Municipal solid waste landfills.

11LSO-0240.C1

FISCAL NOTE

A total of $9,270,000 was appropriated in 2006 Session Laws, Chapter 101, to the Department of Environmental Quality (Department) to provide monitoring and planning grants to determine the nature and extent of contamination associated with landfills. Currently, there is approximately $4,500,000 remaining from this appropriation which has not been awarded or encumbered.  The Department expects additional requests will come from the municipal landfill operators for reimbursement for groundwater assessment work.  However, the Department has estimated that at least $1,750,000 will remain, based on projections of past work.  This $1,750,000 will be used by the Department to conduct assessments to prioritize landfills that present the greatest risk to human health and the environment, to conduct further evaluation of the nature and extent of contamination at high priority landfills, and to refine the costs associated with cleaning up contamination at the higher priority landfills. Most of the $1,750,000 will be expended from the 900 series.

The bill provides for lifetime permitting of municipal landfills and submittal by the landfill operator of annual reports to document any changes to landfill operations.  These provisions are expected to be managed by existing staff and don’t necessitate additional resources.

Finally, the bill requires the Department to evaluate the status of ‘orphaned’ landfills within the state.  These are landfills that don’t have a readily identifiable responsible and/or viable party.  The bill contemplates the potential for funds to be deposited in the account to investigate and cleanup orphaned landfills.  At this time, the Department cannot estimate the cost to investigate and remediate orphaned landfills.   

Prepared by:   Dean Temte, LSO    Phone: 777-7881

(Information provided by Jim Uzzell/Carl Anderson, DEQ; 777-7198)