Florida Senate - 2013                              CS for SB 682
       
       
       
       By the Committee on Environmental Preservation and Conservation;
       and Senator Simpson
       
       
       
       592-02850-13                                           2013682c1
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to fossil fuel combustion products;
    3         creating s. 403.7047, F.S.; providing definitions;
    4         providing standards for storage of certain fossil fuel
    5         combustion products; providing an exemption for
    6         beneficial use of fossil fuel combustion products from
    7         certain rules; providing that the act does not
    8         prohibit the Department of Environmental Protection
    9         from taking appropriate action to regulate a
   10         beneficial use in certain circumstances; providing
   11         that the act does not limit other requirements
   12         applicable to the beneficial use of fossil fuel
   13         combustion products; providing that the act does not
   14         limit the recovery of beneficial use products or the
   15         authority of the department to approve the beneficial
   16         use of materials other than fossil fuel combustion
   17         products; clarifying that the act does not limit or
   18         modify any fossil fuel combustion product beneficial
   19         use previously approved by the department; amending s.
   20         403.7222, F.S.; excluding certain types of facilities
   21         from provisions on hazardous waste landfills;
   22         providing an effective date.
   23  
   24         WHEREAS, fossil fuel combustion products are currently used
   25  in a variety of beneficial applications, and
   26         WHEREAS, beneficial use of fossil fuel combustion products
   27  allows certain industries and end users to avoid the mining and
   28  processing of virgin materials through the substitution of
   29  fossil fuel combustion products for virgin materials, thereby
   30  preserving natural resources and minimizing environmental
   31  emissions, and
   32         WHEREAS, beneficial use of fossil fuel combustion products
   33  reduces the volume of materials placed in disposal facilities
   34  and ultimately lowers overall energy consumption required for
   35  processing and disposing of fossil fuel combustion products, and
   36         WHEREAS, beneficial use of fossil fuel combustion products
   37  promotes economic activity, and
   38         WHEREAS, beneficial use of fossil fuel combustion products
   39  is consistent with the purpose of Florida’s Resource Recovery
   40  and Management Act and furthers the purpose of the act by
   41  encouraging waste reduction and recycling as a means of managing
   42  solid waste and conserving resources, and
   43         WHEREAS, after balancing all the competing needs of the
   44  state, the Legislature has determined that it is in the state’s
   45  best interest to conserve natural resources, reduce overall
   46  energy consumption, reduce or eliminate the need to dispose of
   47  fossil fuel combustion products in disposal facilities, and
   48  facilitate the development of readily available markets for
   49  fossil fuel combustion products, NOW, THEREFORE,
   50  
   51  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   52  
   53         Section 1. Section 403.7047, Florida Statutes, is created
   54  to read:
   55         403.7047 Regulation of fossil fuel combustion products.—
   56         (1) As used in this section, the term:
   57         (a) “Beneficial use” means the use of fossil fuel
   58  combustion products as building products, substitutes for raw
   59  materials, necessary ingredients, or additives in products,
   60  according to accepted industry practices, including the
   61  following:
   62         1. Asphalt, concrete or cement products, flowable fill, and
   63  roller-compacted concrete.
   64         2.Structural fill or pavement aggregate that meets the
   65  following requirements:
   66         a. The fossil fuel combustion product is not in contact
   67  with groundwater, surface water bodies, or wetlands and is not
   68  placed within 100 feet of a potable well that is being used or
   69  might be used for human or livestock water consumption; and
   70         b. The placement of the fossil fuel combustion product does
   71  not extend beyond the outside edge of the structure or pavement.
   72  Placement of the structure or pavement must be completed as soon
   73  as practicable after placement of the fossil fuel combustion
   74  product.
   75         3. Use of flue-gas emission control materials which meet
   76  the definition of gypsum and are used in accordance with
   77  applicable Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer
   78  Services rules.
   79         4.Waste stabilization, or initial or intermediate cover
   80  material used for lined Class I or III landfills, provided that
   81  the material meets applicable department rules for landfill
   82  cover or a landfill’s permit conditions for cover.
   83         5. Any other use that meets the criteria of
   84  s.403.7045(1)(f) or that is approved by the department prior to
   85  use as having an equivalent or reduced potential for
   86  environmental impacts, when used in equivalent quantities,
   87  compared to the substituted raw products or materials.
   88         (b)“Fossil fuel combustion products” means fly ash, bottom
   89  ash, boiler slag, flue-gas emission control materials, and other
   90  non-hazardous materials, such as gasifier slag, fluidized-bed
   91  combustion system products, and similar combustion materials
   92  produced from the operation of a fossil fuel-fired electric or
   93  steam generation facility, from a clean coal or other innovative
   94  technology process at a fossil fuel-fired electric or steam
