Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. R. 110-4-3-.03 - Duties and Responsibilities
(1)
General: Comprehensive solid
waste management planning at local and regional levels in the state is critical
to assisting communities in meeting the statewide goal of reducing waste,
providing for effective solid waste management, and ensuring ten years of
collection capability and disposal capacity. In order to effectively implement
the planning provisions of the Solid Waste Management Act, ongoing cooperation
must occur among local governments, Regional Development Centers, citizens,
private industry, and state agencies. The following outlines the
responsibilities of those involved with implementing solid waste management
planning.
(2)
Department of
Community Affairs: It is the responsibility of the Department to promote
the policy of the State of Georgia, in furtherance of its responsibility to
protect the public health, safety, and well-being of its citizens and to
protect and enhance the quality of its environment, to institute and maintain a
comprehensive statewide program for effective solid waste management through
planning and education.
(a) The Department
shall develop, promote, and establish standards and procedures for solid waste
management planning; and have plenary authority over solid waste management
planning in the State of Georgia.
(b) The Department shall assist local
governments by providing technical assistance in preparing and implementing
solid waste management plans which address the integrated solid waste
management needs of their residents.
(c) The Department shall use all available
resources, including the solid waste management plans of local governments to
encourage and promote regional alternatives for solid waste
management.
(d) The Department
shall undertake and carry out such activities as may be necessary to mediate or
otherwise assist in resolving conflicts relating to the solid waste management
planning process, in the same manner as those procedures established pursuant
the Georgia Planning Act, O.C.G.A. ยง 50-8-1et
seq.
(e) The Department
shall coordinate solid waste management planning responsibilities outlined in
the Act with those of other state agencies, Regional Development Centers, and
local governments.
(f) The
Department shall review all solid waste management plans and amendments for
consistency with the Minimum Planning Standards and Procedures. For plans found
to be in compliance, the Department will issue a letter notifying the Regional
Development Center serving the local government(s) within the planning
jurisdiction that the plan is eligible for local adoption. Once the Department
receives written confirmation that all local governments in a
multi-jurisdictional plan, or the local government in a single plan, have
adopted the plan, the Department will notify the local government(s) in writing
that their plan is approved and they are eligible for municipal solid waste
handling and/or facility grants, loans, and permits.
(g) The Department may verify reasonable
consistency between the data reported by local governments on the Annual Solid
Waste Survey and in the Full-Cost Report with the information compiled in each
local government's solid waste management plan. Where reporting is found to be
in conflict with plans, the Department will require the local government to
amend either the report or the plan to reflect actual conditions of solid waste
management programs and activities within the jurisdiction.
(h) The Department will compile the results
of the Annual Solid Waste Survey and Full-Cost Report, along with information
gathered by EPD regarding the amount of solid waste handled by permitted
disposal facilities and remaining capacities at permitted landfills, and report
that information to the Governor and the General Assembly on an annual
basis.
(3)
Department of Natural Resources/Environmental Protection Division:
It is the responsibility of DNR/EPD to promote the policy of the State
of Georgia, in furtherance of its responsibility to protect the public health,
safety, and well-being of its citizens and to protect and enhance the quality
of its environment, to institute and maintain a comprehensive state-wide
program for effective solid waste management through facility permitting,
permit compliance, and enforcement of solid waste management regulations.
Accordingly, DNR may undertake the following:
(a) Review local, multi-jurisdictional, and
regional solid waste management plans for:
1.
Effective and sound solid waste management strategies;
2. Compliance with DNR rules, regulations,
and individual facilities' permit conditions; and
3. Consistency of permit requests with solid
waste plans.
(b) Verify
ten-year disposal capacity assurance as presented in solid waste
plans.
(c) Coordinate with the
Department of Community Affairs to verify remaining capacities in permitted
disposal facilities.
(d) Compile
reports of the amount of waste handled by permitted solid waste disposal
facilities and remaining capacities at permitted landfills in Georgia, and
provide that information to the Department of Community Affairs by January 1 of
each year.
