An Act To Create a Sustainable Solution to the Handling, Management and Disposal of Solid Waste in the State
Maine Legislature, Session 127, LD 0313
Committee Amendment CA_A_H616 (House)
Amends: 38 MRSA §2101-B, 38 MRSA §2132, 38 MRSA §2201, 38 MRSA §2201-B, 38 MRSA §2203-A, 38 MRSA §2204

COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "R "to H.P. 207, L.D. 313, Bill, "An Act To Create 
a Sustainable Solution to the Handling, Management and Disposal of Solid Waste in the 
State" 
Amend the bill by striking out everything after the enacting clause and inserting the 
following: 
'Sec. 1. 38 MRSA §2101-B is enacted to read: 
§2101-B. Food recovery hierarchy 
1. Priorities. It is the policy of the State to support the solid waste management 
hierarchy in section 2101 by preventing and diverting surplus food and food scraps from 
land disposal or incineration in accordance with the following order of priority: 
A. Reduction of the volume of surplus food generated at the source; 
B. Donation of surplus food to food banks, soup kitchens, shelters and other entities 
that will use surplus food to feed hungry people; 
C. Diversion of food scraps for use as animal feed; 
D. Utilization of waste oils for rendering and fuel conversion, utilization of food 
scraps for digestion to recover energy, other waste utilization technologies and 
creation of nutrient-rich soil amendments through the composting of food scraps; and 
E. Land disposal or incineration of food scraps. 
2. Guiding principle. It is the policy of the State to use the order of priority in this 
section, in conjunction with the order of priority in section 2101, as a guiding principle in 
making decisions related to solid waste and organic materials management. 
Sec. 2. 38 MRSA §2132, sub-§1, as amended by PL 2011, c. 655, Pt. GG, §32 
and affected by §70, is further amended to read: 
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COMMITTEE AMENDMENT"A "to H.P. 207, L.D. 313 
1. State recycling goal. It is the goal of the State to recycle or compost, by January 
1, ~ 
2021, 50% of the municipal solid waste tonnage generated each year within the 
State. 
Sec. 3. 38 MRSA §2132, sub-§1-A, as amended by PL 2011, c. 655, Pt. GG, §32 
and affected by §70, is repealed. 
Sec. 4. 38 MRSA §2132, sub-§1-B is enacted to read: 
1-B. State waste disposal reduction goal. It is the goal of the State to reduce the 
statewide per capita disposal rate of municipal solid waste tonnage to 0.55 tons disposed 
per capita by January 1, 2019 and to further reduce the statewide per capita disposal rate 
by an additional 5% every 5 years thereafter. The baseline for calculating this reduction 
is the 2014 solid waste generation and disposal capacity data gathered by the department. 
Sec. 5. 38 MRSA §2132, sub-§2, as amended by PL 2011, c. 655, Pt. GG, §32 
and affected by §70, is further amended to read: 
2. Goal revision. The department shall recommend revisions, if appropriate, to the 
state recycling goal and waste disposal reduction goal established in this section. The 
department shall submit its recommendations and any implementing legislation to the 
joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over natural resource 
matters. 
Sec. 6. 38 MRSA §2201, 3rd ,r, as amended by PL 2011, c. 655, Pt. GG, §64 and 
affected by §70, is further amended to read: 
Funds related to administration may be expended only in accordance with allocations 
approved by the Legislature for administrative expenses directly related to the bureau's 
and the department's programs, including actions by the department necessary to abate 
...,,,., 
threats to public health, safety and welfare posed by the disposal of solid waste. Funds 
related to fees imposed on the disposal of construction and demolition debris and residue 
from the processing of construction and demolition debris may be expended only for the 
state cost share to municipalities under the closure and remediation cost-sharing program 
for solid waste landfills established in section 1310-F. Funds related to fees imposed 
under this article may be expended to provide grant funding in accordance with the Maine 
Solid Waste Diversion Grant Program established in section 2201-B. The department 
shall, on an annual basis, conduct a review of the revenues presently in the fund and the 
revenues projected to be added to or disbursed from the fund in upcoming calendar years 
and determine what amount of revenues. if any. are available to provide grant funding 
under section 2201-B. If the department determines that there are revenues in the fund 
available in the upcoming calendar year to provide grant funding under section 2201-B. 
the department must ensure that such revenues are designated for use in accordance with 
section 2201-B by the end of that calendar year. Funds related to operations may be 
expended only in accordance with allocations approved by the Legislature and solely for 
the development and operation of publicly owned facilities owned or approved by the 
bureau and for the repayment of any obligations of the bureau incurred under article 3. 
