2013 Connecticut General Statutes
Title 22a - Environmental Protection
Chapter 446e - Solid Waste Management Services Act
Section 22a-285a - *(See end of section for amended version of subsection (a) and effective date.) Establishment of ash residue disposal area.

*(a) Notwithstanding any provision of the general statutes or any special act or municipal charter, on or after December 1, 1990, the Connecticut Resources Recovery Authority, acting by itself or through a regional resources recovery authority, may establish an ash residue disposal area on all or part of not more than two sites east of the Connecticut River and two sites west of the Connecticut River, provided such sites (1) are not owned or operated by the authority on July 5, 1989, and (2) are identified in table 8 of the report prepared pursuant to section 22a-228b entitled “Identification of Potential Ash Residue Disposal Sites” and dated January, 1989, or determined by the Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection to be capable of meeting the siting criteria described in said report. No site shall be located within four miles of any ash residue disposal area owned or operated by the authority on January 1, 1989, or in any municipality in which a resources recovery facility and an ash residue disposal area are located and not more than one site shall be established in any one regional planning area as defined by the Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management pursuant to section 8-31a.

(b) The Commissioner of Agriculture shall review each proposal for an ash residue disposal area. If the commissioner finds that the proposal would convert twenty-five or more acres of prime farmland to a nonagricultural use, he shall file a statement with the council so indicating. Any negotiated agreement approved or arbitration award issued pursuant to section 22a-285g by the council for a site for which a statement has been filed under this section shall require the affirmative vote of seventy-five per cent of the members of the council.

(c) If the authority intends to establish a site under subsection (a) of this section, it shall (1) notify the Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection of the sites to be evaluated, and (2) initiate surveys, inspections or geological investigations at such sites to determine their suitability and capacity for ash residue disposal. Such surveys, inspections and investigations may include, but not be limited to, borings and environmental monitoring, tests, samples or other activities related thereto. The authority shall exercise care in any entry so that no unnecessary damage results.

(d) Upon reasonable notice to any affected property owner, the authority may enter upon private property to conduct surveys, inspections or geological investigations to determine the suitability and capacity of a proposed site for an ash residue disposal area. The provisions of this section shall not be construed to limit or modify any rights of entry upon property otherwise provided by law to the authority.

(e) The authority shall pay damages to the owner of any property for any damage or injury which the authority causes to such owner by entrance and use pursuant to this section. If entry to any property is refused, the authority shall assess the damages in the same manner as provided for the Commissioner of Transportation in section 13a-73, and, at any time after such assessment, may enter such property. If the owner accepts such assessment, he shall notify the president of the authority in writing. The authority shall pay the damages within thirty days of receipt of notice of acceptance, or, after the expiration of the thirty days, shall pay the damages with interest at the rate of six per cent per year. If the owner is aggrieved by the assessment, he shall notify the authority in writing within fourteen days and may appeal to the superior court for the judicial district of Hartford for a reassessment within six months of the date the authority forwarded the determination to the owner.

(f) Notwithstanding the provisions of section 22a-276, the Connecticut Resources Recovery Authority may condemn real property in accordance with the procedures set forth in section 48-12 for establishment of an ash residue disposal area pursuant to this section, except that any proceedings shall be brought before the superior court for the judicial district of Hartford.

(g) If a municipal zoning commission or combined planning and zoning commission designates an area as suitable for an ash residue disposal site on or before October 1, 1989, the commissioner may make a determination that fewer than the sites authorized under subsection (a) of this section are necessary to meet the ash disposal needs of the state. The authority shall accordingly reduce the number of sites for which it seeks approval. The commissioner shall revise his determination on the need for the authorized sites if an application for an ash residue disposal area at the site designated by the municipality is not filed with the commissioner on or before July 1, 1990, or the commissioner determines that the development of the site designated by the municipality is not being pursued in good faith.

(P.A. 88-230, S. 1, 12; 89-384, S. 2, 15; P.A. 90-98, S. 1, 2; P.A. 93-142, S. 4, 7, 8; P.A. 95-220, S. 4–6; June 30 Sp. Sess. P.A. 03-6, S. 146(e); P.A. 04-189, S. 1; P.A. 11-80, S. 1.)

*Note: On and after January 1, 2015, subsection (a) of this section, as amended by section 317 of public act 13-247, is to read as follows:

“(a) Notwithstanding any provision of the general statutes or any special act or municipal charter, on or after December 1, 1990, the Connecticut Resources Recovery Authority, acting by itself or through a regional resources recovery authority, may establish an ash residue disposal area on all or part of not more than two sites east of the Connecticut River and two sites west of the Connecticut River, provided such sites (1) are not owned or operated by the authority on July 5, 1989, and (2) are identified in table 8 of the report prepared pursuant to section 22a-228b entitled “Identification of Potential Ash Residue Disposal Sites” and dated January, 1989, or determined by the Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection to be capable of meeting the siting criteria described in said report. No site shall be located within four miles of any ash residue disposal area owned or operated by the authority on January 1, 1989, or in any municipality in which a resources recovery facility and an ash residue disposal area are located and not more than one site shall be established in any one regional planning area as defined by the Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management pursuant to section 16a-4c.”

(P.A. 88-230, S. 1, 12; 89-384, S. 2, 15; P.A. 90-98, S. 1, 2; P.A. 93-142, S. 4, 7, 8; P.A. 95-220, S. 4–6; June 30 Sp. Sess. P.A. 03-6, S. 146(e); P.A. 04-189, S. 1; P.A. 11-80, S. 1; P.A. 13-247, S. 317.)

History: (Revisor’s note: P.A. 88-230 authorized substitution of “judicial district of Hartford” for “judicial district of Hartford-New Britain” in public and special acts of the 1989 session, effective September 1, 1991); P.A. 90-98 changed the effective date of P.A. 88-230 from September 1, 1991, to September 1, 1993; P.A. 93-142 changed the effective date of P.A. 88-230 from September 1, 1993, to September 1, 1996, effective June 14, 1993; P.A. 95-220 changed the effective date of P.A. 88-230 from September 1, 1996, to September 1, 1998, effective July 1, 1995 (Revisor’s note: A reference in Subsec. (f) of P.A. 89-384 to the “judicial district for Hartford-New Britain” was changed editorially by the Revisors to “judicial district of Hartford-New Britain” for consistency with customary statutory usage); June 30 Sp. Sess. P.A. 03-6 replaced Commissioner of Agriculture with Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Protection, effective July 1, 2004; P.A. 04-189 repealed Sec. 146 of June 30 Sp. Sess. P.A. 03-6, thereby reversing the merger of the Departments of Agriculture and Consumer Protection, effective June 1, 2004; pursuant to P.A. 11-80, “Commissioner of Environmental Protection” was changed editorially by the Revisors to “Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection” in Subsecs. (a) and (c), effective July 1, 2011; P.A. 13-247 amended Subsec. (a) by replacing reference to Sec. 8-31a with reference to Sec. 16a-4c, effective January 1, 2015.