Law regulates waste facilities
Aone-year provision authored by U.S. Sen. Frank R. Lautenberg (DN. J.) to give states like New Jersey the ability to regulate solid waste processing facilities along rail lines is now law.A

ccording to a press release from the senator, the measure was incorporated into the fiscal year 2008 omnibus appropriations bill, which passed the House and Senate this month and was signed into law by President George W. Bush last week.

"States need to be able to protect their communities from pollution and fire hazards from waste on rail sites," said Lautenberg. "I am proud to have secured this critical step to allow New Jersey to protect our environment and the safety of our communities and am working on a permanent ban."

The federal Surface Transportation Board (STB) blocked states from requiring permits for waste transfer stations built on railroad properties, according to the press release.

In July, the STB determined that, though states generally regulate the health and safety of solid waste handling, they are barred from this regulation if the activity occurs on a railroad site. This effectively blocked New Jersey from enforcing its environmental protections at 22 current and proposed rail waste transfer sites in the state.

In July, for example, this ruling prevented the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection from blocking a proposed waste transfer site on Route 33 in Freehold Township, a site which the town itself opposed.

While the STB eventually denied the Freehold Township facility a permit due to a technicality in its permit application, the Lautenberg provision will prevent the STB from approving a re-submitted proposal without New Jersey's permission.

According to the press release, garbage piles at these sites can reach two stories high and pose a serious health and environmental risk for those who live near these sites in New Jersey and nationwide. States will now be able to better regulate these rail facilities to protect against the fire hazards, ground water contamination and debris found in communities near these sites.

The temporary Lautenberg law will require the STB to effectively get permission from New Jersey before approving any new facility or declaring any existing rail waste facility lawful to operate in the state. It applies to any STB permit issued in fiscal year 2008.

Lautenberg also has a bill, the Clean RailroadsAct of 2007, to make permanent this temporary change in federal law to give New Jersey the ability to regulate these sites.

The legislation to make the change permanent has been approved by a key Senate committee on which Lautenberg sits and has been passed by the House of Representatives, according to the press release.

That measure is co-sponsored by seven senators, including Sen. RobertMenendez (D-N.J.). The chief sponsor of the companion legislation in the House of Representatives is Rep. Frank Pallone (D-N.J.).

Lautenberg serves as chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee's subcommittee on Surface Transportation. The senator's subcommittee has jurisdiction over railroad issues and oversees the confirmation of the STB commissioners.