Substitute Senate Bill No. 439
Substitute Senate Bill No. 439
PUBLIC ACT NO. 98-99
AN ACT CONCERNING RECYCLED CONTENT OF NEWSPRINT,
PURCHASE OF PAPER PRODUCTS BY STATE AGENCIES AND
DISPOSAL OF GRASS CLIPPINGS.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of
Representatives in General Assembly convened:
Section 1. (NEW) The Commissioner of
Environmental Protection shall adopt alternative
standards for the specifications provided in
sections 22a-256n and 22a-256o of the general
statutes if he determines, upon receipt of
documentation from the Northeast Recycling
Council, that such specifications are not
achievable which determination shall be made not
less than once annually. Such alternative
standards shall be in effect during any period of
time in which the commissioner determines that the
publishing or printing industry is unable to
obtain sufficient amounts of runable newsprint
containing recycled fiber at a price comparable to
the price for virgin newsprint or is unable to
find such newsprint within a reasonable time.
Sec. 2. Section 4a-67f of the general
statutes is repealed and the following is
substituted in lieu thereof:
(a) The Commissioner of Administrative
Services shall revise the specifications for
printing and writing paper purchased by the state
to (1) incorporate the standards provided for in
federal Executive Order No. 12873 and any
regulations or guidelines promulgated by the
United States Environmental Protection Agency to
carry out the purposes of said order AND (2)
PROVIDE FOR THE PURCHASE AND USE BY STATE AGENCIES
OF PAPER COMPOSED ENTIRELY OF MATERIALS
MANUFACTURED USING PROCESSES (A) WHICH DO NOT
INVOLVE HARVESTING OF TREES OR WHICH ARE OTHERWISE
DERIVED ENTIRELY FROM SOURCES OTHER THAN TREES AND
(B) WHICH CAN BE CATEGORIZED AS HAVING LESS
ADVERSE IMPACT ON THE ENVIRONMENT THAN
CONVENTIONAL PROCESSES.
(b) The commissioner may provide for
alternative standards in such specifications if he
determines that (1) a satisfactory level of
competition does not exist with regard to the
market for a particular paper item specified in
such standards, (2) a particular paper item is not
available within a reasonable time period or (3)
the available items fail to meet reasonable
performance standards established by the agency
for which such items are being procured.
Sec. 3. Subsection (c) of section 22a-208v of
the general statutes, as amended by section 1 of
public act 97-102, is repealed and the following
is substituted in lieu thereof:
(c) After October 1, 1998, or six months after
the commissioner adopts such regulations,
whichever is sooner, no resources recovery
facility or solid waste facility permitted under
this chapter, other than a municipal or commercial
composting facility, may accept SIGNIFICANT
QUANTITIES OF grass clippings for disposal.
Sec. 4. Subsection (b) of section 22a-220c of
the general statutes is repealed and the following
is substituted in lieu thereof:
(b) On and after January 1, 1991, the owner or
operator of each resources recovery facility or
solid waste facility who has reason to believe,
upon visual inspection, that a load of solid waste
which is delivered to the facility contains
significant quantities of GRASS CLIPPINGS OR
SIGNIFICANT QUANTITIES OF any item required to be
recycled pursuant to subsection (a) of section
22a-241b shall provide prompt notification of such
belief to the driver of the vehicle delivering the
load and to the agent of the municipality from
which the load originated, designated pursuant to
section 22a-220. The owner or operator of each
resources recovery facility or solid waste
facility shall conduct periodic unannounced
inspections of loads delivered to the resources
recovery facility or solid waste facility to
assist municipalities and the commissioner in
accurately assessing compliance with said section
22a-241b AND SUBSECTION (c) OF SECTION 22a-208v,
AS AMENDED BY SECTION 3 OF THIS ACT. Such owners
or operators shall conduct additional inspections
upon the request of the commissioner.
Approved May 22, 1998