§ 30:2418 — Waste tires; Waste Tire Management Dedicated Fund Account

§2418. Waste tires; Waste Tire Management Dedicated Fund Account
A. The owner or operator of a waste tire collection center shall provide the
department with a notification of the site's location, size, and the approximate number of
waste tires that are accumulated at the site.
B. It is unlawful for any person to dispose knowingly and intentionally of waste tires
in the state, unless the waste tires are disposed of for processing, or collected for processing,
at a permitted solid waste disposal facility, a permitted waste tire processing facility, or a
waste tire collection center.
C. Waste tires that are not subjected to processing or recycling may not be deposited
knowingly and intentionally in a landfill as a method of ultimate disposal. However,
notwithstanding any other law or rule to the contrary, waste tires that have been prepared for
disposal by cutting, separating, shredding, or other means in accordance with the rules or
standards of the department may be disposed of in a landfill.
D. The department shall by rule encourage the voluntary establishment of waste tire
collection centers at all retail outlets that are engaged in the sale of tires. Such centers shall
be open to the public and programs to encourage the return of waste tires to collection centers
shall be undertaken by the department.
E. Nothing herein shall be construed to prohibit the collection, transportation, or
disposal of waste tires mixed or commingled with solid waste by any person engaged in the
collection, transportation, or disposal of solid waste, unless it can be demonstrated that such
person knew that such waste tires had been mixed or commingled with the solid waste
collected, transported, and/or disposed and unless it can be demonstrated that it is
economically and environmentally feasible to remove and recover such waste tires from the
solid waste collected, transported, and/or disposed.
F. An owner or operator of a waste tire collection center may store waste tires for up
to one year provided that such storage is solely for the purpose of accumulation of such
quantities of waste tires as are necessary to facilitate proper recovery, processing, or disposal.
G. There is hereby established a statutorily dedicated fund account in the state
treasury to be known as the "Waste Tire Management Dedicated Fund Account", hereafter
referred to in this Section as the "account". Any fees collected, pursuant to the secretary's
rules and regulations, on the sale of tires, and any other appropriations, gifts, grants, or other
monies received by the Department of Environmental Quality for the credit of the account,
shall be remitted to the state treasury and credited to the Bond Security and Redemption
Fund, as provided by the laws of this state and the Constitution of Louisiana. After a
sufficient amount is allocated from the Bond Security and Redemption Fund to pay all
obligations secured by the full faith and credit of the state which become due and payable
within any fiscal year, the treasurer shall pay into the account an amount equal to the total
amount previously deposited into the treasury. All interest earned on money from the
account and invested by the state treasurer shall be credited to the account. The monies in
the account shall be administered by the secretary solely for the purposes of solving the
state's waste tire problem. No monies from the account shall be used to provide payments
to waste tire processors for processing tires that are generated in Louisiana when those tires
are processed in any other state. Monies deposited into the account shall be categorized as
fees and self-generated revenue for the sole purpose of reporting related to the executive
budget, supporting documents, and general appropriation bills and shall be available for
annual appropriation by the legislature.
H. The secretary shall promulgate rules, regulations, and guidelines for the
administration and enforcement of the waste tire program provided for in this Chapter, which
shall be subject to legislative review and approval by the Senate Committee on
Environmental Quality and the House Committee on Natural Resources and Environment.
The rules, regulations, and guidelines shall provide for but not be limited to:
(1) Establishing standards, requirements, and permitting procedures for waste tire
transporters, collection sites, generators, and processors. The requirements for waste tire
transporters, collection sites, and processors shall include proof of commercial liability
insurance in a sufficient amount and other evidence of financial responsibility as determined
by the secretary. For waste tire transporters, financial responsibility shall include a surety
bond in a minimum amount of ten thousand dollars, as determined by the secretary.
(2) Encouraging local governing authorities to establish advisory councils to advise
the secretary regarding waste tire clean up.
(3) Providing technical assistance and incentives to encourage market research and
development projects.
(4) Providing incentives and assistance for those persons who collect and remit the
fee imposed on the sale of tires.
(5) Providing incentives and assistance for collection and transportation of waste
tires including, but not limited to, incentives and assistance for local governing authorities
which shall be given the highest priority. Subject to Paragraph (7) of this Subsection, this
Paragraph shall not prohibit local governing authorities from splitting, slicing, shredding, or
baling tires as part of the disposal process or other beneficial use.
