HCS SB 419 -- NATURAL RESOURCES

SPONSOR:  Kennedy (Hobbs)

COMMITTEE ACTION:  Voted "do pass" by the Committee on
Conservation and Natural Resources by a vote of 9 to 2.

This substitute changes the laws regarding natural resources.
In its main provisions, the substitute:

(1)  Authorizes the Missouri Agriculture and Small Business
Development Authority to issue tax credits to owners of livestock
operations to partially offset certain expenses incurred for
implementing odor abatement best management practices and
systems;

(2)  Requires the authority to establish rules for tax credit
eligibility based on odor abatement impact, the owner's
prospective use and funding of proven technologies, and other
factors that the authority deems necessary;

(3)  Modifies the length of the terms of the board directors of a
public water supply district elected in 2008, 2009, and 2010;

(4)  Authorizes public water supply districts to collect charges
and fees for sewer services and the construction of water or
sewerage systems.  The charges and fees may be determined by any
reasonable plan or method of calculation established by the
district's board of directors;

(5)  Authorizes the Director of the Department of Natural
Resources to enter into cooperative agreements with private, not-
for-profit organizations to reimburse the department for the
actual costs of providing state park facility space and
incidental staff support.  The agreement must also clearly
demonstrate the fiscal, interpretive, educational, and facility
enhancement benefits to the state;

(6)  Authorizes a geologic resources fee to be deposited into the
Geologic Resources Fund.  The fee will be paid by any operator
who applies for a surface mining permit under Section 444.772,
RSMo, and mines more than 5,000 tons annually.  The fee may be
assessed per permit, site, and acre and may not exceed $100 per
permit, $100 per site, or $10 per acre, or a total of $3,500;

(7)  Establishes the Industrial Minerals Advisory Council to
advise the state geologist.  The council will consist of nine
members appointed by the department director;

(8)  Specifies that a person commits the crime of disposition of
demolition waste if he or she purposely or knowingly disposes of
or causes the disposal of demolition waste on any property in the
state that is not a solid waste processing facility or a solid
waste disposal area that has obtained an operating permit from
the Department of Natural Resources.  Any person that knows or
should have known that his or her agent or employee has committed
criminal disposition of demolition waste will be guilty of
conspiracy to commit disposition of demolition waste.  The
penalty for the crime of disposition of demolition waste is
increased from a class A misdemeanor to a class D felony, except
that any person who disposes of construction or demolition waste
on his or her own property will be guilty of a class C
misdemeanor.  The crime of criminal disposition of demolition
waste in the second degree is abolished.  The civil penalties for
violations of the solid waste management provisions are
increased;

(9)  Includes plasma arc technology as a way to process waste.
Any facility designated as a waste to energy facility that
generates electricity fueled from solid waste can use this
technology;

(10)  Allows yard waste to be disposed of in a municipal solid
waste disposal area if the Department of Natural Resources has
approved the disposal area to operate as a bioreactor and its
landfill gas is used to produce electricity;

(11)  Allows a property owner, an operator conducting gravel
removal at the request of a property owner, or a political
subdivision who contracts with an operator for excavation to
remove and sell excess gravel without a permit if the primary
purpose for removal is to manage seasonal gravel accretion on
property not used primarily for gravel mining.  Gravel removal
must be conducted from June 1 through March 14, solely on the
property owner's or political subdivision's property and not
within a distance to be determined by the Department of Natural
Resources of any building, structure, highway, road, bridge,
viaduct, or water or sewer line.  Property owners and operators
must follow the departmental guidelines regarding surface mining
and gravel removal.  Any person filing a complaint with the
department for an alleged violation of the provisions of the
substitute must identify himself or herself by name and telephone
number; specify the date and location of the violation; and
provide adequate information as determined by the department of
the violation.  Any records, statements, or communications
submitted by any person to the department will be confidential
and used solely by the department to investigate the alleged
violation;

(12)  Increases the land reclamation permit application fees and
extends the expiration of the fees from December 31, 2007, to
December 31, 2013;

(13)  Allows companies to conduct voluntary environmental audits
in order to discover and correct noncompliance with environmental
regulations.  If a company complies with the voluntary audit
requirements, it will be exempt from certain types of criminal
and administrative penalties and may keep its voluntary audit
reports confidential.  Companies will not be exempt from any tort
actions by private parties; and

(14)  Establishes the Clean American Fuel Board consisting of
eight members, seven of whom are voting members and represent
various industries and coalitions concerned with the use of
alternative fuel and alternative fuel vehicles.  The Director of
the Department of Natural Resources is an ex officio member and
will serve as the chairman.  The department will provide the
needed staff and assist the board in carrying out its duties.
The qualifications and terms of the appointed members are
specified.  The board is required to establish and administer
policies to promote individual, industrial, and governmental
compliance with the United States Department of Energy and the
Environmental Protection Agency and report by January 1, 2008,
and every year thereafter, to the General Assembly, Governor,
Department of Transportation, and Department of Natural Resources
on a calculation of fuel cost differential rebates and
designation of certified conversion and original equipment
manufacturer technologies.  The Alternative Fuel Vehicle
Revolving Fund is created for the deposit of appropriated moneys
and other donations.  The board will administer the distribution
of grants to qualifying applicants for alternative fuel vehicle
infrastructure projects, education, and alternative fuel
vehicles.  The applicant requirements, grant uses, and grant
amounts are specified.

The provisions of the substitute regarding the tax credits for
managed environment livestock operations will expire June 30,
2012.

FISCAL NOTE:  Estimated Cost on General Revenue Fund of $0 to
$3,064,532 in FY 2008, $0 to $3,069,842 in FY 2009, and $0 to
$3,071,935 in FY 2010.  Estimated Income on Other State Funds of
$145,881 in FY 2008, $130,120 in FY 2009, and $125,844 in
FY 2010.

PROPONENTS:  Supporters say that the bill eliminates a lapse
between the time in which a public water supply district board
director is elected and the time the director serves.

Testifying for the bill were Senator Kennedy; and Department of
Natural Resources.

OPPONENTS:  There was no opposition voiced to the committee.

Missouri House of Representatives
94th General Assembly, 1st Regular Session
Last Updated July 25, 2007 at 11:22 am