ASSEMBLY, No. 1500

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

INTRODUCED FEBRUARY 8, 1996

By Assemblyman GIBSON and Assemblywoman MURPHY

An Act concerning district solid waste management plans, amending and supplementing P.L.1970, c.39, and amending P.L.1975, c.326.

    Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

    1. (New section) Any county or designated agency may incorporate the terms and conditions of an interdistrict agreement for the development or use of regional solid waste facilities, or for the provision of solid waste services, within its district solid waste management plan without regard to the provisions of sections 11, 14 and 15 of P.L.1975, c.326 (C.13:1E-20, 13:1E-23 and 13:1E-24).

    2. Section 3 of P.L.1970, c.39 (C.13:1E-3) is amended to read as follows:

    3. [For purposes of this act, unless the context clearly requires a different meaning] As used in this act:

    a. "Solid waste" means garbage, refuse, and other discarded materials resulting from industrial, commercial and agricultural operations, and from domestic and community activities, and shall include all other waste materials including liquids, except for solid animal and vegetable wastes collected by swine producers licensed by the State Department of Agriculture to collect, prepare and feed such wastes to swine on their own farms.

    b. "Solid waste collection" means the activity related to pick-up and transportation of solid waste from its source or location to a transfer station or other authorized solid waste facility.

    c. "Disposal" means the storage, treatment, utilization, processing, resource recovery of, or the discharge, deposit, injection, dumping, spilling, leaking or placing of any solid or hazardous waste into or on any land or water, so that the solid or hazardous waste or any constituent thereof may enter the environment or be emitted into the air or discharged into any waters, including groundwaters.

    d. "Solid waste management" includes all activities related to the collection [and] or disposal of solid waste by any person engaging in any such process.

    e. "Council" means the Advisory Council on Solid Waste Management.

    f. "Department" means the State Department of Environmental Protection.

    g. "Commissioner" means the Commissioner of Environmental Protection in the State Department of Environmental Protection.

    h. "Solid waste facilities" mean and include the plants, structures and other real and personal property acquired, constructed or operated or to be acquired, constructed or operated by any person pursuant to the provisions of P.L.1970 c.39 (C.13:1E-1 et seq.), P.L.1970, c.40 (C.48:13A-1 et seq.) or any other act, including transfer stations, incinerators, resource recovery facilities, sanitary landfill facilities or other plants for the disposal of solid waste, and all vehicles, equipment and other real and personal property and rights therein and appurtenances necessary or useful and convenient for the collection or disposal of solid waste in a sanitary manner.

    i. "Public authority" means any solid waste management authority created pursuant to the "solid waste management authorities law," P.L.1968, c.249 (C.40:66A-32 et seq.); municipal or county utilities authority created pursuant to the "municipal and county utilities authorities law," P.L.1957, c.183 (C.40:14B-1 et seq.); incinerator authority created pursuant to the "incinerator authorities law," P.L.1948, c.348 (C.40:66A-1 et seq.); county improvement authority created pursuant to the "county improvement authorities law," P.L.1960, c.183 (C.40:37A-44 et seq.), or any other public body corporate and politic created for solid waste management purposes in any county or municipality, pursuant to the provisions of any law.

    j. "Hackensack Meadowlands District" means the area within the jurisdiction of the Hackensack Meadowlands Development Commission created pursuant to the provisions of the "Hackensack Meadowlands Reclamation and Development Act," P.L.1968, c.404 (C.13:17-1 et seq.).

    k. "Hackensack Commission" means the Hackensack Meadowlands Development Commission created pursuant to the provisions of the "Hackensack Meadowlands Reclamation and Development Act," P.L.1968, c.404 (C.13:17-1 et seq.).

    l. (Deleted by amendment, P.L.1990, c.113)

    m. (Deleted by amendment, P.L.1990, c.113)

    n. "Public sewage treatment plant" means any structure or structures required to be approved by the department pursuant to P.L.1977, c.224 (C.58:12A-1 et seq.) or P.L.1977, c.74 (C.58:10A-1 et seq.), by means of which domestic wastes are subjected to any artificial process in order to remove or so alter constituents as to render the waste less offensive or dangerous to the public health, comfort or property of any of the inhabitants of this State, before the discharge of the plant effluent into any of the waters of this State; this definition includes plants for the treatment of industrial wastes, as well as a combination of domestic and industrial wastes.

    o. "Resource recovery" means the collection, separation, recycling and recovery of metals, glass, paper and other materials for reuse; or the incineration of solid waste for energy production and the recovery of metals and other materials for reuse.

