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| 4 | 4 | | |
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| 5 | 5 | | 2025 -- S 0104 |
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| 6 | 6 | | ======== |
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| 7 | 7 | | LC000606 |
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| 8 | 8 | | ======== |
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| 9 | 9 | | S T A T E O F R H O D E I S L A N D |
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| 10 | 10 | | IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 11 | 11 | | JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2025 |
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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 STATE AFFAIRS AND GOVERNMENT -- COMPOSTING AND OR GANIC |
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| 16 | 16 | | WASTE DIVERSION |
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| 17 | 17 | | Introduced By: Senators Valverde, Kallman, Vargas, Euer, McKenney, Gu, DiMario, |
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| 18 | 18 | | Sosnowski, and Lauria |
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| 19 | 19 | | Date Introduced: January 31, 2025 |
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| 20 | 20 | | Referred To: Senate Finance |
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| 21 | 21 | | |
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| 22 | 22 | | |
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| 23 | 23 | | It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows: |
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| 24 | 24 | | SECTION 1. Legislative Findings. 1 |
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| 25 | 25 | | The general assembly finds and declares that: 2 |
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| 26 | 26 | | (1) Approximately one third of the material disposed of at the RI resource recovery central 3 |
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| 27 | 27 | | landfill is compostable; 4 |
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| 28 | 28 | | (2) The central landfill is estimated to be full by 2043; 5 |
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| 29 | 29 | | (3) Rhode Island has one of the lowest municipal landfill tipping fees in New England; 6 |
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| 30 | 30 | | (4) The general public is increasingly interested in diverting their food scraps; 7 |
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| 31 | 31 | | (5) Compost added to soil increases soil organic matter, in turn improving soil’s ability to 8 |
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| 32 | 32 | | sequester carbon, and reduces the need for synthetic nitrogen fertilizer, which can lead to reduced 9 |
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| 33 | 33 | | emissions associated with the production and use of nitrogen fertilizer; 10 |
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| 34 | 34 | | (6) Healthy agricultural soils sequester carbon and play a vital role in protecting our 11 |
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| 35 | 35 | | waterways and the climate, and ensuring crop yields and farm profitability; 12 |
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| 36 | 36 | | (7) Composting reduces greenhouse gas emissions, builds healthy soils, manages water 13 |
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| 37 | 37 | | runoff and quality, and builds local economies; 14 |
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| 38 | 38 | | (8) Enforcing a “Polluter Pays” principle via a surcharge on materials disposed is an 15 |
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| 39 | 39 | | effective way to encourage waste diversion and raise funds to support development and expansion 16 |
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| 40 | 40 | | of waste diversion programs and infrastructure; 17 |
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| 41 | 41 | | (9) Several other states have instituted disposal surcharges to fund waste diversion and 18 |
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| 42 | 42 | | |
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| 43 | 43 | | |
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| 44 | 44 | | LC000606 - Page 2 of 12 |
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| 45 | 45 | | litter abatement, including New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota, North Carolina, 1 |
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| 46 | 46 | | Ohio and Wisconsin; of these, Pennsylvania, Minnesota, and Wisconsin also fund other 2 |
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| 47 | 47 | | environmental programs from disposal surcharges; 3 |
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| 48 | 48 | | (10) Whole or pulverized shell has high value as a raw material and does not degrade, and 4 |
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| 49 | 49 | | therefore, should not be disposed of in a landfill, but recycled or recovered from trash and reused; 5 |
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| 50 | 50 | | (11) Reducing wasted food and increasing composting is in line with the goals of Rhode 6 |
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| 51 | 51 | | Island’s 2021 Act on Climate. 7 |
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| 52 | 52 | | SECTION 2. Title 42 of the General Laws entitled "STATE AFFAIRS AND 8 |
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| 53 | 53 | | GOVERNMENT" is hereby amended by adding thereto the following chapter: 9 |
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| 54 | 54 | | CHAPTER 6.3 10 |
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| 55 | 55 | | COMPOSTING AND ORGANIC WASTE DIVERSION 11 |
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| 56 | 56 | | 42-6.3-1. Short title. 12 |
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| 57 | 57 | | This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the "Composting and Organic Waste 13 |
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| 58 | 58 | | Diversion." 14 |
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| 59 | 59 | | 42-6.3-2. Purpose. 15 |
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| 60 | 60 | | (a) Establishing the compost fund as a special, nonlapsing fund; requiring interest earnings 16 |
