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| 4 | 4 | | |
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| 5 | 5 | | 2023 -- S 0193 |
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| 6 | 6 | | ======== |
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| 7 | 7 | | LC001286 |
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| 8 | 8 | | ======== |
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| 9 | 9 | | S TATE OF RHODE IS LAND |
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| 10 | 10 | | IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 11 | 11 | | JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2023 |
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| 12 | 12 | | ____________ |
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| 13 | 13 | | |
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| 14 | 14 | | A N A C T |
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| 15 | 15 | | RELATING TO HEALTH AND SAFETY -- HAZARDOUS WASTE MANA GEMENT |
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| 16 | 16 | | Introduced By: Senators Valverde, Euer, LaMountain, Miller, DiMario, Murray, |
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| 17 | 17 | | Sosnowski, and Raptakis |
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| 18 | 18 | | Date Introduced: February 16, 2023 |
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| 19 | 19 | | Referred To: Senate Environment & Agriculture |
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| 20 | 20 | | |
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| 21 | 21 | | |
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| 22 | 22 | | It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows: |
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| 23 | 23 | | SECTION 1. Sections 23-19.1-4, 23-19.1-18 and 23-19.1-18.1 of the General Laws in 1 |
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| 24 | 24 | | Chapter 23-19.1 entitled "Hazardous Waste Management" are hereby amended to read as follows: 2 |
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| 25 | 25 | | 23-19.1-4. Definitions. 3 |
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| 26 | 26 | | When used in this chapter: 4 |
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| 27 | 27 | | (1) “Department” means the department of environmental management; 5 |
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| 28 | 28 | | (2) “Director” means the director of the department of environmental management or the 6 |
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| 29 | 29 | | director’s designee; 7 |
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| 30 | 30 | | (3) “Disposal” means the discharge, deposit, injection, dumping, spilling, leaking, 8 |
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| 31 | 31 | | abandoning, or placing of any hazardous waste in, on, into or onto any land, other surface, or 9 |
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| 32 | 32 | | building, or into any water, stormwater system, or sewer system; 10 |
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| 33 | 33 | | (4) "Fill" means any act by which earth, sand, or other material is placed or moved to a 11 |
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| 34 | 34 | | new location above ground. The fill is also the difference in elevation between a point of existing 12 |
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| 35 | 35 | | undisturbed ground and a designated point of higher elevation of the final grade. 13 |
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| 36 | 36 | | (4)(5)(i) “Hazardous waste” means any waste or combination of wastes of a solid, liquid, 14 |
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| 37 | 37 | | contained gaseous, or semisolid form which because of its quantity, concentration, or physical, 15 |
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| 38 | 38 | | chemical, or infectious characteristics may: 16 |
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| 39 | 39 | | (A) Cause or significantly contribute to an increase in mortality or an increase in serious 17 |
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| 40 | 40 | | irreversible or incapacitating reversible illness; or 18 |
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| 41 | 41 | | (B) Pose a substantial present or potential hazard to human health or the environment. 19 |
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| 42 | 42 | | |
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| 43 | 43 | | |
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| 44 | 44 | | LC001286 - Page 2 of 7 |
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| 45 | 45 | | (ii) These wastes include, but are not limited to, those which are toxic, corrosive, 1 |
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| 46 | 46 | | flammable, irritants, strong sensitizers, substances which are assimilated or concentrated in and are 2 |
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| 47 | 47 | | detrimental to tissue, or which generate pressure through decomposition or chemical reaction. In 3 |
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| 48 | 48 | | addition, these wastes include “industrial waste” as the term is used elsewhere, unless the context 4 |
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| 49 | 49 | | shall clearly indicate otherwise. 5 |
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| 50 | 50 | | (iii) Hazardous waste does not include waste or a combination of wastes that are recycled 6 |
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| 51 | 51 | | as legitimate recycled hazardous waste pursuant to title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations 7 |
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| 52 | 52 | | (CFR) section 260.43. 8 |
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| 53 | 53 | | (5)(6) “Hazardous waste generation” means the act or process of producing hazardous 9 |
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| 54 | 54 | | waste; 10 |
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| 55 | 55 | | (6)(7) “Hazardous waste management” means the systematic control of the collection, 11 |
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| 56 | 56 | | source separation, storage, transportation, processing, treatment, recovery, and disposal of 12 |
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| 57 | 57 | | hazardous wastes; 13 |
