Title 23, Title 23 and Safety

(a) The Rhode Island resource recovery corporation shall operate only those public solid waste disposal facilities that shall comply with § 23-18.9-9.1. Sites shall be selected after demonstration of maximizing the use of source reduction, reuse, recycling, flow control technique…

Subject to the limitations set forth in § 23-19-10.2(b)(2), the corporation shall have the right to acquire any land, or any interest in the land, by the exercise of the power of eminent domain, whenever it shall be determined by the corporation that the acquisition of the land, …

Planning responsibilities of the corporation shall include, but not be limited to: (1) The preparation of a statewide resource recovery system development plan which will indicate the location, type, and size of solid waste management facilities, including without limitation, tra…

Notwithstanding the provisions of § 23-19-11, in view of current solid waste disposal needs in the state, the corporation shall implement a solid waste processing system as soon as possible conforming to the following criteria: (1) The system shall consist of a waste processing f…

(a) Under the initial resource recovery system set forth in § 23-19-11.1, it will be necessary to continue to use the central landfill in Johnston for a significant portion of the state’s solid waste. In order to minimize the impact on the community of the use of the central land…

(a) The corporation shall be committed to completion of appropriate studies of the ground and surface water under and adjacent to the central landfill to determine whether and to what extent contamination from the central landfill may affect water quality or public health, and to…

In view of the criticality of the solid waste disposal problem in the state, the procurement of the statutorily mandated Central Falls resource recovery facilities included in the initial resource recovery system shall not be subject to the provisions of chapter 2 of title 37.

Nothing else contained in this chapter shall be construed to affect the powers granted to the department of health and the department of environmental management pursuant to chapters 1 and 18.9 of this title as amended. Further, any solid waste facilities under the jurisdiction o…

(a)(1) Any person or municipality which intends to transfer, treat, or dispose of solid waste originating or collected within the state, or which intends to make arrangements to do so, shall utilize, exclusively, a system or facility designated by the corporation as provided unde…

(a) No person, firm, corporation, transfer station, or any other commercial entity engaged in the business of collecting, disposing, sorting, separating, recycling, processing, manufacturing, or remanufacturing of solid waste shall deposit or cause to be deposited solid waste tha…

(a) No resource recovery system or facility made available by the corporation shall accept or burn any infectious or human or animal pathological waste from any hospital, clinic, medical laboratory, nursing home, medical examiner, or teaching hospital. Any facility violating this…

Any person, firm, or corporation engaged in the business of collecting and/or disposing of solid waste, which has been convicted of violating any statute relating to bribery, fraud, or bid-rigging in this state or in any other state in this country, shall for a period of three (3…

(a) All applicants shall within seven (7) days from the date of the filing for a solid waste disposal license, notify the chief elected official or the chief executive officer of the municipality in which the facility is proposed to be sited of the filing for a solid waste dispos…

The municipal tipping fee charged by the resource recovery corporation shall be as follows: (1) Thirty-two dollars ($32.00) per ton from July 1, 2011 to June 30, 2015, for any municipality that recycles between zero percent (0%) and twenty-four and ninety-nine hundredths percent …

(a) No resource recovery system or facility made available by the corporation shall use the following as material to cover compacted solid waste at a sanitary landfill: (1) Construction and demolition debris, whole, shredded, or pulverized, including wood (including painted, trea…

(a) The corporation shall have the power and is authorized to issue from time to time its negotiable bonds and notes in one or more series in principal amounts that in the opinion of the corporation shall be necessary to provide sufficient funds for achieving its purposes, includ…

(a) Money borrowed by the corporation for the purpose of providing temporary financing of a project or projects or combination of projects pending the issuance of bonds or other notes shall be evidenced by notes or other obligations. (b) The principal and interest of all notes or…

(a) The principal of and interest on any bonds or notes issued by the corporation may be secured by a pledge of any revenues and receipts of the corporation, and may be secured by a mortgage or other instrument covering all or any part of one or more projects, including all or pa…

(a) The corporation may create and establish one or more special funds (referred to as “capital reserve funds”) and shall pay into each capital reserve fund: (1) Any money appropriated and made available by the state for the purpose of the fund; (2) Any proceeds of the sale of no…

All money received pursuant to the authority of this chapter, whether as provided from the sale of bonds or notes or as revenues, receipts, or income, shall be trust funds to be held and applied solely as provided in the proceedings under which the bonds or notes are authorized. …

(a) In the event that the corporation shall default on the payment of principal of or interest on any bonds or notes issued under this chapter after the bonds or notes shall become due, whether at maturity or upon call for redemption, and the default shall continue for a period o…

The general assembly recognizes and declares that: (1) The people of the state desire to promote a clean and wholesome environment; (2) Many municipalities have serious solid-waste management problems and face difficulty in providing adequate services at reasonable costs; (3) Ine…

