SENATE BUDGET AND APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE

STATEMENT TO

SENATE, No. 1465

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

DATED: NOVEMBER 17, 1997

      The Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee reports favorably Senate Bill No. 1465.

      Senate Bill No. 1465 provides that any municipality bordering on a municipality wherein a resource recovery facility is located will be entitled to an annual economic benefit, if the municipal boundary of the contiguous municipality is within one-half mile of the incinerator building of the facility. The bill defines "contiguous municipality" as the municipality within which public roads or highways provide the only vehicular access to the resource recovery facility. The only municipality that currently meets the definition of "contiguous municipality" is the Borough of Westville in Gloucester County.

      The amount of the annual economic benefit is to be negotiated between the contiguous municipality and the facility. If the parties fail to agree, the bill permits the Department of Environmental Protection, upon the request of the parties, to mediate or make a determination on the amount of the benefit. In the negotiation or determination of the amount of the benefit, the level of truck traffic in the contiguous municipality, the proximity of the incinerator building to inhabited areas of the contiguous municipality, and the type of land use in the contiguous municipality surrounding the facility is to be considered.

      The contiguous municipality's annual economic benefit is separate and distinct from the "host municipality" benefit provided by existing law. The bill exempts those contracting units that had negotiated contracts for resource recovery facilities and services prior to January of 1986 from the provisions of the bill. Finally, the bill exempts from its provisions: any publicly-owned resource recovery facility; any person holding the franchise for the resource recovery facility which is a pollution control financing authority created pursuant to the "New Jersey Pollution Control Financing Law," P.L.1973, c.376 (C.40:37C-1 et seq.); and any contracting unit which has negotiated a contract for resource recovery facilities or services with a vendor pursuant to the provisions of P.L.1985, c.38 (C.13:1E-136 et al.).

            As reported, this bill is identical to Assembly Bill No. 496 (1R) (Roberts/Stuhltrager).

FISCAL IMPACT

      In a fiscal estimate prepared by the Office of Legislative Services (OLS), the OLS states that it cannot estimate the amount of money the Borough of Westville will receive under the bill because this sum must be negotiated by the parties.