Title 4--ADMINISTRATION PART I. GOVERNOR'S OFFICE [4 PA. CODE CH. 5] {EXECUTIVE ORDER 1996-5] [26 Pa.B. 4515] Municipal Waste Facilities Review Program Whereas, the Commonwealth has faced and overcome a situation of rapidly diminishing municipal waste processing and disposal capacity and a lack of environmentally protective municipal waste recycling, processing, and disposal facilities; and
Whereas, the Commonwealth closed all of the open dumps located in the Commonwealth, which numbered more than 1,000 sites, in accordance with the regulations of the Commonwealth and the Federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act; and
Whereas, the Commonwealth promulgated comprehensive environmentally protective regulations governing the permitting and operation of municipal waste facilities, and the Environmental Protection Agency approved these regulations for compliance with Subtitle D of the Federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act; and
Whereas, the Commonwealth has implemented a comprehensive municipal waste planning, recycling and waste reduction program and recycles at least 20 percent of the municipal waste generated in the Commonwealth; and
Whereas, the Commonwealth now has sufficient public and private environmentally protective municipal waste recycling, processing and disposal capacity for waste managed in the Commonwealth for at least the next decade; and
Whereas, communities in the areas located near municipal waste facilities have expressed concerns regarding traffic problems, litter, odors, noise, dust, and other public nuisances emanating from the operation of these facilities; and
Whereas, Executive Order 1996-1, Regulatory Review and Promulgation, directs all executive agencies to review agency regulations continuously to determine whether they effectively fulfill the intended goals as a priority; and
Whereas, the municipal waste regulations of the Department of Environmental Protection require the agency to conduct a review of all existing municipal waste facility permits and operations of those facilities at least every five years; and
Whereas, commercial vehicle safety programs recently conducted by the Pennsylvania State Police, Department of Transportation, Public Utility Commission, and the Department of Environmental Protection have shown significant safety and environmental violations by vehicles used to transport municipal waste within the Commonwealth; and
Whereas, it is the duty of Commonwealth agencies to protect the public health, safety, and welfare from commercial vehicle safety violations by municipal waste vehicles; and
Whereas, compliance assistance and commercial vehicle inspections conducted by the Department of Environmental Protection and the Department of Transportation, in cooperation with the Pennsylvania State Police and facility owners, are likely to reduce the dangers of municipal waste transportation and may be an effective part of a broader municipal waste transportation safety enforcement program; and
Whereas, excess volumes of waste received at municipal facilities pose significant dangers to the public health and safety and may cause or contribute to deterioration of the highways and bridges of the Commonwealth; and
Whereas, the operations of municipal waste processing and disposal facilities, highway use, land use, technology, and demographics continuously change and require a periodic review of environmental protection standards and permits to ensure that the public health, safety, and welfare and the environment continue to be protected; and
Whereas, a comprehensive review of all operating municipal waste processing and disposal facilities and existing Commonwealth regulations and policies on municipal waste management is currently necessary to ensure that the Constitutional requirements, environmental protection laws and commercial vehicle safety laws of the Commonwealth are being faithfully carried out and enforced to protect the public health, safety, the environment and to resolve community concerns in the future; and
Whereas, it is essential to the public health, safety, and welfare that Commonwealth agencies use all lawful means available to reduce or eliminate existing municipal waste management dangers, including any necessary reductions in waste volumes received at municipal waste landfills where existing waste volumes are causing or contributing to public safety hazards, public nuisances or violations of law; and
Whereas, the General Assembly has found that a cooperative system of state and local government controls for municipal waste management is necessary to protect the public health, safety, and welfare from the short- and long-term dangers of improper solid waste management; and
Whereas, the General Assembly has determined that Commonwealth agencies must consult with affected county and local governments as an essential initial step in the review of all municipal waste facility permit applications; and
Whereas, it is essential that Commonwealth agencies cooperatively consult with host county and affected local governments in evaluating the need for facilities and the public benefits, and in mitigating existing and potential environmental harms and commercial vehicle safety dangers which may be caused by municipal waste facilities and the transportation of municipal waste.
Now, Therefore, I, Thomas J. Ridge, Governor of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the Solid Waste Management Act, the Municipal Waste Planning, Recycling and Waste Reduction Act, The Administrative Code of 1929, the Vehicle Code, and other laws, do hereby establish the following procedures to be implemented by the Department of Environmental Protection and the Department of Transportation regarding the review of conditions surrounding municipal waste facilities.
Annex A TITLE 4. ADMINISTRATION PART I. GOVERNOR'S OFFICE CHAPTER 5. COUNCILS AND COMMITTEES Subchapter KKK. MUNICIPAL WASTE FACILITIES REVIEW PROGRAM § 5.901. Commercial Vehicle Safety Program.