    p. (Deleted by amendment, P.L.1990, c.113)

    q. "Sanitary landfill facility" means a solid waste facility at which solid waste is deposited on or in the land as fill for the purpose of permanent disposal or storage for a period exceeding six months, except that it shall not include any waste facility approved for disposal of hazardous waste.

    r. "Transfer station" means a solid waste facility at which solid waste is transferred from a solid waste collection vehicle to a licensed solid waste haulage vehicle, including a rail car, for transportation to an offsite sanitary landfill facility, resource recovery facility, or other destination for disposal, except that a "transfer station" shall not include any solid waste facility at which solid waste is received for onsite transfer, and processing or disposal utilizing facility-owned or operated equipment and vehicles operated therefor.

    s. "Designated agency" means the department, unit or committee of the county government designated by the board of chosen freeholders, in the case of counties, or the Hackensack Commission, in the case of the Hackensack Meadowlands District, to supervise the implementation of the district solid waste management plan pursuant to section 12 of P.L.1975, c.326 (C.13:1E-21); or the public authority which has jurisdiction over solid waste management within the district, including statutory power to enter into contracts or agreements.

    t. "Interdistrict agreement" means an agreement entered into between the concerned boards of chosen freeholders, the Hackensack Commission, a public authority, or any combination thereof, for the development or use of solid waste facilities on a regional basis.

    u. "Materials recovery" means the processing and separation of solid waste utilizing manual or mechanical methods for the purposes of recovering recyclable materials for disposition and recycling prior to the disposal of the residual solid waste at an authorized solid waste facility.

    v. "Materials recovery facility" means a transfer station or other authorized solid waste facility at which nonhazardous solid waste, which material is not source separated by the generator thereof prior to collection, is received for onsite processing and separation utilizing manual or mechanical methods for the purposes of recovering recyclable materials for disposition and recycling prior to the disposal of the residual solid waste at an authorized solid waste facility.

    w. "Recycling center" means any facility designed and operated solely for receiving, storing, processing or transferring source separated recyclable materials; except that "recycling center" shall not include a scrap processing facility.

    x. "Resource recovery facility" means a solid waste facility constructed and operated for the incineration of solid waste for energy production and the recovery of metals and other materials for reuse; or a mechanized composting facility, or any other facility constructed or operated for the collection, separation, recycling, and recovery of metals, glass, paper, and other materials for reuse or for energy production.

    y. "Scrap processing facility" means a commercial industrial facility designed and operated for receiving, storing, processing and transferring source separated, nonputrescible ferrous and nonferrous metal, which materials are purchased by the owner or operator thereof, and which are altered or reduced in volume or physical characteristics onsite by mechanical methods, including but not limited to baling, cutting, torching, crushing, or shredding, for the purposes of resale for remelting, refining, smelting or remanufacturing into raw materials or products.

    z. "Solid waste services" means services provided by the owner or operator of a solid waste facility, including but not limited to, the utilization of a resource recovery facility for the disposal of out-of-district solid waste; the utilization of a sanitary landfill facility for the disposal of residual ash or the solid waste delivered to a resource recovery facility which cannot be processed at the resource recovery facility; the utilization of a materials recovery facility for the recycling or materials recovery of solid waste which cannot be processed at a resource recovery facility; the utilization of a sanitary landfill facility for the disposal of solid waste due to downtime or technical failure at a resource recovery facility; or any combination thereof, pursuant to an interdistrict agreement; "solid waste services" also means services provided by the owner or operator of a recycling center or materials recovery facility for the recycling or materials recovery of out-of-district solid waste pursuant to an interdistrict agreement.

    aa. "Source separated recyclable materials" means recyclable materials which are separated at the point of generation by the generator thereof from solid waste for the purposes of recycling.

    bb. "Source separation" or "source separated" means the process by which recyclable materials are separated at the point of generation by the generator thereof from solid waste for the purposes of recycling.

(cf: P.L.1990, c.113, s.4)

    3. Section 11 of P.L.1975, c.326 (C.13:1E-20) is amended to read as follows:

    11. a. (1) [Within 360 days after the effective date of this amendatory and supplementary act, the] The respective boards of chosen freeholders, in the case of counties, and the Hackensack Commission, in the case of the Hackensack Meadowlands District, shall develop and formulate, pursuant to the procedures herein contained, a district solid waste management plan for each respective solid waste management district[; provided, however, that the commissioner may extend such period for a maximum of 45 additional days upon the certification of the board of chosen freeholders or the Hackensack Commission, as the case may be, of the causes of the delay in developing and formulating a plan, and upon the commissioner's determination that an extension will permit the development and formulation of a solid waste management plan as required herein. Within 90 days of the effective date of this act, each district shall make the necessary personnel, financial and legal arrangements to assure the development and formulation of the plan within 360 days of the effective date of this act].