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| 61 | 61 | | of the compost fund to be credited to the compost fund established pursuant to § 42-6.3-5. 17 |
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| 62 | 62 | | (b) Establishing the competitive composting and waste diversion grant fund ("CG fund") 18 |
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| 63 | 63 | | as a special, nonlapsing fund; requiring interest earnings of the competitive composting and waste 19 |
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| 64 | 64 | | diversion grant fund to be credited to the competitive composting and waste diversion grant fund. 20 |
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| 65 | 65 | | (c) Establishing the municipal waste diversion grant fund ("MG fund") as a special, 21 |
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| 66 | 66 | | nonlapsing fund, requiring interest earnings of the municipal waste diversion grant fund to be 22 |
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| 67 | 67 | | credited to the municipal waste diversion grant fund. 23 |
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| 68 | 68 | | (d) Establishing a solid waste disposal surcharge pursuant to the provisions of § 42-6-3-4, 24 |
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| 69 | 69 | | to be collected and transferred, on a quarterly basis, to the office of the general treasurer, by Rhode 25 |
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| 70 | 70 | | Island resource recovery corporation established pursuant to § 23-19-6, or other refuse disposal 26 |
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| 71 | 71 | | system in the state. 27 |
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| 72 | 72 | | (e) Requiring the office of the general treasurer, on an annual basis, to transfer solid waste 28 |
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| 73 | 73 | | disposal surcharge revenue to the compost fund, and specifying that solid waste disposal surcharge 29 |
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| 74 | 74 | | revenue in and originating from the compost fund may not revert to the general fund of the state. 30 |
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| 75 | 75 | | 42-6.3-3. Definitions. 31 |
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| 76 | 76 | | As used in this chapter: 32 |
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| 77 | 77 | | (1) "Compost" means a stable organic product produced by a controlled aerobic 33 |
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| 78 | 78 | | decomposition process that can be used as a soil additive, fertilizer, growth media or other 34 |
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| 79 | 79 | | |
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| 80 | 80 | | |
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| 81 | 81 | | LC000606 - Page 3 of 12 |
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| 82 | 82 | | beneficial use. 1 |
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| 83 | 83 | | (2) "Composting" means the controlled aerobic biological decomposition of organic waste 2 |
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| 84 | 84 | | material resulting in compost. 3 |
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| 85 | 85 | | (3) "Composting facility" means buildings, grounds (such as a composting pad) and 4 |
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| 86 | 86 | | equipment dedicated to the manufacture of compost, and also includes stormwater control systems. 5 |
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| 87 | 87 | | (4) "Payor" means all entities required to pay the surcharge and can include any of the 6 |
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| 88 | 88 | | following: 7 |
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| 89 | 89 | | (i) Any individual or entity (e.g. municipally contracted waste haulers and privately 8 |
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| 90 | 90 | | contracted waste haulers) disposing of waste at a municipal drop-off site or transfer station; and 9 |
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| 91 | 91 | | (ii) Any individual or entity (e.g. municipally contracted waste haulers and privately 10 |
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| 92 | 92 | | contracted waste haulers) disposing of waste at the central landfill run by Rhode Island resource 11 |
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| 93 | 93 | | recovery corporation pursuant to the provisions of chapter 19 of title 23. 12 |
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| 94 | 94 | | (5) "Refuse disposal system" includes: 13 |
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| 95 | 95 | | (i) A solid waste transfer station; 14 |
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| 96 | 96 | | (ii) A landfill and/or landfill system; and 15 |
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| 97 | 97 | | (iii) Any other facility accepting mixed solid waste. 16 |
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| 98 | 98 | | (6) "Recycling" means any process in which recyclable materials are collected, separated, 17 |
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| 99 | 99 | | or processed and returned to the marketplace in the form of raw materials or products. 18 |
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| 100 | 100 | | (7) "Solid waste" means any discarded material destined for landfill disposal or other final 19 |
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| 101 | 101 | | disposal at a refuse disposal system. Solid waste does not include segregated or source-separated 20 |
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| 102 | 102 | | materials that are rescued, reused, recycled, or composted. 21 |
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| 103 | 103 | | 42-6.3-4. Solid waste disposal surcharge. 22 |
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| 104 | 104 | | (a) There is hereby established a solid waste disposal surcharge to be paid by each payor 23 |
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| 105 | 105 | | and collected by the owner or operator of each refuse disposal facility in the state. 24 |
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| 106 | 106 | | (b)(1) The solid waste disposal surcharge shall be two dollars ($2.00) per ton of solid waste 25 |