These allocations must be based on estimates of the actual costs necessary for the bureau 
and the department to administer their programs, to provide financial assistance to 
regional associations and to provide other financial assistance necessary to accomplish 
the purposes of this chapter. Beginning in the fiscal year ending on June 30, 1991 and 
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COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "A" to H.P. 207, L.D. 313 
thereafter, the fund must annually transfer to the General Fund an amount necessary to 
reimburse the costs of the Bureau of Revenue Services incurred in the administration of 
Title 36, chapter 719. Allowable expenditures include "Personal Services," "All Other" 
and "Capital Expenditures" associated with all bureau activities other than those included 
in the operations account. 
Sec. 7. 38 MRSA §2201-B is enacted to read: 
§2201-B. Maine Solid Waste Diversion Grant Program 
1. Establishment. The Maine Solid Waste Diversion Grant Program. referred to in 
this section as "the program." is established to provide grants to public and private entities 
to assist in the development, implementation or improvement of programs. projects. 
initiatives or activities designed to increase the diversion of solid waste from disposal in 
the State. 
2. Administration. The department shall administer the program and may dispense 
revenue from the Maine Solid Waste Management Fund established under section 2201 
for the pmposes of the program based on approved grant requests from public and private 
applicants. The department may provide grants for the documented costs of application 
proposals in accordance with the priorities in subsection 5. 
Costs incurred by the 
department in the development and administration of the program may be paid with 
revenue in the Maine Solid Waste Management Fund in a manner consistent with section 
2201. 
3. Audit. Revenue from the Maine Solid Waste Management Fund established 
under section 2201 disbursed by the program is subject to audit as determined by the 
department. and the recipient of any such funding must agree to be subject to audit and to 
cooperate with the auditor as a condition of receiving funding. 
4. Eligibility criteria. The department may disburse grants under the program to 
any public or private entity demonstrating that a proposed program, project, initiative or 
activity is, in the department's determination, likely to increase the diversion of solid 
waste from disposal within a particular community, municipality or region or the State, 
including, but not limited to, municipal or regional composting, organics recovery or 
recycling programs, including the establishment of such programs or the purchase of 
infrastructure, equipment or other items necessary to implement such programs or 
improve existing programs; programs designed to provide equipment for or otherwise 
support residential composting and recycling; programs or business models designed to 
collect, transport for processing or process organic or recyclable materials: pilot programs 
designed to evaluate the feasibility of targeted composting, organics recovery, recycling 
or other waste management programs or initiatives: and initiatives or programs designed 
to educate certain categories of individuals or the general public about composting, 
organics recovery or recycling or to otherwise improve individual or community waste 
management practices. 
5. Priorities. The department shall give highest priority in the awarding of funds 
under this section to programs, projects, initiatives or activities proposed by municipal or 
regional association applicants that otherwise meet the department's eligibility criteria. 
The department shall also give priority to applicants proposing programs, projects, 
initiatives or activities that are likely to increase the removal and recycling of organic 
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COMMITIEE AMENDMENT "A" to H.P. 207, L.D. 313 
materials from municipal waste streams. The awarding of funds under this section must 
be consistent with the solid waste management hierarchy established under section 2101 
and the food recovery hierarchy established under section 2101-B and must be prioritized 
to provide the most benefit to the State in terms of increasing the diversion of solid waste 
from disposal. 
6. Conditions of approval. The department may require, as a condition of grant 
approval, that an applicant demonstrate its ability to provide in-kind contributions relating 
to the grant applied for or to provide a certain level of matching funding to supplement 
the grant applied for. 
