CCS SCS HCS HB 603, 722 & 783 -- ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

This bill revises various aspects of environmental law.

SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT

The bill adds several public involvement activities to the
application process for solid waste disposal area permits.
Applicants receiving preliminary site approval from the
Department of Natural Resources must notify local city or county
officials and the local solid waste management district by
certified mail within 30 days.  The department will hold a
public awareness session in the county where the proposed
facility is to be located within 90 days after issuing the
preliminary site approval.

At least 60 days before submitting the results of a detailed
geologic and hydrologic site investigation to the department,
the applicant will hold a community involvement session in the
county where the proposed facility is to be located.  The
department will also attend the session, which is followed by a
30-day public comment period.  The applicant must reply to all
comments within 30 days of receipt.  The requirement for a
community involvement session may be waived if a similar hearing
is held pursuant to local planning and zoning requirements.

Public notice for both the public awareness session and the
community involvement session must be provided via print and
broadcast media at least 30 days before each session.  The bill
also applies these notification requirements to the public
hearing on the draft permit required by current law.

In other provisions, the bill allows political subdivisions that
operate a landfill to designate up to 2 free disposal days per
year for residents.  Further, political subdivisions are
prohibited from owning or operating solid waste management
facilities located outside their boundaries without meeting
local zoning requirements.

WASTE TIRES

The waste tire fee will expire on January 1, 2001.  The bill
extends the fee to January 1, 2004, and establishes an emergency
bid process for contracts up to $500,000 to abate waste tire
sites that pose a risk to human health or the environment.  The
bill also allows use of processed waste tires and recycled
rubber chips in sanitary landfill design and operation.

PETROLEUM STORAGE TANKS

Under current law, to receive moneys from the petroleum storage
tank insurance fund, owners of existing tanks must have applied
for participation in the fund by December 31, 1997.  The bill
requires the fund to provide moneys for cleanup of contamination
caused by releases from:

(1)  tanks owned by a school district in Iron County, if the
district applies to the fund by August 28, 1999, and cleanup
expenses are incurred after the district is accepted into the
fund;

(2)  tanks on property purchased before December 31, 1985, if
the tanks were not in service immediately before the purchase,
cleanup expenses are incurred after August 28, 1999, and the
owners report the tanks to the fund by June 30, 2000; and

(3)  piping or related equipment of 5,000-gallon or smaller
tanks, if cleanup expenses were incurred between April 1, 1999,
and April 1, 2000, and the owner is the sole provider of retail
fuels within a 5-mile area and applies to the fund by August 28,
1999.

ST. LOUIS VEHICLE EMISSIONS TESTING

The bill requires the Department of Natural Resources and the
Highway Patrol to enter into an interagency agreement for
administration and enforcement of emissions testing in the St.
Louis nonattainment area.  The Highway Patrol is authorized to
use trained nonofficers for vehicle safety and emissions testing
enforcement.

Bid procedures are established for enhanced emissions testing
services.  Licenses or contracts may be for a period of up to 7
years, and must include provisions for a sufficient number of
stations to provide adequate and cost-effective service to
customers.  Service management, coordination, and data
processing may be provided by the Department of Natural
Resources or by a contractor or licensee.  The current $5 fee
reduction for customers who are required to wait for 15 to 30
minutes is repealed.

Dealers who choose to sell a vehicle with prior inspection and
approval must test the vehicle within 120 days of the sale, and
must disclose whether the vehicle obtained approval by meeting
emissions standards or by obtaining a repair waiver.  Dealers
who choose to sell a vehicle without a valid inspection
certificate must repair the vehicle within 5 days or reach a
mutually acceptable agreement with the customer if the vehicle
fails inspection and is returned by the purchaser within 14 days
or 1,000 additional miles.  The bill repeals current provisions
for enhanced testing that require dealers to provide a full
refund or a comparable vehicle if repairs are not completed
within 5 days.

Only repairs done by technicians recognized by the Air
Conservation Commission may be applied toward a waiver of the
emissions standard.  Misrepresentation as a recognized repair
technician is a class C misdemeanor for the first offense and a
class B misdemeanor for subsequent offenses.

OTHER PROVISIONS

In other provisions, the bill:

(1)  Allows the Department of Natural Resources to sell by
competitive bidding approximately 34 acres of Lake of the Ozarks
State Park that will be severed and affected negatively by
highway construction.  The sale will be mitigated by purchase of
inholding or adjoining properties; and

(2)  Allows annual school bus safety inspections to occur up to
60 days prior to the start of the school year.  Current law
requires the inspections to be conducted in August.

HCS HB 603, 722 & 783 -- SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT (Wiggins)

This substitute adds several public involvement activities to
the application process for solid waste disposal area permits.
Applicants receiving preliminary site approval from the
Department of Natural Resources must notify local city or county
officials and the local solid waste management district by
certified mail within 30 days.  The department will hold a
public awareness session in the county where the proposed
facility is to be located within 90 days after issuing the
preliminary site approval.

