An Act To Protect the Health and Welfare of Maine Communities and Reduce Harmful Solid Waste
Maine Legislature, Session 130, LD 1639
Committee: Environment and Natural Resources
Sponsors: CARNEY, NEWELL, BENNETT, BRENNER, JACKSON, COLLINGS, DOUDERA, FECTEAU, GROHOSKI, WILLIAMS
Amends: 38 MRSA §1303-C, 38 MRSA §1310-N, 38 MRSA §1310-A

Legislative Document
No. 1639
S.P. 523
In Senate, May 5, 2021
An Act To Protect the Health and Welfare of Maine Communities 
and Reduce Harmful Solid Waste
Received by the Secretary of the Senate on May 3, 2021.  Referred to the Committee on 
Environment and Natural Resources pursuant to Joint Rule 308.2 and ordered printed.
DAREK M. GRANT
Secretary of the Senate
Presented by Senator CARNEY of Cumberland.
Cosponsored by Representative NEWELL of the Passamaquoddy Tribe and
Senators: BENNETT of Oxford, BRENNER of Cumberland, President JACKSON of 
Aroostook, Representatives: COLLINGS of Portland, DOUDERA of Camden, Speaker 
FECTEAU of Biddeford, GROHOSKI of Ellsworth, WILLIAMS of Bar Harbor.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  38 MRSA §1303-C, sub-§40-A, ¶B, as enacted by PL 2019, c. 619, §3, is 
amended to read:
B.  Residue generated by an incineration facility or a recycling facility that is located 
within the State, regardless of whether the waste incinerated or processed by that 
facility was initially generated within the State or outside the State, as long as the 
weight of the residue disposed of by that facility at a solid waste landfill does not 
exceed the weight of the solid waste initially generated within the State that was 
processed by that facility during the annual reporting period for that facility;
Sec. 2.  38 MRSA §1303-C, sub-§40-A, ¶C, as enacted by PL 2019, c. 619, §3, is 
amended to read:
C.  Residue generated by a solid waste processing facility that is located within the 
State, regardless of whether the waste processed by that facility was initially generated 
within the State or outside the State, as long as:
(1)  The residue is used at a solid waste landfill for daily cover, frost protection or 
other operational or engineering-related purpose, including, but not limited to, 
landfill shaping or grading, and such use has been approved by the department 
under the landfill's license and such use complies with all applicable rules of the 
department and all applicable conditions of the landfill's license; and
(2)  The use of the residue under subparagraph (1) complies with the requirements 
of section 1310‑N, subsection 5‑A, paragraph B, subparagraph (2); and
(3)  The weight of the residue disposed of by that facility at a solid waste landfill 
does not exceed the weight of the solid waste initially generated within the State 
that was processed by that facility during the annual reporting period for that 
facility;
Sec. 3.  38 MRSA §1303-C, sub-§40-A, ¶E, as enacted by PL 2019, c. 619, §3, is 
amended to read:
E.  Residue generated by a solid waste processing facility that is located within the 
State, regardless of whether the waste processed by that facility was initially generated 
within the State or outside the State, as long as:
(1)  The residue does not meet the requirements of paragraph C or D;
(2)  The residue is not considered recycled under section 1310‑N, subsection 5‑A, 
paragraph B, subparagraph (2) and is disposed of at a solid waste landfill; and
(3)  The solid waste processing facility is in compliance with the requirements of 
section 1310‑N, subsection 5‑A, paragraph B, subparagraph (2).; and
(4)  The weight of the residue disposed of by that facility at a solid waste landfill 
does not exceed the weight of the solid waste initially generated within the State 
that was processed by that facility during the annual reporting period for that 
facility.
Sec. 4.  38 MRSA §1310-N, sub-§5-A, ¶B, as amended by PL 2019, c. 619, §4, is 
further amended by amending subparagraph (2) to read:
(2)  A solid waste processing facility that generates residue requiring disposal shall 
recycle or process into fuel for combustion all waste accepted at the facility to the 
maximum extent practicable, but in no case at a rate less than 50%.  For purposes 
of this subsection, "recycle" includes, but is not limited to, the reuse of waste 
generated within the State as defined in section 1303-C, subsection 40-A, 
paragraph C; the recovery of metals from waste; the use of waste or waste-derived 
product as material substitutes in construction; and the use of waste as boiler fuel 
substitutes.
At least 50% of the waste that a solid waste processing facility characterizes as 
recycled under this subparagraph must have been reused or recycled by the facility 
through methods other than placement of the waste in a solid waste landfill, except 
that a solid waste processing facility that was in operation during calendar year 
2018, that accepts exclusively construction and demolition debris and that accepted 
more than 200,000 tons of such debris in calendar year 2018 shall:.
(a)  Reuse or recycle at least 15% of such debris through methods other than 
placement in a solid waste landfill by January 1, 2022; and
(b)  Reuse or recycle at least 20% of such debris through methods other than 
placement in a solid waste landfill by January 1, 2023.
A solid waste processing facility that was in operation during calendar year 2018, 
that accepts exclusively construction and demolition debris and that accepted more 
than 200,000 tons of such debris in calendar year 2018 may request and the 
department may grant a waiver of the applicable provisions of this subparagraph 
for a specified period of time if the facility is able to demonstrate that compliance 
with the applicable provisions of this subparagraph would result in an unreasonable 
adverse impact on the facility.  The demonstration may include results of a 3rd-
party audit of the facility.  In determining whether to grant such a waiver request, 
the department may consider trends in local, regional, national and international 
markets; the availability and cost of technologies and services; transportation and 
handling logistics; and overall costs that may be associated with various waste 
handling methods.
Sec. 5.  38 MRSA §1310-AA, sub-§3, ¶C, as amended by PL 2007, c. 338, §3 and 
affected by c. 338, §5, is further amended to read:
C.  Is not inconsistent with local, regional or state waste collection, storage, 
transportation, processing or disposal; and
Sec. 6.  38 MRSA §1310-AA, sub-§3, ¶D, as amended by PL 2007, c. 655, §10, 
is further amended to read:
D.  For a determination of public benefit under subsection 1‑A only, facilitates the 
operation of a solid waste disposal facility and the operation of that solid waste disposal 
facility would be precluded or significantly impaired if the waste is not accepted.; and
Sec. 7.  38 MRSA §1310-AA, sub-§3, ¶E is enacted to read:
E.  For a proposed facility or the expansion of a facility, is not inconsistent with 
ensuring environmental justice for the community in which the facility or expansion is 
proposed.
SUMMARY
This bill amends the definition of "waste generated within the State" to limit the amount 
of the residue that may be disposed of by an incineration, recycling and processing facility 
at a solid waste landfill in the State to the weight of the solid waste initially generated in 
the State by that facility during its annual reporting period.  The bill eliminates the 
provisions of the law regarding recycling and source reduction requirements for solid waste 
processing facilities that were in operation during calendar year 2018 and that accept 
exclusively construction and demolition debris.  It adds environmental justice to the public 
benefit determination standards for solid waste disposal facilities.