Senate Committee Hears Bill on Solid Waste Fee Increase

This week Senator John Eklund (R-Chardon) provided sponsor testimony for Senate Bill 228, legislation which would increase the state fees on solid waste, doubling the municipal solid waste fee from $0.25 per ton to $0.50 per ton.

The fee increase would be used to fund the Soil and Water Conservation Districts (SWCDs) in each county. SWCDs are independent political subdivisions of state government organized along county boundaries to provide technical assistance to urban and rural land users. An elected board of local citizens provides SWCD leadership. Local offices provide education and programs. Most programs are designed for agricultural and nonpoint sources. Therefore, this bill appears to be a fee increase for almost no new benefit for manufacturers.

There was an attempt to include this proposal in the last state budget and the OMA will again be working to make sure it does not get into the next state budget. 12/6/2018