The Department of Environmental Protection and the Department of Transportation will begin immediately to investigate the conditions of State highways and bridges, leading to municipal waste facilities that are or may be used by substantial numbers of commercial municipal waste vehicles and determine whether public safety hazards or damage or destruction of State highways or bridges is being caused by commercial municipal waste transportation. Public safety concerns expressed by a host community will be addressed first. The implementation of this review will include:
(1) Continuing commercial municipal waste vehicle safety inspections conducted in cooperation with the State Police and municipal waste facility operators.
(2) Engineering and traffic studies of State highways and bridges used by commercial municipal waste vehicles to access a municipal waste facility that are necessary to protect the public health, safety and welfare and to prevent damages to or destruction of State highways and bridges.
(3) Imposition of weight, size or other restrictions on State highways or bridges used by commercial municipal waste vehicles to access a municipal waste facility, as necessary, to protect the public health, safety and welfare, or to prevent damage to or destruction of State highways or bridges, or necessary due to hazardous traffic conditions or other safety factors.
(4) Posting weight, size or other restrictions on State highways and bridges, as necessary, to protect the public health, safety and welfare or prevent damage to or destruction of State highways and bridges.
(5) Enforcement of requirements concerning bonds or permits for excess maintenance and other applicable provisions in accordance with 75 Pa.C.S. (relating to the Vehicle Code) and 67 Pa. Code (relating to transportation).
§ 5.902. Restrictions on municipal waste facility volumes.
The Department of Environmental Protection (Department) and the Department of Transportation will conduct, or cause to be conducted, engineering and traffic studies or other analyses that are necessary to determine whether the volumes and types of waste permitted, requested or received at a municipal waste facility cause or contribute to violations of the environmental laws, 75 Pa.C.S. (relating to the Vehicle Code) or any other transportation safety requirements administered by the Department of Transportation or the Department. Municipal waste facilities include a municipal waste landfill, a resource recovery facility or a transfer facility. The Department will modify, suspend or revoke any existing municipal waste facility permit, as necessary, to reduce or eliminate public safety hazards, public nuisances or other violations of law.
§ 5.903. Municipal waste policy reform.
The Department of Environmental Protection (Department) will develop or revise the following policies relating to municipal waste facilities in consultation with other Commonwealth executive agencies, the Department's Solid Waste Advisory Committee and other groups:
(1) Environmental assessment policy. Criteria will be developed to assess potential public benefits and public harms from the operation of the facility, to evaluate this information and to determine whether the applicant has demonstrated that the benefits to the public will outweigh the public harms that may be caused by or contributed to by the facility's operation.
(2) Daily volume policy. Criteria will be developed to set daily volume restrictions for municipal waste facilities to reduce or eliminate public health and safety hazards and public nuisances and in compliance with applicable environmental protection and transportation safety laws.
(3) Traffic safety policy. The Department and the Department of Transportation will develop an interagency policy for review of the potential impact of commercial municipal waste vehicles upon the public health, safety and the environment, including the impact upon State highways and State bridges.
§ 5.904. Municipal waste facility impact review.
(a) The Department of Environmental Protection (Department) will review pending and future applications for municipal waste facility permits and permit modifications in accordance with the policy reforms required by this subchapter. No new municipal waste permit or application that would result in additional waste volumes or capacity will be further reviewed until the concerns of the host county and the affected host local municipalities have been addressed by the Department in accordance with applicable law. As part of this review, the Department will consult with the host county and host local municipalities affected by the permit application and review any host agreements entered into by the applicant to address the potential impact of the proposal upon the public health, safety and welfare prior to conducting any further reviews. The Department will ensure that:
(1) The maximum and average daily volumes of solid waste permitted or received at a facility do not cause or contribute to any violation of the solid waste, air quality or other environmental protection laws of the Commonwealth.
(2) The maximum and average daily volumes of solid waste permitted or received at a facility do not cause or contribute to any public nuisance from odors, noises, dust, truck traffic or other causes.
(3) The maximum or average daily volumes of solid waste permitted or received at a facility will not interfere with, or contradict, any provisions contained in any applicable county solid waste management plan.
(4) The operation of the facility will not violate the traffic safety laws of the Commonwealth or other laws administered by the Department of Transportation.
(5) Any permit issued contains all appropriate and necessary conditions to protect the public health, safety and welfare, and the environment of the Commonwealth and is issued in compliance with applicable laws.
(b) The requirements for permit application review in this subchapter do not apply to applications for additional types of waste, modification to operating conditions that do not affect capacity, to applications which provide for remediation of environmental problems or to permit renewals.
§ 5.905. Applicability.
(a) This subchapter applies to the Departments of Transportation and Environmental Protection under the jurisdiction of the Governor's Office.
(b) This subchapter is intended only to improve the internal management of executive agencies and is not intended to create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law by a party against the Commonwealth, its agencies, its officers, or any person.
§ 5.906. Effective date.
This subchapter is effective immediately.
Fiscal Note: GOV 96-5. No fiscal impact; (8) recommends adoption.
[Pa.B. Doc. No. 96-1567. Filed for public inspection September 20, 1996, 9:00 a.m.]
