Hazardous Waste Transporters Fee

M.G.L. c. 21c, § 7 as amended by St. 1983, c. 7, § 4, requires the Commissioner of Administration and Finance in consultation with the Commissioner of the Department of Environmental Protection, to establish a fee to be paid by authorized transporters of hazardous wastes. To the extent practical, the fee is to generate monies equaling the unrecovered costs to the commonwealth on account of projects to assess, contain, and remove releases and threats of release of oil and hazardous materials. The fee shall be assessed and paid as follows: (1) Except as provided in 801 CMR 4.07(2) through (8), effective August 1, 2003, each authorized transporter of hazardous wastes shall pay a fee of 22.75 cents per gallon or 2.275 cents per pound and effective July 1, 2004, 26.4 cents per gallon and 2.64 cents per pound upon each gallon or pound of materials manifested or logged for transport in Massachusetts by said transporter in accordance with 310 CMR 30.000: Hazardous Waste by the Department of Environmental Protection. For the purposes of the fee, quantities logged or manifested in units of measure other than gallons or pounds shall be converted into gallons or pounds using conversion factors provided by the Commissioner of the Department of Environmental Protection. (2) In order to avoid the imposition of multiple fees on the transport of a single volume of waste, materials manifested for transport out of an authorized Massachusetts treatment, storage, and disposal facility shall not be subject to the fee prescribed in 801 CMR 4.07(1). However, for the purposes of this 801 CMR 4.07(2), the Commissioner of the Department of Environmental Protection may designate as authorized Massachusetts treatment, storage, and disposal facilities other facilities, whether within or outside the Commonwealth, maintained for the temporary storage and transfer of hazardous wastes. The Commissioner shall make such designation only if it is established to the satisfaction of said Commissioner: (a) that such a designation will prevent the imposition of multiple fees on a single volume of waste, and will not result in the avoidance of fees on any wastes transported in the Commonwealth; and (b) that materials generated at treatment, storage, and disposal facilities (for instance, wastes generated in connection with remedial or emergency response actions at the facility or in connection with the closure of the facility) will be subject to the fee, provided, however, that the Department of Environmental Protection may exempt wastes generated in small quantities incident to the ordinary operation of such a facility. (3) No fee shall be assessed for the transport of waste oils generated by a service station or other business which is engaged in the retail sale of automotive lubricating oils and which is licensed for such sales pursuant to M.G.L. c. 94, § 295B. This exemption shall not apply to waste oils generated in an unrelated line of business. The provisions of 801 CMR 4.07(3) shall apply to waste oil transported on or after July 1, 1989 and on or before June 30, 1990; provided, however, that upon certification by the Commissioner of the Department of Environmental Protection that continued application of the provisions of 801 CMR 4.07(3) is essential to the continued effective collection and recycling of waste oil, the provisions of 801 CMR 4.07(3) shall continue to apply for successive one-year periods; provided, however, that in no case shall the provisions of 801 CMR 4.07(3) remain in effect beyond December 31, 2002. (4) No fee shall be assessed for the transport of wastes generated in the course of a response action undertaken by a federal or state agency pursuant to M.G.L. c. 21E, §§ 4 and 8 or by a contractor employed for the purpose of said response action. (5) No fee shall be assessed for the transport of wastes that have been approved for reuse or recycling pursuant to 310 CMR 30.200 and that, in accordance with said regulations, are not subject to manifesting or logging requirements. (6) No fee shall be assessed for the transport of household hazardous waste including waste oil from householders, generated or collected in connection with a household hazardous waste collection program sponsored by an agency political sub division, or authority of the Commonwealth. (7) No fee shall be assessed for the transport of non-hazardous wastes that are not required to be manifested under Massachusetts or federal regulations but which are properly manifested under the code "MA90" through "MA99" for the convenience of the generator or transporter, or for the transport of hazardous wastes approved for reuse or recycling pursuant to 310 CMR 30.200 and required under said regulations to be manifested under codes "MA90" through "MA99". (8) For all materials manifested or logged for transport on or after July 1, 1989 and before October 1, 1989, the fee amounts provided in 801 CMR 4.07(2) shall not apply. For said period, the fee amounts otherwise in effect for all materials manifested or logged for transport prior to July 1, 1989 shall continue to be in effect. (9) The fee shall be imposed on all materials manifested or logged for transport on or after October 1, 1989. The fee will be assessed on the basis of materials manifested or logged for transport during quarterly reporting periods, ending on September 30, December 31, March 31, and June 30 of each year. Within 30 days of the end of each such reporting period, each licensed transporter shall report to the Commissioner of the Department of Protection, on forms prescribed by said Commissioner, the total quantities of materials manifested or logged for transport by said transporter during said reporting period, along with such other information as said Commissioner shall require. Said report shall be accompanied by payment in full for the fee due on the amounts manifested or logged for transport by said transporter during said reporting period. (10) Except where the context clearly requires otherwise, this section shall be interpreted in conformity with regulations governing the transport of hazardous waste promulgated by the Commissioner of the Department of Environmental Protection.