    Every district solid waste management plan shall be developed and formulated to be in force and effect for a period of not less than 10 years, upon the expiration of which a new plan shall be developed and formulated pursuant to the procedures herein contained; provided, however, that every such plan shall contain provisions for automatic review thereof not less than once every two years following the approval thereof by the department, which review shall be undertaken by the board of chosen freeholders or the Hackensack Commission, as the case may be; and provided further, however, that every such plan may be reviewed at any time by the department. Upon such review, if the board of chosen freeholders, the Hackensack Commission, or the department, as the case may be, determines that any district solid waste management plan, or any part thereof, is inadequate for the purposes for which it was intended, such board of chosen freeholders or the Hackensack Commission, as the case may be, shall develop and formulate a new district solid waste management plan, or any part thereof, and such new plan, or part thereof, shall be adopted thereby pursuant to the procedures contained in section 14 of P.L.1975, c.326 (C.13:1E-23).

    Nothing herein contained shall be construed as to prevent any board of chosen freeholders or the Hackensack Commission from readopting a district solid waste management plan upon the expiration of same in a [solid waste management] district; provided, however, that any such readoption shall be pursuant to the provisions of section 14 of P.L.1975, c.326 (C.13:1E-23).

    (2) Any two or more districts may formulate and adopt a [single] regional solid waste management plan which shall meet all the requirements of [this act] P.L.1970, c.39 (C.13:1E-1 et seq.) for the combined area of the cooperating [solid waste management] districts.

    b. (1) To assist each board of chosen freeholders in the development and formulation of the district solid waste management plans required herein, an advisory solid waste council shall be constituted in every county and shall include municipal mayors or their designees, persons engaged in the collection or disposal of solid waste and environmentalists. The respective size, composition and membership of each such council shall be designated by the respective boards of chosen freeholders. In the Hackensack Meadowlands District, the Hackensack Meadowlands Municipal Committee, established pursuant to [article 4] sections 7 and 8 of P.L.1968, c.404 (C.13:17-7 and 13:17-8), is hereby designated an advisory solid waste council for the purposes of this [amendatory and supplementary act] subsection; provided, however, that nothing herein contained shall be construed as in any way altering the powers, duties and responsibilities of the Hackensack Meadowlands Municipal Committee except as herein specifically provided.

    The respective boards of chosen freeholders and the Hackensack Commission shall consult with the relevant advisory solid waste council at such stages in the development and formulation of the district solid waste management plan as each such board of chosen freeholders or the Hackensack Commission, as the case may be, shall determine; provided, however, that a district solid waste management plan shall be adopted as hereinafter provided only after consultation with the relevant advisory solid waste council.

     (2) In the development and formulation of a district solid waste management plan for any [solid waste management] district, the board of chosen freeholders or the Hackensack Commission, as the case may be, shall:

    (a) Consult with the county or municipal government agencies concerned with, or responsible for, water pollution control, water policy, water supply, or zoning or land use within the [solid waste management] district;

    (b) Review such plans for solid waste collection and disposal proposed by, or in force in, any municipality or municipalities within the [solid waste management district], to determine the suitability of any such plan, or any part thereof, for inclusion within the district solid waste management plan of the [solid waste management] district; and

    (c) Consult with persons engaged in solid waste collection and disposal in the [solid waste management] district.

(cf: P.L.1985, c.38, s.35)

    4. Section 12 of P.L.1975, c.326 (C.13:1E-21) is amended to read as follows:

    12. a. Every district solid waste management plan shall be based upon and shall be accompanied by a report containing:

    (1) An inventory of the sources, composition, and quantity of solid waste generated within the [solid waste management] district in the year in which the report is prepared;

    (2) Projections of the amounts and composition of solid waste to be generated within the district in each of the 10 years following the year in which the report is prepared[; provided, however, that in the formulation of its solid waste management plan every board of chosen freeholders may deduct from the actual amount of solid waste generated within the solid waste management district in the year in which the report is prepared, and projected for each of the 10 years following said year, the total solid waste tonnage treated and disposed on a daily basis in the Hackensack Meadowlands District by every municipality within said solid waste management district as of July 1, 1968, which deduction shall be pursuant to the guarantee provided in P.L.1968, c.404, section 9.1 (C.13:17-10)];

