2008 Legislative Session
DEQ Seeks Passage of Water and Waste Bills

 

The Water Quality Board would have greater oversight over lagoons under a bill that would give the Board the authority to issue permits to the facilities that operate them.

Rep. Patrick Painter (R-Nephi) has opened a bill file that would amend Title 19-5 to allow the Water Quality Board to issue so-called “aquifer protection permits” to non-discharging wastewater treatment facilities like municipalities that operate lagoons.

Although Water Quality has oversight on construction permits, there is no regulatory authority to oversee them once the lagoons are in place.

“This will help us and municipalities to quickly identify problems such as leakage and overflowing,” explained Bill Sinclair, deputy director of the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) who keeps track of legislation during the session.

Also included in the bill is to add a representative from local health departments to the Water Quality Board. Many of the Boards within DEQ have a slot reserved for a local health department representative but not Water Quality, which deals with many health-related water issues like mercury in fish.

Amendments to the Underground Storage Tank Compliance Act will be another closely watched bill. When the federal Solid Waste Disposal Act was amended in 2005 it placed several requirements on the states to implement additional federal requirements in the underground storage tank program.

Rep. Sylvia Andersen (R-Sandy) has opened a bill file that would incorporate the changes in the federal Act and signify the Legislature’s intention to require the Board to adopt requirements for underground storage tanks contained in future amendments to the Solid and Hazardous Waste Act.

The Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment Interim Committee has endorsed these amendments, along with a similar request to reauthorize the Underground Storage Tank Compliance Act for another 10 years, which will be included in the omnibus bill.

Of importance to DEQ is an amendment to the Waste Tire Recycling Act that would reduce the reimbursement rates to recyclers who burn or shred the tires for rubber. Rep. Neal Hendrickson (D-West Valley) plans to sponsor that bill.

“The Waste Tire Recycling program is very successful,” said Sinclair. “The problem is we could run out of money if the reimbursements to recyclers are more than the fees collected.”

Another bill, sponsored by Senate Majority Whip Dan Eastman (R-Bountiful), would allow municipal waste from Cache, Weber, Davis and Morgan to be disposed of at an expanded facility in Box Elder County and allow private operators to compete for the commercial waste disposal.

“DEQ is not taking a stance on this bill,” Sinclair said. “It’s a policy issue for the Legislature to decide.”

At issue is an agreement made by the five northern Utah counties to expand Box Elder’s landfill so it can take waste from Weber, Morgan, Davis and Cache counties which are running out of landfill space. In doing so, the agreement calls for the counties to send for disposal all waste, including commercial. Private operators want to remove that requirement so they can compete for that waste stream.

Other environmental issues are likely to emerge when the 45-day session begins on Jan. 15.

Climate Change and energy related bills could take a front seat during this session as both issues have prompted extensive discussions in recent years and are tied to air quality, one of Governor Jon Huntsman’s top priorities in 2008.

“We look forward to working with lawmakers on key environmental issues,” said Rick Sprott, director of DEQ.