§ 3734.57 — Fees for waste disposal

Ohio § 3734.57

• Jurisdiction: Ohio
• Title 37: Health-Safety-Morals
• Ch. 3734: Solid and Hazardous Wastes

Text

(A) The following fees are hereby levied on the transfer or disposal of solid wastes in this state:

(1) Seventy-one cents per ton through June 30, 2028, eleven cents of the proceeds of which shall be deposited in the state treasury to the credit of the hazardous waste facility management fund created in section3734.18of the Revised Code and sixty cents of the proceeds of which shall be deposited in the state treasury to the credit of the hazardous waste clean-up fund created in section3734.28of the Revised Code;

(2) An additional ninety cents per ton through June 30, 2028, the proceeds of which shall be deposited in the state treasury to the credit of the waste management fund created in section3734.061of the Revised Code;

(3) An additional two dollars and eighty-one cents per ton through June 30, 2028, the proceeds of which shall be deposited in the state treasury to the credit of the environmental protection fund created in section3745.015of the Revised Code;

(4) An additional twenty-five cents per ton through June 30, 2028, the proceeds of which shall be deposited in the state treasury to the credit of the soil and water conservation district assistance fund created in section940.15of the Revised Code;

(5) An additional eight cents per ton through June 30, 2028, the proceeds of which shall be deposited in the state treasury to the credit of the national priority list remedial support fund created in section3734.579of the Revised Code.

In the case of solid wastes that are taken to a solid waste transfer facility located in this state prior to being transported for disposal at a solid waste disposal facility located in this state or outside of this state, the fees levied under this division shall be collected by the owner or operator of the transfer facility as a trustee for the state. The amount of fees required to be collected under this division at such a transfer facility shall equal the total tonnage of solid wastes received at the facility multiplied by the fees levied under this division. In the case of solid wastes that are not taken to a solid waste transfer facility located in this state prior to being transported to a solid waste disposal facility, the fees shall be collected by the owner or operator of the solid waste disposal facility as a trustee for the state. The amount of fees required to be collected under this division at such a disposal facility shall equal the total tonnage of solid wastes received at the facility that was not previously taken to a solid waste transfer facility located in this state multiplied by the fees levied under this division. Fees levied under this division do not apply to materials separated from a mixed waste stream for recycling by a generator or materials removed from the solid waste stream through recycling, as "recycling" is defined in rules adopted under section3734.02of the Revised Code.

The owner or operator of a solid waste transfer facility or disposal facility, as applicable, shall prepare and file with the director of environmental protection each month a return indicating the total tonnage of solid wastes received at the facility during that month and the total amount of the fees required to be collected under this division during that month. In addition, the owner or operator of a solid waste disposal facility shall indicate on the return the total tonnage of solid wastes received from transfer facilities located in this state during that month for which the fees were required to be collected by the transfer facilities. The monthly returns shall be filed on a form prescribed by the director. Not later than thirty days after the last day of the month to which a return applies, the owner or operator shall mail to the director the return for that month together with the fees required to be collected under this division during that month as indicated on the return or may submit the return and fees electronically in a manner approved by the director. If the return is filed and the amount of the fees due is paid in a timely manner as required in this division, the owner or operator may retain a discount of three-fourths of one per cent of the total amount of the fees that are required to be paid as indicated on the return.

The owner or operator may request an extension of not more than thirty days for filing the return and remitting the fees, provided that the owner or operator has submitted such a request in writing to the director together with a detailed description of why the extension is requested, the director has received the request not later than the day on which the return is required to be filed, and the director has approved the request. If the fees are not remitted within thirty days after the last day of the month to which the return applies or are not remitted by the last day of an extension approved by the director, the owner or operator shall not retain the three-fourths of one per cent discount and shall pay an additional ten per cent of the amount of the fees for each month that they are late. For purposes of calculating the late fee, the first month in which fees are late begins on the first day after the deadline has passed for timely submitting the return and fees, and one additional month shall be counted every thirty days thereafter.

