04/20/1993 09:02 AM Senate CRA

  SENATOR  RANDY  PHILLIPS  introduced   SJR  31  (EXTEND  FED                 
  LANDFILL  COMPLIANCE   DEADLINES)  as  the   next  order  of                 
  business.                                                                    
                                                                               
  SENATOR LOREN  LEMAN,  prime sponsor  of  SJR 31,  said  the                 
  resolution was  the result of a  request by a member  of the                 
  Kansas  legislature who asked  for the  Alaska legislature's                 
  help in joining them and other  states in requesting the EPA                 
  to  back  off   of  its   October  9,   1993  deadline   for                 
  municipalities to meet federal criteria for solid waste.                     
                                                                               
  Senator  Leman  said  there  are  considerable  solid  waste                 
  challenges throughout the  state where there is  no way that                 
  the state will be able to upgrade what are now and have been                 
  sites for dumping garbage to get  them up to landfill status                 
  by the October  deadline.  He added that he believes it is a                 
  reasonable approach to request  this delay in implementation                 
  of these criteria.                                                           
                                                                               
  Number 185                                                                   
                                                                               
  HEATHER STOCKARD, Department of  Environmental Conservation,                 
  stated the department's support for SJR 31.                                  
                                                                               
  Ms.  Sotckard   explained  that  federal   regulations  were                 
  promulgated on  October 9,  1991 and  allowed two  years for                 
  states to develop regulations implementing the Hazardous and                 
  Solid  Waste  Amendments  of  1984  and   receiving  program                 
  approval.   There is  a lot  of flexibility  built into  the                 
  federal regulations for states which  have been approved for                 
  solid waste, so  program approval is a  very important issue                 
  for the state and for the local communities.                                 
                                                                               
  Ms.  Stockard  said  there were  provisions  built  into the                 
  federal  law  that allow  some  exemptions for  small remote                 
  communities.    That  exemption  was  specifically  targeted                 
  toward  Alaska, but does not  go far enough  for a number of                 
  the smallest villages.  DEC has  been working to develop the                 
                                                                               
                                                                               
  state  solid  waste regulations,  but  they are  still  in a                 
  preliminary stage at this point.   The department expects to                 
  have a public  comment version of the  regulations available                 
  next month.                                                                  
                                                                               
  Ms.  Stockard related  that  she had  just  returned from  a                 
  meeting of the  Association of  State and Territorial  Solid                 
  Waste Management Officials  where the issue of  the upcoming                 
  federal deadline was  extensively discussed.   She said  the                 
  Association has not yet taken a position on this matter, but                 
  probably will not  support a two-year deadline  because many                 
  states are opposing a two-year extension.  However, they may                 
  favorably  take  a  compromise  position  of  supporting  an                 
  extension of six to nine months to allow enough time for all                 
  states to approve program approval and a longer extension of                 
  the deadline  on the  financial responsibility  requirements                 
  for the communities.                                                         
                                                                               
  Ms. Stockard said EPA  has taken the position that  it would                 
  not  be  possible for  them  to administratively  extend the                 
  deadline at this point because there is not enough time left                 
  for the regulation  changes, so  extensions to the  landfill                 
  deadline would have to be by congressional action.                           
                                                                               
  Number 280                                                                   
                                                                               
  SENATOR TAYLOR moved that SJR 31  be passed out of committee                 
  with individual recommendations.   Hearing no objection,  it                 
  was so ordered.