PA 06-76—sSB 285

Environment Committee

Judiciary Committee

Appropriations Committee

AN ACT CONCERNING PERSONAL WATERCRAFT AND CHILDREN, REVISIONS TO ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION STATUTES, LAKE PATROLMEN AND THE APPOINTMENT OF SPECIAL CONSERVATION OFFICERS

SUMMARY: This act makes a number of changes in the Hazardous Waste Transfer Act and other environmental laws, including laws affecting solid waste facility permitting; the sale, labeling, and collection of mercury and mercury-containing products; and toxics in packaging.

Specifically, it:

1. exempts from the Transfer Act, which regulates conveyances of businesses that handle hazardous waste, (a) certain properties or businesses that deal solely with universal waste (e. g. , batteries and pesticides) and (b) transfers of condominiums and similar residential communities that meet certain conditions;

2. in certain instances, allows sale or transfer of a remediated portion of land subject to the Transfer Act before the entire site is cleaned up, if notice of the sale or transfer is provided to the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) commissioner within 30 days;

3. revises the permitting process for solid waste facilities, requires non-permitted solid waste disposal area owners to either submit closure plans to DEP or remediate the area, and changes other solid waste laws;

4. imposes criminal penalties for certain violations of laws governing the sale, labeling, and collection of mercury and products containing mercury;

5. reestablishes exemptions for certain packaging containing toxic materials and makes other changes affecting toxics in packaging;

6. authorizes the DEP to issue general permits for certain industrial wastewater discharges;

7. eliminates the Connecticut Hazardous Waste Management Service (CHWMS) and laws relating to low-level radioactive waste facilities, the Low-Level Radioactive Waste Facility Trust Fund, Low-Level Radioactive Waste Advisory Committee, and Low-Level Radioactive Waste Management Fund;

8. removes the siting of low-level radioactive waste facilities and consultation on the preparation of a hazardous waste management plan from the duties of the Connecticut Siting Council;

9. modifies filing requirements for certain DEP air pollution orders; and

10. prohibits personal watercraft (jet ski) passengers from riding (a) in front of a jet ski operator and (b) behind the operator unless they meet certain physical requirements, and subjects violators to a fine of between $60 and $250.

By law, the DEP commissioner may license terminals that load or unload petroleum, chemicals, and hazardous waste for up to three years, beginning annually on July 1. The act extends the maximum license period to 10 years from the date the license is issued. The act also modifies the law concerning special conservation officers.

EFFECTIVE DATE: October 1, 2006, except for the (1) penalties for violating the mercury reduction laws, which take effect October 1, 2007, and (2) provisions concerning special conservation officers, which take effect upon passage.

THE HAZARDOUS WASTE TRANSFER ACT (§§ 11-15)

UNIVERSAL WASTE EXEMPTION (§§11 & 14)

The Transfer Act governs the sale or other conveyance of certain property where hazardous waste was generated, used or stored. It requires such property to be investigated and pollution properly remediated. It also regulates “establishments,” which include certain businesses, and property where (1) more than 100 kilograms (220 pounds) of hazardous waste was generated in a calendar month or (2) hazardous waste was recycled, reclaimed, reused, stored, handled, treated, transported, or disposed of.

This act exempts from the Transfer Act, under certain conditions, real property or business operations that (1) generate more than 100 kilograms of universal waste in a calendar month; (2) store, handle, or transport universal waste generated elsewhere; or (3) undertake activities at a universal waste transfer facility. Under the act, universal waste includes batteries, pesticides, thermostats, lamps, and used electronics as defined by state regulation and federal law. Universal waste transfer facilities are any facilities related to transportation, including loading docks, and parking and storage areas where universal waste shipments are held in the normal course of transport for up to 10 days.

To be exempt, (1) this property or business must not generate, store, handle, or transport any hazardous waste other than universal waste or otherwise be subject to the Transfer Act; (2) there must not have been a discharge or spill of universal waste or a hazardous substance; and (3) the business or property must not recycle, treat, or dispose of universal waste, except as federal law allows for batteries and thermostats.

