US Laws, Codes, Statutes & Cases

      Sec. 22a-208q. Composting product. Presegregation. Regulations. (a) The Commissioner of Environmental Protection shall require as a condition for granting a permit under section 22a-208a to construct or expand a mixed municipal solid waste composting facility, that items containing hazardous household chemicals or other items deemed by the commissioner to be potential contaminants of the composting product, are presegregated or separated at the source of their generation and are disposed of separately as part of a household hazardous waste collection and disposal program approved by the commissioner.

      (b) The Commissioner of Environmental Protection may adopt regulations, in accordance with the provisions of chapter 54 and in consultation with the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station and the Department of Public Health, to provide specifications for the production, quality and use of compost made from mixed municipal solid waste. Such regulations shall promote composting processes which provide a clean, high-quality, nontoxic and marketable end product and shall provide for the protection of land and water resources from contaminants and the prevention of adverse environmental and public health effects resulting from the composting operations or product application. Such regulations shall provide for maximum allowable levels of toxic contaminants and other contaminants in the composting product and shall include testing criteria for such contaminants and establish at least two classes of compost made from mixed municipal solid waste: (1) Class I compost made only from compostable organic materials such as food waste, grass clippings and yard waste, which materials have been separated from municipal solid waste at the source of generation, and (2) class II compost made from mixed municipal solid waste which contains compostable organic materials which have not been separated at the source of generation. The maximum allowable contaminant levels established for class I compost shall be at such a level as will allow unrestricted use of the compost. Such regulations shall not allow class II compost to be used for agricultural or horticultural purposes, unless the class II compost meets the maximum allowable contaminant levels established for class I compost, as determined by testing criteria established pursuant to this section.

      (P.A. 91-293, S. 4, 9; P.A. 93-381, S. 9, 39; P.A. 95-99, S. 2, 5; 95-257, S. 12, 21, 58.)

      History: P.A. 93-381 replaced department of health services with department of public health and addiction services, effective July 1, 1993; P.A. 95-99 amended Subsec. (b) to make adoption of regulations discretionary instead of mandatory, effective July 1, 1995; P.A. 95-257 replaced Commissioner and Department of Public Health and Addiction Services with Commissioner and Department of Public Health, effective July 1, 1995.

      See Sec. 22a-207a for definition of "composting", "mixed municipal solid waste" and "mixed municipal solid waste composting facility" applicable to this section.