    (3) An inventory and appraisal, including the identity, location, and life expectancy, of all solid waste facilities within the [solid waste management] district, including [such facilities operated by any person, and] the identity of every person engaging in solid waste collection or disposal within the district; and

    (4) An analysis of existing solid waste collection systems and transportation routes within the [solid waste management] district.

    b. Every district solid waste management plan shall include:

    (1) The designation of a department, unit or committee of the county government, in the case of counties, or of the Hackensack Commission, in the case of the Hackensack Meadowlands District, to supervise the implementation of the district solid waste management plan and to report thereon at such times as may be required by the board of chosen freeholders or the Hackensack Commission, as the case may be;

    (2) A statement of the solid waste disposal strategy to be applied in the [solid waste management] district, which strategy shall include the maximum practicable use of resource recovery procedures; and a plan for using terminated landfill disposal sites, if any, in the [solid waste management] district;

    (3) A site plan, which shall include all existing solid waste facilities located within the [solid waste management] district, provided that they are operated and maintained in accordance with all applicable health and environmental standards, and sufficient additional available suitable sites to provide solid waste facilities to treat and dispose of the actual and projected amounts of solid waste contained in the report accompanying the plan.

    Upon a certification to the commissioner by the board of chosen freeholders or the Hackensack Commission, as the case may be, of the absence of sufficient existing or available suitable sites for such solid waste facilities within the [solid waste management] district, the site plan shall identify sufficient additional existing or available suitable sites for [such] solid waste facilities located in another [solid waste management] district; provided, however, that such certification shall be accompanied by a copy of the [contract or] interdistrict agreement entered into by the concerned boards of chosen freeholders or the Hackensack Commission, as the case may be, authorizing the use by a [solid waste management] district of solid waste facilities located in another [solid waste management] district, and providing for the acquisition of such lands and rights and interests therein [as may be required] within the [solid waste management] district in which the solid waste facilities are to be located as may be required pursuant to the interdistrict agreement. Notwithstanding the above, however, a board of chosen freeholders may enter into an interdistrict agreement with any person engaged in solid waste disposal in [an adjacent solid waste management] any district with the approval of [said adjacent] that district, which shall be reflected in the district solid waste management plans for [said adjacent] the districts[, to treat and dispose of the amount of solid waste from their district that said person treats and disposes of in that adjacent district on the effective date of this act]. Upon the failure for any reason of the concerned boards of chosen freeholders or the Hackensack Commission, as the case may be, to [make such a contract or to reach such] enter into an interdistrict agreement, the board of chosen freeholders or the Hackensack Commission, as the case may be, seeking to locate said solid waste facilities in another [solid waste management] district shall certify such failure to the commissioner.

    Upon the receipt of any such certification of failure, the commissioner shall cause a study to be made by the department to determine the suitable location of solid waste facilities for the use of the [solid waste management] district for which such certification was made. In [such] the study, the commissioner may request the submission of any specifications or other information [he] the commissioner deems necessary from any [solid waste management] district, and the board of chosen freeholders or the Hackensack Commission, as the case may be, shall submit all such material so requested. In determining the suitable location of solid waste facilities, the commissioner shall weigh the relative feasibility of alternative locations in terms of such factors as environmental impact, transportation patterns and their comparative costs, compatibility with the current land use policies in the immediate area of the alternative locations, as well as with the Statewide solid waste management plan and such other master plans and planning policies as may exist at the municipal, county, regional or State levels, and such other criteria as the commissioner deems relevant.

    Upon the completion of said study the commissioner shall:

    (a) Require the certifying board of chosen freeholders or the Hackensack Commission, as the case may be, to locate the required solid waste facilities within its own [solid waste management] district and as part of the district solid waste management plan therefor; or

    (b) Require any other board of chosen freeholders or the Hackensack Commission, as the case may be, to provide solid waste facilities, or parts thereof, within its [solid waste management] district and as part of the district solid waste management plan therefor, for the use of the certifying [solid waste management] district; provided, however, that the full cost of any such solid waste facilities, or of any part thereof to the extent of use thereof, shall be borne by the [solid waste management] district making use of same.

