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Environmental Quality Restricted Account
Posted: October 14, 2009
What is the EQRA?
The Environmental Quality Restricted Account (EQRA) is a restricted account put in statute (19-1-108) in 1996 provides revenue for regulation of solid, hazardous, and radioactive waste. It is funded through disposal fees paid by operators of commercial solid, hazardous, radioactive waste facilities and municipal solid waste landfills.
What Goes Into the EQRA?
- Hazardous Waste Fees ($28/ton)
- Mixed Waste Fees ($28/ton)
- Solid Waste Fees
- Annual Municipal or County Landfill Facility Tiered Fee (based on tonnage from $800 to $66,000 annually)
- Construction and Demolition Waste to commercial facilities (.50/ton)
- Industrial Waste to commercial facilities ($2.50/ton)
- Solid Waste to commercial facilities (.13/ton)
- Industrial Waste to transfer station or recycling center to solid waste facility not subject to the fee ($1.25/ton)
- Construction and Demolition Waste to transfer station or recycling center to solid waste facility not subject to the fee (.10/ton)
- Solid waste to transfer station or recycling center to solid waste facility not subject to the fee (.05/ton)
- PCB Fees ($4.75/ton)
- Radioactive Waste Fees (.15 per cubic foot/$1 per curie)
- Radioactive Waste Generator Site Access Permit (annual permit)
- Generators ($2500/annually)
- Brokers ($7,500) per year
- Uranium Mill Tailings Fees (monthly fee of $8,333 per active facilities and $5,833 per operating)
- $90/hour review fees for uranium mill facilities
- Interest Income
What Does the EQRA Pay For?
- Transfer to General Fund ($400,000 per year)
- Payments to counties hosting hazardous waste facilities (10% of hazardous waste fees collected
- DEQ Programs for oversight of waste management in the state
- Entire Hazardous Waste program
- Entire Solid Waste program
- Radiation Control low-level waste program
- Radiation Control uranium mill tailings program
- Administrative costs
- Transfer to Hazardous Substances Mitigation Fund ($400,000/year) - provides required 10% state match for Superfund projects (this is not mandatory)
- Response to allegations and emergencies (Public Safety may receive up to $200,000/year for hazardous materials training)
What is the Current State of EQRA?
- The framers of EQRA recognized that waste volumes from waste facilities would fluctuate over periods of time. UCA 19-1-108 (5) established that "In order to stabilize funding for the radiation program and the solid and hazardous waste control program, the Legislature shall in years of excess revenues reserve in the restricted account sufficient monies to meet departmental needs in years of projected shortages."
- Until recently, EQRA has provided a sufficient source of funding to account for fluctuations in waste volumes.
- By FY06, the fund had sufficient excess funds to combat the beginning and continuation of a significant downturn in waste volumes until FY09. At the end of FY09, the fund balance to begin the current fiscal year (FY10) was down to $30,000. Revenues projected to be in the range of $5.6 million for FY09 came in at $4.5 million.
- For FY10, the Department has taken independent action to shore up the fund. This includes a combination of requesting diversion of monies from other accounts, carryover monies, and transfer of staff to other accounts for FY10. This is a one-time action that cannot be sustained for FY11 and beyond.
What is Being Done to Address the Situation?
A Stakeholder's Group was established that has been meeting since May 2009 to help the Department find solutions to this problem.
Who Were the Stakeholders that were Invited to Participate in the Process?
- EnergySolutions, commercial radioactive waste facility, Clive facility
- Clean Harbors, commercial hazardous waste facilities, Aragonite and Grassy Mountain facilities
- Republic/Allied Waste, commercial non hazardous waste facilities, ECDC and Wasatch Regional facilities
- Municipal Landfills*
- Nielson Construction
- Rio Tinto/Kennecott Utah Copper
- Utah Manufacturer's Association
- Utah Mining Association
- Parsons, Behle, and Latimer
- Governor's Office of Planning and Budget
- Legislative Fiscal Analyst Office
- Chapman and Cutler
- Tooele County Health Department
- Tooele County Commission
- Utah Attorney General's Office
- State Representative Jim Gowans
- State Representative Ronda Menlove
- State Senator Kevin Van Tassel
- Utah Department of Environmental Quality
* Several municipal/county landfill operators participated in the meetings of the Stakeholder group including Salt Lake County, Wasatch Integrated, Trans-Jordan, and Logan City. The Division of Solid and Hazardous Waste held invited all municipal/county solid waste facilities to participate in a meeting on September 30, 2009 in which facilities throughout the state of Utah were represented.
Four formal meetings of the EQRA Stakeholder Group were held between May and October, 2009. Meetings were held with individual sectors (radioactive waste, hazardous waste, commercial solid waste, municipal/county solid waste) as well.
Meeting #1
Meeting #2
Meeting #3
Meeting #4
The Group established an agreement in principle document on key EQRA issues, EQRA Stakeholder Agreements in Principle, October 8, 2009, and has reviewed draft legislation to be introduced during the 2010 General Session.
This legislation will address the shortfall in a number of ways:
- Modify some disbursements allowed to come out of EQRA.
- Provide an annual report to the Governor and Legislature concerning the health of EQRA.
- Cap the amount of excess revenue in the fund.
- Increase fees, now in statute, on solid, hazardous, and radioactive wastes.
(Note: As the legislation is introduced and posted on the Utah Legislature website, a link will be established here)
What are the Consequences of Inaction?
- Reduction in Force within DEQ (DSHW, EDO and DRC)
- Jeopardizes authorization, federal grants
- Less timely issuance of permits, modifications, technical assistance, plan reviews
- Less oversight, including independent sampling at commercial facilities
- Reduction or elimination of important programs
- Recycling, E-waste,
- Staff Training
- Small business compliance assistance
- Corrective action, clean ups
- Redevelopment
- Inability to fund Superfund match
For More Information, Please Contact
- Bill Sinclair
Deputy Director, Utah Department of Environmental Quality
801-536-4405; General Information
- Dane Finerfrock
Director, Utah Division of Radiation Control
801-536-4250; Radioactive Waste Sector
- Dennis Downs
Director, Utah Division of Solid and Hazardous Waste
801-538-6170; Solid and Hazardous Waste Sector
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Revised:
November 3, 2009
