House Bill is Better

May 14, 2002

I contacted Senator Mary Jo White's office while I was in Harrisburg last Tuesday. She is Chair of the Environmental Resources and Energy Committee, which is responsible for landfills and hazardous wastes.

I was specifically interested in House Bill 1436 and Senate Bill 814. These are two views on "host municipality agreements." The Bills were filed as companions so both chambers could discuss the idea simultaneously.

The idea is that the landfill operator and the township must agree in advance on how the landfill will be operated.

The Bills provide a detailed process of public hearings, minimum required contents of the agreements. The DEP is required to review the agreement to assure that it complies with current regulations. A non-binding arbitration process is provided to help resolve disputes between the parties during the negotiations.

House Bill 1436 passed the House on November 19, 2001 and was referred to Senator White's Committee on December 3, 2001.

Here the Bills diverge. Section 105 of the House Bill requires a two-year moratorium on all landfill permits. Existing enterprises could continue, but no new permits or modifications will be issued.

The Senate version does not require a moratorium, but it does require binding arbitration. The operator and the township must submit any issues they can't resolve to an arbitration board. The board has 120 days to hear the matter and render a decision. The parties are bound by whatever the board decides.

I prefer the House version, whether or not it includes the Moratorium language. If binding arbitration is required, it assumes that there must be some kind of agreement. Neither party can stand up and say "No." I prefer to believe that two parties in good faith can resolve the issues in front of them. Arbitration may speed things along, but people can resolve things. Under the language of Senate Bill 814, the arbitration board is unconditionally empowered to impose a settlement to which nobody agreed. The chance of an imposed agreement ending up in Court is substantial. We are already the most litigious society in the history of the world, and here again would be an issue that would have no end.

I vote for the House version.