CHAPTER 361
FORMERLY
HOUSE BILL NO. 585
AS AMENDED BY HOUSE AMENDMENT NO. 1
AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 7 OF THE DELAWARE CODE CREATING THE WASTE MINIMIZATION/POLLUTION PREVENTION ACT.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE:
Section 1. Amend Title 7 of the Delaware Code by adding a new chapter to read as follows: "CHAPTER 78. WASTE MINIMIZATION/POLLUTION PREVENTION ACT.
§7801. Short Title.
This Act shall be known and may be cited as the 'Waste Minimization/ Pollution Prevention Act.'
§7802. Findings and Purpose.
(a) The General Assembly finds that:
(1) whenever possible, the generation of waste should be reduced or eliminated as expeditiously as possible, and that waste that is generated should be recovered, reused, recycled, treated, or disposed of in a manner that minimizes any present or future threats to human health or the environment;
(2) there may exist many promising technologies for the reduced generation of waste, for recovery, reuse, recycling, and treatment of waste; and
(3) financial commitments by public agencies and private industry for the expeditious development and implementation of waste reduction, recovery, reuse, recycling, and treatment technologies depends upon further research as well as credible and timely demonstrations of economic viability, technical feasibility, environmental acceptability, and reliability of this technology.
(b) Therefore the General Assembly declares:
(1) the purposes of this Chapter are to enhance the protection of human health and the environment, and to establish a multi-media Waste Minimization/Pollution Prevention Program which will demonstrate and facilitate the potential for pollution prevention and waste minimization In Delaware through focusing on the following objectives:
1. targeting industries and locations for technical assistance; and
2. providing waste minimization/pollution prevention, education and outreach; and
3. developing a statewide recycling program; and
(2) that it is the policy of this State, in concurrence with the Delaware Environmental Legacy Report, that waste that is generated should be, in order of priority, reduced at its source, recovered, reused, recycled, treated, or disposed of so as to minimize the present and future threat to human health and the environment.
(c) It is the intent of this Chapter to complement and be enforced in conjunction with other laws.
§7803. Definitions.
As used in this chapter
(a) 'Department' means the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control.
(b) 'Implementation Committee' means the Waste Minimization/Pollution Prevention Implementation Committee.
(c) 'Multi-Media' means all environmental media including, but not limited to workplaces within facilities, water, land and air.
(d) 'Person' means any individual, trust, firm, joint stock company, federal agency, corporation (including a government corporation), partnership, association, state, municipality, commission, political subdivision of a state or any interstate body.
(e) 'Recycle' means to separate and to process a reusable material in order to return that material to commerce.
(f) 'Secretary' means the Secretary of the referenced State department or a duly authorized designee.
(g) 'Trade Secret' means any information concerning production processes employed or substances manufactured, processed or otherwise used within a facility which the Secretary of the Department has determined to be propriety Information.
(h) 'Waste' means, but is not limited to, those substances defined as such under Delaware Codes, or the regulations promulgated thereunder, Air Pollution as defined in §6002 of this Title; Hazardous Waste as defined in §6302 of this Title; Industrial Waste as defined in §6002 of this Title; Liquid Waste as defined in §6002 of this Title; Other Wastes as defined in §6002 of this Title; Refuse as defined in §6002 of this Title; Rubbish as defined in §6002 of this Title; Sewage as defined in §6002 of this Title and Solid Waste as defined in §6002 of this Title.
(i) 'Waste Minimization' means the process by which a facility conducts an analysis of a production process to determine the waste minimization techniques which could be implemented.
§7804. Waste Minimization/Pollution Prevention Program.
(a) The Department shall establish the Implementation Committee and appoint the members thereof.