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| 58 | 58 | | (7)(8) “Hazardous waste management facility” means a facility, excluding vehicles, for 14 |
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| 59 | 59 | | collection, source separation, storage, processing, treatment, recovery, or disposal of hazardous 15 |
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| 60 | 60 | | wastes, or a transfer station for hazardous waste, and may include a facility at which such activities 16 |
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| 61 | 61 | | occur and where waste has been generated; 17 |
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| 62 | 62 | | (8)(9) “Landfill” means any disposal facility or part of a facility where hazardous waste is 18 |
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| 63 | 63 | | placed in or on land; 19 |
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| 64 | 64 | | (9)(10) “Manifest” means the form used for identifying the quantity, composition, and the 20 |
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| 65 | 65 | | origin, routing, and destination of hazardous waste during its transportation from the point of 21 |
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| 66 | 66 | | generation to the point of disposal, treatment, or storage; 22 |
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| 67 | 67 | | (10)(11) “Person” means an individual, trust, firm, joint stock company, corporation 23 |
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| 68 | 68 | | (including a government corporation), partnership, association, the federal government or any 24 |
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| 69 | 69 | | agency or subdivision thereof, a state, municipality, commission, political subdivision of a state, or 25 |
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| 70 | 70 | | any interstate body; 26 |
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| 71 | 71 | | (11)(12) “Storage” means the actual or intended containment of hazardous waste, either on 27 |
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| 72 | 72 | | a temporary basis or for a period of years, in such a manner as not to constitute disposal of the 28 |
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| 73 | 73 | | hazardous waste; 29 |
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| 74 | 74 | | (12)(13) “Transfer station” means an intermediate point in the transport of hazardous 30 |
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| 75 | 75 | | wastes where the wastes are brought, stored, and transferred to vehicles for movement to other 31 |
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| 76 | 76 | | intermediate points or to the point of ultimate storage or disposal; 32 |
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| 77 | 77 | | (13)(14) “Transport” means the movement of wastes from the point of generation to any 33 |
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| 78 | 78 | | intermediate points, and finally to the point of ultimate storage or disposal; 34 |
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| 79 | 79 | | |
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| 80 | 80 | | |
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| 81 | 81 | | LC001286 - Page 3 of 7 |
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| 82 | 82 | | (14)(15) “Treatment” means any method, technique, or process, including neutralization 1 |
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| 83 | 83 | | or incineration, designed to change the physical, chemical, or biological character or composition 2 |
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| 84 | 84 | | of any hazardous waste as to neutralize the waste or so as to render the waste less hazardous, 3 |
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| 85 | 85 | | nonhazardous, safer to transport, amenable to storage, or reduced in volume, except any method or 4 |
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| 86 | 86 | | technique that may be included as part of the manufacturing process at the point of generation. 5 |
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| 87 | 87 | | 23-19.1-18. Criminal penalties — Payment of restoration costs. 6 |
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| 88 | 88 | | (a) Unless otherwise specified, any person who shall refuse to obey or who shall knowingly 7 |
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| 89 | 89 | | violate, or reasonably should know that he or she is violating, the provisions of an order issued by 8 |
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| 90 | 90 | | the director under the provisions of this chapter or any rules or regulations promulgated pursuant 9 |
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| 91 | 91 | | to this chapter, or who shall cause the refusal or violation, shall be guilty of a felony. 10 |
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| 92 | 92 | | (b) Any person who shall tamper with, destroy, or in any other way detrimentally affect a 11 |
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| 93 | 93 | | well which has been installed by any person pursuant to an order or rules and regulations issued by 12 |
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| 94 | 94 | | the department of environmental management or any other state agency, for the purpose of testing 13 |
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| 95 | 95 | | ground water contamination, shall be guilty of a felony. 14 |
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| 96 | 96 | | (c) Disposal of hazardous wastes at landfills which cannot be located, designed, 15 |
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| 97 | 97 | | constructed, or operated to prevent the endangerment of all underground drinking water sources 16 |
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| 98 | 98 | | beyond the facility boundary; or the endangerment of an aquifer which has been designated by any 17 |
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| 99 | 99 | | federal or Rhode Island state agency as a sole source aquifer; or contamination by discharge by any 18 |
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| 100 | 100 | | surface or subsurface means causing a violation of any rule or regulation or standard of any federal 19 |
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| 101 | 101 | | or Rhode Island agency; or disposal of hazardous wastes at facilities other than hazardous waste 20 |
