Section 3734.573. Fee for generation of solid wastes within district

(A) For the purposes specified in division (G) of section 3734.57 of the Revised Code, the solid waste management policy committee of a county or joint solid waste management district may levy a fee on the generation of solid wastes within the district.

The initial or amended solid waste management plan of the county or joint district approved under section 3734.521, 3734.55, or 3734.56 of the Revised Code, an amendment to the district's plan adopted under division (E) of section 3734.56 of the Revised Code, or the resolution adopted and ratified under division (B) of this section shall establish the rate of the fee levied under this division and shall specify whether the fee is levied on the basis of tons or cubic yards as the unit of measurement.

(B) Prior to the approval under division (A) of section 3734.56 of the Revised Code of the first amended plan that the district is required to submit for approval under that section, the approval of an initial plan under section 3734.521 of the Revised Code, the approval of an amended plan under section 3734.521 or division (D) of section 3734.56 of the Revised Code, or the amendment of the district's plan under division (E) of section 3734.56 of the Revised Code, the solid waste management policy committee of a county or joint district that is operating under an initial plan approved under section 3734.55 of the Revised Code, or one for which approval of its initial plan is pending before the director of environmental protection on October 29, 1993, under section 3734.55 of the Revised Code, may levy a fee under division (A) of this section by adopting and obtaining ratification of a resolution establishing the amount of the fee. A policy committee that, after December 1, 1993, concurrently proposes to levy a fee under division (A) of this section and to amend the fees levied by the district under divisions (B)(1) to (3) of section 3734.57 of the Revised Code may adopt and obtain ratification of one resolution proposing to do both. The requirements and procedures set forth in division (B) of section 3734.57 of the Revised Code governing the adoption, amendment, and repeal of resolutions levying fees under divisions (B)(1) to (3) of that section, the ratification of those resolutions, and the notification of owners and operators of solid waste facilities required to collect fees levied under those divisions govern the adoption of the resolutions authorized to be adopted under this division, the ratification thereof, and the notification of owners and operators required to collect the fees, except as otherwise specifically provided in division (C) of this section.

(C) Any initial or amended plan of a district adopted under section 3734.521 or 3734.56 of the Revised Code, or resolution adopted under division (B) of this section, that proposes to levy a fee under division (A) of this section that exceeds five dollars per ton shall be ratified in accordance with the provisions of section 3734.55 or division (B) of section 3734.57 of the Revised Code, as applicable, except that such an initial or amended plan or resolution shall be approved by a combination of municipal corporations and townships with a combined population within the boundaries of the district comprising at least seventy-five per cent, rather than at least sixty per cent, of the total population of the district.

(D) The policy committee of a county or joint district may amend the fee levied by the district under division (A) of this section by adopting and obtaining ratification of a resolution establishing the amount of the amended fee. The policy committee may abolish the fee or an amended fee established under this division by adopting and obtaining ratification of a resolution proposing to repeal it. The requirements and procedures under division (B) and, if applicable, division (C) of this section govern the adoption and ratification of a resolution authorized to be adopted under this division and the notification of owners and operators of solid waste facilities required to collect the fees.

(E) Collection of a fee or amended fee levied under division (A) or (D) of this section shall commence or cease in accordance with division (B) of section 3734.57 of the Revised Code. If a district is levying a fee under section 3734.572 of the Revised Code, collection of that fee shall cease on the date on which collection of the fee levied under division (A) of this section commences in accordance with division (B) of section 3734.57 of the Revised Code.

(F) In the case of solid wastes that are taken to a solid waste transfer facility prior to being transported to a solid waste disposal facility for disposal, the fee levied under division (A) of this section shall be collected by the owner or operator of the transfer facility as a trustee for the district. In the case of solid wastes that are not taken to a solid waste transfer facility prior to being transported to a solid waste disposal facility, the fee shall be collected by the owner or operator of the solid waste disposal facility where the wastes are disposed of. An owner or operator of a solid waste transfer or disposal facility who is required to collect the fee shall collect and forward the fee to the district in accordance with section 3734.57 of the Revised Code and rules adopted under division (H) of that section.