At least 60 days before submitting the results of a detailed
geologic and hydrologic site investigation to the department,
the applicant will hold a community involvement session in the
county where the proposed facility is to be located.  The
department will also attend the session, which is followed by a
30-day public comment period.  The applicant must reply to all
comments within 30 days of receipt.  The requirement for a
community involvement session may be waived if a similar hearing
is held pursuant to local planning and zoning requirements.

Public notice for both the public awareness session and the
community involvement session must be provided via print and
broadcast media at least 30 days before each session.  The
substitute also applies these notification requirements to the
public hearing on the draft permit required by current law.

In other provisions, the substitute:

(1)  Extends the waste tire fee to January 1, 2004.  The fee is
currently set to expire on January 1, 2001;

(2)  Establishes an emergency bid process for cleanup of waste
tire sites that pose a risk to human health or the environment;

(3)  Allows use of processed waste tires and recycled rubber
chips in sanitary landfill design and operation; and

(4)  Prohibits political subdivisions from owning or operating
solid waste management facilities located outside their
boundaries without meeting local zoning requirements.

FISCAL NOTE:  Income to General Revenue Fund of $0 in FY 2000,
$40,519 in FY 2001, and $84,812 in FY 2002.  Income to Solid
Waste - Scrap Tire Fund of $0 in FY 2000, $974,855 in FY 2001,
and $2,035,497 in FY 2002.

HCS HB 603, 722 & 783 -- SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT

SPONSOR:  Wiggins

COMMITTEE ACTION:  Voted "do pass" by the Committee on
Environment and Energy by a vote of 18 to 0.

This substitute adds several public involvement activities to
the application process for solid waste disposal area permits.
Applicants receiving preliminary site approval from the
Department of Natural Resources must notify local city or county
officials and the local solid waste management district by
certified mail within 30 days.  The department will hold a
public awareness session in the county where the proposed
facility is to be located within 90 days after issuing the
preliminary site approval.

At least 60 days before submitting the results of a detailed
geologic and hydrologic site investigation to the department,
the applicant will hold a community involvement session in the
county where the proposed facility is to be located.  The
department will also attend the session, which is followed by a
30-day public comment period.  The applicant must reply to all
comments within 30 days of receipt.  The requirement for a
community involvement session may be waived if a similar hearing
is held pursuant to local planning and zoning requirements.

Public notice for both the public awareness session and the
community involvement session must be provided via print and
broadcast media at least 30 days before each session.  The
substitute also applies these notification requirements to the
public hearing on the draft permit required by current law.

In other provisions, the substitute extends the waste tire fee
to January 1, 2004.  The fee is currently set to expire on
January 1, 2001.  The substitute also establishes an emergency
bid process for cleanup of waste tire sites that pose a risk to
human health or the environment, and allows landfill operators
to use recycled rubber chips instead of soil for temporary
landfill cover.

FISCAL NOTE:  Income to General Revenue Fund of $0 in FY 2000,
$40,519 in FY 2001, and $84,812 in FY 2002.  Income to Solid
Waste - Scrap Tire Fund of $0 in FY 2000, $974,855 in FY 2001,
and $2,035,497 in FY 2002.

PROPONENTS:  Supporters say that the public should be involved
in the process of siting a landfill.  This bill contains a
consensus public involvement process developed in a series of
meetings with the Department of Natural Resources, the public,
and the solid waste management industry.  Further, the waste
tire fee provides funds for cleanup of illegal tire dump sites
and should be extended to complete the cleanup process.
Finally, use of tire chips for temporary cover in landfills is
environmentally safe and may provide an important market for
waste tires where tire-derived fuel is not feasible.

Testifying for the bills were Representatives Wiggins and
Dougherty; Department of Natural Resources; Missouri Chapter of
the National Solid Waste Management Association; Belinda Harris;
Sierra Club; Missouri Coalition for the Environment; Consulting
Engineers Council of Missouri; Missouri Retailers Association;
TRI-Rinse, Inc.; and Browning-Ferris Industries.

OPPONENTS:  There was no opposition voiced to the committee.

Terry Finger, Senior Legislative Analyst

HB 603 -- Solid Waste Management

Co-Sponsors:  Wiggins, Ransdall

This bill adds several public involvement activities to the
application process for solid waste disposal area permits.

Applicants receiving preliminary site approval from the
Department of Natural Resources must notify local city or county
officials and the local solid waste management district by
certified mail within 30 days.  The department will hold a
public awareness session in the county where the proposed
facility is to be located within 90 days after issuing the
preliminary site approval.

At least 60 days before submitting the results of a detailed
geologic and hydrologic site investigation to the department,
the applicant will hold a community involvement session in the
county where the proposed facility is to be located.  The
department will also attend the session, which is followed by a
30-day public comment period.  The applicant must reply to all
comments within 30 days of receipt.

Public notice for both the public awareness session and the
community involvement session must be provided via print and
broadcast media at least 30 days before each session.  The bill
also applies these notification requirements to the public
hearing on the draft permit required by current law.