clean up the property and shall make a reasonable effort to recover from the responsible person any funds expended.

(4)(a) Of monies annually deposited in the fund and any balance remaining in the fund, the commission shall annually allocate monies as follows:

(i) One-half (1/2) of the deposited funds and remaining balance shall be allocated to each county based on the percentage of State Aid road mileage as established by the Mississippi Department of Transportation State Aid road formula.

(ii) One-half (1/2) of the deposited funds and remaining balance shall be made available to counties or municipalities for grants on a competitive basis.

(b) The department shall notify the president of the board of supervisors of each county in writing of the amount allocated under paragraph (a)(i) of this subsection and that additional funds are available on a competitive basis as provided under paragraph (a)(ii) of this subsection.

(c) Upon receipt of a scope of work and cost proposal acceptable to the commission, the commission shall award a grant to a county up to the allocated amount for that county under paragraph (a)(i) of this subsection. The commission may award additional grant funds from monies available under paragraph (a)(ii) of this subsection based upon the acceptable scope of work and cost proposal.

(d) The commission may award grants to a regional solid waste management authority or other multi-county entity upon submission of a consolidated scope of work and cost proposal acceptable to the commission and authorized by the member counties. Upon submission of a scope of work and cost proposal, the commission may award grants to municipalities from monies available under paragraph (a)(ii) of this subsection.

(e) No grantee shall use more than three percent (3%) of funds provided under this section to defray the costs of administration of the grant.

(5) The department may use up to three percent (3%) of monies annually deposited in the fund and of any balance remaining in the fund to provide for the administration of this section.

(6) Expenditures may be made from the fund upon requisition by the executive director of the department.

(7) The fund shall be treated as a special trust fund. Interest earned on the principal in the fund shall be credited by the department to the fund.

(8) The fund may receive monies from any available public or private source, including, but not limited to, collection of fees, interest, grants, taxes, public and private donations, judicial actions and appropriated funds.

(9) Monies in the fund at the end of the fiscal year shall be retained in the fund for use in the succeeding fiscal year.

(10) The commission may consolidate any grant provided under this section with any grant provided under the waste tire management program or the right-way-to-throw-away program. Funds provided through any consolidated grant shall be used in accordance with the program under which the funds are provided.

(11) Funds provided under this section shall not be used to pay any costs of the establishment or operation of a landfill, rubbish disposal site or other type of solid waste disposal facility, for the routine collection of garbage or to collect any fees assessed under Section 19-5-21 or 21-19-2.

(12) The commission shall not provide any funds under this section to any grantee with an inadequate garbage or rubbish collection or disposal system as required under Section 19-5-17 or 21-19-1.

SECTION 2. Section 17-17-63, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

17-17-63. (1) There is created in the State Treasury a fund designated as the Mississippi Nonhazardous Solid Waste Corrective Action Trust Fund for the purpose of providing funds for emergency, preventive or corrective actions which may be required or determined necessary by the department of any nonhazardous solid waste disposal facility that received in whole or in part household waste and closed before the effective date of Title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations, Section 258.

(2) The trust fund shall be administered by the executive director. The commission shall promulgate rules and regulations for the administration of the fund and for a system of priorities for related projects eligible for funding. Only the facilities meeting the criteria in subsection (1) are eligible for funding.

(3) The commission may escalate, expend or utilize funds in the trust fund for the following purposes:

(a) To take whatever emergency action is necessary or appropriate to assure that the public health or safety is not threatened whenever there is a release or substantial threat of a release of contaminants from any source within the permitted area of an eligible facility;

(b) To take preventive or corrective actions where the release of contaminants from any source within the permitted area of an eligible facility which presents an actual or potential threat to human health or the environment including, but not limited to, closure and post-closure care of an eligible facility; and

(c) To take any actions as may be necessary to monitor and provide post-closure care of any eligible facility, including preventive and corrective actions, without regard to identity or solvency of the owner thereof.

(4) The fund may not be used to pay for the normal costs of closure and post-closure care of an eligible facility or where no release or substantial threat of a release of contaminants has been found by the commission.

(5) Expenditures may be made from the fund upon requisition by the executive director.