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| 102 | 102 | | disposal facilities permitted by the department of environmental management is prohibited, and 21 |
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| 103 | 103 | | any person who knowingly disposes, or who reasonably should know that he or she is disposing or 22 |
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| 104 | 104 | | causing the disposal of, hazardous wastes in Rhode Island at other than hazardous waste disposal 23 |
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| 105 | 105 | | facilities holding valid permits issued by the department of environmental management shall be 24 |
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| 106 | 106 | | deemed guilty of a felony. 25 |
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| 107 | 107 | | (d) Operation of a hazardous waste disposal facility in Rhode Island without a valid permit 26 |
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| 108 | 108 | | issued by the department of environmental management is prohibited, and any person who 27 |
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| 109 | 109 | | knowingly operates a hazardous waste disposal facility in Rhode Island, or who reasonably should 28 |
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| 110 | 110 | | know that he or she is operating or causing the operation of this facility without a valid permit shall 29 |
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| 111 | 111 | | be guilty of a felony. 30 |
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| 112 | 112 | | (e) Transportation of hazardous wastes in Rhode Island without a valid permit issued by 31 |
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| 113 | 113 | | the department of environmental management is prohibited, and any person who knowingly 32 |
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| 114 | 114 | | transports hazardous wastes in Rhode Island without a valid permit issued by the department of 33 |
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| 115 | 115 | | environmental management, or who reasonably should know that he or she is transporting or 34 |
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| 116 | 116 | | |
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| 117 | 117 | | |
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| 118 | 118 | | LC001286 - Page 4 of 7 |
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| 119 | 119 | | causing to be transported hazardous wastes without a permit, shall be guilty of a felony. 1 |
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| 120 | 120 | | (f) Treatment of hazardous wastes in Rhode Island without a valid permit issued by the 2 |
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| 121 | 121 | | department of environmental management, or storage of hazardous wastes in Rhode Island without 3 |
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| 122 | 122 | | a valid permit issued by the department of environmental management is prohibited and any person 4 |
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| 123 | 123 | | who knowingly stores or treats hazardous wastes in Rhode Island without a valid permit issued by 5 |
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| 124 | 124 | | the department of environmental management, or other authorization of the department of 6 |
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| 125 | 125 | | environmental management, or who reasonably should know that he or she is storing or treating or 7 |
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| 126 | 126 | | causing to be treated or stored without a permit, shall be guilty of a felony. 8 |
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| 127 | 127 | | (g) The transporting, causing to be transported, or accepting of hazardous waste for 9 |
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| 128 | 128 | | treatment, storage, or disposal from a transporter without a manifest required by the department of 10 |
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| 129 | 129 | | environmental management and completed in accordance with department of environmental 11 |
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| 130 | 130 | | management regulations is prohibited. Any person who transports, causes to be transported, or 12 |
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| 131 | 131 | | accepts hazardous waste for treatment, storage, or disposal and fails to prepare a manifest for the 13 |
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| 132 | 132 | | hazardous waste or knowingly alters or falsifies the information on the manifest shall be deemed 14 |
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| 133 | 133 | | guilty of a felony. 15 |
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| 134 | 134 | | (h) The use of hazardous waste as defined in § 23-19.1-4 as fill on any construction site 16 |
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| 135 | 135 | | project is prohibited and any person who knowingly uses, or transports for use, hazardous waste as 17 |
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| 136 | 136 | | fill on any construction site project in Rhode Island, or who reasonably should know that such fill 18 |
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| 137 | 137 | | is hazardous waste, shall be guilty of a felony. 19 |
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| 138 | 138 | | (h)(i) Any person who knowingly makes a false statement, representation, or certification 20 |
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| 139 | 139 | | in any application, record, report, plan, permit, or other document filed, maintained, and used for 21 |
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| 140 | 140 | | the purposes of program compliance under this chapter shall be deemed guilty of a felony. 22 |
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| 141 | 141 | | (i)(j) Any person who violates any provision of this section shall be punished by 23 |
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| 142 | 142 | | imprisonment for not more than five (5) years or by a fine of not more than twenty-five thousand 24 |
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| 143 | 143 | | dollars ($25,000) or both. In the case of a continuing violation, each day’s continuance of the 25 |
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| 144 | 144 | | violation shall be a separate and distinct offense. 26 |
