§ 6604 - Waste management plans
§ 6604. Waste management plans
(a) No later than April 30, 1988 the secretary shall publish and adopt, after notice and public hearing pursuant to chapter 25 of Title 3, a solid waste management plan which sets forth a comprehensive statewide strategy for the management of waste, including whey. No later than July 1, 1991, the secretary shall publish and adopt, after notice and public hearing pursuant to chapter 25 of Title 3, a hazardous waste management plan, which sets forth a comprehensive statewide strategy for the management of hazardous waste.
(1)(A) The plans shall be based upon the following priorities, in descending order:
(i) the greatest feasible reduction in the amount of waste generated;
(ii) reuse and recycling of waste to reduce to the greatest extent feasible the volume remaining for processing and disposal;
(iii) waste processing to reduce the volume or toxicity of the waste stream necessary for disposal;
(iv) land disposal of the residuals.
(B) Processing and disposal alternatives shall be preferred which do not foreclose the future ability of the state to reduce, reuse and recycle waste. In determining feasibility, the secretary shall evaluate alternatives in terms of their expected life-cycle costs.
(2) The plans shall be revised at least once every five years and shall include:
(A) methods to reduce and remove material from the waste stream, including commercially generated and other organic wastes, used clothing, and construction and demolition debris, and to separate, collect, and recycle, treat or dispose of specific waste materials that create environmental, health, safety, or management problems, including, but not limited to, tires, batteries, obsolete electronic equipment, and unregulated hazardous wastes. These portions of the plans shall include strategies to assure recycling in the state, and to prevent the incineration or other disposal of marketable recyclables. They shall consider both the current solid waste stream and its projected changes, and shall be based on:
(i) an analysis of the volume and nature of wastes generated in the state, the sources of those wastes, and the current fate or disposition of those wastes;
(ii) an assessment of the feasibility and cost of recycling each type of waste, including an assessment of the feasibility of providing the option of single source recycling;
(iii) a survey of existing and potential markets for each type of waste that can be recycled;
(B) a proposal for the development of facilities and programs necessary at the state, regional or local level to achieve the priorities identified in subdivision (a)(1) of this section. Consideration shall be given to the need for additional regional or local composting facilities, the need to expand the collection of commercially generated organic wastes, and the cost-effectiveness of developing single stream waste management infrastructure adequate to serve the entire population, which may include material recovery centers. These portions of the plan shall be based, in part, on an assessment of the status, capacity, and life expectancy of existing treatment and disposal facilities, and they shall include siting criteria for waste management facilities, and shall establish requirements for full public involvement.
(b) The secretary may manage the hazardous wastes generated, transported, treated, stored or disposed in the state by administering a regulatory and management program which, at a minimum, meets the requirements of subtitle C of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976, and amendments thereto, codified as 42 U.S.C. chapter 82, subchapter 3, and the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980, as amended.
(1) Removal of hazardous waste from the waste stream. The secretary is authorized to carry out studies, evaluations and pilot projects to remove significant quantities of unregulated hazardous wastes from the waste stream, when in the secretary's opinion the public health and safety will not be adversely affected. One or more of these projects shall investigate the feasibility and effectiveness of separating from the rest of the waste stream those nonhazardous materials which require disposal in landfills, but which may not require the use of liners and leachate collection systems.
(2) Report on disposal of hazardous wastes. The secretary shall consult with interested persons on the disposal of hazardous waste, including persons with relevant expertise and representatives from state and local government, industry, the agricultural sector, the University of Vermont, and the general public. The secretary shall conduct public hearings, take relevant testimony, perform appropriate analysis and report to the general assembly and the governor by January 1, 1990, on the following:
(A) the nature, origin and amount of hazardous waste generated in the state;
(B) the cost and environmental impact of current disposal practices;
(C) options for the treatment and disposal of leachate collected from sanitary landfills;
(D) steps that can be taken to reduce waste flows, or recycle wastes;
(E) the need for recycling, treatment and disposal facilities to be located within the state; and
(F) a proposed process and proposed criteria for use in siting and constructing needed facilities within the state, and for obtaining the maximum amount of public input in any such process.
