SENATE ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY COMMITTEE
STATEMENT TO
SENATE, No. 1991
with committee amendments
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
DATED: MARCH 17, 2025
The Senate Environment and Energy Committee reports favorably
and with committee amendments Senate Bill No. 1991.
This bill, as amended by the committee, would amend the law
pertaining to the establishment of annual economic benefits for
municipalities in which sanitary landfill facilities or solid waste
transfer stations operate, in order to provide for greater public input
with respect to the establishment and terms of such annual economic
benefits and greater transparency and finality in the annual economic
benefits negotiation process.
Current law provides that any municipality in which a sanitary
landfill facility or transfer station is located is entitled to receive an
annual economic benefit, to be paid by the owner or operator of the
facility or transfer station. The amount and form of the benefit are to
be established pursuant to an agreement that is executed between the
municipality and the sanitary landfill facility or transfer station and is
approved by the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) or the
Board of Public Utilities (BPU), as appropriate. This bill would: (1)
establish a specific timeframe for the completion of annual economic
benefit negotiations between a municipality and a sanitary landfill
facility or transfer station; (2) require the municipality to publish the
proposed annual economic benefit online, for public comment, prior to
submitting the proposed annual economic benefit to the DEP or BPU
for approval; (3) require the DEP or BPU to establish the annual
economic benefit for a municipality in any case where the parties are
negotiating in bad faith or otherwise fail to come to an agreement on
the annual economic benefit; and (4) authorize any resident to petition
the DEP or BPU for an order establishing or adjusting an annual
economic benefit in the municipality.
The bill provides, in particular, that, not more than 10 days after
negotiations are commenced between a municipality and a sanitary
landfill facility or transfer station to establish an annual economic
benefit, the municipality will be required to provide written notice to
the DEP or BPU, as appropriate, indicating the date on which
negotiations were commenced. Negotiations are to be completed not
more than 180 days after being commenced; however, if negotiations
cannot be completed within this timeframe, the parties may jointly 2
apply to the DEP or BPU for an extension of up to 180 days to
complete the negotiations and publish the proposed annual economic
benefit. An application for extension is to identify the reasons why
negotiations were not completed within the initial 180-day timeframe
required by the bill. The DEP or BPU, as appropriate, will be required
to approve an application for extension, so long as there is no
reasonable basis for the commissioner or the board, as appropriate, to
believe that the municipality or the sanitary landfill facility or transfer
station, as appropriate, are acting in bad faith with respect to the
negotiations. Notice of an extension authorized under the bill is to be
posted on the Internet websites of both the municipality and the DEP
or BPU, as appropriate, within 10 days after the extension is granted.
The bill also provides that, not more than 10 days after
negotiations are completed in accordance with the timeframes
specified by the bill, and before the proposed annual economic benefit
is submitted to the DEP or BPU for approval, the municipality is to
publish the proposed annual economic benefit on its Internet website
and provide a minimum 45-day period for public comment on the
proposed annual economic benefit. Not more than 45 days after the
public comment period is closed, the parties will be required to
consider the comments received and incorporate changes to the
proposed annual economic benefit, in accordance with those
comments, as is deemed by the parties to be appropriate. Upon
submission of the proposed annual economic benefit to the DEP or
BPU for approval, the municipality will also be required to transmit
the public comments to the DEP or BPU for consideration.
If an application for extension of the negotiation period is denied
by the DEP or the BPU on the basis of bad faith negotiations
undertaken by either party, or if the parties otherwise cannot agree on
the terms of the annual economic benefit within the initial and
extended timeframes specified by the bill, the DEP or BPU, as
appropriate, will be required to issue an order establishing an annual
economic benefit in the municipality as the commissioner or board
deems appropriate. When establishing an annual economic benefit,
the commissioner or board will be required to consider, and
incorporate to the greatest extent possible, consistent with the other
provisions of the order, any terms on which the parties were able to
reach agreement during the course of negotiations.
Finally, the bill authorizes any resident of a municipality in which
a sanitary landfill facility or transfer station is located to, at any time,
petition the DEP or the BPU for an order establishing or adjusting an
annual economic benefit in the municipality. Any such petition is to:
(1) indicate the level of benefit that the petitioner believes should be
imposed; (2) include supporting information and documentation
explaining why the proposed level of benefit is both reasonable and
necessary; and (3) include any other information required by the DEP
or BPU, as appropriate. The DEP or BPU, as the case may be, will be 3
required to issue a decision on the petition no later than 180 days after
receipt thereof.
As amended and reported by the committee, Senate Bill No. 1991
is identical to Assembly Bill No. 3534 (1R).
This bill was pre-filed for introduction in the 2024-2025 session
pending technical review. As reported, the bill includes the changes
required by technical review, which has been performed.
COMMITTEE AMENDMENTS :
The committee amendments to the bill:
(1) replace all references to a “host community benefit agreement”
to an “annual economic benefit” to accurately represent the type of
benefit provided in the current law; and
(2) update the bill’s title and synopsis to reflect the changes made
to the bill.