(4)
Local Governments: It is the responsibility of municipal and
county governments in the State of Georgia to serve the public needs by
promoting, establishing and implementing sound comprehensive solid waste
management planning. Accordingly, the governing body of municipalities and
counties shall have the authority and responsibility to:
(a) Develop and implement solid waste
management plans at the local, multi-jurisdictional, or regional level.
However, no municipality or county shall take any action to adopt a solid waste
management plan until receipt of notification from their Regional Development
Center that the plan has been reviewed and found by the Department to be
consistent with the minimum planning standards and procedures for solid waste
management.
(b) Develop, establish,
and implement land use regulations that are consistent with the solid waste
management plan.
(c) Take all
action necessary or desirable to implement the approved and adopted
comprehensive solid waste management plan.
(d) Participate in good faith in mediation or
other forms of resolving conflicts related to solid waste management plans and
regional solid waste management planning issues.
(e) Complete and provide to the Department of
Community Affairs a Solid Waste Annual Survey and Full-Cost Report in a timely
fashion.
(5)
Regional Development Centers: It is the responsibility of Regional
Development Centers in the State of Georgia to serve the public needs by
providing necessary technical assistance to local governments to promote,
establish, and implement comprehensive solid waste management planning by
municipal and county governments and regional coalitions in conformity with the
minimum planning standards and procedures for Solid Waste Management. The
specific responsibilities of Regional Development Centers are:
(a) If requested, assist one or more counties
or municipalities, or both, in developing, establishing, and/or implementing a
solid waste management plan.
(b) To
undertake and carry out such planning and technical assistance activities as
the Board of Directors or the Department may deem necessary for the development
and implementation of solid waste management plans for municipalities and
counties, or any combination of the two in its region.
(c) Specific planning and technical
assistance activities may include, but shall not be limited to, the following:
1. A Center may coordinate and provide
planning technical assistance to local governments preparing solid waste
management plans.
2. A Center may
develop and prepare a solid waste management plan for a county or municipality
or a combination thereof.
3. A
Center may provide technical assistance and/or prepare a solid waste management
plan specifically for the purpose of promoting regional alternatives and solid
waste management solutions.
4. Each
Center shall review solid waste management plans for internal inconsistencies
and potential inter-jurisdictional conflicts or conflicts with other local
government plans in the region, including but not limited to a local
government's Comprehensive Plan.
5.
Each Center shall coordinate mediation or other forms of resolving conflicts
relating to solid waste management plans among local governments within its
region, pursuant to the procedures of Mediation of Interjurisdictional
Conflicts adopted by the Board of Directors of the Department of Community
Affairs and as amended.
6. Each
Center shall also participate in good faith in mediation or other forms of
resolving conflicts relating to solid waste management plans when such conflict
involves another Regional Development Center.
7. Each Center shall determine the effect of
any government's failure to adopt a multi-jurisdictional or regional plan, or
an amendment to such, on the ability of the other jurisdictions to successfully
implement the plan, and make recommendations to the Department regarding plan
acceptance and permit eligibility.
8. Each center shall manage the Development
of Regional Impact process according to the procedures and guidelines
promulgated by the Department.
(6)
Privately Owned Solid Waste
Handling Facilities: It is the responsibility of privately owned solid
waste handling facilities in the State of Georgia to operate in compliance with
Georgia Code. Accordingly, in order for a solid waste facility to be considered
consistent with the planning standards a solid waste facility must, at a
minimum:
(a) When seeking a permit or permit
modification, demonstrate that all generating jurisdictions from which waste
will be received are part of an approved solid waste management plan and have a
strategy to meet, and are actively engaged in meeting, the goal to reduce by 25
percent the per capita rate of municipal solid waste disposed statewide in
solid waste facilities as compared with the per capita municipal solid waste
disposal rate in FY 1992.
(b)
Maintain accurate written records of the amount, in tons, of solid waste
received at their municipal solid waste disposal facility.
Notes
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