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| 107 | 107 | | processed by a refuse disposal system. 26 |
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| 108 | 108 | | (2) On or before January 1, 2031, and every five (5) years thereafter, the department of 27 |
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| 109 | 109 | | environmental management shall adjust the solid waste disposal surcharge to the greater of: 28 |
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| 110 | 110 | | (i) The changes in the consumer price index for the New England region; or 29 |
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| 111 | 111 | | (ii) Twenty (20%) percent. 30 |
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| 112 | 112 | | (c) The surcharge may only be assessed once on a load of solid waste destined for final 31 |
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| 113 | 113 | | disposal. 32 |
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| 114 | 114 | | (1) If the surcharge is assessed on a load of solid waste before its final disposal destination 33 |
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| 115 | 115 | | (e.g. at a municipal drop off site or transfer station), that assessed value shall be accounted for and 34 |
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| 116 | 116 | | |
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| 117 | 117 | | |
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| 118 | 118 | | LC000606 - Page 4 of 12 |
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| 119 | 119 | | then collected once it reaches the final destination. 1 |
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| 120 | 120 | | (2) Every solid waste hauler or collector is authorized to collect rates, fees, or surcharges 2 |
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| 121 | 121 | | from solid waste generators serviced by the solid waste hauler or collector only up to the amount 3 |
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| 122 | 122 | | sufficient to recover the surcharge collected by the owner or operator of a refuse disposal system. 4 |
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| 123 | 123 | | (d)(1) The office of the general treasurer shall receive the solid waste disposal surcharge 5 |
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| 124 | 124 | | assessed under this section and deposit the revenue into the compost fund. 6 |
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| 125 | 125 | | (i) Beginning January 1, 2026, on a quarterly basis, Rhode Island resource recovery 7 |
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| 126 | 126 | | corporation or the owner/operator of other refuse disposal systems in the state shall complete and 8 |
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| 127 | 127 | | submit, under oath, a return and transfer the solid waste disposal surcharge to the office of the 9 |
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| 128 | 128 | | general treasurer. 10 |
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| 129 | 129 | | (ii) The return shall include information on the number of tons of solid waste accepted for 11 |
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| 130 | 130 | | disposal, transfer, or collection, as appropriate, during the reporting period. 12 |
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| 131 | 131 | | 42-6.3-5. Compost fund. 13 |
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| 132 | 132 | | (a) The compost fund is hereby established under the jurisdiction of the department of 14 |
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| 133 | 133 | | environmental management. 15 |
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| 134 | 134 | | (b) The purpose of the compost fund is to provide funding to the department of 16 |
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| 135 | 135 | | environmental management to award grants to assist with the costs of developing, implementing, 17 |
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| 136 | 136 | | or expanding equipment, infrastructure, and education relating to: 18 |
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| 137 | 137 | | (1) Reducing the amount of solid waste generated in the state; 19 |
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| 138 | 138 | | (2) Surplus food rescue; 20 |
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| 139 | 139 | | (3) Shell recovery and waste shell diversion; 21 |
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| 140 | 140 | | (4) Compost production and compost use; and 22 |
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| 141 | 141 | | (5) Minimizing illegal dumping. 23 |
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| 142 | 142 | | (c) The office of the general treasurer shall administer the fund. 24 |
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| 143 | 143 | | (d)(1) The compost fund is a special, nonlapsing fund. 25 |
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| 144 | 144 | | (2) The office of the general treasurer shall hold the compost fund separately, and the 26 |
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| 145 | 145 | | department of environmental management shall account for expenditures and disbursements from 27 |
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| 146 | 146 | | the compost fund. 28 |
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| 147 | 147 | | (3) The compost fund shall be administered by the office of the general treasurer in 29 |
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| 148 | 148 | | accordance with the same laws and fiscal procedures as the general funds of the state. 30 |
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| 149 | 149 | | (4) Interest earnings of the compost fund shall be credited to the compost fund. 31 |
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| 150 | 150 | | (e) The compost fund consists of: 32 |
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| 151 | 151 | | (1) The solid waste disposal surcharge revenue deposited into the compost fund; 33 |
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| 152 | 152 | | (2) Money appropriated in the state budget to the compost fund; 34 |
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| 153 | 153 | | |