The state does hereby pledge to and agree with the holders of any notes or bonds issued under this chapter and with those parties who may enter into contracts with the corporation, that the state will not limit or alter the rights vested in the corporation to fulfill the terms of…

Obligations issued under the provisions of this chapter shall not be deemed to constitute a debt or liability or obligation of the state or of any political subdivision of the state or a pledge of the faith and credit of the state or of any political subdivision, but shall be pay…

The notes and bonds of the corporation shall be legal investments in which all public officers and public bodies of this state, its political subdivisions, all municipalities and municipal subdivisions, all insurance companies and associations and other persons carrying on an ins…

(a) The corporation shall, within ninety (90) days after the close of each fiscal year, submit an annual report of its activities for the preceding year to the governor, the speaker of the house of representatives, the president of the senate, the state treasurer, and the secreta…

(a) On or before January 1, 2018, the corporation shall submit to the governor, the senate president, and the speaker of the house, a study of the economic impact of Rhode Island recycling-related industries. The study shall include, but not be limited to, direct and indirect job…

The corporation is authorized to accept any money that may be appropriated from time to time by the general assembly for effectuating its corporate purposes including, without limitation, the payment of the initial expenses of administration and operation, and the establishment o…

(a) The exercise of the powers granted by this chapter will be in all respects for the benefit of the people of the state, for their well-being and prosperity and for the improvement of their social and economic conditions, and the corporation shall not be required to pay any tax…

The provisions of this chapter are severable and if any provision or part of any provision shall be held invalid or unconstitutional or inapplicable to any person or circumstances, the invalidity, unconstitutionality, or inapplicability shall not affect or impair the remaining pr…

The attorney general of the state shall have the power to bring an action in the name of the state, and the corporation through its legal counsel shall have the power to bring an action in the name of the corporation in any court of competent jurisdiction for restraining orders a…

(a) In any instance wherein there is a violation of its rules and regulations or any order of the corporation, the corporation and the attorney general shall have the power to order the violator to cease and desist, or to remedy the violations, and the corporation may impose admi…

This chapter, being necessary for the welfare of the state and its inhabitants, shall be liberally construed to effectuate its purposes. Neither this chapter nor anything in this chapter is or shall be construed as a restriction or limitation upon any powers that the corporation …

The following are declared to be policies of the state: (1) That the ultimate solid waste management objective of the state is to maximize recycling and reuse of solid waste; (2) That solid waste management facilities and projects are to be implemented either by the state or unde…

(a) The Rhode Island resource recovery corporation shall conduct six (6) random analyses per annum of all liquid waste or sludge matter deposited in the Rhode Island central landfill. The samples shall be drawn at their point of disposal by personnel qualified by the corporation …

The Rhode Island resource recovery corporation shall construct a recycling facility at the state’s central landfill. This facility will receive separated recyclable waste as defined by the department of environmental management; provided, that the definition shall include, but no…

Funds shall be provided by the corporation for a period no longer than three (3) years after a community enters the recycling program to offset reasonable collection and hauling costs required by instituting separation of recyclables, and for the purposes of offsetting reasonable…

The corporation shall create and manage a program providing for incentive payments of one hundred dollars ($100) each to anyone who submits a plan or program which is eventually implemented by the Rhode Island resource recovery corporation or by any person, agency, or corporation…

(a) The corporation shall be required to establish a buffer zone surrounding the operational portion of the central landfill, as identified per site master plan No. 06538, and the area licensed for landfilling, hereinafter referred to as the entire operational portion of the cent…

(a) The corporation shall oversee the removal of all houses and structures which are acquired per § 23-19-34. These houses and structures may be sold, but only through a public auction process. In any event, the person or persons in whom the title of any house or structure was ve…

(1) Upon the completion of the acquisition of properties to establish the buffer zone, the corporation shall, at the option of a residential landowner, his or her successors or assigns, whose residential real property is located within one thousand feet and two thousand feet (100…

(a) In addition to any other permitted use, the houses and structures acquired per §§ 23-19-34 and 23-19-35 may, in accordance with procedures set forth in regulation(s) adopted by the corporation, be: (i) Sold by the corporation in order to be salvaged or moved to another locati…

Funds for acquisition of properties under §§ 23-19-34 and 23-19-35 shall come from revenues generated by use of the central landfill and from other sources that may be available, including proceeds from the sale of houses, structures, and land under §§ 23-19-34.1 and 23-19-35.1.

The general assembly recognizes that the cost of statewide waste disposal is inherently substantial and, therefore, must be subject to effective cost control. To this end, the general assembly declares that the corporation shall: (1) Furnish the house fiscal advisor with a copy o…

The auditor general shall annually prepare a report for the joint committee on legislative services on the corporation’s financial and administrative activities related to the implementation of §§ 23-19-34 through 23-19-36.

The solid waste generated by a residential condominium, when collected and disposed of by a city or town of Rhode Island, shall be charged the same tipping fee per ton as the municipal rate.