Over 1,700 bills have been posted on the web page of the Wisconsin Legislature, with 1,098 introduced in the Assembly and 661 in the Senate. Sixteen of them cover solid waste topics, with three others having been adopted into law - two identical bills on manufactured housing (and a provision on recycling these structures) and the budget bill.

While the Legislature is technically active through the end of this year - with the calendar including a schedule to send bills to the Governor on December 29, 2006 - for practical purposes, the deadline for most legislation is May 4, 2006, the end of the last general business floor period. Some lobbyists believe that the true deadline for most legislation is even earlier, and that only high priority items will be considered past the floor period of that ends on March 9th. Except for these high priority items, these lobbyists believe that all legislation that has not had a hearing at this time is unlikely to be adopted. How this affects solid waste legislation remains to be seen. Legislative action is taking place very quickly and readers are advised to regularly check the status of any bills that they are interested in.

In the list of bills below, one bill (AB 609) has been adopted by both houses and will be sent to the Governor for his review and action, while two bills (SB 325 and SB 546) have been adopted by the Senate and sent to the Assembly for its consideration. In addition, two bills (AB 878 and AB 999) may have executive sessions on March 8th and could then move to the floor of the Assembly on March 9.

Several bills that are not likely to be adopted this session (such as the proposed increase in landfill recycling surchages, AB 798/SB 475) are expected to be re-introduced next session, which begins in January 2007.

In addition to legislation, two administrative rules on solid waste are moving through the process, including a revision to the hazardous waste regulations and requirements to work towards quicker organic stability in landfills, with hearings on the organic stability rule scheduled for April.

Current legislation

AB 34 would prohibit the disposal of dredged material that contains polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in solid waste disposal facilities. It is two pages long and has 8 Representatives and 3 Senators as sponsors. Referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, a hearing was held on May 11, 2005. On February 2, 2006, it was withdrawn from this committee and sent to the Committee on Property Rights and Land Management, which held a public hearing on February 27, 2006, with an amendment offered on March 2, 2006. Sixteen groups have registered as lobbying on this bill; four are against it, one is in favor, six are undecided or have some reservations, and five have not disclosed their positions.

AB 607 would ban the sale of plastic containers in the state unless the container consists of at least 10 percent postconsumer waste beginning in 2006, at least 20 percent postconsumer waste beginning in 2008, and at least 25 percent postconsumer waste beginning in 2010, with certain exemptions. There are 10 Assembly sponsors and 3 Senate sponsors. It has been referred to the Committee on Small Business, which held a public hearing on September 6, 2005. Ten organizations have lobbied on the bill, with three groups in support and seven groups opposed.

AB 609 relates to the management of tissue and carcasses from CWD deer and in part allows DNR and the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection to enter into agreements with persons who own or operate landfills, meat processing facilities, or wastewater treatment facilities to indemnify them for damages resulting from processing or disposal of cervids that have chronic wasting disease. It is ten pages long and was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources. It was amended and adopted by both houses. No lobbying has been registered against the bill, but five groups have indicated support for the legislation.

AB 716 relates to transportation of bulk materials, including the spilling of waste materials on or along highways. Introduced on October 3, 2005, and referred to Committee on Highway Safety. A public hearing was held on December 7, 2005. Seven organizations have registered on this bill, with three in opposition, one in favor, one with an undisclosed position and two either undecided or with reservations.

AB 721 would prohibit a public, private, or charter school from purchasing, storing, or using free flowing elemental mercury for any purpose, or from purchasing, storing, or using an instrument containing mercury unless no reasonably acceptable, mercury-free alternative exists. In the latter case, only an instrument that contains the lowest mercury content available may be used. Introduced October 3, 2005 and referred to the Committee on Education, with 8 sponsors in the Assembly and 3 in the Senate. Five groups have lobbied on this bill - four in favor and one either undecided or with reservations.

AB 798 (and SB 475) would increase the state recycling surcharge on landfilled waste from $3 a ton to $10 a ton and increase state recycling financial cost-sharing by $48 million a year. It was introduced on October 31, 2005 with 11 Assembly sponsors and 4 Senate co-sponsors and referred to the Committee on Natural Resources. An amendment offered on November 14, 2005 would use 30% of the recycling fund to provide property tax credits at the town, village and city level, proportioned by total municipal assessments, and a minor amendment was offered on November 22, 2005. Two other Representatives have since signed on as co-sponsors. Eighteen groups have registered as lobbying on this bill - five against, two undecided or with reservations, two that have not declared their position, and nine in favor. A hearing was held on Wednesday, February 15, 2006.

AB 878 is identical to SB 470 and authorizes DNR and local law enforcement officials to issue citations for violations of laws or licenses regulating the open burning of solid waste and authorizes DNR to issue a citation to a person who operates a solid waste facility at which waste tires are stored, treated, or disposed of without a license or in violation of an approved plan of operation. There are no changes in the definition of what can and what cannot be open burned. Introduced on December 9, 2005 with nine Assembly sponsors and one Senate co-sponsor and referred to the Committee on Natural Resources. Eight groups have registered as lobbying on this bill, with five in favor, one with a position undisclosed and two with their position either undecided or with reservations. A hearing was held on February 15, 2006 and an executive session may be held on March 8, 2006.

AB 999 is a companion bill to SB 546, and is concerned with the clean up of environmental contaminated lands. It was introduced on February 7, 2006 and referred to the Assembly Committee on Natural Resources. A hearing was held on March 1, 2006 and an amendment was offered on March 2, 2006. Ten groups are registered as lobbying on this bill; eight in favor and two with undecided positions or with reservations. An executive session may be held on March 8, 2006.

