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Title

10

:
Conservation and Development






Chapter

159

:
WASTE MANAGEMENT






Subchapter

001
:
GENERAL PROVISIONS










 

§

6605f. Waste management personnel background review

(a)

Disqualifying criteria. Any nongovernmental entity or person applying for a

certification under sections 6605, 6605a or 6606 of this title, for interim

certification under section 6605b of this title, or for a waste transportation

permit under section 6607a of this title, shall be denied certification or

other authorization if the secretary finds:

(1) that the

applicant or any person required to be listed on the disclosure statement

pursuant to subdivision (b)(1) of this section has been convicted of any of the

following disqualifying offenses in this or any other jurisdiction within the

10 years preceding the date of the application:

(A) murder;

(B) kidnapping

as defined in 13 V.S.A. § 2405;

(C) gambling as

defined in 13 V.S.A. § 2135;

(D) robbery as

defined in 13 V.S.A. § 608;

(E) bribery as

defined in chapter 21 of Title 13;

(F) extortion as

defined in 13 V.S.A. § 1701;

(G) arson as

defined in chapter 11 of Title 13;

(H) burglary as

defined in 13 V.S.A. § 1201;

(I) larceny and

embezzlement as defined in chapter 57 of Title 13;

(J) forgery and

fraud as defined in chapters 43, 47 and 49 of Title 13 and chapters 63, 67, 71,

105 and 131 of Title 9;

(K) possession

and control of drugs and related offenses as defined in chapter 84 of Title 18;

(L) trafficking

in alcoholic beverages as defined in 7 V.S.A. § 561;

(M) the federal

Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act as defined in 18 U.S.C. §

1961 et seq.;

(N) the criminal

provisions of federal antitrust laws for activities related to solid waste;

(O) the criminal

provisions of any federal or state environmental protection laws or rules

relating to solid waste;

(P) obstruction

of justice as defined in chapter 67 of Title 13;

(Q) fraud in the

offering, sale or purchase of securities as defined in 9 V.S.A. § 4224a of

Title 9 and in the United States Code;

(R) alteration

of motor vehicle identification numbers as defined in 23 V.S.A. § 1703;

(S) unlawful

manufacture, purchase, use, or transfer of firearms as defined in chapter 85 of

Title 13 and in the United States Code;

(T) perjury as

defined in chapter 65 of Title 13; or

(2) that the

applicant or any person required to be listed on the disclosure statement

pursuant to subdivision (b)(1) of this section, alone or taken together, have

committed more than one violation of environmental: statutes; rules; orders;

certifications; or permits, issued by any jurisdiction, which have the

potential to significantly harm the public health, public safety or the

environment, giving due consideration to the size and scope of the applicant's

business operations.

(b) Disclosure

statement. The disclosure statement shall include the following:

(1) Disclosure

of equity and debt ownership. The full name, business address, and Social

Security number or its foreign equivalent of the applicant or, if the applicant

is a business concern, of the officers, directors, partners, or key employees

of that business concern; and a listing of all persons or business concerns

which hold any equity in or debt liability of the applicant business concern,

or, if the applicant business concern is a publicly traded corporation, of all

persons or business concerns holding more than five percent of the equity in or

debt liability of that business concern. The secretary and the commissioner of

public safety shall have the right, but not the obligation, to require the

applicant to submit disclosure statements for the officers, directors,

partners, and key employees of any business concern that holds any equity in or

debt liability of the applicant business concern.

(2) Disclosure

of equity and debt ownership in related business concerns. The full name,

business address, and Social Security number of all persons or business

concerns holding any equity in or debt liability of any business concern

disclosed in this subsection. The secretary and the commissioner of public

safety shall have the right, but not the obligation, to require the applicant

to submit disclosure statements for the officers, directors, partners and key

employees of any business concern that holds any equity in or debt liability of

the applicant business concern.

(3) Disclosure

of record of convictions. The record of convictions identified in subsection

(a) of this section by any person identified in this section for the 10 years

prior to the date of the application.

(4) Disclosure

of civil and administrative penalties. A list of all civil and administrative

penalties issued against the applicant by any state or federal authority, in

the five years immediately preceding the filing of the application, which

resulted from a finding of violation or assurance of discontinuance, relating

to the collection, transportation, treatment, storage, or disposal of solid

waste or hazardous waste by the applicant, or if the applicant is a business

concern, by any key employee, officer, director, or partner of that business

concern.