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| 154 | 154 | | |
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| 155 | 155 | | LC000606 - Page 5 of 12 |
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| 156 | 156 | | (3) Interest earnings; 1 |
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| 157 | 157 | | (4) Sums recovered by any action brought to recover funds owed pursuant to the provisions 2 |
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| 158 | 158 | | of this chapter or any penalties and recovery pursuant to § 25-18.9-10; and 3 |
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| 159 | 159 | | (5) Any other money from any other source accepted for the benefit of the compost fund. 4 |
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| 160 | 160 | | (f)(1) The compost fund may be used only to: 5 |
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| 161 | 161 | | (i) Provide the funding necessary to award grants under both the competitive composting 6 |
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| 162 | 162 | | and waste diversion grant fund and municipal waste diversion grant fund; and 7 |
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| 163 | 163 | | (ii) Cover the reasonable administrative costs of the compost fund and the grant programs. 8 |
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| 164 | 164 | | (2) Up to five percent (5%) of the estimated annual solid waste surcharge revenue may be 9 |
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| 165 | 165 | | used to cover reasonable administrative costs. 10 |
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| 166 | 166 | | (3) On an annual basis, after covering reasonable administrative costs, the department of 11 |
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| 167 | 167 | | environmental management shall use: 12 |
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| 168 | 168 | | (i) Fifty percent (50%) of the money in the compost fund for the competitive composting 13 |
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| 169 | 169 | | and waste diversion grant fund pursuant to the provisions of § 42-6.3-6; and 14 |
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| 170 | 170 | | (ii) Fifty percent (50%) of the money in the fund for the municipal waste diversion grant 15 |
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| 171 | 171 | | fund pursuant to the provisions of § 42-6.3-7. 16 |
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| 172 | 172 | | 42-6.3-6. Competitive composting and waste diversion grant fund. 17 |
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| 173 | 173 | | (a) There is hereby established a competitive composting and waste diversion grant fund 18 |
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| 174 | 174 | | ("CG fund"). 19 |
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| 175 | 175 | | (b) The purpose of the CG fund is to award grants to eligible entities to assist with the costs 20 |
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| 176 | 176 | | of developing and implementing compost production, compost use, and waste diversion efforts. 21 |
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| 177 | 177 | | (c) The director of the department of environmental management shall administer the 22 |
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| 178 | 178 | | expenditures and disbursements of the CG fund. 23 |
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| 179 | 179 | | (d)(1) The CG fund is a special, nonlapsing fund. 24 |
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| 180 | 180 | | (2) The office of the general treasurer shall hold the CG fund separately, and the department 25 |
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| 181 | 181 | | of environmental management shall account for the expenditures and disbursements of the CG 26 |
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| 182 | 182 | | fund. 27 |
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| 183 | 183 | | (e) The CG fund consists of: 28 |
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| 184 | 184 | | (1) The solid waste disposal surcharge revenue transferred to the CG fund; 29 |
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| 185 | 185 | | (2) Money appropriated in the state budget to the CG fund; 30 |
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| 186 | 186 | | (3) Interest earnings; and 31 |
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| 187 | 187 | | (4) Any other money from any other source accepted for the benefit of the CG fund. 32 |
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| 188 | 188 | | (f) The CG fund may be used only to award grants to eligible entities to assist with: 33 |
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| 189 | 189 | | (1) The costs of developing and implementing compost production and compost use 34 |
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| 190 | 190 | | |
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| 191 | 191 | | |
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| 192 | 192 | | LC000606 - Page 6 of 12 |
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| 193 | 193 | | projects, including the costs of: 1 |
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| 194 | 194 | | (i) Purchasing compost and equipment for compost application; 2 |
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| 195 | 195 | | (ii) Equipment and infrastructure in support of compost processing and production; 3 |
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| 196 | 196 | | (iii) Composting materials generated on-site or off-site, including animal manure generated 4 |
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| 197 | 197 | | on-site and food scraps generated off-site; 5 |
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| 198 | 198 | | (iv) Compost management training under a program offered by the University of Rhode 6 |
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| 199 | 199 | | Island Cooperative Extension, the U.S. Composting Council, or other appropriate entity; 7 |
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| 200 | 200 | | (v) Compost testing equipment or submitting compost samples for testing to a laboratory 8 |
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| 201 | 201 | | with appropriate expertise; 9 |
