House Bill 2250 and Senate Bill 1030 both include the vague term "energy from waste" in their definitions of "renewable resources." HB 2250 states:
"Renewable resources." Any of the following:(1) Solar photovoltaic energy.
The term does not include municipal solid, industrial, residual or any hazardous waste burned for the generation of electric energy.
(2) Solar thermal energy.
(3) Wind power.
(4) Low-impact hydropower.
(5) Geothermal energy.
(6) Biologically derived methane gas.
(7) Energy from waste and sustainable biomass energy.
House Bill 2250 and Senate Bill 1030 have no definition of "energy from waste." There is no definition in state law or regulation for "energy from waste."
Pennsylvania's regulations for Coal Refuse Disposal (25 Pa. Code §90.1) describe waste coal with the term "waste" numerous times in its definitions and regulations. The following are definitions from the regulations:
Coal refuse — Any waste coal, rock, shale, slurry, culm, gob, boney, slate, clay and related materials, associated with or near a coal seam, which are either brought aboveground or otherwise removed from a coal mine in the process of mining coal or which are separated from coal during the cleaning or preparation operations. The term includes underground development wastes, coal processing wastes, excess spoil, but does not mean overburden from surface mining activities.
Also, Pennsylvania's regulations for Municipal Waste Management (25 Pa. Code §271.1) and Residual Waste Management (25 Pa. Code §287.1) contain definitions for "waste" which are both broad enough to include waste coal. The definitions are:
25 Pa. Code §271.1 (Municipal Waste regulations):
25 Pa. Code §287.1 (Residual Waste regulations):
(i) Discarded material which is recycled or abandoned. A waste is abandoned by being disposed of, burned or incinerated or accumulated, stored or processed before or in lieu of being abandoned by being disposed of, burned or incinerated. A discarded material includes contaminated soil, contaminated water, contaminated dredge material, spent material or by-product recycled in accordance with subparagraph (iii), processed or disposed.
(ii) Materials that are not waste when recycled include materials when they can be shown to be recycled by being:
(B) Coproducts.
(C) Returned to the original process from which they are generated, without first being reclaimed or land disposed. The material shall be returned as a substitute for feedstock materials. When the original process to which the material is returned is a secondary process, the materials shall be managed so that there is no placement on the land and the secondary process takes place onsite.
(iii) The following materials are wastes, even if the recycling involves use, reuse or return to the original process (as described as follows):
(A) Except for coproducts, materials used in a manner constituting disposal, or used to produce products that are applied to the land.
(B) Except for coproducts, materials burned for energy recovery, used to produce fuel or contained in fuel.
(C) Materials accumulated speculatively.
(iv) Discarded or recycled material may not be waste if a determination is made by the Department in accordance with § 287.7.
(v) In enforcement actions implementing the act, a person who claims that the material is not a waste in accordance with subparagraph (ii) shall demonstrate that there is a known market or disposition for the material, and that the terms of the exclusion have been met. In doing so, appropriate documentation shall be provided (such as contracts showing that a second person uses the material as an ingredient in a production process) to demonstrate that the material is not a waste. In addition, owners or operators of facilities claiming that they actually are recycling materials shall show that they have the necessary equipment to do so.
HB 2250 and Senate Bill 1030 both state that the definition of renewable resources "does not include municipal solid, industrial, residual or any hazardous waste burned for the generation of electric energy."
There is no state definition for "industrial waste." State definitions for municipal solid waste, residual waste and hazardous waste do NOT include waste coal. The definitions for residual waste and hazardous waste explicitly do not include waste coal. Therefore, the exclusions of these waste streams does not prevent waste coal from being considered "waste" in the "energy from waste" part of the "renewable resources" definition in the bill.
The following definitions are from Pennsylvania's regulations for Municipal Waste Management (25 Pa. Code §271.1) and Residual Waste Management (25 Pa. Code §287.1):
Residual waste — Garbage, refuse, other discarded material or other waste, including solid, liquid, semisolid or contained gaseous materials resulting from industrial, mining and agricultural operations; and sludge from an industrial, mining or agricultural water supply treatment facility, wastewater treatment facility or air pollution control facility, if it is not hazardous. The term does not include coal refuse as defined in the Coal Refuse Disposal Control Act (52 P. S. § § 30.51—30.66). The term does not include treatment sludges from coal mine drainage treatment plants, disposal of which is being carried on under and in compliance with a valid permit issued under The Clean Streams Law (35 P. S. § § 691.1—691.1001).
