Rep. Michael Hanna (D-Centre) has introduced House Bill 2223 which would increase the existing per ton municipal waste disposal fee and expand it to include construction and demolition waste and residual waste disposed of in a commercial landfill to support the Environmental Stewardship Fund and the Growing Greener Programs.

The proposal would increase the basic waste disposal fee from $4.00 to $5.75 per ton.  The existing 25 cent/ton disposal fee would also be expanded to include construction and demolition and residual waste.

The bill does not increase the $2.00/ton recycling fee, but it would now cover construction and demolition and residual waste under the proposal.

The fee increases and expansions are estimated to generate about $35 million a year to be deposited in the Environmental Stewardship Fund.

“This revenue would be deposited into the Environmental Stewardship Fund and would be distributed in the same manner as the current fees,” said Rep. Hanna.  “The new fees would allow us to bolster the same agencies and programs that the current fees support, including conservation and environmental protection projects, the creation of greenways, trails, community parks, and wildlife habitat preservation.

“Without new revenue, Environmental Stewardship Fund programs could be reduced due to declining revenues in the Oil and Gas Lease Fund, which provides annual funding to the Environmental Stewardship Fund and the Hazardous Sites Cleanup Fund,” explained Rep. Hanna.

Gov. Wolf proposed an increase in the municipal waste disposal fee in his original FY 2016-17 budget proposal in February whose revenue would have been deposited in DCNR’s Oil and Gas Fund.  There has been no discussion of the Governor’s proposal since February.

A sponsor summary is available.

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