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| 202 | 202 | | (vi) Quantifying the benefits of compost application to soil health and carbon sequestration; 10 |
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| 203 | 203 | | (vii) Studying impacts of compost application on nutrient and water quality management 11 |
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| 204 | 204 | | to inform relevant regulations; 12 |
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| 205 | 205 | | (viii) Researching and developing new compost treatments or products that will benefit or 13 |
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| 206 | 206 | | inform compost use; 14 |
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| 207 | 207 | | (ix) Consulting with a nutrient management specialist or other consultant; and 15 |
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| 208 | 208 | | (x) Registering compost for sale within the state and/or with the U.S. Composting 16 |
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| 209 | 209 | | Council’s Seal of Testing Assurance Program. 17 |
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| 210 | 210 | | (2) The costs of developing and implementing activities that advance food waste 18 |
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| 211 | 211 | | prevention, food rescue and recovery, or composting, as well as minimize illegal dumping in the 19 |
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| 212 | 212 | | state, including the costs of: 20 |
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| 213 | 213 | | (i) Encouraging source-separation of uncontaminated materials; 21 |
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| 214 | 214 | | (ii) Providing education and technical assistance to public and private entities, including 22 |
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| 215 | 215 | | small haulers, to: 23 |
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| 216 | 216 | | (A) Advance food waste prevention, recovery, or composting; and 24 |
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| 217 | 217 | | (B) Minimize illegal dumping; 25 |
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| 218 | 218 | | (iii) Collecting and composting source-separated compostable materials; 26 |
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| 219 | 219 | | (iv) Enabling restaurants, multifamily housing property managers, small haulers, and other 27 |
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| 220 | 220 | | small businesses to develop, maintain, or expand programs and procure necessary equipment for 28 |
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| 221 | 221 | | waste diversion and to minimize illegal dumping; and 29 |
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| 222 | 222 | | (v) Developing, maintaining, or expanding measures that address and minimize illegal 30 |
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| 223 | 223 | | dumping, including measures relating to: 31 |
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| 224 | 224 | | (A) Community and river clean-ups and campaigns; 32 |
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| 225 | 225 | | (B) Training and resources for small haulers; 33 |
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| 226 | 226 | | (C) Drop-off recycling receptacles; 34 |
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| 227 | 227 | | |
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| 228 | 228 | | |
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| 229 | 229 | | LC000606 - Page 7 of 12 |
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| 230 | 230 | | (D) Resource recycling centers that accept a wide range of materials; and 1 |
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| 231 | 231 | | (E) Alternatives to single-use plastics and other single-use products. 2 |
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| 232 | 232 | | (g) The department of environmental management shall ensure that grants awarded under 3 |
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| 233 | 233 | | this subsection are awarded equitably among: 4 |
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| 234 | 234 | | (1) Activities relating to food waste prevention, food rescue and recovery, composting, and 5 |
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| 235 | 235 | | minimizing illegal dumping; and 6 |
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| 236 | 236 | | (2) Projects that present a diverse and distributed infrastructure in which small- and 7 |
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| 237 | 237 | | medium-sized projects are well represented; and 8 |
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| 238 | 238 | | (3) Projects that support the entry, growth, and/or sustainability of low-income, socially 9 |
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| 239 | 239 | | disadvantaged, beginning, small, women, and veteran organizations and businesses. 10 |
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| 240 | 240 | | (h) Interest earnings of the CG fund shall be credited to the CG fund. 11 |
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| 241 | 241 | | (i) An eligible entity may apply for a grant from the CG fund. 12 |
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| 242 | 242 | | (1) "Eligible entity" means: 13 |
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| 243 | 243 | | (i) A conservation district; 14 |
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| 244 | 244 | | (ii) A local education agency; 15 |
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| 245 | 245 | | (iii) An institution of higher education; 16 |
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| 246 | 246 | | (iv) A nonprofit organization; 17 |
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| 247 | 247 | | (v) A farmer, including a small farmer, urban farmer, aquaculture farmer, or a rancher; or 18 |
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| 248 | 248 | | (vi) A business that is: 19 |
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| 249 | 249 | | (A) Operating in the state in good standing; and 20 |
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| 250 | 250 | | (B) Intended to operate at a profit and return a profit to its owners; or 21 |
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| 251 | 251 | | (vii) A consortium of any of the entities identified in subsections (i)(1)(i) through (i)(1)(vii) 22 |
