Committee cleans up solid‑waste permitting language, clarifies local verification process

The Senate Natural Resources and the Environment Committee advanced House Bill 351, a technical cleanup and clarification of provisions in the Georgia Comprehensive Solid Waste Management Act relating to permitting and local verification for solid‑waste handling facilities.

The sponsor said the changes respond to years of litigation and local confusion about which local meetings and notices are required when a landfill seeks expansion. Key changes discussed by the sponsor and EPD Director Jeff Cowen include removal of the term “special solid waste” (a term previously deemed unconstitutional), deletion of obsolete references to a 1996 statewide waste‑reduction goal, removal of Department of Community Affairs references now handled by other state agencies, and clarifications about who may submit written local verification of public meetings, zoning consistency and solid‑waste planning.

The sponsor described a new requirement that written verifications submitted to EPD may have a maximum age of “36” as written in the bill language; the transcript does not specify the unit for that number. The sponsor said the change is intended to reduce litigation and save money for both state and local governments by clarifying responsibilities and setting a clear timeframe for verification documents.

EPD staff told the committee the bill consolidates public‑meeting requirements (eliminating confusion over multiple meeting types) and clarified that major landfill modifications remain subject to permitting requirements. A motion to do pass was made and seconded; the committee chair announced the bill “carries.”