7. Rules. The department may adopt rules to implement this section. Rules adopted 
pursuant to this subsection are routine technical rules as defined in Title 5, chapter 375, 
subchapter 2-A. 
Sec. 8. 38 MRSA §2203-A, sub-§1, as amended by PL 2011, c. 544, §3, is 
further amended to read: 
1. 
Fees. 
Fees Unless otherwise provided by rule adopted in accordance with 
subsection 3, fees are imposed in the following amounts to be levied for solid waste that 
is disposed of at commercial, municipal, state-owned and regional association landfills. 
Asbestos 
Oil-contaminated soil, gravel, brick, 
concrete and other aggregate 
Waste water facility sludge 
Ash, coal and oil 
Paper mill sludge 
Industrial waste 
Sandblast grit 
All other special waste 
Municipal solid waste ash 
Front end process residue (FEPR) 
Begit.miB:g Jam:1ary 1, 2013 aRd eRdiRg 
Deeember 31, 2013, eoRStraetioR aRd 
demelitieR debris aRd residt1e from the 
preeessiRg of eeRstraetien and demolitieR 
deeris 
$5 per cubic yard 
$25 per ton 
$5 per ton 
$5 per ton 
$5 per ton 
$5 per ton 
$5 per ton 
$5 per ton 
$1 per ton 
$1 per ton 
~ 1 l'IP." tAl'I 
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COMMITTEE AMENDMENT"~" to H.P. 207, L.D. 313 
Beginning January 1, 2014, eonstruetion 
Construction and demolition debris and 
residue from the processing of 
construction and demolition debris 
Sec. 9. 38 MRSA §2203-A, sub-§3 is enacted to read: 
$2 per ton 
3. Rules. The department may adopt rules imposing per ton or per cubic yard fees 
on any of the types of waste listed in subsection 1 disposed of at a commercial, 
municipal, regional association or state-owned solid waste landfill. 
Fees imposed 
pursuant to this subsection must be consistent with the solid waste management hierarchy 
established under section 2101 and the food recovery hierarchy established under section 
2101-B. Rules adopted pursuant to this subsection are maior substantive rules as defined 
in Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2-A. 
Sec. 10. 38 MRSA §2204, first ,r, as amended by PL 1999, c. 385, §8, is further 
amended to read: 
+he Unless otherwise provided by rule adopted in accordance with subsection 4, the 
department shall impose a fee of $2 per ton on any municipal solid waste disposed of at a 
commercial, municipal eFi regional association or state-owned landfill, except that there 
is no fee on municipal solid waste generated by a municipality that owns the landfill 
accepting it or that has entered into a contract with a term longer than 9 months for 
disposal of municipal solid waste in that landfill facility. 
Sec. 11. 38 MRSA §2204, sub-§4 is enacted to read: 
4. Rules. The department may adopt rules imposing per ton fees on any municipal 
solid waste disposed of or received for processing at a commercial, municipal, regional 
association or state-owned solid waste disposal facility, solid waste processing facility, 
incineration facility or solid waste landfill. Fees imposed pursuant to this subsection 
must be consistent with the solid waste management hierarchy established under section 
2101 and the food recovery hierarchy established under section 2101-B. Rules adopted 
pursuant to this subsection are major substantive rules as defined in Title 5, chapter 375, 
subchapter 2-A. 
Sec. 12. 
Department of Environmental Protection; food scraps 
composting pilot program. The Department of Environmental Protection, referred to 
in this section as "the department," shall develop, implement and administer a food scraps 
composting pilot program as described in this section. 
1. The department shall invite municipalities to voluntarily participate in the pilot 
program and shall select as participants at least one municipality from each of the 3 
following groups of counties: 
A. Androscoggin, Cumberland, Lincoln, Sagadahoc and York; 
B. Franklin, Kennebec, Knox, Oxford and Waldo; and 
C. Aroostook, Hancock, Penobscot, Piscataquis, Somerset and Washington. 
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2. The department shall invite educational programs to voluntarily participate in the 
pilot program and shall select as participants at least one educational program from each 
of the 3 following categories: 
A. 