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| 252 | 252 | | of this subsection. 23 |
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| 253 | 253 | | (j) The department of environmental management shall establish grant application and 24 |
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| 254 | 254 | | reporting procedures. 25 |
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| 255 | 255 | | (i) The grant application procedures shall include: 26 |
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| 256 | 256 | | (A) A process for facilitating participation of eligible entities with limited resources; 27 |
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| 257 | 257 | | (B) A simple common application format; 28 |
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| 258 | 258 | | (C) A process for authorizing eligible entities to use the entity's standard annual report and 29 |
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| 259 | 259 | | "letter of interest" to meet application requirements; 30 |
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| 260 | 260 | | (D) A process for submitting applications in writing and through video and audio formats; 31 |
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| 261 | 261 | | and 32 |
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| 262 | 262 | | (E) Translation services for applicants to overcome language barriers in the application 33 |
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| 263 | 263 | | process. 34 |
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| 264 | 264 | | |
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| 265 | 265 | | |
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| 266 | 266 | | LC000606 - Page 8 of 12 |
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| 267 | 267 | | (ii) The grant reporting procedures shall include: 1 |
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| 268 | 268 | | (A) A process for facilitating participation of eligible entities with limited resources; 2 |
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| 269 | 269 | | (B) A simple common reporting format; and 3 |
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| 270 | 270 | | (C) A process for authorizing eligible entities to use the entity’s standard annual report to 4 |
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| 271 | 271 | | meet reporting requirements. 5 |
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| 272 | 272 | | (2) The grant reports shall include: 6 |
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| 273 | 273 | | (i) A description of all grant-funded activities; 7 |
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| 274 | 274 | | (ii) If applicable, amount of compost generated and/or utilized; 8 |
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| 275 | 275 | | (iii) If applicable, amount and types of materials diverted from disposal; and 9 |
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| 276 | 276 | | (iv) If applicable, any discernible impacts on: 10 |
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| 277 | 277 | | (A) Soil health; 11 |
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| 278 | 278 | | (B) Community resilience and sustainability; 12 |
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| 279 | 279 | | (C) Job creation and other economic benefits; 13 |
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| 280 | 280 | | (D) Waste prevention and diversion; 14 |
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| 281 | 281 | | (E) Illegal dumping. 15 |
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| 282 | 282 | | (k) In awarding grants under this section, the department of environmental management 16 |
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| 283 | 283 | | shall give priority for projects that meet one or more of the following: 17 |
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| 284 | 284 | | (1) For which an applicant clearly describes the project and goals, including a description 18 |
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| 285 | 285 | | of how the project will support compost production or compost use, advance food waste prevention, 19 |
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| 286 | 286 | | food rescue and recovery, or composting, as well as minimize illegal dumping in the state; 20 |
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| 287 | 287 | | (2) For which an applicant clearly describes how the project will provide direct, 21 |
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| 288 | 288 | | meaningful, and assured benefits to the community and address important community needs; 22 |
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| 289 | 289 | | (3) That divert organic waste from refuse disposal facilities to instead be composted 23 |
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| 290 | 290 | | locally, and where the resulting compost is returned to soil within the state to support food 24 |
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| 291 | 291 | | production; 25 |
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| 292 | 292 | | (4) That are based on a distributed infrastructure strategy that incorporate small- or 26 |
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| 293 | 293 | | medium-sized activities to include, but not limited to, home or on-site composting programs; 27 |
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| 294 | 294 | | (5) That involve the construction, renovation, or expansion of sites to increase in-state 28 |
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| 295 | 295 | | infrastructure for food waste prevention, food rescue and recovery, or composting in the state; 29 |
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| 296 | 296 | | (6) That minimize negative impacts and maximize benefits to the local community, 30 |
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| 297 | 297 | | including jobs created for the community, job training, or support for hiring and leadership 31 |
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| 298 | 298 | | development practices that are inclusive and provide living wages; 32 |
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| 299 | 299 | | (7) That incorporate components of food waste prevention, food rescue and recovery, or 33 |