(6) Establishing a procedure for accepting voluntary payments from tire retailers to
defray the costs of transporting and recycling tires collected at those facilities.
(7) Providing incentives and assistance to waste tire processing facilities, but only
if such facilities use, consume, or process the tires so that they may be reused as a raw
material, product, or fuel source. No incentives shall be provided to persons who transport
waste tires generated in Louisiana and process those tires in any other state.
(8) Remediating environmental and public health problems caused by such waste
tires.
(9) Establishing a procedure and criteria for local governing authorities to apply for
and receive funds to remediate waste tire problems in their respective jurisdictions. Payment
of funds to local governing authorities for waste remediation tire problems shall commence
May 1, 1993.
(10) Establishing standards and requirements for expedited approval of customary
end-market uses including but are not limited to those recognized by the Environmental
Protection Agency, the Rubber Manufacturers Association, or previously approved by the
department. Such standards and requirements shall not include disposal as an end market
use of eligible waste tire material. No such standard or requirement shall contravene
Subsection C or E of this Section.
I.(1)(a) The fee on tires authorized to be levied pursuant to R.S. 30:2413(A)(8) shall
not exceed the following:
(i) Two dollars and twenty-five cents per passenger/light truck/small farm service
tire.
(ii) Five dollars per medium truck tire.
(iii) Ten dollars per off-road tire.
(b) The secretary may provide for exemptions from the fees levied on the sale of tires
pursuant to this Chapter in the regulations provided for in Subsection H of this Section for
the sale of tires sold at wholesale and certain tires which are de minimis in nature, including
but not limited to lawn mower tires, bicycle tires, and golf cart tires. After June 1, 2004, the
secretary may provide for the exemption of certain tire sales from the fee which tires were
not previously exempted only through the department's rulemaking authority, including
legislative oversight as provided in R.S. 30:2413(A)(8).
(2) A permitted waste tire processing facility shall be paid a minimum of seven and
a half cents per pound of waste tire material that is recycled or that reaches end market uses
or per pound of whole waste tires that are recycled or that reaches end market uses. This
payment shall be made to the facility on or before the twelfth day of the month following the
submission of the request for payment and shall be conditioned on the facility providing to
the department any documentation, including but not limited to manifests, statements, or
certified scale-weight tickets, required by law or by rules and regulations promulgated by the
department.
(3)(a) In the event the balance of the account is insufficient to meet the obligations
to waste tire processors provided for in Paragraph (2) of this Subsection, the department,
after meeting all payments required by law, shall pay any undisputed obligations in a pro rata
share to waste tire processors having a standard permit when the request for payment was
submitted. Any remaining undisputed obligations which would have been paid to waste tire
processors but for the insufficiency of the account shall be paid from future surplus funds in
the account as provided in Subparagraph (b) of this Paragraph. However, beginning August
1, 2013, such payments shall be applied in priority from the earliest incurred undisputed
obligation to the most current undisputed obligation.
(b) In the event the account has a surplus after meeting all obligations of the account
for the month, including any payments required by law, such surplus shall be distributed in
a pro rata share to those waste tire processors having a standard permit when the request for
payment was submitted and for whom there are unpaid obligations of the account, excluding
any disputed amounts. Such surplus shall be processed for payment by the department within
fifteen days after the end of the month in which the surplus arose.
(c) For purposes of this Section, "undisputed obligations" means those waste tire
material payments which should have been paid by the department to a waste tire processor
since January 1, 2003, but which have not been paid due to the insufficiency of the account.
(4) If litigation relating to account payments in dispute prior to March 1, 2004, is
resolved through final judgment or settlement, the secretary shall pay from the account the
portion of such final judgment or settlement which represents previously disputed account
payments within one hundred eighty days of the judgment or settlement. This Subsection
shall not be construed to limit or condition the right of the judgment creditor or obligee under
the settlement agreement to obtain payment in satisfaction of the judgment or settlement
from any source authorized by law.
J. The secretary or his designee shall submit an annual report to the president of the
Senate, the speaker of the House of Representatives, the Senate Committee on
Environmental Quality, and the House Committee on Natural Resources and Environment
and appear before a joint meeting of the House Committee on Natural Resources and
Environment and the Senate Committee on Environmental Quality during each regular
session to present the report detailing the progress of the waste tire program for the preceding
year, the current balance of the account, and the forecast for the account in the following
year.
