H.B. 404

1

ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY CODE AMENDMENTS
2 1997 GENERAL SESSION
3 STATE OF UTAH
4 Sponsor: Eli H. Anderson
5 AN ACT RELATING TO HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENT; AMENDING PROCEDURES FOR
6 APPROVAL OF A MUNICIPAL LANDFILL SITE AND FACILITY IF THAT LANDFILL
7 SITE WAS RECOMMENDED BY THE STATUTORY LANDFILL SITING RESOLUTION
8 COMMITTEE.
9 This act affects sections of Utah Code Annotated 1953 as follows:
10 AMENDS:
11 19-6-102.6, as last amended by Chapter 134, Laws of Utah 1996
12 Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
13 Section 1. Section 19-6-102.6 is amended to read:
14 19-6-102.6. Legislative participation in landfill siting disputes.
15 (1) (a) Upon the Legislature's receipt of a written request by a county governing body or
16 a member of the Legislature whose district is involved in a municipal landfill siting dispute, the
17 president of the Senate and the speaker of the House shall appoint a landfill siting resolution
18 committee as described under Subsection (2), and volunteers under Subsection (3) to actively seek
19 an acceptable location for a municipal landfill if there is a dispute between two or more counties
20 regarding the proposed site of a municipal landfill.
21 (b) The president and the speaker shall consult with the legislators appointed under this
22 subsection regarding their appointment of members of the committee under Subsection (2), and
23 volunteers under Subsection (3).
24 (2) The committee shall consist of the following members, appointed jointly by the
25 president and the speaker:
26 (a) two members from the Senate:
27 (i) one member from the county where the proposed landfill site is located; and

1 (ii) one member from the other county involved in the dispute, but if more than one other
2 county is involved, still only one senator from one of those counties;
3 (b) two members from the House:
4 (i) one member from the county where the proposed landfill site is located; and
5 (ii) one member from the other county involved in the dispute, but if more than one other
6 county is involved, still only one representative from one of those counties;
7 (c) one individual whose current principal residence is within a community located within
8 20 miles of any exterior boundary of the proposed landfill site, but if no community is located
9 within 20 miles of the community, then an individual whose current residence is in the community
10 nearest the proposed landfill site;
11 (d) two resident citizens from the county where the proposed landfill site is located; and
12 (e) three resident citizens from the other county involved in the dispute, but if more than
13 one other county is involved, still only three citizen representatives from those counties.
14 (3) Two volunteers shall be appointed under Subsection (1). The volunteers shall be
15 individuals who agree to assist, as requested, the committee members who represent the interests
16 of the county where the proposed landfill site is located.
17 (4) (a) Funding and staffing for the committee shall be provided jointly and equally by the
18 Senate and the House.
19 (b) The Department of Environmental Quality shall, at the request of the committee and
20 as funds are available within the department's existing budget, provide support in arranging for
21 committee hearings to receive public input and secretarial staff to make a record of those hearings.
22 (5) The committee shall:
23 (a) appoint a chair from among its members; and
24 (b) meet as necessary, but not less often than once per month, until its work is completed.
25 (6) The committee shall report in writing the results of its work and any recommendations
26 it may have for legislative action to the interim committees of the Legislature as directed by the
27 Legislative Management Committee.
28 (7) (a) All action by the division, the executive secretary, or the division board of the
29 Department of Environmental Quality regarding any proposed municipal landfill site, regarding
30 which a request has been submitted under Subsection (1), is tolled for one year from the date the
31 request is submitted, or until the committee completes its work under this section, whichever

- 2 -

1 occurs first. This subsection also tolls the time limits imposed by Subsection 19-6-108(13).
2 (b) This subsection applies to any proposed landfill site regarding which the department
3 has not granted final approval on or before March 21, 1995.
4 (c) As used in this subsection, "final approval" means final agency action taken after
5 conclusion of proceedings under Sections 63-46b-9 through 63-46b-18.
6 (8) This section does not apply to a municipal solid waste facility that is, on or before
7 March 23, 1994:
8 (a) operating under an existing permit or the renewal of an existing permit issued by the
9 local health department or other authority granted by the Department of Environmental Quality;
10 or
11 (b) operating under the approval of the local health department, regardless of whether a
12 formal permit has been issued.
13 (9) If the committee has arrived at a final written recommendation for the site of the
14 municipal landfill at issue under this section, that recommendation is considered to be approval
15 in lieu of any local government approval, including under Title 17, Chapter 27, County Land Use
16 Development and Management Act, or Subsection 19-6-108(3)(c)(i).




Legislative Review Note
as of 2-12-97 8:32 AM

A limited legal review of this bill raises no obvious constitutional or statutory concerns.

Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel

- 3 -