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| 300 | 300 | | composting of any debris collected as part of illegal dumping clean up and mitigation projects; 34 |
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| 301 | 301 | | |
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| 302 | 302 | | |
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| 303 | 303 | | LC000606 - Page 9 of 12 |
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| 304 | 304 | | (8) For which an applicant demonstrates knowledge of best practices in the field and how 1 |
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| 305 | 305 | | to incorporate those best practices in the project; 2 |
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| 306 | 306 | | (9) That are led by low-income, socially disadvantaged, beginning, small, women, or 3 |
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| 307 | 307 | | veteran entities, organizations, and businesses. 4 |
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| 308 | 308 | | (10) That serve a low-income or socially disadvantaged community; and 5 |
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| 309 | 309 | | (11) That engage small or diverse farming operations. 6 |
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| 310 | 310 | | 42-6.3-7. Municipal waste diversion grant fund. 7 |
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| 311 | 311 | | (a) There is hereby established a municipal waste diversion grant fund ("MG fund"). 8 |
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| 312 | 312 | | (b) The MG fund shall consist of: 9 |
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| 313 | 313 | | (1) The solid waste disposal surcharge revenue transferred to the MG fund; 10 |
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| 314 | 314 | | (2) Money appropriated in the state budget to the fund; and 11 |
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| 315 | 315 | | (3) Any other money from any other source accepted for the benefit of the fund. 12 |
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| 316 | 316 | | (c) The office of the general treasurer shall administer the MG fund. 13 |
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| 317 | 317 | | (d)(1) The MG fund is a special, nonlapsing fund. 14 |
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| 318 | 318 | | (2) The office of the general treasurer shall hold the MG fund separately, and the 15 |
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| 319 | 319 | | department of environmental management shall account for the expenditures and disbursements of 16 |
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| 320 | 320 | | the MG fund. 17 |
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| 321 | 321 | | (e) The solid waste disposal surcharge revenue transferred to the MG fund may not revert 18 |
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| 322 | 322 | | to the general fund of the state. 19 |
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| 323 | 323 | | 42-6.3-8. Municipal waste diversion grants. 20 |
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| 324 | 324 | | (a) In accordance with the state budget, the municipal waste diversion grant fund shall be 21 |
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| 325 | 325 | | used only to provide public grants to municipalities to be used by the municipalities for developing 22 |
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| 326 | 326 | | and implementing activities that advance food waste prevention, food rescue and recovery, or 23 |
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| 327 | 327 | | composting, as well as minimize illegal dumping in the state, including for: 24 |
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| 328 | 328 | | (1) Developing, maintaining, or expanding local food waste prevention, food rescue and 25 |
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| 329 | 329 | | recovery, or composting, as well as infrastructure that minimizes illegal dumping; 26 |
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| 330 | 330 | | (2) Encouraging source-separation of uncontaminated materials; 27 |
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| 331 | 331 | | (3) Providing education and technical assistance to public and private entities, including 28 |
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| 332 | 332 | | small haulers, to advance food waste prevention, food rescue and recovery, or composting, as well 29 |
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| 333 | 333 | | as minimize illegal dumping; 30 |
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| 334 | 334 | | (4) Collecting and composting source-separated compostable materials; and 31 |
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| 335 | 335 | | (5) Developing, maintaining, or expanding measures that address and minimize illegal 32 |
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| 336 | 336 | | dumping, including measures relating to: 33 |
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| 337 | 337 | | (i) Community and river clean-ups and campaigns; 34 |
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| 338 | 338 | | |
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| 339 | 339 | | |
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| 340 | 340 | | LC000606 - Page 10 of 12 |
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| 341 | 341 | | (ii) Training and resources for small haulers; 1 |
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| 342 | 342 | | (iii) Drop-off recycling receptacles; 2 |
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| 343 | 343 | | (iv) Solid waste recovery; 3 |
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| 344 | 344 | | (v) Resource recovery and/or recycling centers that accept a wide range of materials; and 4 |
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| 345 | 345 | | (vi) Alternatives to single-use plastics and other single-use products. 5 |
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| 346 | 346 | | (b) A municipality may apply for a grant under this section if the municipality has: 6 |
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| 347 | 347 | | (1) Created a separate account in its general fund to deposit the grant money; and 7 |
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| 348 | 348 | | (2) Established accounting procedures to ensure that grant money in the separate account 8 |
