Introduced By: Representatives Carter, Henseler and Benson
Date Introduced : January 22, 1998
It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:
SECTION 1. Section 23-19.1-10 of the General Laws in Chapter 23-19.1 entitled "Hazardous Waste Management" is hereby amended to read as follows:
23-19.1-10. Permits -- Issuance -- Renewal -- Revocation -- Exempted activities. -- (a) After the taking effect of rules and regulations required to be promulgated under this chapter, no person shall construct, substantially alter, or operate any hazardous waste management facility, nor shall any person store, transport, treat, or dispose of any hazardous waste, except as exempted by this section, without first obtaining a permit from the director for the facility or activity, nor shall any person accept or deliver hazardous waste from or to any person who does not possess a permit from the director for hazardous waste management, without the prior approval of the director, provided however that this section shall not be construed to require permits for the generation of hazardous waste.
(b) (1) Permits issued under this section shall be issued pursuant to rules and regulations promulgated by the director under the authority of section 23-19.1-6. Prior to issuing a hazardous waste management facility permit, the director shall issue public notice in a newspaper of general circulation in the area affected and shall notify all persons requesting the notification in writing, all property owners within five hundred feet (500') of the perimeter of the site of the facility by mail directed to the last known address, and the city or town in which the hazardous waste management facility is located and shall hold a public hearing. The permits shall be issued only under conditions of proof of financial responsibility, posting of surety bonds, evidence of adequate liability insurance, and/or such other conditions as the director by regulation may require.
(2) No permit shall be approved by the director, unless the director finds that the applicant, in any prior performance record in the collection, transportation, treatment, storage, or disposal of hazardous or solid waste, has exhibited sufficient reliability, expertise, and competency to operate the hazardous waste management facility, given the potential for harm to human health and the environment which could result from the irresponsible operation thereof, or if no prior record exists, that the applicant is likely to exhibit that reliability, expertise and competence.
(3) No permit shall be approved by the director if any person shown to have a beneficial interest in the business of the applicant or the permittee other than an equity interest or debt liability by the investigation thereof, has been convicted or has pled nolo contendere and received an actual or suspended sentence with such plan, of any of the following crimes under the laws of Rhode Island or the equivalent thereof under the laws of any other jurisdiction:
(i) Murder;
(ii) Kidnapping;
(iii) Gambling;
(iv) Robbery;
(v) Bribery;
(vi) Extortion;
(vii) Criminal usury;
(viii) Arson;
(ix) Burglary;
(x) Theft and related crimes;
(xi) Forgery and fraudulent practices;
(xii) Fraud in the offering, sale or purchase of securities;
(xiii) Alteration of motor vehicle identification numbers;
(xiv) Unlawful manufacture, purchase, use or transfer of firearms;
(xv) Unlawful possession or use of destructive devices or explosives;
(xvi) Racketeering;
(xvii) Perjury or false swearing;
(xviii) Any purposeful knowing, willful or reckless violation of the criminal provision of any federal or state environmental protection laws, rules and regulations;
(xix) Assault constituting a felony.
(4) Notwithstanding the provisions above, no applicant shall be denied a permit on the basis of a conviction of any individual shown to have a beneficial interest in the business of the applicant or the permittee other than an equity interest or debt liability by the investigation thereof, for any of the offenses enumerated above if the person has affirmatively demonstrated by clear and convincing evidence his rehabilitation. In determining whether an applicant has affirmatively demonstrated rehabilitation, the director shall request a recommendation thereon from the attorney general, and shall consider the following factors:
(i) The nature and responsibilities of the position which a convicted individual would hold;
(ii) The nature and seriousness of the offense;
(iii) The circumstances under which the offense occurred;
(iv) The date of the offense;
(v) The age of the individual when the offense was committed;
(vi) Whether the offense was an isolated or repeated incident;
(vii) Any social conditions which may have contributed to the offense;
(viii) Any evidence of rehabilitation, including good conduct in prison or in the community, counseling or psychiatric treatment received, acquisition of additional academic or vocational schooling, successful participation in additional academic or vocational schooling, successful participation in correctional work-release programs, or the recommendation of persons who have or have had the applicant under their supervision.