(1) The Implementation Committee shall be composed of, but not be limited to, the following individuals or their designee: the Secretary of the Department; the Director of the Delaware Development Office; the Secretary of the Department of Agriculture; the Secretary of the Department of Administrative Services; the President of the Delaware State Chamber of Commerce; the Superintendent of the Department of Public Instruction; the General Manager of the Delaware Solid Waste Authority; a representative of the League of Local Governments; a representative of the Chemical Industry Council; a representative of Delaware State College; a representative of Delaware Technical and Community College; a representative of the University of Delaware; a representative from the private solid waste collection industry; a representative of civic organizations; and a representative of an environmental organization. The Implementation Committee will be chaired by the Secretary of the Department and be staffed by the Department. The members of the Implementation Committee are appointed for a period of one and one-half years and shall meet at least monthly during this period.
(2) The Implementation Committee shall select the target industry and location for the initial technical assistance program. The Committee shall evaluate the technical assistance program one year after the program commences or upon completion, whichever is earlier. The Committee shall then select a second target industry or location for the technical assistance program.
(b) The objectives of the Waste Minimization/Pollution Prevention Program shall be:
1. targeting industries and locations for technical assistance;
2. providing waste minimization/pollution prevention education and outreach; and
3. developing a statewide recycling program.
These objectives shall be accomplished through implementation of, but not be limited to, the programs outlined in this Section.
(1) Technical Assistance:
(a) The Department shall create a multi-media opportunity audit program to Provide technical assistance to targeted industries, focusing on small companies within the industry because, for the most part, they do not have the economic or technical resources necessary to acquire recommendations on how to effectively minimize their wastes. The program will be made available to other industries which request assistance. The overall objective of the. multi-media opportunity audit program is to reduce or recycle to the maximum extent practicable all waste streams within an industry.
(b) An information clearinghouse shall be established and located at the Delaware Development Office. The clearinghouse will contain a database of waste minimization/pollution prevention technologies and case studies of technology applications.
(2) Waste Minimization/Pollution Prevention Education and Outreach:
(a) The Department shall increase public awareness of the need for individual and community based pollution prevention and waste minimization programs by conducting educational workshops and industry seminars.
(b) The Department shall produce a pollution prevention newsletter to be distributed to industry and the public.
(3) Statewide Recycling Program:
(a) The Implementation Committee shall develop a Comprehensive State-wide Recycling Plan, and shall aide the Department In implementing the Plan. The Plan shall include programs which utilize appropriate collection methods in each county. These methods may include curb-side collection, material recovery facilities, central drop-off collection points, or other methods as deemed appropriate. The Plan shalt also include programs to develop markets for recyclables and recycled products, requirements for state procurement of recycled products, and incentives for processing facilities and companies which use recycled products to locate in Delaware. The Plan shall include recommendations on which programs are most feasible and beneficial; who should be responsible for implementing them; how much they will cost; and how they might be financed.
(c) An annual report on the Waste Minimization/Pollution Prevention Program shall be provided to the Governor and the General Assembly. The report shall include an evaluation of current programs and plans for implementation of any additional programs, including Information on potential benefits, who should be responsible for implementing them, how much they will cost, and how they might be financed.
§7805. Trade Secret Protection.
All trade secret information, written, verbal or observed, obtained pursuant to this Chapter by the Department or any other State agency will be held as confidential unless such information is already a matter of public record or disclosure is required by law. Nothing in this subsection shall be construed as limiting the disclosure of information by the Department to any officer, employee or authorized representative of the state or federal government concerned with effecting this Chapter. Prior to disclosure of trade secret information to an authorized representative who is not an officer or employee of the state or federal government, the person providing the trade secret information may require the representative to sign an agreement prohibiting disclosure of such information to anyone not authorized by this Chapter or the terms of the agreement. Such agreement shall not preclude disclosure by the representative to any state or federal government officer or employee concerned with effecting this Chapter. Any person who, by virtue of obtaining access to confidential trade secret information and knowing that disclosure is prohibited, knowingly and willfully discloses the information to any person not entitled to receive it shall be in violation of this Chapter and subject to disciplinary actions provided by the Merit Rules, including dismissal.
Approved July 16, 1990.