SB 81 creates sales and use tax exemptions for the sale of a renewable resource and for the sale of any item of tangible personal property that uses a renewable resource, including landfill gases. Three pages long, it has 3 Senators and 5 Representatives as sponsors and has been referred to the Joint Survey Committee on Tax Exemptions. A hearing has not yet been held on this bill. Three groups have registered as lobbying on the bill, with one in support and two without defining their position.

SB 367 is a 21 page bill that would require manufacturers to set up programs for the recycling of computers and other electronic equipment and ban the landfilling of computer equipment, TVs and other materials. It was introduced on October 6, 2005 with 19 sponsors and co-sponsors and referred to the Committee on Natural Resources and Transportation. Ten groups are registered as lobbying on this bill - three are in favor, four have not disclosed their position, two are either undecided or has reservations and one is against the bill.

SB 470 is identical to AB 878 and authorizes DNR and local law enforcement officials to issue citations for violations of laws or licenses regulating the open burning of solid waste and authorizes DNR to issue a citation to a person who operates a solid waste facility at which waste tires are stored, treated, or disposed of without a license or in violation of an approved plan of operation. There are no changes in the definition of what can and what cannot be open burned. It was introduced on December 9, 2005 with one Senate sponsor and 9 Assembly co-sponsors and referred to the Committee on Veterans, Homeland Security, Military Affairs, Small Business and Government Reform. A hearing was held on Tuesday, January 3, 2006, with the committee recommending adoption on a 4-1 vote on January 24, 2006. Four environmental groups have reported lobbying in favor; the Wisconsin Sheriffs and Deputy Sheriffs Association has registered as undecided or that it has reservations.

SB 475 is identical to AB 798, raising the state recycling surcharge at landfills to $10 a ton and increasing the annual support to local recycling programs by $48 million a year. Sponsored by 4 Senators and 16 Representatives, it was introduced on December 15, 2005 and referred to the Committee on Natural Resources and Transportation. Seven groups have lobbied on the bill with three against it, two for it, and two not stating their positions.

SB 546 relates to the cleanup of environmentally contaminated property, and includes provisions that a local governmental unit is exempt from solid waste management standards and other legal requirements relating to solid waste for a property that was acquired in a way that would qualify for the exemption from clean-up requirements, with a number of exceptions and conditions. The exemption from solid waste requirements does not apply to a solid waste facility that was operated by the local governmental unit or owned by the local governmental unit while it was operated or to landfills that were once licensed by DNR. The bill requires a local governmental unit to obtain permission from DNR for any construction on the property and requires the local governmental unit to maintain any health or safety system on the property, such as a system to collect landfill gas, that DNR required before the local governmental unit acquired the property. It was introduced on February 1, 2006 with eight sponsors in the Senate and fifteen sponsors in the Assembly and was adopted unanimously by the Senate on March 2, 2006. Twelve groups have registered as lobbying this bill, with eleven in favor, and one with its position as either being undecided or with reservations.

In addition to these solid waste-related bills, SB 325 calls for improvements in indoor environmental quality at schools, which could include issues related to toxic or hazardous materials in products and possibly other solid waste topics. Introduced on September 9, 2005 with 8 Senate and 23 Assembly co-sponsors, it was referred to the Committee on Housing and Financial Institutions, which recommended passage on a 6-1 vote. It has since been refereed to the Joint Committee on Finance, which recommended adoption as amended on January 26, 2006. The Senate adopted this bill with an amendment on February 28, 2006. It has been sent to the Assembly and sent to the Committee on Rules. Fifteen groups have lobbied on the bill, seven in support, five against, one with undisclosed position and two either undecided or with reservations.

More information on individual bills can be found on the web page for the Wisconsin Legislature at http://www.legis.state.wi.us/.

Rules revisions

Current active rule revisions in the solid waste field include hazardous waste regulations and organic stability for landfills.

A comprehensive (1000+ pages) revision of the hazardous waste regulations has sent to the Legislature for its approval as Clearinghouse Rule 05-032 - which incorporates these changes - was reviewed by the Legislature, which asked for a revision in the transportation license fees. DNR has proposed eliminating the per vehicle transportation fee and will take this proposal to the Natural Resources Board in March. If approved by the Board, it will then go back to the Legislature, which has 30 days in which to act. The web page for this rule is http://www.dnr.state.wi.us/org/aw/wm/hazard/proprules/indexnew.htm.

As part of the NR 500 revisions for landfill design and operation, a requirement was included for achieving organic stability in a shorter time frame than what is currently achieved. The proposed rule requires new and expanded landfills to include plans for the stabilization of biodegradable organics, either through diversion of organics, pre-processing of organics, in-situ treatment, or a combination of these approaches. The plans are to be submitted by January 1, 2007 and a DNR advisory workgroup has put together a list and description of possible strategies for fulfilling this requirement. Approval was obtained from the Natural Resources Board at the February meeting to go to public hearings, with tentative hearings set for April 11th in the Eau Claire area and April 12th in the Waukesha area. The web page for the rule is under development at https://apps4.dhfs.state.wi.us/admrules/public/Rmo?nRmoId=783. The web page for the workgroup is at http://dnr.wi.gov/org/aw/wm/solid/landfill/stability/index.htm.

Governor's Blue Ribbon Task Force

The Blue Ribbon Task Force had its seventh meeting in Waukesha on February 22nd, with guest speakers on construction and demolition debris, on paper recycling, and on a Midwestern states workgroup to develop a common approach for the recycling of electronics. In addition, the workgroups held meetings and gave brief reports of their activities. The next meeting is scheduled for April 5th, at a location yet to be specified, possibly at a paper mill in the Appleton area. A web page of the Task Force's membership and meeting materials is available at http://www.wasteresources.wi.gov.

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