§ 273.316. Environmental stewardship fee.
(a) Environmental stewardship fee. The operator of a municipal waste landfill shall pay an environmental stewardship fee in the form of a check payable to the “Environmental Stewardship Fund” in accordance with 27 Pa.C.S. § 6112(b) (relating to extension of fees).
(1) The environmental stewardship fee shall be paid on a quarterly basis, on or before the 20th day of April, July, October and Janaury for the 3 months ending the last day of March, June, September and December, respectively.
(2) An environmental stewardship fee payment shall be accompanied by a form provided by the Department and completed according to its instructions and signed by the operator.
(b) Fee applies to solid waste. The fee shall be paid for solid waste received at the facility on and after January 1, 2000, including, but not limited to, residual waste, special handling wastes, waste tires, nonprocessible residue from resource recovery facilities and waste materials which are received at the facility. The fee does not apply to recyclable or reusable materials received or separated from other waste at a collection, transfer, composting or processing facility associated with the landfill.
(c) Amount. The fee shall be 25¢ per ton of weighed waste which is received at the landfill. If the facility is not required to weigh waste, the operator shall pay 25¢ per 3 cubic yards of volume-measured solid waste for solid waste received at the facility.
(d) Records required. The operator shall maintain complete and accurate records of the weight or volume of materials which are salvaged and recycled from mixed waste after it has been received at the landfill, the market where the materials were sent for recycling or reuse, the date the materials were marketed and the weight of materials actually marketed for recycling. The operator may deduct the weight of materials salvaged and recycled from the landfill from the weight of waste for which the fee payment is made, but only for the quarter in which the materials were actually marketed for recycling. These records shall be maintained by the operator for 5 years for audit purposes and shall be made available to the Department or its auditors, or both, upon request.
(e) Timeliness of payment. The operator shall be deemed to have made a timely payment of the environmental stewardship fee if the operator complies with the following:
(1) The enclosed payment is for the full amount owed pursuant to this section and no further Departmental action is required for collection.
(2) The payment is accompanied by the required form and the form is complete and accurate.
(3) The letter transmitting the payment that is received by the Department is postmarked by the United States Postal Service on or prior to the final day on which the payment is to be received.
(f) Refunds. An operator that believes he has overpaid the environmental stewardship fee may file a petition for refund to the Department. If the Department determines that the operator has overpaid the fee, the Department will credit or refund the operator the amount due him. No credit or refund of the environmental stewardship fee will be made unless the petition for the refund is filed with the Department within 6 months of the date of the overpayment.
(g) Assessment notices.
(1) If the Department determines that an operator has not made a timely payment of the environmental stewardship fee, it will send the operator a written notice of the amount of the deficiency within 30 days of determining such deficiency. When the operator has not provided a complete and accurate statement of the weight or volume of solid waste received at the facility for the payment period, the Department may estimate the weight or volume in its notice.
(2) If any amount due hereunder remains unpaid 30 days after receipt of notice thereof, the Department may order the operator of the facility to cease receiving any solid waste until the amount of the deficiency is paid in full.
(h) Constructive trust. Environmental stewardship fees collected by an operator and held by the operator prior to payment to the Department shall constitute a trust fund for the Commonwealth. The trust shall be enforceable against the operator, its representatives and any person receiving any part of the fund without consideration or with knowledge that the operator is committing a breach of the trust. A person receiving payment of lawful obligation of the operator from the fund shall be presumed to have received it in good faith and without knowledge of the breach of trust.
Source The provisions of this § 273.316 adopted October 9, 1992, effective October 10, 1992, 22 Pa.B. 5105; amended December 22, 2000, effective December 23, 2000, 30 Pa.B. 6685. Immediately preceding text appears at serial pages (226236) to (226237).
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