§ 6607a. Waste transportation

(a) A commercial hauler desiring to transport waste within the State shall apply to the Secretary for a permit to do so by submitting an application on a form prepared for this purpose by the Secretary and by submitting the disclosure statement described in section 6605f of this title. These permits shall have a duration of five years and shall be renewed annually. The application shall indicate the nature of the waste to be hauled. The Secretary may specify conditions that the Secretary deems necessary to assure compliance with State law.

(b) As used in this section:

(1) "Commercial hauler" means:

(A) any person that transports regulated quantities of hazardous waste; and

(B) any person that transports solid waste for compensation in a vehicle.

(2) The commercial hauler required to obtain a permit under this section is the legal or commercial entity that is transporting the waste, rather than the individual employees and subcontractors of the legal or commercial entity. In the case of a sole proprietorship, the sole proprietor is the commercial entity.

(3) The Secretary shall not require a commercial hauler to obtain a permit under this section, comply with the disclosure requirements of this section, comply with the reporting and registration requirements of section 6608 of this title, or pay the fee specified in 3 V.S.A. § 2822, if:

(A) the commercial hauler does not transport more than four cubic yards of solid waste at any time; and

(B) the solid waste transportation services performed are incidental to other nonwaste transportation-related services performed by the commercial hauler.

(c) Wastes shall be subject to inspection, by an agent of the Secretary or any duly authorized law enforcement officer, during transportation or upon delivery to a facility, for compliance with the requirements of State law.

(d) It shall be unlawful for any person to operate a motor vehicle subject to the provisions of this section upon any public highway in the State without first obtaining the permit from the Secretary, or to so operate without having in the vehicle a permit issued under this section.

(e) A violation of this section shall be considered a traffic violation within the meaning of 23 V.S.A. chapter 24.

(f) Any person who violates any provision of this section shall be subject to a penalty of not more than $200.00 for a traffic violation. The penalties imposed by this subsection shall be in addition to other penalties imposed by this chapter.

(g)(1) Except as set forth in subdivisions (2), (3), and (4) of this subsection, a commercial hauler that offers the collection of municipal solid waste:

(A) Beginning on July 1, 2015, shall offer to collect mandated recyclables separate from other solid waste and deliver mandated recyclables to a facility maintained and operated for the management and recycling of mandated recyclables.

[Subdivision (g)(1)(B) effective until July 1, 2020; see also subdivision (g)(1)(B) effective July 1, 2020.]

(B) Beginning on July 1, 2020, shall offer collection of food residuals separate from other solid waste and deliver to a location that manages food residuals in a manner consistent with the priority uses established under subdivisions 6605k(a)(2)-(5) of this title.

[Subdivision (g)(1)(B) effective July 1, 2020; see also subdivision (g)(1)(B) effective until July 1, 2020.]

(B) Beginning on July 1, 2020, shall offer to nonresidential customers and apartment buildings with four or more residential units collection of food residuals separate from other solid waste and deliver to a location that manages food residuals in a manner consistent with the priority uses established under subdivisions 6605k(a)(2)-(5) of this title. Commercial haulers shall not be required to offer collection of food residuals if another commercial hauler provides collection services for food residuals in the same area and has sufficient capacity to provide service to all customers.

(2) In a municipality that has adopted a solid waste management ordinance addressing the collection of mandated recyclables or food residuals, a commercial hauler in that municipality is not required to comply with the requirements of subdivision (1) of this subsection and subsection (h) of this section for the material addressed by the ordinance if the ordinance:

(A) is applicable to all residents of the municipality;

(B) prohibits a resident from opting out of municipally provided solid waste services; and

(C) does not apply a variable rate for the collection for the material addressed by the ordinance.

(3) A commercial hauler is not required to comply with the requirements of subdivision (1)(A) or (B) of this subsection in a specified area within a municipality if:

(A) the Secretary has approved a solid waste implementation plan for the municipality;

(B) for purposes of waiver of the requirements of subdivision (1)(A) of this subsection (g), the Secretary determines that under the approved plan:

(i) the municipality is achieving the per capita disposal rate in the State Solid Waste Plan; and

(ii) the municipality demonstrates that its progress toward meeting the diversion goal in the State Solid Waste Plan is substantially equivalent to that of municipalities complying with the requirements of subdivision (1)(A) of this subsection (g);

(C) the approved plan delineates an area where solid waste management services required by subdivision (1)(A) or (B) of this subsection (g) are not required; and

(D) in the delineated area, alternatives to the services, including on-site management, required under subdivision (1)(A) or (B) of this subsection (g) are offered, the alternative services have capacity to serve the needs of all residents in the delineated area, and the alternative services are convenient to residents of the delineated area.

(4) A commercial hauler is not required to comply with the requirements of subdivision (1)(A) or (B) of this subsection for mandated recyclables or food residuals collected as part of a litter collection.

(h) A commercial hauler certified under this section that offers the collection of municipal solid waste may not charge a separate line item fee on a bill to a residential customer for the collection of mandated recyclables, provided that a commercial hauler may charge a fee for all service calls, stops, or collections at a residential property and a commercial hauler may charge a tiered or variable fee based on the size of the collection container provided to a residential customer or the amount of waste collected from a residential customer. A commercial hauler certified under this section may incorporate the cost of the collection of mandated recyclables into the cost of the collection of solid waste and may adjust the charge for the collection of solid waste. A commercial hauler certified under this section that offers the collection of solid waste may charge a separate fee for the collection of food residuals from a residential customer.

(i) A commercial hauler that operates a bag-drop or fast-trash site at a fixed location to collect municipal solid waste shall offer at the site all collection services required under 10 V.S.A. § 6605(j). (Added 1987, No. 78, § 11; amended 1987, No. 246 (Adj. Sess.), § 4, eff. June 13, 1988; 1993, No. 81, § 4; 1993, No. 157 (Adj. Sess.), § 6; 1995, No. 141 (Adj. Sess.), § 8, eff. April 30, 1996; 2011, No. 148 (Adj. Sess.), § 8; 2013, No. 175 (Adj. Sess.), § 6; 2015, No. 57, § 23; 2015, No. 95 (Adj. Sess.), § 2, eff. May 10, 2016; 2017, No. 47, § 3b, eff. May 23, 2017; 2017, No. 208 (Adj. Sess.), § 2, eff. May 30, 2018; 2019, No. 83, § 17, eff. July 1, 2020.)