If the owner or operator of a solid waste transfer or disposal facility who did not receive notice pursuant to division (B) of this section to collect the fee levied by a district under division (A) of this section receives solid wastes generated in the district, the owner or operator, within thirty days after receiving the wastes, shall send written notice of that fact to the board of county commissioners or directors of the district. Within thirty days after receiving such a notice, the board of county commissioners or directors shall send written notice to the owner or operator indicating whether the district is levying a fee under division (A) of this section and, if so, the amount of the fee.

(G) Moneys received by a district levying a fee under division (A) of this section shall be credited to the special fund of the district created in division (G) of section 3734.57 of the Revised Code and shall be used exclusively for the purposes specified in that division. Prior to the approval under division (A) of section 3734.56 of the Revised Code of the first amended plan that the district is required to submit for approval under that section, the approval of an initial plan under section 3734.521 of the Revised Code, the approval of an amended plan under that section or division (D) of section 3734.56 of the Revised Code, or the amendment of the district's plan under division (E) of section 3734.56 of the Revised Code, moneys credited to the special fund arising from the fee levied pursuant to a resolution adopted and ratified under division (B) of this section shall be expended for those purposes in the manner prescribed by the solid waste management policy committee by resolution.

(H) The fee levied under division (A) of this section does not apply to the management of solid wastes that:

(1) Are disposed of at a facility owned by the generator of the wastes when the solid waste facility exclusively disposes of solid wastes generated at one or more premises owned by the generator regardless of whether the facility is located on a premises where the wastes were generated;

(2) Are generated from the combustion of coal, or from the combustion of primarily coal , regardless of whether the disposal facility is located on the premises where the wastes are generated;

(3) Are asbestos or asbestos-containing materials or products disposed of at a construction and demolition debris facility that is licensed under Chapter 3714. of the Revised Code or at a solid waste facility that is licensed under this chapter.

(I) When solid wastes that are burned in a disposal facility that is an incinerator or energy recovery facility are delivered to a solid waste transfer facility prior to being transported to the incinerator or energy recovery facility where they are burned, the fee levied under division (A) of this section shall be levied on the wastes delivered to the transfer facility.

(J) When solid wastes that are burned in a disposal facility that is an incinerator or energy recovery facility are not delivered to a solid waste transfer facility prior to being transported to the incinerator or energy recovery facility where they are burned, the fee levied under division (A) of this section shall be levied on the wastes delivered to the incinerator or energy recovery facility.

(K) The fee levied under division (A) of this section does not apply to sewage sludge that is generated by a waste water treatment facility holding a national pollutant discharge elimination system permit and that is disposed of through incineration, land application, or composting or at another resource recovery or disposal facility that is not a landfill.

(L) The fee levied under division (A) of this section does not apply to solid waste delivered to a solid waste composting facility for processing. If any unprocessed solid waste or compost product is transported off the premises of a composting facility for disposal at a landfill, the fee levied under division (A) of this section applies and shall be collected by the owner or operator of the landfill.

(M) The fee levied under division (A) of this section does not apply to materials separated from a mixed waste stream for recycling by the generator or materials removed from the solid waste stream as a result of recycling, as "recycling" is defined in rules adopted under section 3734.02 of the Revised Code.

(N) The director of environmental protection may issue an order exempting from the fees levied under this section solid wastes, including, but not limited to, scrap tires, that are generated, transferred, or disposed of as a result of a contract providing for the expenditure of public funds entered into by the administrator or regional administrator of the United States environmental protection agency, the director of environmental protection, or the director of administrative services on behalf of the director of environmental protection for the purpose of remediating conditions at a hazardous waste facility, solid waste facility, or other location at which the administrator or regional administrator or the director of environmental protection has reason to believe that there is a substantial threat to public health or safety or the environment or that the conditions are causing or contributing to air or water pollution or soil contamination. An order issued by the director of environmental protection under this division shall include a determination that the amount of fees not received by a solid waste management district as a result of the order will not adversely impact the implementation and financing of the district's approved solid waste management plan and any approved amendments to the plan. Such an order is a final action of the director of environmental protection.

Amended by 129th General AssemblyFile No.115, SB 294, §1, eff. 9/5/2012.

Amended by 128th General AssemblyFile No.9, HB 1, §101.01, eff. 10/16/2009.

Effective Date: 10-31-1996; 09-29-2005; 09-29-2005