2021 -- H 5923

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LC001563

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2021

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A N   A C T

RELATING TO HEALTH AND SAFETY- HIGH-HEAT WASTE FACILITY ACT OF 2021

     Introduced By: Representatives Caldwell, Serpa, Carson, Handy, Morales, Craven,
Bennett, Potter, Donovan, and Speakman

     Date Introduced: February 24, 2021

     Referred To: House Environment and Natural Resources

     It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

     SECTION 1. Title 23 of the General Laws entitled "HEALTH AND SAFETY" is hereby

amended by adding thereto the following chapter:

CHAPTER 19.17

HIGH-HEAT WASTE FACILITY ACT OF 2021

     23-19.17-1. Findings/Purpose.

     (1) As stated in §§ 23-19-3(14) and (16), solid waste incineration releases more than four

hundred (400) toxic pollutants including lead, mercury, dioxins, and acid gasses; poses

unacceptable threats to the health and safety of Rhode Islanders and the environment; and is the

most costly method of waste disposal;

     (2) Other forms of high-heat waste processing including, but not limited to, gasification,

pyrolysis, plasma-arc, and chemical recycling, emit the same pollutants and pose the same

unacceptable threats to health, safety, and the environment as solid waste incineration, and are

likewise costly and unproven methods of waste disposal;

     (3) Emissions from solid waste incineration and other high-heat waste processing facilities

and emissions from the combustion of fuels generated through gasification and pyrolysis contribute

to climate change;

     (4) Energy derived from the combustion of solid waste, and from the combustion of fuels

derived from solid waste, is not renewable energy;

     (5) To address the waste and plastic pollution that endanger health, safety, and the

environment, Rhode Island must work to reduce, divert, reuse, and recycle rather than burn waste;

     (6) Solid waste incinerators and other high-heat waste processing facilities in the United

States are disproportionately located in communities of color and low-income communities, and

Rhode Island is committed to preventing the inequitable environmental burdens that come with the

construction and operation of such facilities;

     (7) It is in the best interests of the health, safety, and welfare of residents of and visitors to

Rhode Island to protect our communities, environment, and natural resources by prohibiting the

construction and operation of solid waste incinerators and other high-heat waste processing

facilities.

     23-19.17-2. Definitions.

     As used in this chapter:

     (1) Construction and demolition (C&D) debris" means non-hazardous solid waste resulting

from the construction, remodeling, repair, and demolition of utilities and structures and

uncontaminated solid waste resulting from land clearing. This waste includes, but is not limited to,

wood (including painted, treated, and coated wood, and wood products); land-clearing debris; wall

coverings; plaster; drywall; plumbing fixtures; non-asbestos insulation; roofing shingles and other

roof coverings; glass; plastics that are not sealed in a manner that conceals other wastes, empty

buckets ten (10) gallons or less in size and having no more than one inch of residue remaining on

the bottom; electrical wiring and components containing no hazardous liquids; and pipe and metals

that are incidental to any of the previously described waste. Solid waste that is not C&D debris

(even if resulting from the construction, remodeling, repair, and demolition of utilities, structures

and roads; land clearing) includes, but is not limited to, asbestos; waste; garbage; corrugated

container board; electrical fixtures containing hazardous liquids, such as fluorescent light ballasts

or transformers; fluorescent lights; carpeting; furniture; appliances; tires; drums; containers greater

than ten (10) gallons in size; any containers having more than one inch of residue remaining on the

bottom; and fuel tanks. Specifically excluded from the definition of construction and demolition

debris is solid waste (including what otherwise would be construction and demolition debris)

resulting from any processing technique, other than that employed at a department-approved C&D

debris processing facility, that renders individual waste components unrecognizable, such as

pulverizing or shredding.

     (2) "Gasification" means a process through which materials are subjected to heat (generally

at, but not limited to, temperatures above nine hundred degrees Fahrenheit (900°F)) in a limited-

oxygen environment, converting carbon-based materials to synthetic fuels, chemical feedstocks,

waxes, lubricants, or other substances and solid residues, slag, ash, char, liquid wastes, and/or

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wastewater.

     (3) "Hazardous waste" means any waste or combination of wastes of a solid, liquid,

contained gaseous, or semisolid form which because of its quantity, concentration, or physical,

chemical, or infectious characteristics may:

     (i) Cause or significantly contribute to an increase in mortality or an increase in serious

irreversible or incapacitating reversible illness; or

     (ii) Pose a substantial present or potential hazard to human health or the environment.

     (A) These wastes include, but are not limited to, those which are toxic, corrosive,

flammable, irritants, strong sensitizers, substances which are assimilated or concentrated in and are

detrimental to tissue, or which generate pressure through decomposition or chemical reaction. In

addition, these wastes include "industrial waste" as the term is used elsewhere, unless the context

shall clearly indicate otherwise.