    In the adoption of any district solid waste management plan pursuant to the provisions of section 14 of [this amendatory and supplementary act] P.L.1975, c.326 (C.13:1E-23), no board of chosen freeholders nor the Hackensack Commission, as the case may be, shall alter any part required by a determination made by the commissioner as herein provided concerning the location of any solid waste facilities.

    [Notwithstanding the provisions of section 11 of this amendatory and supplementary act, the time taken by the commissioner from the receipt of any certification of failure pursuant to this section to the completion of the study required herein concerning such certification of failure, shall be in addition to, and shall not count towards, the 360 days permitted in said section 11 for the development and formulation of a solid waste management plan.]

    (4) A [survey] designation of proposed collection [districts] and transportation routes, with projected transportation costs from collection [districts] routes to existing or available suitable sites for solid waste facilities;

    (5) The procedures for coordinating all activities related to the collection and disposal of solid waste by every person engaging in [such process] these activities within the [solid waste management] district, which procedures shall include the interdistrict agreements entered into as provided herein between the board of chosen freeholders or the Hackensack Commission, as the case may be, and every such person; and the procedures for furnishing the solid waste facilities contained in the district solid waste management plan; and

    (6) The method or methods of financing solid waste [management] facilities in the [solid waste management] district pursuant to the district solid waste management plan.

    c. Any existing joint meeting formed for the construction or operation of solid waste facilities pursuant to the "[consolidated municipal services act" (]Consolidated Municipal Services Act," P.L.1952, c.72[;](C.40:48B-1 et seq.)[)]or any existing authority composed of two or more municipalities formed pursuant to the "solid waste management authorities law,"[(]P.L.1968, c.249[;](C.40:66A-32 et seq.)[)]may request the commissioner to review its solid waste management plan. The commissioner may direct the concerned [solid waste management] district to incorporate all or part of said plan into the district solid waste management plan of that district.

(cf: P.L.1975, c.326, s.12)

    5. Section 13 of P.L.1975, c.326 (C.13:1E-22) is amended to read as follows:

    13. In order to preserve and maintain the State's pledges and covenants with the holders of any bonds issued by any public authority, no district solid waste management plan shall include provisions for establishing any solid waste facility in competition with such facilities operated, or for which bonds have been issued, by any such public authority; provided, however, that every board of chosen freeholders and the Hackensack Commission is hereby authorized and empowered in the development [and], formulation or amendment of a district solid waste management plan, to enter into any [contract or] interdistrict agreement with any public authority within any [solid waste management] district providing for or relating to [solid waste collection and] solid waste disposal. Any [such contract or] interdistrict agreement may provide for the furnishing of solid waste facilities either by or to the [solid waste management] district, or the joint construction or operation of solid waste facilities. Every [such contract or] interdistrict agreement shall conform to all the requirements of law for contracts or agreements made by any public authority, and may include such provisions for rates and charges, and for the furnishing of solid waste facilities, as the board of chosen freeholders or the Hackensack Commission, as the case may be, deems necessary in the development [and], formulation or amendment of a district solid waste management plan to coordinate all activities relating to [solid waste collection and] solid waste disposal within the [solid waste management] district, and for the furnishing of adequate and suitable solid waste facilities therein. Every board of chosen freeholders and the Hackensack Commission, as the case may be, is hereby further authorized and empowered to purchase the bonds of any public authority, and to purchase any solid waste facilities of any public authority upon [a contract or] an interdistrict agreement therewith for any such solid waste facility purchase.

(cf: P.L.1975, c.326, s.13)

    6. Section 14 of P.L.1975, c.326 (C.13:1E-23) is amended to read as follows:

    14. a. [Pursuant to the procedures herein contained, the] The respective boards of chosen freeholders, in the case of counties, and the Hackensack Commission, in the case of the Hackensack Meadowlands District, shall have the power, after consultation with the relevant advisory solid waste council, to adopt a district solid waste management plan for the relevant [solid waste management] district; provided, however, that [if in any solid waste management district the procedures contained in this section are not commenced within 361 days after the effective date of this amendatory and supplementary act, unless the commissioner shall have extended the time for the development and formulation of a solid waste management plan pursuant to section 11 of this amendatory and supplementary act, and] unless a certification of failure shall have been received by the commissioner pursuant to [12 b.(3) of this amendatory and supplementary act] subsection b. of section 12 of P.L.1975, c.326 (C.13:1E-21), the department shall have the power to develop, formulate and, pursuant to the procedures herein contained, adopt and [promulgate] maintain on file in the department a district solid waste management plan for any [such solid waste management] district.