K.(1) Except as provided in Paragraph (2) of this Subsection, the governing authority
of each parish or municipality is hereby authorized to govern the siting of waste tire
collection, processing, storage, and depository facilities within their respective jurisdictions.
The department shall not issue any permit allowing the establishment of a waste tire
collection, processing, storage, or depository facility unless the governing authority of the
parish or municipality in which the proposed facility is to be located is first notified by the
department of the proposed permit.
(2) The permit application submitted to the department shall be accompanied by a
letter of compliance and certification of premises and buildings from the state fire marshal.
The applicant shall post a bond in accordance with the requirements of the department
sufficient to cover the costs of removal of tires from the site in the event operations cease.
(3) Copies of the permit applications to the department shall be made available to
the public at the local governmental office. The department shall hold a public hearing
within sixty days of submission of an application. The applicant shall cause the notice of the
hearing to be published in the official journal of the parish or municipality on two separate
days preceding the hearing. The last day of publication of such notice shall be at least ten
days prior to the hearing. The applicant shall post a notice of the hearing at least two weeks
prior to the hearing in the courthouse, government center, and all the libraries. A public
comment period of at least thirty days shall be allowed following the public hearing.
L. The secretary shall promulgate rules and regulations providing incentives,
including but not limited to financial rewards, for the reporting of the unauthorized disposal
of waste tires.
M.(1) No person shall, with the intent to defraud, prepare, submit, tender, sign, make
an entry upon, or certify any invoice, report, manifest, request for payment, claim, or other
document in connection with the origin, transportation, storage, transfer, assignment, sale,
or disposal of waste tires, as defined by R.S. 30:2412.
(2) Penalties for a violation of Paragraph (1) of this Subsection shall be based on the
value of the fraudulent taking. When the fraudulent taking results from a number of distinct
acts by the offender, the aggregate amount of the payments, subsidies, credits, other
disbursements, or things of value obtained shall determine the grade of the offense. Penalties
shall be as follows:
(a) If the fraudulent taking amounts to a value of five hundred dollars or more, the
offender shall be imprisoned, with or without hard labor, for not more than ten years, or may
be fined not more than three thousand dollars, or both.
(b) When the fraudulent taking amounts to a value of three hundred dollars or more,
but less than five hundred dollars, the offender shall be imprisoned, with or without hard
labor, for not more than two years, or may be fined not more than two thousand dollars, or
both.
(c) When the fraudulent taking amounts to less than three hundred dollars the
offender shall be imprisoned for not more than six months, or may be fined not more than
five hundred dollars, or both. However, if such a conviction is the offender's third or
subsequent conviction for violations of this Subsection, the offender shall be imprisoned,
with or without hard labor, for not more than two years, or may be fined not more than two
thousand dollars, or both.
(3) A waste tire processor shall not request or receive payments from the account for
any waste tires unless the waste tires are generated and processed in Louisiana, the generator
and transporter have signed a statement swearing under penalty of law that the tires were not
generated outside the state of Louisiana and are Louisiana-eligible tires, and the processor
has signed a statement swearing under penalty of law that he has no knowledge contrary to
the representations of the generator and transporter. The department shall provide a standard
form to be used by generators, transporters, and processors to comply with this Paragraph.
(4) In addition to any other penalties provided for in this Subsection, any person
convicted of violating Paragraph (1) of this Subsection may be barred from participating in
the program, including requesting and receiving payments or reimbursements from the
account, and any license or registration issued by the department that is required to
participate in the program may be ordered to be surrendered. Participants shall include
collectors, generators, processors, and transporters. Any such person convicted may be
forever barred from employment with or from contracting with any license holder under this
Section. Any sentence imposed which includes the suspension or barring under this
Paragraph shall be suspended until after rendition of a final conviction from which no appeal
may be taken.
(5) Nothing in this Subsection shall preclude the department from promulgating rules
and regulations providing for the revocation of licenses or registrations through the
Administrative Procedure Act.
N. The secretary shall promulgate rules to make payments to processors on the basis
of weight or tire count. Payments to a waste tire processor, or any portion thereof, shall not
be temporarily or permanently withheld or terminated prior to written notification by the
department of the reasons for such withholding or termination to the processor by certified
mail. Any such disputed funds shall be immediately placed in escrow pending final
resolution of the matter.
