39-7401. LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS AND PURPOSES. (1) The legislature finds:

(a) That adverse public health and environmental impacts can result from the improper land disposal of solid waste and that the need for establishing safe sites with adequate capacity for the disposal of solid waste is a matter of statewide concern and necessity; and

(b) That the resource conservation and recovery act (42 U.S.C. sec. 6901, et seq.) as amended, and regulations adopted pursuant thereto, establish complex, detailed and costly provisions for the location, design, operation and monitoring of solid waste disposal sites, including such sites as may be operated pursuant to the responsibility established in chapter 44, title 31, Idaho Code; and

(c) That a state program to implement flexible standards provided in 40 CFR 258, if approved by the U.S. environmental protection agency, enables a state to take advantage of site specific factors in the design and operation of solid waste facilities and flexibility in meeting federal criteria set forth in that regulation; and

(d) That 40 CFR 258 provides that such a program of flexible standards requires approvals by a designated state agency; and

(e) That chapter 1, title 39, Idaho Code, vests the department of environmental quality with the responsibility to issue a certificate of suitability concerning prospective solid waste landfill sites, to approve solid waste facility and ground water monitoring programs and to provide approvals pursuant to 40 CFR 258; and

(f) That chapter 44, title 31, Idaho Code, imposes on the counties the primary responsibility for the development and operation of a solid waste management system; and

(g) That chapter 4, title 39, Idaho Code, vests the health districts with the primary responsibility for the review of solid waste facility operations plans and the enforcement of solid waste management operations; and

(h) That the coordination and timeliness of response to federal law on the part of all public officials within the state is critical to compliance with federal regulations, the ability of each affected agency to carry out their statutory responsibilities and the avoidance of excessive construction and public expenditures.

(2) Therefore, it is the intent of the legislature to establish a program of solid waste management which complies with 40 CFR 258 and facilitates the incorporation of flexible standards in facility design and operation. The legislature hereby establishes the solid waste disposal standards and procedures outlined herein and a facility approval process for the state of Idaho, the political subdivisions thereof, and any private solid waste disposal site owner in order to facilitate the development and operation of solid waste disposal sites, to effect timely and responsible completion of statutory duties and to ensure protection of human health and the environment, to protect the air, land and waters of the state of Idaho.

History:

[39-7401, added 1992, ch. 331, sec. 1, p. 973; am. 1993, ch. 139, sec. 1, p. 343; am. 2001, ch. 103, sec. 67, p. 304.]