    b. Upon the development and formulation of a district solid waste management plan, and after consultation with the relevant advisory solid waste council, the relevant board of chosen freeholders, in the case of counties, or the Hackensack Commission, in the case of the Hackensack Meadowlands District, shall prepare a map showing the boundaries of the [solid waste management] district and the location of all existing and proposed solid waste facilities. In the event such district solid waste management plan proposes to locate solid waste facilities in another [solid waste management] district, a map of such other district, showing the location of the proposed facilities, shall be prepared. Said map shall be appended to a copy of the district's solid waste management plan, to which shall also be appended a copy of the report accompanying said plan. Said map, plan and report shall be sent by mail to the mayor of each municipality within the county, in the case of counties, and in the case of the Hackensack Meadowlands District, said map, plan and report shall be maintained at the main office of the Hackensack Commission.

    c. The board of chosen freeholders, or the Hackensack Commission, as the case may be, shall thereupon cause a hearing to be held at an appointed time and place for the purpose of hearing persons interested in, or who would be affected by, the adoption of the district solid waste management plan for the relevant [solid waste management] district, and who are in favor of or are opposed to such adoption.

    d. A notice of such hearing shall be given setting forth the purpose thereof and stating that a map, plan and report have been prepared and can be inspected at the offices of every municipality within the county, or at the main office of the Hackensack Commission, as the case may be. A copy of such notice shall be published in a newspaper of general circulation in the [solid waste management] district once each week for 2 consecutive weeks, and the last publication shall be not less than 10 days prior to the date set for the hearing. A copy of the notice shall be mailed at least 10 days prior to the date set for the hearing to the last owner, if any, of each parcel of property within or without the district on which it is proposed to locate any solid waste facilities pursuant to the district's solid waste management plan. Such mailing shall be according to the assessment records of the municipality where such parcel is located and shall be sent to the last known postal address of such owners. A notice shall also be sent to any and all persons at his, or their, last known address, if any, whose names are noted on said assessment records as claimants of an interest in any such parcel. The assessor of such municipality shall make a notation upon the said records when requested so to do by any person claiming to have an interest in any parcel of property in such municipality. Failure to mail any such notice shall not invalidate the adoption of any district solid waste management plan.

    e. At the hearing, which may be adjourned from time to time, the board of chosen freeholders, or the Hackensack Commission, as the case may be, shall hear all persons interested in the district solid waste management plan and shall consider any, and all, written objections that may be filed and any evidence which may be introduced in support of the objections, or any opposition to the adoption of the district solid waste management plan for the [solid waste management] district. After the hearing the board of chosen freeholders, or the Hackensack Commission, as the case may be, shall, by resolution, adopt or reject, in whole or in part, the district solid waste management plan for the [solid waste management] district. The adoption of all or a part of a district solid waste management plan, if supported by substantial evidence, shall be binding and conclusive upon all persons affected by the adoption. If all or any part of the district solid waste management plan is adopted, the board of chosen freeholders, or the Hackensack Commission, as the case may be, within 10 days after such adoption, shall cause to be served a copy of the resolution of adoption upon each person who filed a written objection at or prior to the hearing; provided, the address of the objector was stated in, or upon, the written objection.

    Such service may be made (1) by delivering a copy of the resolution personally to the objector, (2) by mailing such copy addressed to the objector according to his said stated address, or (3) leaving such copy at said stated address for the objector with a person of suitable age and discretion.

    f. Any person who shall have filed such a written objection with the board of chosen freeholders, or the Hackensack Commission, as the case may be, may have the adoption of a district solid waste management plan reviewed by the Superior Court of New Jersey by procedure in lieu of prerogative writs. An action for such review shall be commenced within 30 days after the adoption by the board of chosen freeholders, or by the Hackensack Commission, as the case may be. In any such action, the said court may make any incidental order that shall be deemed by the court to be appropriate and proper.

    g. Upon the adoption of a district solid waste management plan in its entirety, the board of chosen freeholders or the Hackensack Commission, as the case may be, shall forthwith submit such plan, and a copy of the transcript of every public hearing held thereon, and a complete record of the dates and results of all consultation with governmental agencies and the relevant advisory solid waste council, to the commissioner. Upon the adoption of a part or parts of a district solid waste management plan, the board of chosen freeholders or the Hackensack Commission, as the case may be, shall certify the fact of such partial adoption to the commissioner, and such board of chosen freeholders or the Hackensack Commission, as the case may be, shall[, notwithstanding any previous extension granted pursuant to any of the provisions of this amendatory and supplementary act,]have [an additional] 45 days from the date of such certification to adopt a district solid waste management plan in its entirety, which adoption shall be pursuant to all the procedures contained herein for the adoption of district solid waste management plans.