Hazardous waste — Garbage, refuse or sludge from an industrial or other waste water treatment plant; sludge from a water supply treatment plant or air pollution control facility; and other discarded material, including solid, liquid, semisolid or contained gaseous material resulting from municipal, commercial, industrial, institutional, mining, or agricultural operations, and from community activities; or a combination of the above, which because of its quantity, concentration or physical, chemical or infectious characteristics may do one of the following:
(ii) Pose a substantial present or potential hazard to human health or the environment when improperly treated, stored, transported, disposed of or otherwise managed.
The term does not include coal refuse as defined in the Coal Refuse Disposal Control Act (52 P. S. § § 30.51—30.101). The term does not include treatment sludges from coal mine drainage treatment plants, disposal of which is being carried on under and in compliance with a valid permit issued under The Clean Streams Law (35 P. S. § § 691.1—691.1001). The term does not include solid or dissolved material in domestic sewage, or solid or dissolved materials in irrigation return flows or industrial discharges which are point sources subject to permits under section 402 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C.A. § 1341) or source, special nuclear or byproduct material as defined by the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C.A. § § 2011—2284).
All forms of solid waste which have been considered burnable for "renewable" electricity generation (usually in the name of "biomass") in other state or federal policies are excluded in HB 2250 and SB 1030 since they'd fall within the category of municipal solid waste or residual waste. This leaves waste coal as the only type of waste known to be burned for electricity generation.
Coal processing waste — Earth materials which are separated and wasted from the product coal during cleaning, concentrating or other processing or preparation of coal.
Waste — A material whose original purpose has been completed and which is directed to a disposal, processing or beneficial use facility or is otherwise disposed of, processed or beneficially used. The term does not include source separated recyclable materials, material approved by the Department for beneficial use under a beneficial use order issued by the Department prior to May 27, 1997, or material which is beneficially used in accordance with a general permit issued under Subchapter I or Subchapter J (relating to beneficial use; and beneficial use of sewage sludge by land application) if a term or condition of the general permit excludes the material from being regulated as a waste.
Waste —
(A) Used or reused as ingredients in an industrial process to make a product or employed in a particular function or application as an effective substitute for a commercial product, provided the materials are not being reclaimed. This includes materials from the slaughter and preparation of animals that are used as raw materials in the production or manufacture of products. Steel slag is not waste if used onsite as a waste processing liming agent in acid neutralization or onsite in place of aggregate. Sizing, shaping or sorting of the material will not be considered processing for the purpose of this subclause of the definition.
Municipal waste — Garbage, refuse, industrial lunchroom or office waste and other material, including solid, liquid, semisolid or contained gaseous material resulting from operation of residential, municipal, commercial or institutional establishments and from community activities; and sludge not meeting the definition of residual or hazardous waste under this section from a municipal, commercial or institutional water supply treatment plant, waste water treatment plant or air pollution control facility.
(i) Cause or significantly contribute to an increase in mortality or increase in morbidity in either an individual or the total population.
| Burnable Waste Type | PA Waste Classification |
|---|---|
| Municipal Solid Waste (Trash) | Municipal Solid Waste |
| Tires | Residual Waste |
| Sewage Sludge | Residual Waste |
| Construction / Demolition (C&D) Wood Waste | Municipal Solid Waste |
| Paper & Lumber Mill Wood Wastes | Residual Waste |
| Animal Wastes | Residual Waste |
| Agricultural Crop Residue | Residual Waste |
| Leaf waste and grass clippings | Municipal Solid Waste |
| Waste from land clearing, grubbing and excavation, including trees, brush, stumps and vegetative material | Municipal Solid Waste |
| Waste Coal | Coal refuse |
Technically-speaking, if it were found to be commercially feasible to burn radioactive waste for electricity production (some is already burned in incinerators, but not for electricity generation), HB 2250 and SB 1030's "energy from waste" loophole would allow this to be considered a "renewable resource" as well, since radioactive waste streams have their own regulatory definitions, falling outside of the types of wastes excluded by the bill.