The owner or operator of a solid waste facility may request a refund or credit of fees levied under this division and remitted to the director that have not been paid to the owner or operator. Such a request shall be made only if the fees have not been collected by the owner or operator, have become a debt that has become worthless or uncollectable for a period of six months or more, and may be claimed as a deduction, including a deduction claimed if the owner or operator keeps accounts on an accrual basis, under the "Internal Revenue Code of 1954," 68A Stat. 50, 26 U.S.C. 166, as amended, and regulations adopted under it. Prior to making a request for a refund or credit, an owner or operator shall make reasonable efforts to collect the applicable fees. A request for a refund or credit shall not include any costs resulting from those efforts to collect unpaid fees.

A request for a refund or credit of fees shall be made in writing, on a form prescribed by the director, and shall be supported by evidence that may be required in rules adopted by the director under this chapter. After reviewing the request, and if the request and evidence submitted with the request indicate that a refund or credit is warranted, the director shall grant a refund to the owner or operator or shall permit a credit to be taken by the owner or operator on a subsequent monthly return submitted by the owner or operator. The amount of a refund or credit shall not exceed an amount that is equal to ninety days' worth of fees owed to an owner or operator by a particular debtor of the owner or operator. A refund or credit shall not be granted by the director to an owner or operator more than once in any twelve-month period for fees owed to the owner or operator by a particular debtor.

If, after receiving a refund or credit from the director, an owner or operator receives payment of all or part of the fees, the owner or operator shall remit the fees with the next monthly return submitted to the director together with a written explanation of the reason for the submittal.

For purposes of computing the fees levied under this division or division (B) of this section, any solid waste transfer or disposal facility that does not use scales as a means of determining gate receipts shall use a conversion factor of three cubic yards per ton of solid waste or one cubic yard per ton for baled waste, as applicable.

The fees levied under this division and divisions (B) and (C) of this section are in addition to all other applicable fees and taxes and shall be paid by the customer or a political subdivision to the owner or operator of a solid waste transfer or disposal facility. In the alternative, the fees shall be paid by a customer or political subdivision to a transporter of waste who subsequently transfers the fees to the owner or operator of such a facility. The fees shall be paid notwithstanding the existence of any provision in a contract that the customer or a political subdivision may have with the owner or operator or with a transporter of waste to the facility that would not require or allow such payment regardless of whether the contract was entered prior to or after October 16, 2009. For those purposes, "customer" means a person who contracts with, or utilizes the solid waste services of, the owner or operator of a solid waste transfer or disposal facility or a transporter of solid waste to such a facility.

(B) For the purposes specified in division (G) of this section, the solid waste management policy committee of a county or joint solid waste management district may levy fees upon the following activities:

(1) The disposal at a solid waste disposal facility located in the district of solid wastes generated within the district;

(2) The disposal at a solid waste disposal facility within the district of solid wastes generated outside the boundaries of the district, but inside this state;

(3) The disposal at a solid waste disposal facility within the district of solid wastes generated outside the boundaries of this state.

The solid waste management plan of the county or joint district approved under section3734.521or3734.55of the Revised Code and any amendments to it, or the resolution adopted under this division, as appropriate, shall establish the rates of the fees levied under divisions (B)(1), (2), and (3) of this section, if any, and shall specify whether the fees are levied on the basis of tons or cubic yards as the unit of measurement. A solid waste management district that levies fees under this division on the basis of cubic yards shall do so in accordance with division (A) of this section.

The fee levied under division (B)(1) of this section shall be not less than one dollar per ton nor more than two dollars per ton, the fee levied under division (B)(2) of this section shall be not less than two dollars per ton nor more than four dollars per ton, and the fee levied under division (B)(3) of this section shall be not more than the fee levied under division (B)(1) of this section.