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| 349 | 349 | | is spent only in accordance with this section. 9 |
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| 350 | 350 | | (c) Municipal grants shall be distributed proportionally to eligible municipalities based on 10 |
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| 351 | 351 | | population. 11 |
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| 352 | 352 | | (d)(1) A municipality that is awarded a grant under this section shall submit a report at the 12 |
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| 353 | 353 | | end of each fiscal year on: 13 |
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| 354 | 354 | | (i) The activities undertaken under the grant to increase the municipality's proportion of 14 |
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| 355 | 355 | | waste diversion, including the specific activities relating to food waste prevention, food rescue and 15 |
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| 356 | 356 | | recovery, or composting; 16 |
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| 357 | 357 | | (ii) The activities undertaken under the grant to minimize illegal dumping; and 17 |
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| 358 | 358 | | (iii) The gains achieved in waste diversion practices and in addressing illegal dumping. 18 |
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| 359 | 359 | | (2) The report required under this section: 19 |
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| 360 | 360 | | (i) May be submitted electronically to the department of environmental management; and 20 |
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| 361 | 361 | | (ii) Shall be posted on the municipality's website. 21 |
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| 362 | 362 | | 42-6.3-9. Reporting requirements. 22 |
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| 363 | 363 | | (a) On or before December 1, 2026 and annually thereafter, the department of 23 |
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| 364 | 364 | | environmental management, shall report to the general assembly on the grants awarded under the 24 |
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| 365 | 365 | | municipal waste diversion grant program and the competitive composting and waste diversion grant 25 |
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| 366 | 366 | | fund program. 26 |
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| 367 | 367 | | (2) The report shall include: 27 |
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| 368 | 368 | | (i) The number and types of grants awarded; and 28 |
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| 369 | 369 | | (ii) The impact of grant awards on: 29 |
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| 370 | 370 | | (1) Job creation and other benefits to the state; 30 |
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| 371 | 371 | | (2) Waste prevention and diversion; and 31 |
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| 372 | 372 | | (3) The quantity of compost utilized by farmers. 32 |
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| 373 | 373 | | (b) Beginning with the report due January 1, 2031, and every five (5) years thereafter, the 33 |
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| 374 | 374 | | department of environmental management shall include in the report an analysis on whether and to 34 |
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| 375 | 375 | | |
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| 376 | 376 | | |
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| 377 | 377 | | LC000606 - Page 11 of 12 |
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| 378 | 378 | | what extent an adjustment to the solid waste disposal surcharge provided pursuant to § 42-6.3-4 is 1 |
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| 379 | 379 | | recommended to further the purposes of this chapter. 2 |
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| 380 | 380 | | SECTION 3. This act shall take effect on January 1, 2026. 3 |
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| 381 | 381 | | ======== |
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| 382 | 382 | | LC000606 |
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| 383 | 383 | | ======== |
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| 384 | 384 | | |
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| 385 | 385 | | |
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| 386 | 386 | | LC000606 - Page 12 of 12 |
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| 387 | 387 | | EXPLANATION |
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| 388 | 388 | | BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL |
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| 389 | 389 | | OF |
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| 390 | 390 | | A N A C T |
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| 391 | 391 | | RELATING TO STATE AFFAIRS AND GOVERNMENT -- COMPOSTING AND ORGANIC |
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| 392 | 392 | | WASTE DIVERSION |
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| 393 | 393 | | *** |
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| 394 | 394 | | This act would establish the compost fund to provide funding to the department of 1 |
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| 395 | 395 | | environmental management to award grants to assist with the costs of developing, implementing, 2 |
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| 396 | 396 | | expanding equipment, infrastructure, and education relating to reducing the amount of solid waste 3 |
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| 397 | 397 | | generated in the state. The office of the general treasurer would administer the fund. 4 |
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| 398 | 398 | | This act would take effect on January 1, 2026. 5 |
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| 399 | 399 | | ======== |
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| 400 | 400 | | LC000606 |
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| 401 | 401 | | ======== |
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| 402 | 402 | | |
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