§ 23-19-3 - Declaration of policy.
SECTION 23-19-3
§ 23-19-3 Declaration of policy. –The following are declared to be policies of the state:
(1) That the ultimate solid waste management objective of thestate is to maximize recycling and reuse of solid waste;
(2) That solid waste management facilities and projects areto be implemented either by the state or under state auspices, in furtheranceof these goals;
(3) That appropriate governmental structure, processes, andsupport must be provided so that an effective and integrated statewide networkof solid waste management facilities may be planned, financed, developed andoperated for the benefit of the people and municipalities of the state;
(4) That solid waste management activities be conducted in anenvironmentally sound manner;
(5) That private industry be encouraged to continue playing akey role in the state's solid waste management programs;
(6) That solid waste management facilities and services beprovided for municipalities, institutions, and persons in the state atreasonable costs, by state solid waste management systems and facilities, wherethe services and facilities are considered necessary and desirable; thefacilities and services shall be used by all persons and municipalities withinthe state under terms and conditions that the Rhode Island resource recoverycorporation shall reasonably fix and establish; provided, however, thatmunicipalities operating their own landfills on December 1, 1986 shall be freeto continue to use the landfills until the closure of the landfills; andprovided, further, that this subdivision shall not be construed to affect orimpair any valid contract for disposal of municipal waste which was in effecton March 1, 1985 until the expiration of the original term of the contract, orthe expiration of any extension approved by the corporation, or soonertermination of the contract; after the closure of the landfill or expiration orearlier termination of the contracts, the municipalities shall be required touse the facilities and services as the corporation shall direct;
(7) That provision shall be made for planning, research, anddevelopment, and appropriate innovation in the design, management, andoperation of the state's system for solid waste management, in order to permitcontinuing improvement and provide adequate incentives and processes forlowering operating and other costs;
(8) That the Rhode Island resource recovery corporationestablished pursuant to this chapter shall plan and implement solid wastemanagement facilities where necessary and desirable throughout the state, inaccordance with the general laws and with applicable state regulations,including, without limitation, regulations of the department of health and thedepartment of environmental management;
(9) The creation, licensing, and operation of landfill solidwaste disposal facilities should be limited to what is reasonably required toservice the needs of the inhabitants and businesses of this state, havingregard for alternative technologies for waste disposal;
(10) That the Rhode Island resource recovery corporation willprovide, either by contract with a private concern or directly by thecorporation, a recycling facility as defined by the department of environmentalmanagement at, or within a convenient distance of, all solid waste disposalfacilities under its jurisdiction. These recycling facilities will providecities and towns with a place to deposit their recyclable materials at notipping cost to the municipalities; provided, however, that tipping fees may becharged in accordance with this chapter when the solid waste processingfacility is designed to process nonsource separated or partially sourceseparated solid waste for recycling at least seventy percent (70%) of themunicipal solid waste stream.
(11) An integrated approach shall be adopted with respect tosolid waste management planning and implementation activities that shall bebased on the following priorities to the extent economically feasible:
(i) Reduction of the amount of source waste generated;
(ii) Source separation and recycling;
(iii) Waste processing such as recycling based technology toreduce the volume of waste necessary for land disposal;
(iv) Land disposal;
(12) That the central landfill should be reserved for thedisposal of solid waste generated within the state; and
(13) That the resource recovery corporation will operate thecentral landfill in a manner designed to afford to the environment and to thecitizens of the state who reside near the landfill the maximum protection whichis available for the land disposal of rubbish and minimize or eliminate landdisposal of solid waste.
(14) That due to the myriad of over four hundred (400) toxicpollutants including lead, mercury, dioxins, and acid gasses known to beemitted by solid waste incinerators, the known and unknown threats posed bysolid waste incinerators to the health and safety of Rhode Islanders,particularly children, along with the known and unknown threats to theenvironment are unacceptable.
(15) That despite the use of state of the art landfill linersystems and leachate collection systems, landfills, and particularlyincinerator ash landfills, release toxic leachate into ground and surfacewaters which poses an unacceptable threat to public health, the environment,and the state's limited ground and surface water resources.
(16) That incineration of solid waste is the most costlymethod of waste disposal with known and unknown escalating costs that wouldplace substantial and unreasonable burdens on both state and municipal budgetsto the point of seriously jeopardizing the public's interest.
(17) That the highest and best use of leaf and yard debris isfor use in the composting process and the resulting compost material is avaluable soil amendment for agricultural and landscaping operations. Thecorporation shall accept segregated leaf and yard debris collected frommunicipalities as part of a municipal leaf and yard waste diversion program.Municipalities shall have a .025 ton per person cap on the amount of leaf andyard debris they deliver to the corporation's facility annually beginning onJuly 1, 2009. The corporation shall establish a municipal leaf and yarddebris borrowing program that allows municipalities to share portions oftheir choosing of their unutilized cap tonnage with municipalities that are inexcess of their cap tonnage. This program shall not allow an individualmunicipality to borrow more than one-half (1/2) of its established tonnage cap.This material shall be accepted at no charge to municipalities, provided thatthe corporation may charge twenty-five dollars ($25.00) per ton for every tonthat exceeds the per person cap not including any tonnage that a municipalityutilized from the leaf and yard debris borrowing program established for themunicipality. This material shall be composted at the corporation's facility.The resulting compost shall be used by the corporation for operational andconstruction needs, may be marketed by the corporation to help offsetprocessing costs and may be periodically available to municipalities and stateagencies at no charge. The corporation shall quantify the amount of leaf andyard debris it requires on an annual basis to create compost for landfill andconstruction operation purposes. The corporation shall report this amount tothe general assembly no later than September 1, 2008.