The 1st meeting of the Subcommittee on Natural Resources of the Interim Joint Committee on Agriculture and Natural Resources was held on Wednesday, July 12, 2006, at<MeetTime> 10:00 AM, in Room 131 of the Capitol Annex. Senator Ernie Harris, Chair, called the meeting to order, and the secretary called the roll.
Present were:
Members: Senator Ernie Harris, Co-Chair; Senators David E. Boswell, and Dan Kelly; Representatives Hubert Collins, Howard D. Cornett, Reginald K. Meeks, Terry Shelton, and Brandon D. Smith.
Guests: Sara D. Evans, Branch Manager, Resource Conservation and Local Assistant Branch, Division of Waste Management, Kentucky Environmental and Public Protection Cabinet; Brad Stone, Branch Manager, Program Planning and Administrative Branch, Division of Waste Management, Kentucky Environmental and Public Protection Cabinet; Fred Kirchhoff, Resource Conservation and Local Assistant Branch, Division of Waste Management, Kentucky Environmental and Public Protection Cabinet; Leslie King, Resource Conservation and Local Assistant Branch, Division of Waste Management, Kentucky Environmental and Public Protection Cabinet, and William Hill, Resource Conservation and Local Assistant Branch, Division of Waste Management, Kentucky Environmental and Public Protection Cabinet.
LRC Staff: Hank Marks, Tanya Monsanto and Susan Spoonamore, Committee Assistant.
Chairman Harris called the meeting to order. The roll was taken. A quorum was not present.
Sara D. Evans, Branch Manager, Resource Conservation and Local Assistant Branch, Division of Waste Management, Kentucky Environmental and Public Protection Cabinet; Brad Stone, Branch Manager, Program Planning and Administrative Branch, Division of Waste Management, Kentucky Environmental and Public Protection Cabinet; Fred Kirchhoff, Leslie King and Billy Hill, all from the Division of Waste Management of the Department of Environmental Protection, introduced themselves to the committee.
Sara Evans provided a slide presentation that reviewed the Statewide SolidWaste Management Report – 2004 Update. The report included information regarding the status of illegal dump cleanup, the litter program, landfill waste disposal, the waste tire program, recycling, e-waste and hazardous waste disposal and recycling, and the changes that were made as a result of SB 50 of the 2006 General assembly.
Chairman Harris asked for the definition of an open dump. Ms. Evans described an open dump as being two cubic yards or one pickup truck or larger.
Ms Evans reported that since passage of House Bill 174 in 2002, about 10 times more litter was being cleaned up annually at a cost that is 75% less per bag than it was in 2001. She also stated that waste disposal was continuing to increase in Kentucky. Even with the addition of the $1.75 Environmental Impact Fee established by HB 174, Kentucky fees are 15% less than the average of the seven surrounding states.
Senator Boswell asked if the amount of out-of-state waste coming into Kentucky from the surrounding states was being monitored. Ms. Evans stated that approximately 14% of landfill waste in Kentucky is from out-of-state. She stated that it was being monitored and reported quarterly.
Ms. Evans also discussed the effect of interstate commerce law on controlling the amount of out-of -state waste that comes into Kentucky, and noted that there was federal legislation under consideration that may change this in some way.
Next, Ms Evans discussed the waste tire program, noting that since its inception it had recycled over 15 million tires and it is a model that has won national awards. She also talked about the extension of the program to 2010 and the tire amnesty program schedule for the next few years.
Chairman Harris asked if schools and citizen groups could collect tires and turn them in. Ms. Evans stated that they could. She stated that if groups collected a large amount of tires, then arrangements would be made to have a contractor go to the site and collect them.
Senator Boswell asked if using tires for energy and power plant use was an efficient way of disposing of tires. Ms Evans identified power plants and other plants that are using or are projected to use tire derived fuel (TDF).
Mr. Kirchhoff stated that the Owensboro plant burns 10 million a year, and another plant will burn 7 million, and a paper plant will be burning about 5 million. He stated that when they are all operational they will have the capacity to burn more waste tires annually than Kentucky generates.
Related to tire recycling, Ms. Evans discussed the crumb rubber surfacing grant program.
Rep. Smith asked why counties in eastern Kentucky did not receive grants for 2005. Ms. Evans stated that several eastern Kentucky counties had received grants in 2004.
Ms. Evans was also asked if the ADD districts received any grant money. She stated that they did not receive any grant money. She said that the money went directly to county, school, city, and park applicants.
