Posted on 04/10/2002 11:16:46 AM PDT by cogitator
Virginia gov. proposes plan to add solid waste fee
NEW YORK - Virginia Gov. Mark Warner yesterday said he will amend a state Senate solid waste bill to charge trash facility operators a new $5 per ton fee on solid waste deposited in Virginia, the No. 2 importer of out-of-state trash in the nation.
The move is expected to add $76 million to state coffers that would be used for open space preservation, water quality improvement, recycling, solid waste management, and cleanup and redevelopment of brownfields and other abandoned sites.
The governor's plan, known as the Commonwealth Conservation Initiative, represents "an important conservation proposal that will provide a lasting benefit to all Virginians," he said in prepared remarks.
Many states, such as New Jersey and New York, with more limited space and costlier fees for dumping trash, haul their trash to neighboring states, including Virginia and Pennsylvania, the No. 1 trash importer.
"Virginia has some of the lowest fees for trash in the region, and this increase will properly move us toward parity with other states," Warner said.
The Pennsylvania legislature is also considering a hike in its current $3.25 per ton solid waste fee to $5 per ton.
The U.S. Supreme Court recently declined to hear an appeal of a lower court ruling that a Virginia law banning out-of-state trash was unconstitutional.
The governor's plan carries support from both parties, including Speaker of the House Vance Wilkins, President Pro Tempore of the Senate John Chichester, and Senate Minority Leader Richard Saslaw.
A similar plan was approved overwhelmingly by the legislature in 1999, but it was vetoed by then-Gov. James Gilmore.
Assuming that it is a reasonable price for solid waste disposal.
None of those are "new" programs, but programs that were defunded in the recent budget fiasco.
Whether or not they should still be defunded is a different issue...
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