Condominium Exemption (§§ 11 & 12)

The act exempts from the Transfer Act the conveyance of units in condominiums, cooperatives, and other planned communities (“residential common interest communities”) that meet certain conditions. To be exempt, the declarant for the community of which the unit is a part must (1) be a certifying party for the purposes of remediating an establishment within the community and (2) provide the commissioner a surety bond or other form of financial assurance she finds acceptable. (A declarant, typically a project developer, creates and records the documents for a common interest community. )

The surety bond or other form of financial assurance must (1) identify both the DEP and unit owners association as beneficiaries, (2) be in an amount and form the commissioner approves, and (3) be sufficient, at all times when the property comprising the common interest community is an establishment, to remediate the subject property. The amount of the bond or other form of financial assurance may be reduced as remediation work progresses. It may exclude costs of (1) improvement not related to remediation, and (2) remediation (a) already completed and (b) on parcels that may be added to the community through the exercise of development rights.

To be exempt from the act, the seller of a unit in a residential common interest community that qualifies as an establishment also must provide the buyer with notice that summarizes (1) the community's environmental condition, (2) investigation or remediation activities, and (3) environmental land use restrictions. The notice requirement applies to all conveyances, including those exempt from public offering statement or resale certificate requirements.

TRANSFER ACT FORMS AND REMEDIATING AND TRANSFERRING A PORTION OF AN ESTABLISHMENT (§§ 13 & 15)

The law requires anyone transferring an establishment to complete one or more of four different forms, depending on the presence of hazardous waste or hazardous substances, and the status of investigations and remediation.

Generally speaking, a transferor files a Form I if: (1) there has not been a release of a hazardous waste or a hazardous substance or (2) a hazardous substance spill has been properly cleaned up, and the remediation is (a) approved in writing by the DEP commissioner, or (b) verified by a licensed environmental professional (LEP).

A transferor files a Form II when, among other things, a hazardous waste or hazardous substance spill has taken place, cleanup has been completed, and either the DEP commissioner has approved the cleanup in writing or an LEP has verified in writing that it has been properly performed.

By law, a certifying party files a Form III when (1) a hazardous waste or hazardous substance leak has occurred, but has not been fully remediated, or (2) he does not know the environmental conditions at the establishment. The certifying party agrees to properly investigate and remediate the parcel. A certifying party files a Form IV when there has been a leak, and all remediation actions have been completed except for post-remediation monitoring or the recording of an environmental land use restriction.

Changes in Forms I and II (§ 13)

The act requires, for a Form I, that an LEP's verification be in writing. It requires, for both a Form I and a Form II, that the transferor certify that there has not been a leak of a hazardous waste or hazardous substance at any portion of the establishment since the commissioner's determination or the LEP's verification that the establishment, or any portion of it, was properly remediated.

Certifying Parties and Forms III and IV (§ 15)

By law, a certifying party is, in the case of a Form III or Form IV, a person associated with the transfer of an establishment who agrees to investigate a parcel (a tract of land that is an establishment or where there is a business that is an establishment) according to prevailing standards, and to properly remediate pollution. The commissioner may (1) review and approve the remediation or (2) accept an LEP's verification that the remediation has been properly performed.

Under prior law, if the commissioner informed a certifying party that an LEP had to verify the remediation, the certifying party had to submit a schedule for investigating and remediating the establishment. The act instead specifies that this schedule is for investigating the parcel and remediating the establishment and requires the certifying party to investigate and remediate the parcel according to the proposed schedule or a schedule the commissioner specifies.

Under prior law, the certifying party submitted to the commissioner an LEP's independent verification that the establishment has been properly remediated, and as applicable, a Form IV verification. The act instead requires the certifying party to submit to the commissioner a final LEP verification when the entire site has been remediated. Such a final verification may include and rely on an LEP's verification that a portion of the establishment had been previously remediated.

Remediating and Transferring a Portion of an Establishment (§ 15)

The act allows the sale or transfer of a portion of an establishment before the entire establishment is remediated if certain conditions are met.

Under the act, a certifying party may satisfy his Form III or Form IV requirements by submitting an LEP verification for any portion of an establishment for which the certifying party has completed remediation. If (1) a certifying party submits such a verification; (2) the balance of the establishment is not otherwise subject to the transfer act; and (3) the verified portion is transferred, conveyed, or changes ownership before the entire establishment is remediated, the certifying party must notify the commissioner of the transfer, conveyance, or change in ownership within 30 days of its occurrence.

In cases where the commissioner must review and approve a site investigation and remediation, the act allows a certifying party to ask the commissioner to find that the certifying party has properly cleaned up a portion of the establishment according to plans and schedules the commissioner has approved. It authorizes the commissioner, when determining whether the entire site has been properly remediated, to rely on her prior finding. As with LEP verification, above, a remediated portion of an establishment can be sold or transferred before the entire establishment is remediated if the establishment is not otherwise subject to the Transfer Act and the certifying party notifies the commissioner within 30 days of the sale or transfer of the remediated portion.

