COLUMBUS—The
Ohio House of Representatives today passed legislation that will revise
laws pertaining to the operation and regulations of the Ohio
Environmental Protection Agency (OEPA). The legislation, Senate Bill
294, addresses waste management,
outlines safety protocol for the handling of specific types of waste,
and simplifies certain administrative aspects of the OEPA.
“Senate
Bill 294 revises state standards for the management of certain types of
waste that may pose environmental or health risks,” said Representative
Dave Hall, Chairman of the Ohio House Agriculture and Natural Resources
Committee. “These are crucial changes for our state, and I commend
Senator Schaffer and Director Nally for working together to strengthen
our protections while simplifying the law.”
Among
many of the changes to specific programs contained in SB 294, it
specifies the exemption of asbestos and asbestos-containing materials
from municipal solid waste fees so that they can be accepted at a
specially licensed construction and demolition debris facility or a
municipal solid waste landfill. Additionally, the construction and
demolition debris fees will be lower.
“This
legislation promotes responsible disposal, but doesn’t put Ohio
businesses in a bind with extraneous regulation,” Representative Hall
said. “By clarifying the rules for waste management, compliance will be
greater and our communities will be safer. This legislation does as
much for public safety as it does for the environment.”
Wetlands
are further protected through SB 294 by clarifying that a business must
demonstrate that it attempted to use other means of mitigation for
wetlands impact before using the new in-lieu fee program. It also allows
for wetlands categories verified by OEPA to be valid for a period of
five years.
Also
among the provisions of the bill, it makes the OEPA more responsive in
the sense that alters the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination
System permit system so that compliance history can be taken into
account and that the permits for coal facilities must be granted or
denied within a 60 day window. Furthermore, a customer service program
will be added to the Office of Compliance Assistance and Pollution
Prevention. This will allow businesses and others to freely comment on
how performance can be better improved.
Senate Bill 294 will now return to the Senate for a vote of concurrence.
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