Prior to the approval of the solid waste management plan of a district under section3734.55of the Revised Code, the solid waste management policy committee of a district may levy fees under this division by adopting a resolution establishing the proposed amount of the fees. Upon adopting the resolution, the committee shall deliver a copy of the resolution to the board of county commissioners of each county forming the district and to the legislative authority of each municipal corporation and township under the jurisdiction of the district and shall prepare and publish the resolution and a notice of the time and location where a public hearing on the fees will be held. Upon adopting the resolution, the committee shall deliver written notice of the adoption of the resolution; of the amount of the proposed fees; and of the date, time, and location of the public hearing to the director and to the fifty industrial, commercial, or institutional generators of solid wastes within the district that generate the largest quantities of solid wastes, as determined by the committee, and to their local trade associations. The committee shall make good faith efforts to identify those generators within the district and their local trade associations, but the nonprovision of notice under this division to a particular generator or local trade association does not invalidate the proceedings under this division. The publication shall occur at least thirty days before the hearing. After the hearing, the committee may make such revisions to the proposed fees as it considers appropriate and thereafter, by resolution, shall adopt the revised fee schedule. Upon adopting the revised fee schedule, the committee shall deliver a copy of the resolution doing so to the board of county commissioners of each county forming the district and to the legislative authority of each municipal corporation and township under the jurisdiction of the district. Within sixty days after the delivery of a copy of the resolution adopting the proposed revised fees by the policy committee, each such board and legislative authority, by ordinance or resolution, shall approve or disapprove the revised fees and deliver a copy of the ordinance or resolution to the committee. If any such board or legislative authority fails to adopt and deliver to the policy committee an ordinance or resolution approving or disapproving the revised fees within sixty days after the policy committee delivered its resolution adopting the proposed revised fees, it shall be conclusively presumed that the board or legislative authority has approved the proposed revised fees. The committee shall determine if the resolution has been ratified in the same manner in which it determines if a draft solid waste management plan has been ratified under division (B) of section3734.55of the Revised Code.

The committee may amend the schedule of fees levied pursuant to a resolution adopted and ratified under this division by adopting a resolution establishing the proposed amount of the amended fees. The committee may repeal the fees levied pursuant to such a resolution by adopting a resolution proposing to repeal them. Upon adopting such a resolution, the committee shall proceed to obtain ratification of the resolution in accordance with this division.

Not later than fourteen days after declaring the new fees to be ratified or the fees to be repealed under this division, the committee shall notify by certified mail the owner or operator of each solid waste disposal facility that is required to collect the fees of the ratification and the amount of the fees or of the repeal of the fees. Collection of any fees shall commence or collection of repealed fees shall cease on the first day of the second month following the month in which notification is sent to the owner or operator.

Fees levied under this division also may be established, amended, or repealed by a solid waste management policy committee through the adoption of a new district solid waste management plan, the adoption of an amended plan, or the amendment of the plan or amended plan in accordance with sections3734.55and3734.56of the Revised Code or the adoption or amendment of a district plan in connection with a change in district composition under section3734.521of the Revised Code.

Not later than fourteen days after the director issues an order approving a district's solid waste management plan, amended plan, or amendment to a plan or amended plan that establishes, amends, or repeals a schedule of fees levied by the district, the committee shall notify by certified mail the owner or operator of each solid waste disposal facility that is required to collect the fees of the approval of the plan or amended plan, or the amendment to the plan, as appropriate, and the amount of the fees, if any. In the case of an initial or amended plan approved under section3734.521of the Revised Code in connection with a change in district composition, other than one involving the withdrawal of a county from a joint district, the committee, within fourteen days after the change takes effect pursuant to division (E) of that section, shall notify by certified mail the owner or operator of each solid waste disposal facility that is required to collect the fees that the change has taken effect and of the amount of the fees, if any. Collection of any fees shall commence or collection of repealed fees shall cease on the first day of the second month following the month in which notification is sent to the owner or operator.

If, in the case of a change in district composition involving the withdrawal of a county from a joint district, the director completes the actions required under section3734.522of the Revised Code, forty-five days or more before the beginning of a calendar year, the policy committee of each of the districts resulting from the change that obtained the director's approval of an initial or amended plan in connection with the change, within fourteen days after the director's completion of the required actions, shall notify by certified mail the owner or operator of each solid waste disposal facility that is required to collect the district's fees that the change is to take effect on the first day of January immediately following the issuance of the notice and of the amount of the fees or amended fees levied under divisions (B)(1) to (3) of this section pursuant to the district's initial or amended plan as so approved or, if appropriate, the repeal of the district's fees by that initial or amended plan. Collection of any fees set forth in such a plan or amended plan shall commence on the first day of January immediately following the issuance of the notice. If such an initial or amended plan repeals a schedule of fees, collection of the fees shall cease on that first day of January.