SOLID WASTE FACILITY PERMITTING (§§ 24 & 25)

Under prior law, the commissioner issued separate permits to construct and operate solid waste facilities. The commissioner could issue a permit to construct after approving the facility's plan, design, and method of operation. She could issue a permit to operate after the facility completed performance tests and she made certain findings. By law, a solid waste facility includes solid waste disposal areas, volume reduction plants, transfer stations, wood-burning facilities, and biomedical waste treatment facilities.

The act combines these two permits into one, and specifies that people and municipalities must obtain one when establishing, building, or operating a facility. It requires applicants to submit a closure plan with their permit application. It requires owners of non-permitted solid waste disposal areas, upon written notice from DEP, to (1) submit closure plans with which they must comply, or (2) remediate the area. It eliminates provisions authorizing the commissioner to permit or site certain waste facilities, and makes conforming changes.

Construction/Operating Permit

The act prohibits any person or municipality from establishing, building, or operating a solid waste facility without a permit. It requires applicants to apply for a permit on a form the commissioner prescribes, and to include (1) the information she requires, (2) a closure plan, and (3) a fee set by regulation. It requires the applicant, rather than the commissioner, to notify the chief elected official of the town where the proposed facility will be located. Under the act, all references in regulation to permits to construct and to operate refer to the new permit the act creates.

Modified Permits

Under prior law, a solid waste facility holding a permit to construct that sought to alter its plan, design, or method of operation had to obtain a modified permit from the commissioner. The act places the responsibility on a person or municipality that holds the permit the act creates, rather than the facility. It eliminates the requirement with regard to plan alterations. Under the act, “altering” means making a substantive change to the facility's design, capacity, volume, process, or operation, including changes in the approved capacity or composition of solid waste disposed of, processed, reduced, stored, or recycled. Existing law, unchanged by the act, exempts changes made to mitigate, correct, or abate odors from certain Connecticut Resources Recovery Authority-owned or operated solid waste facilities from the modified permit requirement.

Closure Plan Definition

Under the act, a closure plan is a comprehensive written plan, including maps, prepared by a professional licensed engineer, that details the closure of a solid waste disposal area, and that addresses (1) final cover design; (2) stormwater, leachate, and landfill gas controls; (3) water quality monitoring; (4) post-closure maintenance and monitoring; (5) financial assurance for closure and post-closure activities, (6) post-closure use; and (7) any other information that the commissioner determines is needed to protect human health and the environment.

Sites Without Permits

Closure Plans/Remediation. Upon written notice from the commissioner and according to a schedule she specifies, a person or town that owns a non-permitted solid waste disposal area must either (1) (a) submit a closure plan for her review and written approval, (b) notify the public of the closure plan, and (c) close and maintain the solid waste disposal area according to the plan or (2) remediate the area according to the plan the commissioner approved or an LEP verified.

A $3,000 fee must accompany a closure plan, and the commissioner may also require the owner to post a performance bond. By law, a solid waste disposal area is a landfill or other location used for the disposal of more than 10 cubic yards of solid waste.

Closure Plan Modification. The commissioner may approve a modification to a solid waste disposal area closure plan. Such a request must be accompanied by a $500 fee, which the commissioner may reduce or waive in case of financial hardship. She also may modify the fee by regulation. The commissioner may require that an owner seeking to modify a closure plan notify the public if the proposed modification would disrupt the solid waste or change the solid waste disposal area's use.

The commissioner may approve, in writing, a closure plan modification for a closed, permitted disposal area without requiring the applicant to obtain a modified permit. The applicant must submit a $500 fee with a request for such modification. As above, the commissioner may require the person or town seeking to modify the closure plan to notify the public of the proposed change if it would disrupt the solid waste or change the use of the solid waste disposal area. The commissioner may reduce or waive the fee in cases of financial hardship, and may modify the fee as provided by regulation.

Removal/Remediation. Under the act, the commissioner also may order a person or town that establishes or builds a solid waste disposal area without a permit to (1) remove the solid waste from the area, (2) remediate any pollution, and (3) properly dispose of the waste at a lawfully operated facility.