A public or private educational program providing kindergarten to grade 12 
education with an enrollment of 500 students or less, as measured during the 2014-
2015 school year; 
B. A public or private educational program providing kindergarten to grade 12 
education with an enrollment of more than 500 students, as measured during the 
2014-2015 school year; and 
C. A public or private postsecondary educational program providing undergraduate 
and graduate education. 
3. The department shall invite and shall select as additional voluntary participants in 
the pilot program at least one entity from each of the 3 following categories: 
A. A correctional facility; 
B. A hospital; and 
C. A commercial restaurant that generates, on average, 1/2 ton or more of food 
scraps per week. 
4. The Department of Administrative and Financial Services, Bureau of General 
Services shall, in consultation with the Legislative Council, participate in the pilot 
program with respect to the State House and Burton M. Cross State Office Building 
facilities. 
5. The department shall provide technical assistance, and may provide financial 
assistance consistent with the Maine Solid Waste Diversion Grant Program established 
under the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 38, section 2201-B to each participating entity to 
develop and implement a food scraps composting program or to improve or expand a 
participating entity's existing food scraps composting program. A food scraps composting 
program implemented under this section may involve the establishment of a traditional 
aerobic composting system or an anaerobic digestion system or implementation of other 
food scraps processing or organics recovery technology approved by the department, or 
may, subject to the approval of the department, involve coordination by a participating 
entity with a food scraps composting program or business for the collection and delivery 
of the participating entity's food scraps to the program or business for processing or 
recovery. Each participating entity shall collect data on the amount of food scraps 
diverted from the waste stream by the program, the related cost savings realized by the 
participating entity and any problems encountered in implementing the program. Each 
participating entity shall compile this information into a report and transmit the report to 
the department on or before a date determined by the department. 
6. The department shall analyze the reports submitted by the participating entities 
pursuant to subsection 5 and, by January 15, 2019, shall submit a report to the joint 
standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over environmental and natural 
resources matters detailing the data collected by each participating entity and any 
additional findings and including any recommendations for legislation to implement 
permanent food scraps composting programs or requirements at the state, regional, 
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COMMITTEE AMENDMENT"~" to H.P. 207, L.D. 313 
municipal or local level or to otherwise increase the diversion rate for organic materials in 
the State. After receiving the report, the joint standing committee may report out a bill 
relating to the report to the First Regular Session of the 129th Legislature. 
Sec. 13. Appropriations and allocations. The following appropriations and 
allocations are made. 
ADMINISTRATIVE AND FINANCIAL SERVICES, DEPARTMENT OF 
Public Improvements - Planning/Construction - Administration 0057 
Initiative: Provides funds to establish a food waste composting pilot program. 
GENERAL FUND 
All Other 
GENERAL FUND TOTAL 
SUMMARY 
2015-16 
$0 
$0 
2016-17 
$40,000 
$40,000 
This amendment strikes and replaces the bill, which is a concept draft, and amends 
the State's solid waste management laws as follows. 
1. It establishes a food recovery hierarchy to be used in conjunction with the State's 
solid waste management hierarchy as a guiding principle in making decisions related to 
solid waste and organic materials management. 
2. It updates the State's recycling goal. Current statute sets a goal of recycling or 
composting 50% of the municipal solid waste tonnage generated each year within the 
State by January 1, 2014. This amendment extends that goal deadline to January 1, 2021. 
3. 
It repeals the state waste reduction goal, which focused on the reduction of 
municipal solid waste generated in the State, and establishes a state waste disposal 
reduction goal focused instead on the statewide per capita reduction of waste disposed of 
in the State. 
4. It provides that revenues collected through the assessment of statutory solid waste 
fees may be expended by the Department of Environmental Protection to provide grant 
funding in accordance with the Maine Solid Waste Diversion Grant Program, which is 
established by this amendment. The department is directed to annually review current 
revenues in the Maine Solid Waste Management Fund established in the Maine Revised 
Statutes, Title 38, section 2201, as well as revenue projections for upcoming years, to 
determine whether additional revenues are available in the upcoming year to provide 
grant funding under the grant program and, if funds are available, to designate them for 
use in accordance with the program. 