If, in the case of a change in district composition involving the withdrawal of a county from a joint district, the director completes the actions required under section3734.522of the Revised Code, less than forty-five days before the beginning of a calendar year, the director, on behalf of each of the districts resulting from the change that obtained the director's approval of an initial or amended plan in connection with the change proceedings, shall notify by certified mail the owner or operator of each solid waste disposal facility that is required to collect the district's fees that the change is to take effect on the first day of January immediately following the mailing of the notice and of the amount of the fees or amended fees levied under divisions (B)(1) to (3) of this section pursuant to the district's initial or amended plan as so approved or, if appropriate, the repeal of the district's fees by that initial or amended plan. Collection of any fees set forth in such a plan or amended plan shall commence on the first day of the second month following the month in which notification is sent to the owner or operator. If such an initial or amended plan repeals a schedule of fees, collection of the fees shall cease on the first day of the second month following the month in which notification is sent to the owner or operator.

If the schedule of fees that a solid waste management district is levying under divisions (B)(1) to (3) of this section is amended or repealed, the fees in effect immediately prior to the amendment or repeal shall continue to be collected until collection of the amended fees commences or collection of the repealed fees ceases, as applicable, as specified in this division. In the case of a change in district composition, money so received from the collection of the fees of the former districts shall be divided among the resulting districts in accordance with section3734.522of the Revised Code and the agreements entered into under division (B) of section343.01of the Revised Code to establish the former and resulting districts and any amendments to those agreements.

For the purposes of the provisions of division (B) of this section establishing the times when newly established or amended fees levied by a district are required to commence and the collection of fees that have been amended or repealed is required to cease, "fees" or "schedule of fees" includes, in addition to fees levied under divisions (B)(1) to (3) of this section, those levied under section3734.573or3734.574of the Revised Code.

(C) For the purposes of defraying the added costs to a municipal corporation or township of maintaining roads and other public facilities and of providing emergency and other public services, and compensating a municipal corporation or township for reductions in real property tax revenues due to reductions in real property valuations resulting from the location and operation of a solid waste disposal facility within the municipal corporation or township, a municipal corporation or township in which such a solid waste disposal facility is located may levy a fee of not more than twenty-five cents per ton on the disposal of solid wastes at a solid waste disposal facility located within the boundaries of the municipal corporation or township regardless of where the wastes were generated.

The legislative authority of a municipal corporation or township may levy fees under this division by enacting an ordinance or adopting a resolution establishing the amount of the fees. Upon so doing the legislative authority shall mail a certified copy of the ordinance or resolution to the board of county commissioners or directors of the county or joint solid waste management district in which the municipal corporation or township is located or, if a regional solid waste management authority has been formed under section343.011of the Revised Code, to the board of trustees of that regional authority, the owner or operator of each solid waste disposal facility in the municipal corporation or township that is required to collect the fee by the ordinance or resolution, and the director of environmental protection. Although the fees levied under this division are levied on the basis of tons as the unit of measurement, the legislative authority, in its ordinance or resolution levying the fees under this division, may direct that the fees be levied on the basis of cubic yards as the unit of measurement based upon a conversion factor of three cubic yards per ton generally or one cubic yard per ton for baled wastes.

Not later than five days after enacting an ordinance or adopting a resolution under this division, the legislative authority shall so notify by certified mail the owner or operator of each solid waste disposal facility that is required to collect the fee. Collection of any fee levied on or after March 24, 1992, shall commence on the first day of the second month following the month in which notification is sent to the owner or operator.

(D)(1) The fees levied under divisions (A), (B), and (C) of this section do not apply to the disposal of solid wastes that:

(a) Are disposed of at a facility owned by the generator of the wastes when the solid waste facility exclusively disposes of solid wastes generated at one or more premises owned by the generator regardless of whether the facility is located on a premises where the wastes are generated;

(b) Are generated from the combustion of coal, or from the combustion of primarily coal, regardless of whether the disposal facility is located on the premises where the wastes are generated;

(c) Are asbestos or asbestos-containing materials or products disposed of at a construction and demolition debris facility that is licensed under Chapter 3714. of the Revised Code or at a solid waste facility that is licensed under this chapter.

(2) Except as provided in section3734.571of the Revised Code, any fees levied under division (B)(1) of this section apply to solid wastes originating outside the boundaries of a county or joint district that are covered by an agreement for the joint use of solid waste facilities entered into under section343.02of the Revised Code by the board of county commissioners or board of directors of the county or joint district where the wastes are generated and disposed of.