Other Changes

By law, the commissioner, in deciding whether to grant a permit for a solid waste facility, must consider the character of the neighborhood and may impose traffic, security, and fencing requirements and measures to ensure sanitary operation. In deciding whether to grant or deny a permit to build or operate a transfer station, she must consider whether the transfer station will result in disproportionately high adverse human health or environmental effects. The act specifically eliminates laws that:

1. bar her from authorizing construction of a volume reduction plant or transfer station within one-quarter mile of a child day care center in cities of more than 100,000 people, if the day care center was operating on July 8, 1997; and

2. authorize her to modify or renew a permit for an existing volume reduction plan or transfer station regardless of its location.

The act also makes conforming changes.

PENALTIES FOR VIOLATING THE MERCURY REDUCTION AND EDUCATION ACT (§§ 27-29)

The act establishes penalties for violations of the laws governing the sale, distribution, labeling, and collection of mercury and products containing mercury. It authorizes the commissioner to issue, modify, or revoke orders to correct or abate the violations, including violations of any regulations she adopts. The orders may include any necessary remedial measures. The act specifies that she may issue the orders to anyone who violates any provisions of the solid waste management laws or any regulation she adopts regarding the laws concerning mercury sale, distribution, labeling and collection. The commissioner already has broad authority to initiate and receive complaints about violations of any law she administers, and to enter orders and institute legal proceedings to enforce those laws.

Orders and Hearings

The act requires that orders the commissioner issues concerning the mercury reduction laws be delivered by certified mail, return receipt requested, or by a state marshal or indifferent person. If a state marshal or indifferent person serves the order, he must serve a true copy, and file the original, with a return of service endorsed on it, with the commissioner. The order is deemed issued upon service or deposit in the mail. Any order issued under the solid waste management laws must state the reason it is issued.

An order is considered final unless a person aggrieved by the order asks the commissioner for a hearing within 30 days of the date the order is issued. The request must be in writing. The commissioner must hold a hearing as soon as practicable after such a request. An aggrieved party cannot appeal an order unless he has requested such a hearing.

After a hearing, or after she issues an order, the commissioner may agree to modify an order or extend the time schedule if she believes it advisable or necessary. Such a modification or extension is a revision of the existing order from which there can be no hearing or appeal. Following a hearing, the commissioner must consider all the evidence and affirm, modify, or revoke her order. She must notify the recipient of the order of her decision by certified mail, return receipt requested. A final order is subject to appeal, which must be filed in New Britain Superior Court.

Enforcement by Attorney General

Whenever the commissioner believes anyone is engaged in, or about to engage in, any act, practice, or omission that violates or would violate the laws or regulations concerning mercury, she may ask the attorney general to file an action in New Britain Superior Court asking the court to (1) enjoin such acts, (2) order remedial measures, or (3) direct compliance. The court may issue a permanent or temporary injunction, or a restraining or other order upon the commissioner's showing that the person is engaged in such acts, practices or omissions.

Penalties

The act subjects anyone who violates any law, regulation, or order governing mercury to a fine of up to $25,000 a day for each offense. Each violation is a separate offense, and each day of a continuing violation is also a separate offense. If two or more people are responsible for violations of the laws, regulations, or orders concerning mercury, they must be held jointly and severally liable. The act requires the attorney general, at the commissioner's request, to file a civil action in New Britain Superior Court to recover the penalty. It requires any such action to take precedence over other actions in the order of trial.

It subjects anyone who, with criminal negligence, violates those laws, orders, or regulations, or who makes any false statement, representation, or certification in any application, notification, request for exemption, record, plan, report, or other document filed or required to be maintained, to a fine of up to $25,000 a day, up to one year in prison, or both. A subsequent conviction is punishable by up to $50,000 a day for each day of the violation, up to two years in prison, or both.

By law, anyone who intentionally makes a false written statement under oath or on a form that states false statements are punishable is guilty of a class A misdemeanor (see Table on Penalties). The act subjects anyone who knowingly violates the laws, orders or regulations concerning mercury reduction, or who makes any false statement, representation, or certification in any application, notification, request for exemption, record, plan, report or other document filed or required to be maintained, to a fine of up to $50,000 a day for each day of the violation, up to three years in prison, or both. A subsequent conviction is punishable by a fine of up to $50,000 a day for each day of violation, up to 10 years in prison, or both.

TOXICS IN PACKAGING (§§ 17-21)

The law bars manufacturers and distributors from selling or using for promotional purposes most packages that intentionally contain lead, cadmium, mercury, or hexavalent chromium. Packages and products containing more than specified levels of these metals are also banned even if the material was not introduced intentionally. The law exempts certain packages.