5. It establishes the Maine Solid Waste Diversion Grant Program to provide grants to 
public and private entities to assist in the development, implementation or improvement 
of programs, projects, initiatives and activities designed to increase the diversion of solid 
waste from disposal in the State. Under the program, priority in the awarding of grants is 
given to municipal and regional association applicants and to applicants seeking to 
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COMMITTEE AMENDMENT"~" to H.P. 207, L.D. 313 
establish programs, projects, initiatives or activities likely to increase the removal and 
recycling of organic materials from municipal waste streams. 
6. It provides authority for, but does not require, the Department of Environmental 
Protection to adopt rules imposing fees on the disposal or processing of municipal solid 
waste and on the disposal of certain types of wastes. Rules adopted pursuant to this 
authority are major substantive rules and must be consistent with the State's solid waste 
management hierarchy and food recovery hierarchy. Current waste disposal fees under 
Title 38, sections 2203-A and 2204 remain unchanged and will continue to be assessed 
until the department finally adopts rules imposing different waste disposal fees. The 
amendment also makes some technical edits to section 2203-A to remove outdated 
statutory language. 
7. It directs the Department of Environmental Protection to develop, implement and 
administer a food scraps composting pilot program and provides funds to the Department 
of Administrative and Financial Services to establish such a pilot program. 
The 
Department of Environmental Protection is required to collect data from participating 
entities and by January 15, 2019 submit a report to the joint standing committee of the 
Legislature having jurisdiction over environmental and natural resources matters detailing 
the data collected by each participating entity and any additional findings and including 
any recommendations for legislation to implement permanent food scraps composting 
programs or requirements at the state, regional, municipal or local level or to otherwise 
increase the diversion rate for organic materials in the State. After receiving the report, 
the committee may report out a bill relating to the report to the First Regular Session of 
the 129th Legislature. 
FISCAL NOTE REQUIRED 
(See attached) 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
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Approved: 03/25/16 
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LD313 
LR36(02) 
An Act To Create a Sustainable Solution to the Handling, Management and Disposal of Solid Waste in 
the State 
\ 
Fiscal Note for Bill as Amended by Committee Amendment ..P,· cH-b (le,) 
Committee: Environment and Natural Resources 
Fiscal Note Required: Yes 
Fiscal Note 
Potential current biennium revenue increase - Other Special Revenue Funds 
Minor cost increase - Other Special Revenue Funds 
Net Cost (Savings) 
General Fund 
Appropriations/ Allocations 
General Fund 
Fiscal Detail and Notes 
FY 2015-16 
$0 
$0 
FY 2016-17 
$40,000 
$40,000 
Projections 
FY 2017-18 
$40,000 
$40,000 
Projections 
FY 2018-19 
$40,000 
$40,000 
The bill establishes the Maine Solid Waste Diversion Grant Program for the purpose of providing grants to entities 
increasing the diversion of solid waste from disposal in the State. DEP is required to provide funding from the Maine 
Solid Waste Management Fund for these grants if it determines there are sufficient balances within the fund to make 
disbursements. There is no estimate on the amount of grants that will be disbursed to eligible entities. The bill also 
allows DEP to conduct rulemaking to change fees related to certain solid waste disposal, resulting in an estimated 
potential increase in Other Special Revenue Funds revenue to the Maine Solid Waste Management Fund. This bill 
also requires DEP to establish a food scraps composting pilot program with costs expected to be absorbed within 
existing budgeted resources. 
This bill includes a General Fund appropriation of $40,000 in fiscal year 2016-17 for the Department of 
Administrative and Financial Services to establish a food waste composting pilot program. Any additional costs to the 
Legislature to participate in the pilot program are expected to be minor and can be absorbed within existing budgeted 
resources. 
LR0036(02) - Fiscal Note - Page 1 of 1