(3) When solid wastes, other than solid wastes that consist of scrap tires, are burned in a disposal facility that is an incinerator or energy recovery facility, the fees levied under divisions (A), (B), and (C) of this section shall be levied upon the disposal of the fly ash and bottom ash remaining after burning of the solid wastes and shall be collected by the owner or operator of the sanitary landfill where the ash is disposed of.

(4) When solid wastes are delivered to a solid waste transfer facility, the fees levied under divisions (B) and (C) of this section shall be levied upon the disposal of solid wastes transported off the premises of the transfer facility for disposal and shall be collected by the owner or operator of the solid waste disposal facility where the wastes are disposed of.

(5) The fees levied under divisions (A), (B), and (C) of this section do not apply to sewage sludge that is generated by a waste water treatment facility holding a national pollutant discharge elimination system permit and that is disposed of through incineration, land application, or composting or at another resource recovery or disposal facility that is not a landfill.

(6) The fees levied under divisions (A), (B), and (C) of this section do not apply to solid wastes delivered to a solid waste composting facility for processing. When any unprocessed solid waste or compost product is transported off the premises of a composting facility and disposed of at a landfill, the fees levied under divisions (A), (B), and (C) of this section shall be collected by the owner or operator of the landfill where the unprocessed waste or compost product is disposed of.

(7) When solid wastes that consist of scrap tires are processed at a scrap tire recovery facility, the fees levied under divisions (A), (B), and (C) of this section shall be levied upon the disposal of the fly ash and bottom ash or other solid wastes remaining after the processing of the scrap tires and shall be collected by the owner or operator of the solid waste disposal facility where the ash or other solid wastes are disposed of.

(8) The director of environmental protection may issue an order exempting from the fees levied under this section solid wastes, including, but not limited to, scrap tires, that are generated, transferred, or disposed of as a result of a contract providing for the expenditure of public funds entered into by the administrator or regional administrator of the United States environmental protection agency, the director of environmental protection, or the director of administrative services on behalf of the director of environmental protection for the purpose of remediating conditions at a hazardous waste facility, solid waste facility, or other location at which the administrator or regional administrator or the director of environmental protection has reason to believe that there is a substantial threat to public health or safety or the environment or that the conditions are causing or contributing to air or water pollution or soil contamination. An order issued by the director of environmental protection under division (D)(8) of this section shall include a determination that the amount of the fees not received by a solid waste management district as a result of the order will not adversely impact the implementation and financing of the district's approved solid waste management plan and any approved amendments to the plan. Such an order is a final action of the director of environmental protection.

(E) The fees levied under divisions (B) and (C) of this section shall be collected by the owner or operator of the solid waste disposal facility where the wastes are disposed of as a trustee for the county or joint district and municipal corporation or township where the wastes are disposed of. Moneys from the fees levied under division (B) of this section shall be forwarded to the board of county commissioners or board of directors of the district in accordance with rules adopted under division (H) of this section. Moneys from the fees levied under division (C) of this section shall be forwarded to the treasurer or such other officer of the municipal corporation as, by virtue of the charter, has the duties of the treasurer or to the fiscal officer of the township, as appropriate, in accordance with those rules.

(F) Moneys received by the treasurer or other officer of the municipal corporation under division (E) of this section shall be paid into the general fund of the municipal corporation. Moneys received by the fiscal officer of the township under that division shall be paid into the general fund of the township. The treasurer or other officer of the municipal corporation or the township fiscal officer, as appropriate, shall maintain separate records of the moneys received from the fees levied under division (C) of this section.