    h. Every board of chosen freeholders and the Hackensack Commission shall adopt a district solid waste management plan in its entirety and submit same to the commissioner, with a copy of the transcript of every public hearing held thereon, and a complete record of the dates and results of all consultation with governmental agencies and the relevant advisory solid waste council[, within 450 days after the effective date of this amendatory and supplementary act; provided, however, that if the commissioner shall have granted an extension of time for the development and formulation of such plan pursuant to section 11 of this amendatory and supplementary act, or an extension of time for the adoption of any such plan in its entirety pursuant to this section, or both, the time for adoption and submission to the commissioner as required herein shall be increased to a maximum of 495 days in the case of either such extension, or 540 days in the case of both such extensions; and, provided further, however, that if the commissioner shall have received a certification of failure pursuant to section 12 b. of this amendatory and supplementary act, the time for adoption and submission to the commissioner, notwithstanding any other increase authorized in this amendatory and supplementary act, shall be increased by the number of days taken by the commissioner from the date of such receipt to the completion of his study concerning such certification of failure].

    i. Upon the failure of any board of chosen freeholders or the Hackensack Commission, as the case may be, to adopt a district solid waste management plan in its entirety and to submit same to the commissioner, with a copy of the transcript of every public hearing held thereon, and a complete record of the dates and results of all consultation with governmental agencies and the relevant advisory solid waste council, [within the time prescribed in subsection h. of this section,]the department shall have the power to develop and formulate a solid waste management plan in its entirety for any such [solid waste management] district, either including therein or excluding therefrom any part or parts of such plan as may have been adopted by the board of chosen freeholders or the Hackensack Commission, as the case may be. Following the holding of a public hearing pursuant to the procedures contained herein, the department shall have the power to adopt and promulgate such district solid waste management plan in its entirety for any such [solid waste management] district. Any district solid waste management plan so adopted and promulgated by the department for any [solid waste management] district shall be subject to the same review by the Superior Court as district solid waste management plans otherwise adopted pursuant to this section.

(cf: P.L.1975, c.326, s.14)

    7. Section 15 of P.L.1975, c.326 (C.13:1E-24) is amended to read as follows:

    15. a. Upon receipt by the commissioner of a district solid waste management plan adopted in its entirety, and a copy of the transcript of every public hearing held thereon, as required pursuant to section 14 of [this amendatory and supplementary act] P.L.1975, c.326 (C.13:1E-23), [he] the commissioner shall:

    (1) Study and review the district solid waste management plan according to the objectives, criteria and standards developed in the Statewide solid waste management plan developed and formulated by the department pursuant to the provisions of section 6 of [the act to which this act is amendatory and supplementary] P.L.1970, c.39 (C.13:1E-6);

    (2) Submit a copy of said plan for review and recommendations to the Advisory Council on Solid Waste Management in the department, and to the agencies, bureaus and divisions within the department concerned with, or responsible for, environmental quality, including, but not limited to, the Bureau of Solid Waste Management, Bureau of Air Pollution Control, Bureau of Geology, and the Bureau of Water Pollution Control, or their successors; and

    (3) Submit a copy of said plan to the [Board of Public Utility Commissioners] agencies, bureaus and divisions within the department concerned with, or responsible for, economic regulation, for review and recommendations on the economic aspect of the plan.

    b. After completing [his] the study and review of the district solid waste management plan, and upon receipt of the recommendations thereon provided for in subsection a. (2) of this section, if any, but in no event later than 150 days after [his] the receipt of said plan, the commissioner shall determine whether to approve, modify, or reject any such district solid waste management plan, and shall certify such determination to the board of chosen freeholders or to the Hackensack Commission, as the case may be, which submitted such plan.

    c. If the commissioner determines to approve any district solid waste management plan, or if the commissioner has made no determination within 150 days after [his] the receipt of any such plan, the board of chosen freeholders or the Hackensack Commission, as the case may be, shall proceed, pursuant to the requirements of [this amendatory and supplementary act] P.L.1970, c.39 (C.13:1E-1 et seq.), to implement such district solid waste management plan in the relevant [solid waste management] district.