(5) No permit shall be approved by the director if the attorney general determines that there is a reasonable suspicion to believe that a person shown to have a beneficial interest in the business of the applicant or the permittee other than an equity interest or debt liability by the investigation thereof, does not possess a reputation for good character, honesty and integrity, and that person or the applicant fails by clear and convincing evidence, to establish his or her reputation for good character, honesty, and integrity.
(6) No permit shall be approved by the director with respect to the approval of an initial permit, if there are current prosecutions or pending charges in any jurisdiction against any person shown to have a beneficial interest in the business of the applicant or the permittee other than an equity interest or debt liability by the investigation, for any of the offenses enumerated above; provided, however, that at the request of the applicant or the person charged, the director shall defer decision upon such application during the pendency of such charge.
(7) No permit shall be approved by the director if any person shown to have a beneficial interest in the business of the applicant or the permittee other than an equity interest or debt liability by the investigation thereof, has pursued economic gain in an occupational manner or context which is in violation of the criminal or civil public policies of this state. For the purposes of this section, "occupational manner or context" means the systematic planning, administration, management, or execution of an activity for financial gain.
(8) No permit shall be approved by the director if the applicant in its application or any other materials supplied to the director or the attorney general shall supply information which is untrue or misleading as to a material fact pertaining to the disqualification criteria set out above.
(9) Any applicant who is denied an initial permit pursuant to this section shall, upon written request transmitted to the director within thirty (30) days of the denial, be afforded the opportunity for a hearing. Any permittee who receives a notice of intent to revoke or refuse to renew a permit shall have fifteen (15) days from the receipt of the notice to transmit to the director a request for a hearing.
(10) (i) Notwithstanding the disqualification of any applicant or permittee the director may issue or renew a license if the applicant or permittee severs the interest of or affiliation with the person who would otherwise cause that disqualification.
(ii) Where the disqualifying individual is the owner of an equity interest or interest in the debt liability of the permittee or applicant, he or she must completely divest himself or herself of that interest. Where immediate sale of the interest would work an economic hardship on the individual, the permittee or applicant, the director may, in his or her discretion, allow for divestiture over a period of time not to exceed one year.
(iii) Arrangements such as blind trusts will be acceptable only as part of a divestiture arrangement under which the trustee is obliged to sell the disqualifying individual's interest within a period not to exceed two (2) years.
(iv) Before the director will issue or renew a permit to an applicant or permittee which has severed a disqualifying individual, the applicant or permittee must submit to the director an affidavit, sworn to by the chief executive officer, attesting to the severance of the disqualifying individual and describing the terms, circumstances and conditions of the severance. Any instruments pertaining to that severance (such as a trust agreement) shall be submitted with the affidavit.
(11) The director will not issue a permit to any person who has had an application denied, or a license revoked, for any of the reasons set forth for a period of five (5) years following such denial or revocation. A person that is a business concern shall be considered as the same person if the management structure of the concern includes the person or persons that were the cause of the original disqualification.
(c) Permits for hazardous waste transporters shall be issued for a period not to exceed one year. Permits for hazardous waste management facilities shall be issued subject to such terms and conditions, including duration of the permit, as the director may require, and subject to suspension, revocation, modification, or amendment as provided in subsection (e). The director shall review each permit at least every five years and shall notify each hazardous waste management facility, in writing, when the permit review has been completed. Any changes in permit conditions shall be included in the notification.
(d) In any proceeding for issuance or renewal of a permit required under this section, the burden of proving that the operation of the facility for which a permit is sought complies with the rules and regulations under section 23-19.1-6(a) shall be on the applicant for the permit.
(e) (1) Any permit issued under this section may be suspended, revoked, modified, or amended by the director at any time upon a showing, after notice and hearing, that the permittee failed in the application or during the permit issuance process to discharge fully all relevant facts, or the permittee's misrepresentation of any relevant facts at anytime, or that there has been a conviction or plea as described in subsection (b)(2), that the permittee has failed to comply with the provisions of this chapter, rules and regulations promulgated by the director pursuant to this chapter, or the terms and conditions of the permit, a change in ownership or operational control of a permitted hazardous waste facility, or upon a showing, after notice and hearing, that the continued operation of the permitted facility constitutes a threat to the health and safety of the public or to the environment. In any administrative proceeding for revocation of a permit under the provisions of this section the permittee has the burden of demonstrating compliance with all lawful requirements and regulations for the retention of the permit and that continued operation under the permit will not constitute a threat to public health, safety, or the environment. In any proceeding for revocation, suspension, modification, or amendment of a permit pursuant to this subsection, the director will provide the affected party with the opportunity for an adequate hearing and with written notice of the intent of the director to revoke the permit and the reasons for the revocation.