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| 145 | 145 | | (j)(k) In addition to the provisions of this section, after a judgment of conviction and 27 |
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| 146 | 146 | | hearing in accordance with § 23-19.1-18.1, the court may shall order the defendant to pay the cost 28 |
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| 147 | 147 | | of restoring to its original state the area where hazardous wastes were unlawfully stored, treated, or 29 |
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| 148 | 148 | | disposed. 30 |
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| 149 | 149 | | 23-19.1-18.1. Determination of restoration costs — Judgment — Other relief not 31 |
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| 150 | 150 | | precluded. 32 |
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| 151 | 151 | | (a) In any case where the court is of the opinion that the sentence should consist of or 33 |
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| 152 | 152 | | include the amount of the cost of restoring to its original state the area where hazardous wastes 34 |
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| 153 | 153 | | |
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| 154 | 154 | | |
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| 155 | 155 | | LC001286 - Page 5 of 7 |
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| 156 | 156 | | were stored, treated, or disposed of, or where soil containing hazardous waste was used as fill, in 1 |
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| 157 | 157 | | violation of the provisions of this chapter, the court shall order a hearing to determine the amount 2 |
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| 158 | 158 | | of the cost of the restoration. For the purposes of this section, the “original state of the area” means 3 |
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| 159 | 159 | | the reasonably ascertainable condition of the property immediately prior to the unlawful storage, 4 |
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| 160 | 160 | | treatment, or disposal, or use of soil containing hazardous waste as fill, or, if impracticable to 5 |
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| 161 | 161 | | determine the condition, then it shall be the reasonable environmentally sound condition of the 6 |
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| 162 | 162 | | property. The order must be filed with the clerk of the court and must specify a date for the hearing 7 |
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| 163 | 163 | | not less than ten (10) days after the filing of the order. 8 |
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| 164 | 164 | | (b) Upon receipt of the order, the clerk of the court must send a notice of the hearing to the 9 |
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| 165 | 165 | | defendant, the defendant’s legal counsel, and the attorney general. The notice must specify the time 10 |
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| 166 | 166 | | and place of the hearing and the fact that the purpose of the hearing is to determine the amount of 11 |
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| 167 | 167 | | the cost of restoring to its original state the area where hazardous wastes were stored, treated, or 12 |
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| 168 | 168 | | disposed unlawfully. 13 |
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| 169 | 169 | | (c) When the defendant appears for the hearing, the court must ask the defendant whether 14 |
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| 170 | 170 | | he or she wishes to make any statement or offer any evidence with respect to the amount of the cost 15 |
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| 171 | 171 | | of restoring to its original state the area where hazardous wastes were stored, treated, or disposed 16 |
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| 172 | 172 | | unlawfully. 17 |
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| 173 | 173 | | (d) At any hearing held pursuant to this section, the burden of proof rests upon the state, 18 |
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| 174 | 174 | | which shall be represented by the attorney general. A finding as to the amount of the cost of 19 |
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| 175 | 175 | | restoring to its original state the area where hazardous wastes were stored, treated, or disposed 20 |
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| 176 | 176 | | unlawfully must be based upon a preponderance of the evidence. The defendant shall be permitted 21 |
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| 177 | 177 | | to rebut any evidence offered by the state. 22 |
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| 178 | 178 | | (e) In all cases, the court shall enter its findings and judgment upon the record at the 23 |
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| 179 | 179 | | conclusion of the hearing. 24 |
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| 180 | 180 | | (f)(1) The judgment may require the defendant to pay an amount for the restoration of the 25 |
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| 181 | 181 | | property or to perform duties of restoration or both. Where the cost of restoration cannot be wholly 26 |
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| 182 | 182 | | determined by the evidence, the court may order the defendant to pay an amount that reasonably 27 |
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| 183 | 183 | | approximates the total cost of restoration or may require the defendant to finance the restoration 28 |
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| 184 | 184 | | without a determination as to amount. 29 |
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| 185 | 185 | | (2) When the court orders the defendant to pay an amount for the restoration of the 30 |
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| 186 | 186 | | property, the amount shall be paid to the department of environmental management and shall be 31 |
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| 187 | 187 | | used exclusively by the department of environmental management for the restoration of the 32 |
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| 188 | 188 | | property. 33 |
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| 189 | 189 | | (3) Where the court orders the defendant to perform duties of restoration to the property, 34 |