     (4) "High-heat waste processing facility" means a facility which:

     (i) Generates electricity from the combustion, gasification, or pyrolysis of solid waste,

segregated solid waste, recyclable materials, construction and demolition (C&D) debris, hazardous

waste, or regulated medical waste;

     (ii) Generates electricity from the combustion of fuel derived from the gasification or

pyrolysis of solid waste, segregated solid waste, recyclable materials, construction and demolition

(C&D) debris, hazardous waste, or regulated medical waste; or

     (ii) Disposes of, processes, or treats solid waste, segregated solid waste, recyclable

materials, construction and demolition (C&D) debris, hazardous waste, or regulated medical waste

through combustion, gasification, pyrolysis, or any process that exposes waste to temperatures

above four hundred degrees Fahrenheit (400°F).

     (5)(i) "Regulated medical waste" means a special category of solid waste that includes

specific types of medical waste subject to the handling and tracking requirements. Regulated

medical wastes mixed with nonhazardous solid wastes are considered regulated medical wastes for

the purposes of this chapter.

     (ii) A regulated medical waste is any waste generated in the diagnosis (including testing

and laboratory analysis), treatment, (e.g., provision of medical services), or immunization of human

beings or animals, in research pertaining thereto, or in the preparation of human remains for burial

or cremation, or in the production or testing of biologicals, or in the development of

pharmaceuticals, that is listed in this section but is not excluded or exempted in § 23-19.12-3(7)(iv).

Regulated medical waste becomes subject to the regulations in this chapter at the time and in the

location that the materials become waste.

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     (iii) The following categories of medical wastes are regulated medical waste:

     (A) Cultures and stocks. Cultures and stocks of infectious agents and associated

biologicals, including: cultures from medical and pathological laboratories; cultures and stocks of

infectious agents from research and industrial laboratories; wastes from the production of

biologicals; discarded live and attenuated vaccines; and culture dishes and devices used to transfer,

inoculate, and mix cultures.

     (B) Pathological wastes. Human pathological wastes, including tissues, organs, and body

parts that are removed during surgery or autopsy, or other medical procedures.

     (C) Human blood, blood products and body fluids:

     (I) Liquid waste human blood or body fluids;

     (II) Products of blood;

     (III) Items saturated and/or dripping with human blood;

     (IV) Items that were saturated and/or dripping with human blood that are caked with dried

human blood; including, but not limited to, serum, plasma, and other blood components and their

containers; or

     (V) Specimens of body fluids and their containers.

     (D) Sharps. Sharps that have been used in animal or human patient care or treatment

(including sharps generated from the preparation of human and animal remains for burial or

cremation), or in medical, research, or industrial laboratories, including, but not limited to,

hypodermic needles, syringes (with or without the attached needle), pasteur pipettes, scalpel blades,

blood vials, needles with attached tubing, glass carpules, and glass culture dishes (regardless of

presence of infectious agents). Also included are other types of broken or unbroken glassware that

has been used in animal or human patient care or treatment, such as used slides and cover slips.

     (E) Animal waste. Contaminated animal carcasses, body parts, and bedding of animals that

were known to have been exposed to infectious agents during research, (including research in

veterinary hospitals), production of biologicals, or testing of pharmaceuticals.

     (F) Isolation wastes. Biological waste and discarded materials contaminated with blood,

excretion, exudates, or secretions from humans who are isolated to protect others from certain

highly communicable diseases, or isolated animals known to be infected with highly communicable

diseases. These diseases include:

     INFECTIOUS AGENT DISEASE

     Variola minor Alastrim

     Variola major Smallpox

     Monkey pox Human Monkeypox

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     White pox Crimean hemorrhagic fever virus Crimean hemorrhagic fever

     Junin virus Argentine hemorrhagic fever

     Machupo virus Bolivian hemorrhagic fever

     Herpes virus simiae (Monkey B) Oncogenic in primates

     Lassa virus Lassa fever

     Marburg virus Marburg virus disease

     Russian spring-summer Russian spring-summer

     encephalitis virus encephalitis

     Kyasanur forest disease virus Kyasanur forest disease

     Omsk hemorrhagic fever virus Omsk hemorrhagic fever

     Central European Central European

     encephalitis virus encephalitis

     Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus Venezuelan equine encephalitis

     Yellow fever virus Yellow fever

     Ebola virus Ebola virus disease

     Absettarov virus Tick-borne encephalitis

     Hanzalova virus Tick-borne encephalitis

     Hypr virus Tick-borne encephalitis

     Kumlinge virus Tick-borne encephalitis (G) Any other diseases identified as Biosafety

Level 4 etiologic agents by the Center for Disease Control.