   95  generation facility, or from any combination thereof.
   96         (c)“Fossil fuel-fired electric or steam generation
   97  facility” means any electric or steam generation facility that
   98  is fueled with coal, alone or in combination with petroleum
   99  coke, oil, coal gas, natural gas, other fossil fuels, or
  100  alternative fuels.
  101         (d)“Pavement aggregate” means fossil fuel combustion
  102  products used as sub-base material under a paved road, sidewalk,
  103  walkway, or parking lot as a substitute for conventional
  104  aggregate, raw material, or soil.
  105         (e)“Structural fill” means the use of a fossil fuel
  106  combustion product as a substitute for a conventional aggregate,
  107  raw material, or soil under an industrial or commercial building
  108  or structure. Structural fill does not include uses of fossil
  109  fuel combustion products that involve general filling or grading
  110  operations or valley fills.
  111         (2)The storage of fossil fuel combustion products destined
  112  for beneficial use must comply with applicable department rules
  113  and be conducted in a manner that does not pose a significant
  114  risk to public health or violate applicable air or water quality
  115  standards.
  116         (3)Fossil fuel combustion products beneficially used in
  117  accordance with this section are not subject to regulation as a
  118  solid or hazardous waste, but the department may take
  119  appropriate action if the beneficial use is demonstrated to be
  120  causing violations of applicable air or water quality standards
  121  or criteria in department rules, or if such beneficial use poses
  122  a significant risk to public health.  This section does not
  123  limit any other requirements applicable to the beneficial use of
  124  fossil fuel combustion products established under this chapter
  125  or chapter 376 or under local or federal laws, including
  126  requirements governing air pollution control permits, national
  127  pollutant discharge elimination system permits, and water
  128  quality certifications pursuant to s. 401 of the Clean Water
  129  Act.
  130         (4)Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit the
  131  department’s authority to approve the beneficial use of
  132  materials other than fossil fuel combustion products as defined
  133  in this section pursuant to other provisions of this part. This
  134  section may not be construed to limit or otherwise modify any
  135  fossil fuel combustion product beneficial use previously
  136  approved by the department, use in the onsite construction of
  137  surface impoundments, roads, or similar works at fossil fuel
  138  fired electric or steam generation facilities, or the recovery
  139  of these products for beneficial use from fossil fuel combustion
  140  product landfills, impoundments, or storage areas.
  141         Section 2. Section 403.7222, Florida Statutes, is amended
  142  to read:
  143         403.7222 Prohibition of hazardous waste landfills.—
  144         (1) As used in this section, the term “hazardous waste
  145  landfill” means a disposal facility or part of a facility at
  146  which hazardous waste that has not undergone treatment is placed
  147  in or on land, including an injection well, which is not a land
  148  treatment facility. However, hazardous waste may not be disposed
  149  of through an injection well or other subsurface method of
  150  disposal, which is defined as a Class IV well in 40 C.F.R. s.
  151  144.6(d), except those Class I wells permitted for hazardous
  152  waste disposal as of January 1, 1992. The department shall
  153  annually review the operations of any such Class I well
  154  permitted as of January 1, 1992, and prepare a report analyzing
  155  any impact on groundwater systems. Nothing in This section may
  156  not shall be construed to refer to the products of membrane
  157  technology, including reverse osmosis, for the production of
  158  potable water where disposal is through a Class I well as
  159  defined in 40 C.F.R. s. 144.6(a), or to refer to remedial or
  160  corrective action activities conducted in accordance with 40
  161  C.F.R. s. 144.13.
  162         (2) The Legislature declares that, due to the permeability
  163  of the soil and high water table in Florida, future hazardous
  164  waste landfills are prohibited. Therefore, the department may
  165  not issue a permit pursuant to s. 403.722 for a newly
  166  constructed hazardous waste landfill. However, if by executive
  167  order the Governor declares a hazardous waste management
  168  emergency, the department may issue a permit for a temporary
  169  hazardous waste landfill. Any such landfill shall be used only
  170  until such time as an appropriate alternative method of disposal
  171  can be derived and implemented. Such a permit may not be issued
  172  for a period exceeding 6 months without a further declaration of
  173  the Governor. A Class IV injection well, as defined in 40 C.F.R.
  174  s. 144.6(d), may not be permitted for construction or operation
  175  under this section.
  176         (3) This section does not prohibit the department from
  177  banning the disposal of hazardous waste in other types of waste
  178  management units in a manner consistent with federal
  179  requirements, except as provided under s. 403.804(2).
  180         (4)This section does not apply to a disposal facility or
  181  part of a facility that accepts fly ash, bottom ash, boiler
  182  slag, or flue-gas emission control materials from the operation
  183  of a fossil fuel-fired electric or steam generation facility,
  184  from a clean coal or other innovative technology process at a
  185  fossil fuel-fired electric or steam generation facility, or from
  186  any combination thereof.
  187         Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2013.