Ms. Evans described the functions of the county solid waste coordinators, and explained Kentucky’s recycling rates, recycling grants, recycling infrastructure projections, and recycling markets.
Rep. Smith said that he would like for the state to become more aggressive in supporting recycling centers. He said that if landfill disposal increased, and recycling was not increased, then problems could be encountered in the future. Rep. Smith also talked about the bio-mass conversion and a bio-mass plant in Sevierville, Tennessee. Ms Evans said that a bio-mass plant is being proposed for Martin County, Kentucky.
Ms. Evans stated that Kentucky's recycling rate is 22% lower than the national average of 28%. She noted that 27% of Kentucky households have curbside recycling. She also discussed the recycling grant program created by SB 50 of the 2006 Session. She also explained the current recycling infrastructure projections, and the status of recycling markets. She said that the Kentucky Recycling Interest Group (KRIG) would be meeting in August to foster local, state and private recycling partnerships to benefit Kentucky’s economy and environment.
Rep. Shelton asked if there was a correlation between mandatory collection and recycling success. Ms. Evans stated that there are 31 counties with mandatory collection, the majority of them in eastern Kentucky. She stated that a collection infrastructure is necessary for recycling, She said that several counties may have the infrastructure, but not a mandatory collection ordinance.
Sen. Boswell asked if there was coordination between the Cabinet and the Economic Development Cabinet regarding recycling markets and use for recyclables. Ms. Evans stated that both Cabinets were coordinating their efforts.
Sen. Boswell asked how many landfills required separation of hazardous household waste. Ms. Evans said she did not know, but would get that information for the committee.
Rep. Collins asked about the status of technology for burning solid waste for energy. He observed that environmentalists seems to impede the development of this technology.
Ms. Evans described the program changes and provisions resulting from SB 50 of the 2006 General Assembly. She noted that the legislation provides funds for recycling, and that it also provides for funds in advance of cleanups. She said that the county litter match of 25% is no longer required.
Ms. Evans concluded the presentation with projections and recommendations for FY 2007. She stated that the FY07 budget limits the amount of $5.34 million to be expended for illegal dump, recycling and household hazardous waste/e-scrape programs. She noted that the Cabinet anticipates receiving approximately $11.3 million in grant requests, and that an additional appropriation may be required.
She also stated that a tire bond increase may be necessary as well. She said that the Cabinet inherited four tire sites last year, with cleanup costs of over $2 million. Presently the bonds only total $330,000.
Chairman Harris asked how the Cabinet inherited the four tire sites. Mr. Kirchhoff explained tire bonding and how most bonds are $10,000 which covers 10,000 tires at one dollar each. He noted that many sites are under-bonded with more tires on hand than the bond covers. He also said that the fuel and transportation costs make it more costly than $1.00 per tire to transport. He explained that if a business went bankrupt, the only money available is the bond money. He stated that the Division needs to do a better job of policing existing sites to ensure that there are not more tires accumulating than are covered by bond. He discussed the current enforcement process, and its limitations.
Chairman Harris asked about the Adopt-a-Highway program. Ms. Evans stated that the Adopt-a-Highway program was under the purview of the Transportation Cabinet. She said she did not know how many miles the program covered, but she could get that information for the committee.
Chairman Harris asked about the projected life of
existing landfills. Ms. Evans stated that, on average, they have a life
expectancy of approximately 20 to 30 years.
She stated that decisions about landfill expansion rests with local
governments, and local approvals might bring it to 40 years.
Rep. Collins asked if hidden dump-site cameras were still being used. Ms. Evans stated that there are currently only two cameras in operation. She discussed the existence and use of the illegal dump and litter hotline. She stated that number of citations and violations being processed by the courts are being reported; but the court decisions were not. She stated that the court systems are crowded with other cases, making it hard to push violations through the system.
Sen. Boswell discussed the voluminous amount of paper being used in hardcopy reports that are sent to all legislators. He stated that perhaps the system of reporting and accountability should be changed in order to reduce the volume of paper waste. Ms. Evans discussed what her agency is doing to reduce the volume.
Rep. Smith asked that the committee be provided specific information on the number of citations issued, and the number of convictions for illegal dumping and littering in the eastern Kentucky counties.
Chairman Harris concluded the meeting stating that, "this has been one of the most interesting and fascinating briefings that we have had in a long time." He also asked that condolences be delivered to Secretary Wilcher who could not attend the meeting due to a death in her family.
There being no further business the meeting was adjourned.