(c) The secretary shall hold public hearings, perform studies as required, conduct ongoing analyses, and make recommendations to the general assembly with respect to the reduction of the waste stream. In this process, the secretary shall consult with manufacturers of commercial products and of packaging used with commercial products, retail sales enterprises, health and environmental advocates, waste management specialists, the general public, and state agencies. The goal of the process is to ensure that packaging used and products sold in the state are not an undue burden to the state's ability to manage its waste. The secretary shall seek voluntary changes on the part of the industrial and commercial sector in both their practices and the products they sell, so as to serve the purposes of this section. In this process, the secretary may obtain voluntary compliance schedules from the appropriate industry or commercial enterprise, and shall entertain recommendations for alternative approaches. The secretary shall report at the beginning of each biennium to the general assembly, with any recommendations or options for legislative consideration.
(1) In carrying out the provisions of this subsection, the secretary first shall consider ways to keep hazardous material and nonrecyclable, nonbiodegradable material out of the waste stream, as soon as possible. In this process, immediate consideration shall be given to the following:
(A) evaluation of products and packaging that contain large concentrations of chlorides, such as packaging made with polyvinyl chloride (PVC);
(B) evaluation of polystyrene packaging, particularly that used to package fast food on the premises where the food is sold;
(C) evaluation of products and packaging that bring heavy metals into the waste stream, such as disposable batteries, paint and paint products and containers, and newspaper supplements and similar paper products;
(D) identification of unnecessary packaging, which is nonrecyclable and nonbiodegradable.
(2) With respect to the above, the secretary shall consider the following:
(A) product and packaging bans, products or packaging which ought to be exempt from such bans, the existence of less burdensome alternatives, and alternative ways that a ban may be imposed;
(B) tax incentives, including the following options:
(i) product taxes, based on a sliding scale, according to the degree of undue harm caused by the product, the existence of less harmful alternatives, and other relevant factors;
(ii) taxes on all nonrecyclable, nonbiodegradable products or packaging;
(C) deposit and return legislation for certain products.
(d) A portion of the state's solid waste management plan shall set forth a comprehensive statewide program for the collection, treatment, beneficial use and disposal of septage and sludge. The secretary shall work cooperatively with the department of health and the agency of agriculture, food and markets in developing this portion of the plan and the rules to carry it out, both of which shall be consistent with or more stringent than that prescribed by section 405 of the Clean Water Act (33 U.S.C. § 1251, et seq.). In addition, the secretary shall consult with local governmental units and the interested public in the development of the plans. The sludge management plan and the septage management plan shall be developed and adopted by January 15, 1987. In the development of these portions of the plan, consideration shall be given to, but shall not be limited to, the following:
(1) the varying characteristics of septage and sludge;
(2) its value as a soil amendment;
(3) the need for licensing or other regulation of septage and sludge handlers;
(4) the need for seasonal storage capability;
(5) the most appropriate burdens to be borne by individuals, municipalities and industrial and commercial enterprises;
(6) disposal site permitting procedures;
(7) appropriate monitoring and reporting requirements;
(8) actions which can be taken through existing state programs to facilitate beneficial use of septage and sludge;
(9) the need for regional septage facilities;
(10) an appropriate public information program; and
(11) the need for and proposed nature and cost of appropriate pilot projects.
(e) Although the plans adopted under this section and any amendments to these plans shall be adopted by means of a public process that is similar to the process involved in the adoption of administrative rules, the plans, as initially adopted or as amended, shall not be a rule. (Added 1977, No. 106, § 1; amended 1985, No. 190 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. May 14, 1986; 1987, No. 78, § 2; 1987, No. 246 (Adj. Sess.), § 3, eff. June 13, 1988; 1989, No. 218 (Adj. Sess.), § 7, eff. Oct. 1, 1990; No. 256 (Adj. Sess.), § 10(a), eff. Jan. 1, 1991, No. 282 (Adj. Sess.), § 11, eff. June 22, 1990; 2003, No. 42, § 2, eff. May 27, 2003; 2007, No. 209 (Adj. Sess.), § 6.)