(c)

Investigation. The secretary shall refer the completed application to the

department of public safety for the purpose of verifying the information in the

application and conducting an investigation. In connection with its

investigation, the department of public safety may request and receive criminal

history information from any federal or state law enforcement agency or

organization and may transmit that information to the secretary. Unless the

secretary's determination or decision is contested, the information contained

in the investigative report shall remain confidential and shall only be used by

the cooperating agencies.

(d) Definition

of key employee. As used in this section, "key employee" means any

individual employed by a business concern in a management capacity or who is

empowered to make discretionary decisions of a financially material nature with

respect to the solid or hazardous waste operations of the business concern.

(e) Change in

ownership. In the event of any change in ownership, the certificate or permit

holder under this section shall file a disclosure statement, as required of an

applicant under this section. This filing shall be made at least 90 days before

the proposed change in ownership. A proposed change of ownership shall be

processed in the same manner as an application under subsection (a) of this

section, and if it would result in the denial of an application, transfer of

the permit to the proposed new owner shall be denied.

(f)

Rehabilitation. Notwithstanding the provisions of this section, no applicant

under this section shall be denied certification or licensure on the basis of

disqualifying criteria with respect to any individual required to be listed in

the disclosure statement or shown through investigation to have a beneficial

interest in the business of the applicant other than an equity interest or debt

liability, if the person has demonstrated the person's rehabilitation, as

determined by the secretary.

(g) Revocation

of certification. The secretary shall revoke any certification or permit

subject to this section, or appoint a receiver and order that the receiver

conduct the business in question, if the secretary determines:

(1) that any of

the grounds for denial under subsection (a) of this section either existed at

the time of application or have arisen since that time; or

(2) that the

holder of the certification or permit, or the applicant for the certification

or permit, knowingly omitted or falsified information required to be disclosed

under this section.

(h) Agency

coordination. The secretary of natural resources, the attorney general, the

state's attorneys, and the commissioner of public safety shall coordinate

efforts to enforce solid waste laws and to investigate for violations of those

laws.

(i) Decision by

secretary. Any denial by the secretary under subsection (a) of this section

shall be made within 90 days of receiving a completed application; except that

when the secretary or the commissioner of public safety requests additional

information pursuant to subdivision (b)(1) or (2) of this section, the 90-day

period shall not run from the date of that request until the date upon which

the secretary or commissioner receives the information requested. If the

secretary does not issue a denial within 90 days of receiving a completed

application or the additional language requested, the applicant shall be deemed

to have complied with the requirements of this section, subject to the

secretary's right to seek revocation under subsection (g) of this section.

(j) Private

entities that contract with governmental entities. If a governmental entity is

an applicant for a certification, interim certification or waste transportation

permit listed in subsection (a) of this section, and contracts with a

nongovernmental entity to conduct any part of its operation that is subject to

the certificate or permit, such nongovernmental entity shall comply with the

requirements of this section.

(k) Exemption.

(1) Except to

the extent that other activities create jurisdiction under this section, a

person shall be exempt from the provisions of this section, if that person:

(A) applies for

certification under this chapter for on-site storage or treatment of solid or

hazardous waste:

(i) which is

generated solely on-site; or

(ii) which is

generated off-site by:

(I) any person

under the same ownership or control as is the person applying; or

(II) any person

who is a joint venturer with, or partner of, the person applying; and

(B) does not

accept any other solid or hazardous waste for storage or treatment.

(2) Any person

who applies for a certification under this chapter to perform corrective

action, or closure or post-closure activities shall be exempt from the

provisions of this section, except to the extent that other activities create

jurisdiction under this section.

(l) Continuing

jurisdiction. After a certification or permit has been issued, the secretary

and the commissioner of public safety shall retain the right to require the

permittee to submit additional information concerning all persons holding

equity in or debt liability of the permittee, if the secretary or commissioner

has received reliable information, that was not available at the time the

certification or permit was issued, indicating that additional investigation is

warranted. Upon request by the secretary or the commissioner for the submission

of additional information, the permittee shall exercise all due diligence to

comply completely and in a timely manner with the request.

(m) Annual

statement. Any person subject to this section who has received a waste

transporter permit under section 6607a of this title shall file a statement

annually within 30 days prior to the month and day of issuance of that permit

disclosing any changes in facts that would render the disclosure statement

filed in connection with that permit inaccurate in any way, or stating that no

such changes have occurred in the period of time covered by the annual

statement. The annual statement shall be under oath or affirmation. (Added

1993, No. 157 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; amended 1995, No. 56, § 1, eff. April 20,

1995; 1995, No. 141 (Adj. Sess.), §§ 1-5, eff. April 30, 1996.)