Print
The Vermont Statutes Online
Title
10
:
Conservation and Development
Chapter
159
:
WASTE MANAGEMENT
Subchapter
001
:
GENERAL PROVISIONS
§
6606a. Certificate of need
(a) No person
may begin site preparation for or construction of a hazardous waste management
facility for the purpose of treatment or disposal of hazardous waste within the
state, unless the secretary first issues a certificate of need for the facility
under this section. This section shall not apply to:
(1) The
replacement of existing facility with an equivalent facility in the usual
course of business; or
(2) A hazardous
waste management facility that is operated only by or on behalf of the owner of
the facility for the treatment or disposal of hazardous waste materials
generated in Vermont by the owner of the facility. Such facility shall be
located on a site of generation.
(b) Petition for
certificate of need.
(1) A person
shall submit a completed petition for a certificate of need in accordance with
the rules adopted by the secretary and a copy of any agreement reached in
negotiations between the proposed host municipality and the applicant.
(2) At least 30
days prior to the date of filing the petition with the secretary, the person
shall file a notice of intent to construct a hazardous waste management
facility with the proposed host municipality, abutting municipalities, and the
secretary. The notice of intent shall include:
(A) a detailed
description of the proposed facility and location, including architectural
drawings;
(B) a
description of the treatment or disposal processes to be employed;
(C) the amount
and types of hazardous wastes to be handled;
(D) alternative sites
and technologies that were considered;
(E) reasons for
choosing the proposed location and technologies, including planned negotiations
with the proposed host municipality; and
(F) the
conformance of the proposed facility with any applicable provisions of the
hazardous waste management plan adopted by the secretary of the agency of
natural resources.
(c) The
secretary shall make all practical efforts to process petitions in a prompt
manner, including the establishment of time limits for petition processing and
procedures and time periods within which to notify petitioners whether a
petition is complete. After determining that a petition is complete, the
secretary shall promptly hold one or more public hearings on the petition for a
certificate of need in the proposed host municipality.
(1) Not less
than 30 days before the hearing, notice shall be given to the department of
health, historic preservation division, state planning office, and agency of
transportation. Similar notice shall also be given by certified mail to
adjoining landowners, the legislative body of the proposed host municipality
and the chairs or directors of the municipal and regional planning commissions.
(2) Notice of
the public hearing shall be published in a newspaper of general circulation in
the county in which the proposed facility will be located two weeks
successively, the last publication to be at least 12 days before the day
appointed for the hearing.
(d) The
secretary shall, with approval of the governor, only issue a certificate of
need if the secretary concludes the proposed facility is needed for the general
good of the state, upon written findings that:
(1) The proposed
facility use is consistent with any applicable provisions of the hazardous
waste management plan adopted by the secretary.
(2) The proposed
facility location:
(A) is suitable
for the type and amount of hazardous waste intended for treatment or disposal
at the facility;
(B) is
accessible by transportation routes that minimize the threat to the public
health and safety and to the environment;
(C) reasonably
accommodates the plans and preferences of the proposed host municipality, as
expressed by local government entities.
(3) The need for
the facility is demonstrated by the need to assure the environmentally sound
treatment or disposal of hazardous waste generated within Vermont, recognizing
the effects of any state hazardous materials management plan, and:
(A) the further
need to meet Vermont's obligations under an interstate agreement or regional
compact; or
(B) the lack of
adequate current or projected treatment or disposal capacity within the region
to handle the hazardous waste generated by Vermont businesses which is proposed
for the facility.
(e) The
secretary shall establish conditions in the certificate of need:
(1) limiting the
capacity of the hazardous waste facility to the reasonably anticipated needs
and interstate commitments of the state for hazardous waste management.
However, upon application of the holder of the certificate, the conditions may
later be adjusted by the secretary if the limits on capacity are found to
prevent profitable operation of the facility;
(2) restricting
the facility from accepting hazardous wastes from generators who have not
demonstrated an effective hazardous waste source reduction program.
(f) Deleted.]
(g) Repealed.]
(h) Neither
local plans nor solid waste district plans nor regional plans shall exclude
hazardous waste facilities for which a certificate of need has been obtained.
(i), (j)
Repealed.] (Added 1989, No. 282 (Adj.
Sess.), § 13, eff. June 22, 1990; amended 1995, No. 189 (Adj. Sess.), §§ 6, 8;
1997, No. 155 (Adj. Sess.), § 37; 2003, No. 115 (Adj. Sess.), § 61, eff. Jan.
31, 2005.)