(2) The following are causes for modification but not revocation and reissuance of permits, and the following may be causes for revocation and reissuance as well as modification when the permittee requests or agrees:
(i) There are material and substantial alterations or additions to the permitted facility or activity which occurred after the permit issuance which justify the application of permit conditions that are different or absent in the existing permit;
(ii) Permits may be modified during their terms only if the director has received information that was not available at the time of permit issuance and would have justified the application of different permit conditions at the time of issuance. This shall include any information indicating the cumulative effects on the environment are unacceptable;
(iii) The rules or regulations on which the permit was based have been changed by promulgation of amended rules or regulations or by judicial decision after the permit was issued.
(iv) The director determines good cause exists for modification of a compliance schedule, such as an act of God, strike, flood, or materials shortage or other events over which the permittee has little or no control and for which there is no reasonably available remedy.
(3) In addition to any other cause set forth in this chapter, any permit may be revoked by the director for any of the following causes:
(i) Fraud, deceit, or misrepresentation in securing the permit, or in the conduct of the permitted activity;
(ii) Offering, conferring, or agreeing to confer any benefit to induce any other person to violate the provisions of the Rhode Island "Hazardous Management Act" or of any other law relating to the collection, transportation, treatment, storage, or disposal of solid waste or hazardous waste, or of any rule or regulation adopted pursuant thereto;
(iii) Coercion of a customer by violence or economic reprisal or the threat thereof to utilize the services of any permittee;
(iv) Preventing, without authorization of the director, any permittee from disposing of solid waste or hazardous waste at a licensed treatment, storage or disposal facility. In any proceeding for revocation, suspension, modification, or amendment of a permit pursuant to this subsection, the director will provide the affected party with the opportunity for an adequate hearing and with written notice of the intent of the director to revoke the permit and the reasons for the revocation.
(f) The following activities do not require a permit under this chapter, but are subject to the portions of this chapter and rules and regulations adopted thereunder that do not apply to permits:
(1) Storage, treatment, or disposal of those quantities of certain hazardous wastes that the director determines by regulation do not pose a threat to the public health, safety, and environment;
(2) Transport of any hazardous waste on the premises where it is generated or onto contiguous property owned by the generator thereof; and
(3) Temporary storage or resource recovery, including regeneration or reclamation of material or energy, of hazardous wastes at the site of generation, which temporary storage or resource recovery is conducted by the generator thereof.
{ADD (g) In addition to any other requirements imposed by this section, no permit or renewal of a permit for a facility that is a commercial landfill shall be approved by the director unless the applicant provides evidence of either (1) bonding; and/or (2) a catastrophe fund, both to be in an amount and for a length of time as the director shall determine to be necessary to protect the general public's health and welfare from any potential complications arising from the landfill. The director's determination as to the amount and length of time for said bond and/or catastrophe fund shall be final. The applicant's evidence of the bonding and/or catastrophe fund shall be available for public inspection at the department. ADD}
SECTION 2. Chapter 23-18.9 of the General Laws entitled "Refuse Disposal" is hereby amended by adding thereto the following section:
{ADD 23-18.9-9.2. Further requirements for landfills. -- ADD} {ADD In addition to any other requirements imposed by section 23-18.9-9, no license to operate a solid waste management facility which is a commercial landfill shall be issued and/or renewed by the director unless the applicant provides evidence of either (1) bonding; and/or (2) a catastrophe fund, both to be in an amount and for a length of time as the director shall determine to be necessary to protect the general public's health and welfare from any potential complication arising from the landfill. The director's determination as to the amount and length of time for said bond and/or catastrophe fund shall be final. The applicant's evidence of the bonding and/or catastrophe fund shall be available for public inspection at the department. ADD}
SECTION 3. This act shall take effect upon passage.