Exemptions for Certain Packages And Packaging Components (§ 20)

The act reestablishes exemptions for certain packages and packaging components that expired January 1, 2000. The exemptions, which expire on January 1, 2010, are for a package or packaging that:

1. exceeds maximum concentration levels of lead, cadmium, mercury, or hexavalent chromium only because of the addition or use of recycled materials;

2. is reusable and has a controlled distribution and reuse but which exceeds the incidental concentration levels of lead, cadmium, mercury, or hexavalent chromium, if the manufacturer or distributor petitions the commissioner for an exemption and the commissioner grants it; or

3. exceeds incidental contaminant levels for lead, cadmium, mercury, or hexavalent chromium, if (a) the product, its transportation, or disposal is regulated by specific state or federal regulations and (b) the commissioner grants an exemption upon the packaging manufacturer showing it is warranted.

Glass or Ceramic Packaging (§§ 17 & 20)

The act also permanently exempts a glass or ceramic package or packaging component that has a vitrified label, that does not exceed one part per million (ppm) for cadmium, five ppm for hexavalent chromium, and five ppm for lead, when prepared according to the American Society for Testing and Materials specification C1606-04 and tested according to the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedures Test Method and Publication SW 846, third edition, “Test Methods for Evaluating Solid Waste. ” On the other hand, it applies the law to reusable or refillable glass, and ceramic or metal receptacles.

By law, packages or packaging components in which lead, cadmium, mercury, or hexavalent chromium have been added in the manufacturing or distribution process are exempt if (1) there is no feasible alternative, (2) the manufacturer has demonstrated to the commissioner that an exemption is necessary, and (3) the commissioner grants an exemption. The exemption is good for two years and may be extended for another two years. The act extends this exemption to the addition of these materials in the forming and printing process. It specifies that, by feasible alternative, it means in most cases, that technical constraints preclude the substitution of other materials, rather than that no substitute exists. The act does not exempt any lead, cadmium, mercury, or hexavalent chromium used for marketing purposes.

Minor Changes

The act authorizes the DEP commissioner, in consultation with other member states of the Toxics in Packaging Clearing House, to review the law's effectiveness and report to the governor and legislature. Under prior law, she had to consult with the Source Reduction Council of the Council of Northeastern Governors.

By law, electrolytic galvanized steel and hot-dipped coated galvanized steel are each considered a single packaging component when they meet certain specifications. The act replaces electrolytic galvanized steel with electro-galvanized coated steel, and modifies the specifications that it and hot-dipped coated galvanized steel must meet to be considered a single packaging component.

The act also:

1. specifies that it includes packages produced in a foreign country and defines them according to the American Society of Testing and Materials specification D966;

2. specifies that the laws affect packages and packaging components; and

3. makes technical changes.

TOXIC RELEASE FORM (§ 23)

Under prior law, the owner or operator of a facility required to complete a toxic release form under the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act had to submit it to the state Emergency Response Commission annually by July 1. The act instead requires him to submit the form annually by July 1 or a date established by the EPA, whichever comes later.

LICENSED ENVIRONMENTAL PROFESSIONALS (§ 16)

The act authorizes the State Board of Examiners of Environmental Professionals, in evaluating whether the degree held by a license applicant meets the position's educational requirements, to consider undergraduate, graduate, postgraduate, and other courses he completed. It authorizes the commissioner, with the advice and assistance of the board, to adopt regulations governing the LEP license issuance and renewal process, including procedures that allow for renewal of a license within six months after it expires without requiring the applicant to retake the required test.

FILING REQUIREMENTS (§ 2)

Under prior law, recipients of DEP orders to correct certain air pollution violations had to file a certified copy or notice of the final order in the land records of the town where the violation occurred. The act instead requires the commissioner to cause a copy or notice to be filed. It requires the commissioner to issue a notice, rather than a certificate, showing that an order has been complied with or revoked. She must cause notice of compliance or revocation to be recorded in the land records in the town where the order was previously recorded.