    d. If the commissioner determines to modify or reject any district solid waste management plan, or any part thereof, the certification required [of him] herein shall be accompanied by a detailed statement prepared by the commissioner indicating the reasons for any modification or rejection, and outlining the action to be taken thereon. In outlining such action the commissioner shall direct the board of chosen freeholders or the Hackensack Commission, as the case may be, to make any modification in, or replace any rejected part of, a district solid waste management plan, either with or without holding another public hearing in the [solid waste management] district. Such direction shall be based upon the commissioner's determination[, in his] and discretion, that such modification, or the part rejected, is or is not minor, and that such modification or replacement may or may not be made without substantially modifying or altering other aspects of the district solid waste management plan; provided, however, that a public hearing shall be required upon a rejection by the commissioner of any district solid waste management plan in its entirety.

    e. (1) If the commissioner directs the holding of another public hearing in the [solid waste management] district, such hearing shall be held within 45 days after such direction and shall be conducted pursuant to the procedures contained in section 14 of [this amendatory and supplementary act] P.L.1975, c.326 (C.13:1E-23) for the conduct of public hearings held prior to the adoption of district solid waste management plans. Following any such public hearing on any modification to, or replacement of, any district solid waste management plan, or any part thereof, the board of chosen freeholders or the Hackensack Commission, as the case may be, holding same shall formally adopt a modification to, or replacement of, the district solid waste management plan, or any part thereof, and shall submit same to the commissioner within the time limit set by the commissioner in the public hearing order.

    (2) If the commissioner directs that the modification or replacement may be made without the holding of another public hearing, the board of chosen freeholders or the Hackensack Commission, as the case may be, shall have 45 days after such direction within which to adopt any such modification or replacement, and to submit same to the commissioner.

    f. The commissioner shall have 30 days from the date of receipt of any submission under subsection e. herein to approve such modification or replacement or to reject same, and he shall certify such approval or rejection to the board of chosen freeholders or the Hackensack Commission, as the case may be, which submitted same. If the commissioner approves such modification or replacement, or if the commissioner has made no such certification within 30 days after his receipt thereof, the board of chosen freeholders or the Hackensack Commission, as the case may be, shall proceed, pursuant to the requirements of [this amendatory and supplementary act] P.L.1970, c.39 (C.13:1E-1 et seq.), to implement the district solid waste management plan in the relevant [solid waste management] district. Upon a rejection of any modification or replacement submitted [to him] pursuant to this section, or upon the failure of a board of chosen freeholders or the Hackensack Commission, as the case may be, to submit any modification or replacement as required herein, the commissioner shall have the power to adopt and promulgate any modification or replacement [he] the commissioner deems necessary with respect to the district solid waste management plan, and upon the certification of the commissioner, the board of chosen freeholders or the Hackensack Commission, as the case may be, shall proceed, pursuant to the requirements of [this amendatory and supplementary act] P.L.1970, c.39 (C.13:1E-1 et seq.), to implement the district solid waste management plan in the relevant [solid waste management] district with the modifications or replacements adopted by the commissioner.

    g. The commissioner shall maintain on file in the department a copy of [the Statewide] every district solid waste management plan developed [proved] or approved pursuant to this [amendatory and supplementary act] section, and a copy of the Statewide solid waste management plan developed and formulated by the department pursuant to section 6 of P.L.1970, c.39 (C.13:1E-6). [Such] These plans are hereby declared to be public records and shall be subject to all the provisions of P.L.1963, c.73 (C.47:1A-1 et seq.) concerning such public records.

(cf: P.L.1975, c.326, s.15)

    8. This act shall take effect immediately.

STATEMENT

    This bill authorizes counties to enter into interdistrict agreements for the development or use of solid waste facilities on a regional basis without having to go through the detailed and time-consuming district solid waste management plan amendment process required under the "Solid Waste Management Act," P.L.1970, c.39 (C.13:1E-1 et seq.).

    Specifically, the bill provides that any county or designated agency may incorporate the terms and conditions of an interdistrict agreement entered into between the concerned boards of chosen freeholders, the Hackensack Commission, a public authority, or any combination thereof, for the development or use of solid waste facilities on a regional basis within its district solid waste management plan without regard to the public hearing and duplicative agency review and approval provisions of sections 11, 14 and 15 of P.L.1975, c.326 (C.13:1E-20, 13:1E-23 and 13:1E-24).

Exempts interdistrict agreements for the development or use of regional solid waste facilities from the district solid waste management plan amendment process required under the "Solid Waste Management Act."