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Committee hears public testimony on bill expanding Ecology oversight of landfill permits
Summary
Substitute House Bill 11 54 would require Department of Ecology review and approval of landfill permits, expand suspension and penalty authority, and allow appeals to the Pollution Control Hearings Board; stakeholders raised concerns about overlapping authority and requested clarified language or alternative approaches.
The House Appropriations Committee heard testimony on substitute House Bill 11 54, a proposal that would change permitting and enforcement authority for solid waste handling facilities by increasing the Department of Ecology’s role in landfill permitting and enforcement.
Under the substitute bill, local jurisdictional health departments (JHDs) would continue to issue permits for solid waste handling facilities, but Ecology must review and approve every landfill permit prior to issuance or renewal by the JHD. Ecology could require a JHD to amend a proposed landfill permit. Both the JHD and Ecology could suspend permits and impose civil penalties for noncompliance; penalties imposed by a JHD would be appealable to the local health officer and paid to the local treasury, while penalties imposed by Ecology would be deposited in the Model Toxics Control Operating Account and appealable to the Pollution Control…
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