HP0522, LD 693, item 1, An Act Concerning Solid Waste Facility Citizen Advisory Committees

An Act Concerning Solid Waste Facility Citizen Advisory Committees

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:

Sec. 1. 38 MRSA §2171, as amended by PL 2007, c. 598, §15, is further amended to read:

§ 2171. Citizen advisory committee

The municipal officers of each municipality identified by the Facility Siting Board as a potential site for a waste disposal facility and each contiguous municipality that may be affected by the construction or operation of that facility shall jointly establish a single citizen advisory committee . The committee must be established within 60 days of notification pursuant to section 2155 and must continue to exist during the development and operation and through closure of the facility.

1. Membership. The committee must be comprised of citizens from each affected municipality, appointed by the municipal officers, including, but not limited to: a local health officer; a municipal officer; and at least 3 additional residents of the municipality, including abutting property owners and residents potentially affected by pollution from the facility. In addition, each committee may include members representing any of the following interests: environmental and community groups; labor groups; professionals with expertise relating to landfills or incinerators; experts in the areas of chemistry, epidemiology, hydrogeology and biology; and legal experts.

2. Meetings. The committee shall meet as soon as practical following appointment of its members and shall select a chair from among its members. The committee shall establish procedures for the conduct of meetings.

3. Responsibilities. Each committee established under this section may:

A. Review proposed contracts, site analyses, applications and other documents relating to the location, construction, permitting and operation of the facility;

B. Hold periodic public meetings to solicit the opinions of residents concerning the facility and any permit applications, contracts or other provisions relating to the facility and the regional plan;

C. Provide the project developer and department with any alternative contract provisions, permit conditions, plans or procedures it considers appropriate; and

D. Serve as a liaison between the community and the project developer or the commissioner to facilitate communications during the development and operation of the facility, and provide residents with updated information about the project, including providing explanations of any technical terms . ;

E. Appeal a license or permit decision made by the commissioner or the board and intervene in proceedings relating to licensing or permitting of the facility if the disposition of the proceedings could impair the ability of the committee to carry out its responsibilities under this subsection; and

F. Report committee findings and recommendations concerning the facility to the municipal officers of each affected municipality.

4. Unincorporated townships and plantations. For the purposes of this subchapter, county commissioners shall act as municipal officers for unincorporated townships and assessors of plantations shall act as municipal officers for plantations.

5. Municipal members; intervention. Affected municipalities that appoint members to a committee established under this section may appeal a license or permit decision made by the commissioner or the board and may intervene in proceedings relating to licensing or permitting of the facility.

Sec. 2. 38 MRSA §2176, sub-§3, as amended by PL 2007, c. 406, §6, is further amended to read:

3. Monitoring. Financial support for on-site, municipally employed personnel or for other means determined necessary to enable the municipality to monitor the facility's compliance with state and local requirements; and

Sec. 3. 38 MRSA §2176, sub-§4, as enacted by PL 2007, c. 406, §7, is amended to read:

4. Other issues. Other issues determined on a case-specific basis by the applicant and office to be appropriate given the nature of the proposed facility . ; and

Sec. 4. 38 MRSA §2176, sub-§5 is enacted to read:

5. Support for citizen advisory committee. Financial and administrative support for a citizen advisory committee established under section 2171.

Sec. 5. Resolve 2003, c. 93, §1, sub-§5, as amended by PL 2005, c. 341, §2, is further amended to read:

5. Notwithstanding the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 38, section 1310-U, the municipality in which the disposal facility is located may not regulate the operation or any other aspect of the disposal facility as provided in Title 38, section 2173 or by means of any municipal ordinances, regulations, licenses or permits, except that the municipality may enact ordinances with respect to the operation of any expansion of the disposal facility, including any expansion of the type of waste the facility is licensed to accept, that contain standards the municipality finds reasonable, including, without limitation, standards concerning conformance with federal and state solid waste rules; fire safety; traffic safety; levels of noise heard outside the facility; the distance from existing residential, commercial or institutional uses; groundwater protection; surface water protection; erosion and sedimentation control; and compatibility of the disposal facility with local zoning and land use controls, as long as the standards are not more strict than those contained in Title 38, chapter 3, subchapter 1, articles 5-A and 6 and Title 38, chapter 13 and the rules adopted under those chapters. The municipality is prohibited from enacting stricter standards than those contained in Title 38, chapter 13 governing the hydrogeological criteria for siting or designing the expansion of or the governing of the engineering criteria related to waste handling and disposal areas of the expanded disposal facility. Such municipal ordinances must use definitions consistent with those adopted by the Department of Environmental Protection, Board of Environmental Protection. The municipal officers of the City of Old Town and the Town of Alton shall establish a joint citizen advisory committee consisting of 8 members, of which 5 must be from the City of Old Town, 2 from the Town of Alton and one from the Penobscot Nation. In appointing members to the committee, the municipal officers shall use Title 38, section 2171, subsection 1 as guidance. The Penobscot Nation shall appoint one member of the committee. The committee shall meet as soon as practical following appointment of its members and shall select a chair from among its members. The committee shall establish procedures for the conduct of meetings. The committee shall continue to exist through closure of the facility. The committee may:

A. Review proposed contracts, site analyses, applications and other documents relating to the construction, permitting and operation of the disposal facility;

B. Hold periodic public meetings to solicit the opinions of residents concerning the disposal facility and any permit applications, contracts or other provisions relating to the disposal facility;

C. Provide the disposal facility operator and office with any alternative contract provisions, permit conditions, plans or procedures the committee considers appropriate;

D. Serve as a liaison between the communities and the disposal facility operator or the office to facilitate communications during the development and operation of the disposal facility and provide residents with updated information about the project, including providing explanations of any technical terms; and

E. Serve as a liaison between the Penobscot Nation and the disposal facility operator or the office to facilitate communications during the development and operation of the disposal facility and provide members of the Penobscot Nation with updated information about the project, including providing explanations of any technical terms; and be it further

F. Appeal a license or permit decision made by the commissioner or the board and intervene in proceedings relating to licensing of the disposal facility if the disposition of the proceedings could impair the ability of the committee to carry out its responsibilities under this subsection; and

G. Report committee findings and recommendations concerning the disposal facility to the City of Old Town and the Town of Alton.

Sec. 6. Resolve 2003, c. 93, §1, sub-§6 is enacted to read:

6. The City of Old Town and the Town of Alton may appeal a license or permit decision made by the commissioner or the board and intervene in proceedings relating to licensing or permitting of the disposal facility.

Sec. 7. Resolve 2003, c. 93, §1, sub-§7 is enacted to read:

7. The office shall provide financial and administrative support for the joint citizen advisory committee established pursuant to subsection 5; and be it further

summary

This bill clarifies that a solid waste facility citizen advisory committee is to continue through the closure of the facility. It authorizes a citizen advisory committee to appeal licensing and permitting decisions and intervene in licensing and permitting proceedings if the disposition of the proceedings could impair the ability of the committee to carry out its responsibilities. It authorizes municipalities that appoint members to a citizen advisory committee to appeal licensing and permitting decisions and intervene in licensing and permitting proceedings. It directs the Executive Department, State Planning Office to provide financial and administrative support for citizen advisory committees. The bill also makes these provisions applicable to the citizen advisory committee established in connection with the Juniper Ridge landfill in Old Town and Alton.

HP0522 LD 693	Second Regular Session - 125th Maine Legislature		LR 1084 Item 1
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