(6) The fund shall be treated as a special trust fund. Interest earned on the principal in the fund shall be credited by the department to the fund, unless funds allocated under Section 17-17-219(3)(a)(i) are being paid to the Local Governments Solid Waste Assistance Fund. If those funds are being paid to the Local Governments Solid Waste Assistance Fund, the department shall credit the earned interest to the Local Governments Solid Waste Assistance Fund.

(7) The fund may receive monies from any available public or private source, including, but not limited to, collection of fees, interest, grants, taxes, public and private donations, petroleum violation escrow funds or refunds and appropriated funds.

(8) The department shall transfer any balance in the fund on July 1, 1997, in excess of Five Million Dollars ($5,000,000.00) to the Local Governments Solid Waste Assistance Fund.

SECTION 3. Section 17-17-219, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

17-17-219. (1) Before July 15 of each year the operator of a commercial nonhazardous solid waste management facility managing municipal solid waste shall file with the State Tax Commission and the department  a statement, verified by oath, showing the total amounts of nonhazardous solid waste managed at the facility during the preceding calendar year, and shall at the same time pay to the State Tax Commission One Dollar ($1.00) per ton of municipal solid waste generated and managed in the state by landfilling or incineration, including waste-to-energy management. The fee shall not be levied upon rubbish which is collected and disposed separately from residential or household waste and which is not managed for compensation. For ash and sludges which contain a significant amount of water, the fee may be calculated on a dry ton basis.

(2)(a) Before July 15 of each year, the operator of a commercial nonhazardous solid waste management facility managing municipal solid waste shall file with the State Tax Commission and the department a statement, verified by oath, showing the total amounts of solid waste received from out of state and managed at the facility during the preceding calendar year.

(b) Before July 15 of each year, the operator of a commercial nonhazardous solid waste management facility managing municipal solid waste located in this state shall pay to the State Tax Commission an amount equal to the greater of the per-ton fee imposed on the management of out-of-state nonhazardous solid waste by the state from which the nonhazardous solid waste originated or the per-ton fee, if any, imposed on the management of nonhazardous solid waste by this state. The sum shall be based on the total amounts of nonhazardous solid waste managed at the facility during the preceding calendar year and shall be paid to the State Tax Commission at the same time that reports are filed under subsection (2)(a) of this section.

(3)(a) Except as provided in subsection (6) of this section, all monies received by the State Tax Commission as provided in this chapter shall be allocated as follows:

(i) Fifty percent (50%) shall be remitted to the Mississippi Nonhazardous Solid Waste Corrective Action Trust Fund;

(ii) Thirty-five percent (35%) shall be remitted to the Multimedia Pollution Prevention Fund; and

(iii) Fifteen percent (15%) shall be remitted to the Environmental Protection Trust Fund.

(b) To provide for the maximum effective use of monies collected under this section, the commission, upon determination that unused funds are available from subparagraph (ii), may reallocate those funds to subparagraph (iii).

(4)(a) The operator of a commercial nonhazardous solid waste management facility managing municipal solid waste shall keep an accurate written daily record of deliveries of solid waste to the facility as required by the department, including, but not limited to, the name of the hauler, the source of the waste, the types of waste received and the weight of solid waste measured in tons received at the facility. A copy of these records shall be maintained at the site by the operator and shall be made available to the department for inspection upon request.

(b) The operator shall file with the department annually, on such forms as the department may prescribe, a report providing aggregate information on the types, amounts and sources of waste received at the facility during the preceding calendar year. The State Tax Commission and the department shall share information provided under this section.

(5) This section shall become effective on January 1 following the publication of the final Subtitle D regulations in the Federal Register.

(6) When the unobligated balance in the Mississippi Nonhazardous Solid Waste Corrective Action Trust Fund reaches or exceeds Five Million Dollars ($5,000,000.00), the department shall pay funds allocated under Section 17-17-219(3)(a)(i) to the Local Governments Solid Waste Assistance Fund created under Section 17-17-65 on the next scheduled payment date. When the unobligated balance is reduced below Two Million Dollars ($2,000,000.00), the department shall stop payment to the Local Governments Solid Waste Assistance Fund and again pay funds allocated under Section 17-17-219(3)(a)(i) to the Mississippi Nonhazardous Solid Waste Corrective Action Trust Fund until the time as that fund balance reaches or exceeds Five Million Dollars ($5,000,000.00).

SECTION 4. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 1997.