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| 190 | 190 | | |
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| 191 | 191 | | |
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| 192 | 192 | | LC001286 - Page 6 of 7 |
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| 193 | 193 | | the court may authorize the department of environmental management to supervise and report to it 1 |
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| 194 | 194 | | on the conduct of the duties. 2 |
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| 195 | 195 | | (4) In order to most likely assure the restoration of the property, where there are two or 3 |
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| 196 | 196 | | more defendants, the court may apportion the costs or assign the performance of duties of 4 |
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| 197 | 197 | | restoration, or both, between or among the defendants as the interests of justice may appear to the 5 |
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| 198 | 198 | | court. 6 |
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| 199 | 199 | | (5) Defendants may be ordered by the court to reimburse the state for any administrative 7 |
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| 200 | 200 | | costs incurred by the state or its agents in conjunction with restoration work. 8 |
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| 201 | 201 | | (g) The provisions of this section shall not preclude the state or attorney general or the 9 |
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| 202 | 202 | | department of environmental management from seeking any other relief authorized by other statute 10 |
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| 203 | 203 | | or common law. 11 |
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| 204 | 204 | | SECTION 2. Chapter 23-19.1 of the General Laws entitled "Hazardous Waste 12 |
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| 205 | 205 | | Management" is hereby amended by adding thereto the following section: 13 |
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| 206 | 206 | | 23-19.1-22.1. Use of hazardous waste in soil as fill prohibited. 14 |
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| 207 | 207 | | (a) Any person who shall violate the provisions of this chapter through the use of hazardous 15 |
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| 208 | 208 | | waste as defined in § 23-19.1-4 as fill on any construction site project in the state, or who shall 16 |
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| 209 | 209 | | have caused the use of hazardous waste as fill on any construction site project in the state shall be 17 |
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| 210 | 210 | | liable for the cost of containment, cleanup, restoration, and removal of the fill, and for all damages, 18 |
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| 211 | 211 | | losses, or injuries, including environmental, which result directly or indirectly from the use of the 19 |
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| 212 | 212 | | soil containing hazardous waste as fill. 20 |
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| 213 | 213 | | (b) Proceedings brought pursuant to this section shall be instituted by filing a complaint in 21 |
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| 214 | 214 | | the superior court. 22 |
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| 215 | 215 | | (c) The state, by and through the department of environmental management, is the trustee 23 |
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| 216 | 216 | | of the air, water, fish, and wildlife of the state. An action brought pursuant to the provisions of this 24 |
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| 217 | 217 | | chapter with respect to environmental damage may be brought by the attorney general or the 25 |
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| 218 | 218 | | director of the department of environmental management in the name of the state as trustee for 26 |
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| 219 | 219 | | those natural resources. 27 |
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| 220 | 220 | | (d) The court may award treble the amount of the costs, damages, losses, or injuries 28 |
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| 221 | 221 | | whenever it finds that an individual has used soil containing hazardous waste as fill in violation of 29 |
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| 222 | 222 | | this chapter or the rules and regulations promulgated pursuant to this chapter in a willful and 30 |
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| 223 | 223 | | knowing manner. 31 |
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| 224 | 224 | | SECTION 3. This act shall take effect upon passage. 32 |
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| 226 | 226 | | LC001286 |
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| 228 | 228 | | |
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| 229 | 229 | | |
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| 230 | 230 | | LC001286 - Page 7 of 7 |
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| 231 | 231 | | EXPLANATION |
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| 232 | 232 | | BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL |
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| 233 | 233 | | OF |
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| 234 | 234 | | A N A C T |
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| 235 | 235 | | RELATING TO HEALTH AND SAFETY -- HAZARDOUS WASTE MANA GEMENT |
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| 236 | 236 | | *** |
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| 237 | 237 | | This act would prohibit the use of hazardous waste as fill on any construction site project 1 |
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| 238 | 238 | | and renders the use of such material as fill a felony. 2 |
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| 239 | 239 | | This act would take effect upon passage. 3 |
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| 240 | 240 | | ======== |
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| 241 | 241 | | LC001286 |
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| 243 | 243 | | |
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