O.(1) Failure by any person to timely remit fees collected that are imposed in this
Section shall cause the fees to become immediately delinquent, and the secretary has the
authority, on motion in a court of competent jurisdiction, to take a rule to show cause in not
less than two nor more than ten days, exclusive of holidays, why such person should not be
ordered to cease from further pursuit of business. This rule may be tried in chambers and
shall always be tried by preference. If the rule is made absolute, the order rendered thereon
shall be considered a judgment in favor of the state, prohibiting the person from the further
pursuit of said business until he has paid the delinquent fees and any fines, interest, penalties,
and other costs in connection with the fees, and every violation of the injunction shall be
considered as a contempt of court and punished according to law.
(2) The provisions of Paragraph (1) of this Subsection shall not apply if the person
has entered into an installment agreement for the payment of the delinquent fees with the
department and is in compliance with the terms of the agreement.
(3) Proceeds from the collection of the fees and any fines, penalties, interest, and
costs collected in connection with the fees shall be deposited into the account to be used to
administer the waste tire program authorized by this Section.
(4) The collection procedure provided for in this Subsection shall be in addition to
any other collection procedure available to the department.
(5) In addition to the authority and collection procedure provided for in this
Subsection, the secretary has the authority to impose upon any person failing to timely remit
fees imposed by this Section, a delinquent fee of ten percent of the unpaid fee or twenty-five
dollars, whichever is greater. A delinquent fee of twenty-five dollars may also be imposed
upon any person failing to timely submit a monthly waste tire fee report required by any rule
or regulation promulgated pursuant to this Section. Proceeds from the collection of the fees
authorized by this Paragraph shall be used for special waste tire projects as determined by
the secretary. Any such proceeds remaining at the end of the fiscal year that have not been
used for special projects shall be deposited in the account.
P. The department shall be responsible for the removal of tires on any property
containing more than one thousand tires, located in a historic district in a municipality with
a population between twenty-eight and twenty-nine thousand according to the latest
decennial census; however, in no event shall the department be responsible for the removal
of more than three thousand tires from such property. The owner of any such property shall
notify the secretary of the existence and need for removal of tires by certified mail. The
department shall be responsible for the cost of labor, transportation, and disposal of any tires
removed pursuant to this Subsection and shall have the removal of any such tires complete
by September 30, 2022.
Acts 1989, No. 185, §1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989; Acts 1992, No. 664, §1, eff. July 2, 1992;
Acts 1993, No. 79, §1; Acts 1993, No. 158, §1; Acts 1996, 1st Ex. Sess., No. 36, §1, eff.
May 7, 1996; Acts 1999, No. 1015, §1, eff. July 9, 1999; Acts 1999, No. 1049, §1; Acts
2001, No. 623, §1; Acts 2002, 1st Ex. Sess., No. 101, §1, eff. April 18, 2002; Acts 2003, No.
582, §1, eff. June 27, 2003; Acts 2003, No. 789, §1; Acts 2004, No. 846, §1; Acts 2006, No.
821, §1, eff. July 5, 2006, and §2, eff. July 1, 2008; Acts 2008, No. 580, §2; Acts 2010, No.
852, §1, eff. June 30, 2010; Acts 2012, No. 817, §1; Acts 2013, No. 323, §1; Acts 2015, No.
427, §1; Acts 2016, No. 633, §1, eff. Oct. 1, 2016; Acts 2018, No. 541, §1; Acts 2021, No.
114, §6, eff. July 1, 2022; Acts 2021, No. 291, §1; Acts 2022, No. 480, §1.
NOTE: Section 2 of Act. No. 323 of the 2013 R.S. requires the Dept. of
Environmental Quality to implement Section 1 of the Act through rulemaking
and to submit the report required pursuant to R.S. 49:968(A) by December
31, 2013.
NOTE: See Section 3 of Act No. 323 of the 2013 R.S. for the required study
and report by the Waste Tire Program Task Force.
NOTE: See Section 2 of Act No. 427 of the 2015 R.S. which extends the
authority of the Waste Tire Program Task Force (created by Section 3 of Act
No. 323 of the 2013 R.S.), requires annual reporting by the Task Force, and
provides relative to the membership of the Task Force.
NOTE: See Sections 3 and 4 of Act No. 427 of the 2015 R.S. relative to the
rules, regulations, and guidelines of the Department of Environmental
Quality.