(G) Moneys received by the board of county commissioners or board of directors under division (E) of this section or section3734.571,3734.572,3734.573, or3734.574of the Revised Code shall be paid to the county treasurer, or other official acting in a similar capacity under a county charter, in a county district or to the county treasurer or other official designated by the board of directors in a joint district and kept in a separate and distinct fund to the credit of the district. If a regional solid waste management authority has been formed under section343.011of the Revised Code, moneys received by the board of trustees of that regional authority under division (E) of this section shall be kept by the board in a separate and distinct fund to the credit of the district. Moneys in the special fund of the county or joint district arising from the fees levied under division (B) of this section and the fee levied under division (A) of section3734.573of the Revised Code shall be expended by the board of county commissioners or directors of the district in accordance with the district's solid waste management plan or amended plan approved under section3734.521,3734.55, or3734.56of the Revised Code exclusively for the following purposes:

(1) Preparation of the solid waste management plan of the district under section3734.54of the Revised Code, monitoring implementation of the plan, and conducting the periodic review and amendment of the plan required by section3734.56of the Revised Code by the solid waste management policy committee;

(2) Implementation of the approved solid waste management plan or amended plan of the district, including, without limitation, the development and implementation of solid waste recycling or reduction programs;

(3) Providing financial assistance to boards of health within the district, if solid waste facilities are located within the district, for enforcement of this chapter and rules, orders, and terms and conditions of permits, licenses, and variances adopted or issued under it, other than the hazardous waste provisions of this chapter and rules adopted and orders and terms and conditions of permits issued under those provisions;

(4) Providing financial assistance to each county within the district to defray the added costs of maintaining roads and other public facilities and of providing emergency and other public services resulting from the location and operation of a solid waste facility within the county under the district's approved solid waste management plan or amended plan;

(5) Pursuant to contracts entered into with boards of health within the district, if solid waste facilities contained in the district's approved plan or amended plan are located within the district, for paying the costs incurred by those boards of health for collecting and analyzing samples from public or private water wells on lands adjacent to those facilities;

(6) Developing and implementing a program for the inspection of solid wastes generated outside the boundaries of this state that are disposed of at solid waste facilities included in the district's approved solid waste management plan or amended plan;

(7) Providing financial assistance to boards of health within the district for the enforcement of section3734.03of the Revised Code or to local law enforcement agencies having jurisdiction within the district for enforcing anti-littering laws and ordinances;

(8) Providing financial assistance to boards of health of health districts within the district that are on the approved list under section3734.08of the Revised Code to defray the costs to the health districts for the participation of their employees responsible for enforcement of the solid waste provisions of this chapter and rules adopted and orders and terms and conditions of permits, licenses, and variances issued under those provisions in the training and certification program as required by rules adopted under division (L) of section3734.02of the Revised Code;

(9) Providing financial assistance to individual municipal corporations and townships within the district to defray their added costs of maintaining roads and other public facilities and of providing emergency and other public services resulting from the location and operation within their boundaries of a composting, energy or resource recovery, incineration, or recycling facility that either is owned by the district or is furnishing solid waste management facility or recycling services to the district pursuant to a contract or agreement with the board of county commissioners or directors of the district;

(10) Payment of any expenses that are agreed to, awarded, or ordered to be paid under section3734.35of the Revised Code and of any administrative costs incurred pursuant to that section. In the case of a joint solid waste management district, if the board of county commissioners of one of the counties in the district is negotiating on behalf of affected communities, as defined in that section, in that county, the board shall obtain the approval of the board of directors of the district in order to expend moneys for administrative costs incurred.

(11) Providing financial assistance to individual counties, boards of health, municipal corporations, and townships for the costs of mitigating impacts to public health, safety, and welfare of solid waste disposal or transfer facilities within the applicable political subdivision.

Prior to the approval of the district's solid waste management plan under section3734.55of the Revised Code, moneys in the special fund of the district arising from the fees shall be expended for those purposes in the manner prescribed by the solid waste management policy committee by resolution.

(H) The director shall adopt rules in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code prescribing procedures for collecting and forwarding the fees levied under divisions (B) and (C) of this section to the boards of county commissioners or directors of county or joint solid waste management districts and to the treasurers or other officers of municipal corporations and the fiscal officers of townships. The rules also shall prescribe the dates for forwarding the fees to the boards and officials and may prescribe any other requirements the director considers necessary or appropriate to implement and administer divisions (A), (B), and (C) of this section.

The Legislative Service Commission presents the text of this section as a composite of the section as amended by multiple acts of the General Assembly. This presentation recognizes the principle stated inR.C. 1.52(B)that amendments are to be harmonized if reasonably capable of simultaneous operation.

Last updated July 30, 2025 at 1:56 PM

Legislative History

Effective: September 30, 2025 | Latest Legislation: Senate Bill 147 (GA 136), House Bill 96 (GA 136)