     (H) The following diseases are included in the list of "highly communicable diseases"

associated with animals. Unless otherwise noted by an asterisk, these diseases are part of the

National Notifiable Disease Surveillances System list:

     Anthrax

     Botulism

     Brucellosis

     Eastern Equine Encephalitis

     Leptospirosis

     Lyme Disease

     Plague

     Psittacosis (Chlamydiosis)

     Rabies

     Salmonellosis

     Trichinosis

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     Tuberculosis

     Tularemia

     *Cat-Scratch Fever Disease

     *Ebola Virus

     *Ehrlichia canis

     *Encephalomyocarditis

     *Monkey B-Virus

     *Monkey Marburg Virus

     *Poxvirus

     *"Q" Fever

     *Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever

     *Vesicular Stomatitis

     (I) Unused sharps. Unused discarded sharps, including hypodermic needles, suture needles,

syringes, and scalpel blades.

     (J) Spill/cleanup material. Any material collected during or resulting from the cleanup of a

spill of regulated medical waste.

     (K) Mixtures. Any waste which is a mixture of regulated medical waste and some other

type of waste which is neither radioactive nor a hazardous waste of a type other than regulated

medical waste.

     (iv) Exclusions and exemptions. The following categories of medical waste are specifically

excluded from the definition of regulated medical waste:

     (A) Hazardous waste identified or listed under DEM hazardous waste regulations

promulgated under § 23-19.1-6. Regulated medical waste that is mixed with hazardous waste shall

be defined as hazardous waste and shall be regulated in accordance with DEM hazardous waste

regulations.

     (B) Household medical waste, limited to medical waste generated by individuals on the

premises of a single-family home or single-family dwelling unit or by members of households

residing in single and multiple residences, hotels, and motels which serve as a residence for

individuals, provided the dwelling is not serving as a commercial or professional office where

individuals who are not members of the family residing at the dwelling are receiving medical care

by a health care professional.

     (C) This exemption includes the wastes generated by health care providers in private homes

where medical services are provided to individuals who reside there.

     (D) Medical waste generated and disposed of with residential solid wastes from a single

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family residential premise or single-family dwelling unit shall be exempt from these regulations

except where regulated medical waste is generated from commercial or professional offices.

     (E) Incinerator ash and treatment/destruction residue. Regulated medical waste that has

been both treated and destroyed is no longer regulated medical waste; this includes ash from the

incineration of regulated medical waste (provided the ash meets the definition for treated regulated

medical waste and destroyed regulated medical waste) and residues from wastes that have been

both treated and destroyed (e.g., waste that has been subjected to decontamination and grinding, or

chemical disinfection followed by grinding, or stream sterilization followed by shredding).

     (F) Human remains, e.g., corpses and anatomical parts that are stored, transported, or

otherwise managed for purposes of interment or cremation. However, regulated medical waste

attached to, or within, a corpse is not exempt and must be removed and then managed as regulated

medical waste.

     (G) Etiologic agents that are being transported intrastate and/or interstate between facilities

pursuant to regulations set by the U.S. department of transportation, the U.S. department of health

and human services, and all other applicable shipping requirements.

     (H) Enforcement samples, including samples of regulated medical waste obtained during

enforcement procedures by authorized U.S. environmental protection agency personnel and the

state of Rhode Island.

     (6) “Pyrolysis” means a process through which materials are subjected to heat (generally

at, but not limited to, temperatures above four hundred degrees Fahrenheit (400°F) in the absence

of oxygen, converting carbon-based materials to synthetic fuels, chemical feedstocks, waxes,

lubricants, or other substances and solid residues, slag, ash, char, liquid wastes, and/or wastewater.

     (7) "Recyclable materials" means those materials separated from solid waste for reuse. The

director of the department of environmental management, through regulations, shall specify those

materials that are to be included within the definition of recyclables. The materials to be included

may change from time to time depending upon new technologies, economic conditions, waste

stream characteristics, environmental effects, or other factors.

     (8) "Segregated solid waste" means material separated from other solid waste for reuse.

     (9) "Solid waste" means garbage, refuse, tree waste as defined in § 23-18.9-7(14), and other

discarded solid materials generated by residential, institutional, commercial, industrial, and

agricultural sources, but does not include solids or dissolved material in domestic sewage or sewage

sludge or dredge material as defined in chapter 6.1 of title 46, nor does it include hazardous waste

as defined in chapter 19.1 of title 23, nor does it include used asphalt, concrete, or Portland concrete

cement.

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     23-19.17-3. Prohibition on New High-Heat Waste Processing Facilities.

     Notwithstanding any other law, rule, or regulation to the contrary, no permit or license shall

be issued for the construction or operation of a new high-heat waste processing facility, and no

application for a permit or license for such a facility shall be granted or issued by the state.

     SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.

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LC001563

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EXPLANATION

BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL

OF

A N   A C T

RELATING TO HEALTH AND SAFETY- HIGH-HEAT WASTE FACILITY ACT OF 2021

***

     This act would prohibit new high-heat waste processing facilities.

     This act would take effect upon passage.

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LC001563

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