The Florida Senate

The Legislature recognizes the need for local governments to establish local hazardous waste management programs and local collection centers throughout the state. Local hazardous waste management programs are to educate and assist small businesses and households in properly managing the hazardous waste they generate. Local collection centers are to serve a purpose similar to the collection locations used in the amnesty days program described in s. 403.7264. Such collection centers are to be operated to provide a service to homeowners, farmers, and conditionally exempt small quantity generators to encourage proper hazardous waste management. Local collection centers will allow local governments the opportunity to provide a location for collection and temporary storage of small quantities of hazardous waste. A private hazardous waste management company should be responsible for collecting the waste within 90 days for transfer to a permitted recycling, disposal, or treatment facility. In time, local collection centers are to become privately operated businesses in order to reduce the burden of hazardous waste collection on local government.

For the purposes of this section, the phrase:

The department shall establish a grant program for local governments that desire to provide a local or regional hazardous waste collection center. Grants shall be authorized to cover collection center costs associated with capital outlay for preparing a facility or site to safely serve as a collection center and to cover costs of administration, public awareness, and local amnesty days programs. The total cost for administration and public awareness may not exceed 10 percent of the grant award. Grants shall be available on a competitive basis to local governments which:

The maximum amount of a grant for any local government participating in the development of a collection center is $100,000. If a regional collection facility is designed, each participating county is eligible for up to $100,000. The department may use up to 1 percent of the funds appropriated for the local hazardous waste collection center grant program for administrative costs and public education relating to proper hazardous waste management.

The department shall establish a cooperative collection center arrangement grant program enabling a local hazardous waste collection center grantee to receive a financial incentive for hosting an amnesty days program in a neighboring county that is currently unable to establish a permanent collection center, but desires a local hazardous waste collection. The grant may reimburse up to 75 percent of the neighboring county’s amnesty days. Grants shall be available, on a competitive basis, to local governments that:

The maximum amount for the cooperative collection center arrangement grant is $35,000, with a maximum amnesty days reimbursement of $25,000, and a limit of $10,000 for the host local government. The host local government may receive up to $10,000 per cooperative collection center arrangement in addition to its maximum local hazardous waste collection center grant.

The department may establish an additional local project grant program enabling a local hazardous waste collection center grantee to receive funding for unique projects that improve the collection and lower the incidence of improper management of conditionally exempt or household hazardous waste. Eligible local governments may receive up to $50,000 in grant funds for these unique and innovative projects, provided they match 25 percent of the grant amount. If the department finds that the project has statewide applicability and immediate benefits to other local hazardous waste collection programs in the state, matching funds are not required. This grant will not count toward the $100,000 maximum grant amount for development of a collection center.

The department may use grant funds authorized under this section to assist local governments in carrying out the responsibilities and programs specified in ss. 403.7225, 403.7226, 403.7234, 403.7236, and 403.7238.