Senate advances bill to raise hazardous‑waste fees after debate over earmarked environmental fund

The Utah Senate advanced Substitute Senate Bill 25 to the third‑reading calendar on Feb. 4, 1992, after extended debate over higher disposal fees and whether revenues should flow into a newly created environmental management fund.

Senator Reese, sponsor of the substitute measure, told colleagues the bill is a negotiated compromise meant to cap the amount of hazardous waste entering Utah and to raise per‑ton fees for both out‑of‑state and in‑state waste. ‘‘We will actually set up facilities at each of those locations that will be 24 hour a day… so that the citizens of the state will know that we have a handle on what’s coming into the state,’’ Reese said, describing plans for improved monitoring and oversight.

Under the substitute as discussed on the floor, out‑of‑state hazardous waste fees would rise from $20 per ton to $35 per ton over three years; in‑state hazardous waste would rise from…