GENERAL PERMIT EXEMPTIONS FOR CERTAIN WASTEWATER DISCHARGES (§ 26)

The act authorizes the commissioner to issue general permits for wastewater discharges from the following industrial categories: timber products processing; electroplating; iron and steel manufacturing; inorganic chemicals manufacturing (I and II); textile mills; petroleum refining; pulp, paper and paperboard; steam electric power plants; leather tanning and finishing; porcelain enameling; coil coating I; coil coating (can making); electrical and electronic components (I and II); metal finishing; copper forming; aluminum forming; pharmaceuticals and manufacturing; nonferrous metals manufacturing (I and II); battery manufacturing; plastics molding and forming; nonferrous metals forming; pesticides; metal molding and casting; and organic chemicals, plastics and synthetic fibers manufacturing.

CONNECTICUT HAZARDOUS WASTE MANAGEMENT SERVICE (§§ 3 – 10, 31)

The act repeals laws:

1. creating the Connecticut Hazardous Waste Management Service (CHWMS) and an Office of Environmental Business Assistance within it,

2. concerning CHWMS's duties with regard to promoting the appropriate management of hazardous waste and the siting of low-level radioactive waste disposal facilities, and

3. creating a low-level radioactive waste account and low-level radioactive waste management fund.

It removes the (1) siting of low-level radioactive waste facilities and consultation on a hazardous waste management plan from the duties of the Connecticut Siting Council, and (2) Connecticut Hazardous Waste Management Plan from the list of major state plans to be considered under the Multiple Use River and Protected Rivers acts.

The act repeals one statutory definition of low-level radioactive waste, but does not change another law defining low-level radioactive waste for purposes of the Northeast Interstate Low-Level Radioactive Waste Compact, of which Connecticut is a member. For the purposes of the compact, low-level radioactive waste is defined by federal law, and excludes waste generated by atomic energy defense activities or federal research and development activities.

PERSONAL WATERCRAFT (JET SKI) PASSENGERS (§ 1)

This act prohibits anyone from riding in front of a jet ski operator and prohibits any passenger from riding behind the operator unless he is able to (1) securely hold on to the person in front of him or to the watercraft's handholds and (2) keep both feet on the craft's deck to maintain balance while it operates. Violators are subject to a fine of between $60 and $250 for each violation.

SPECIAL CONSERVATION OFFICERS (§ 30)

By law, the DEP commissioner may supplement the state's regular conservation officer force by appointing DEP employees as special conservation officers or patrolmen. The act specifies that the commissioner may additionally supplement the force with any sworn federal law enforcement officer of the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service or National Marine Fisheries Service. But it also specifies that these federal officers are not considered state employees and may only exercise the authority state law grants to conservation officers when working with a full-time conservation officer. By law, special conservation officers are entitled to the same benefits and reimbursement as regular conservation officers. The act specifies that only special conservation officers who are DEP employees are entitled to these benefits.

The act allows the commissioner to appoint any lake patrolman as a special conservation officer, solely to enforce boating laws within the patrolman's jurisdiction, provided he (1) is not considered a state employee and (2) has completed a police training course at the state police training school or an equivalent course approved by the public safety commissioner. The act eliminates references to patrolmen other than lake patrolmen. Lake patrolmen acting as special conservation officers may only carry firearms with the approval of the board of selectmen of the town or towns in which the lake on which the lake patrolman are serving is located. In the case of a town having no board of selectmen, the lake patrolman must obtain this approval from the legislative body of the town or towns where the lake is located. The provisions of this section, except for those concerning the carrying of firearms, are identical to those of PA 06-70.

BACKGROUND

Universal Wastes

Universal wastes are a type of hazardous waste (1) generated in a wide variety of settings, (2) from a large number of sources, and (3) present in great volume. When disposed of, they are subject to less stringent requirements than other types of hazardous waste.

Emergency Planning and Community Right to Know Act

This 1986 federal act establishes requirements for federal, state, and local governments and industry regarding emergency planning and reporting on hazardous and toxic chemicals.

The Connecticut Hazardous Waste Management Service (CHWMS) and Low-Level Radioactive Waste

The General Assembly created CHWMS in 1983 to promote the safe management of hazardous waste. According to DEP, it has not met or been staffed for about 10 years. In 1987 the General Assembly assigned it the task of managing low-level radioactive waste disposal and developing criteria for siting a waste disposal facility in Connecticut. The state does not have such a facility. It instead ships its low-level radioactive waste to facilities in Barnwell, South Carolina and Clive, Utah. According to officials of the Atlantic Interstate Low-Level Radioactive Waste Management Compact, of which Connecticut is a member (and into which the Northeast Interstate Compact has been incorporated), Connecticut is assured of enough storage space at the South Carolina facility to handle its projected long-term disposal needs.

PF: JLK: JL: ts