Aerobic Garbage Reduction

While the legislature is rumored to be heading toward adjournment sine die by Friday, March 26, some legislation other than budget-related has been introduced, passed committees in both House and Senate and passed on the floors for both chambers. One of the most interesting, dealing with land fills, was introduced on February 25th.

HB 599 allows the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality to review, approve, and issue research, development and demonstration permits for design, construction and operation of bioreactor landfill operations.

There are currently 70 bioreactor landfills in operation in the country. Bioreactor landfills work by breaking down waste and converting it to other useful purposes over the course of years instead of decades, reducing the need to site new landfills as frequently. They also produce electricity by expanded production of methane gas.

The Solid Waste Association of North America (SWANA), characterizes a bioreactor landfill as that in which "liquid and gas conditions are actively managed in order to accelerate or enhance biostabilization of the waste... significantly increasing the extent of organic waste decomposition, conversion rates, and process effectiveness over what would otherwise occur with the landfill.”

In basic terms, it takes the addition of liquid and air to increase decomposition. Regular landfill waste often does not have enough moisture to meet the microbial needs for this process. Bioreactor landfills add liquid and sometimes oxygen to speed up anaerobic waste decomposition by turning it into aerobic decomposition.

Bioreactor landfills convert waste to other useful purposes faster than standard practices—in a matter of years instead of decades. As waste breaks down, it decomposes and is converted into gas which could be used to produce power while decreasing greenhouse gases. The process results in a 15 to 20 percent recovery of landfill space, could provide an alternative to land application of some liquid wastes, and reduces costs for garbage disposal.

The legislation stipulates additional environmental controls for bioreactor landfills and limits such operations to facilities with sufficient design to accommodate bioreactor operations and gas recovery systems.

Fund established for working lands projects

A bill presented by the Working Lands Coalition to establish a fund in the state treasury generated more discussion than expected in the Senate Resources and Environment Committee Wednesday.

Senate Bill 1343 would establish a fund to make grants to landowners as incentive to engage in natural resources stewardship projects, helping to retain farms, forests and grazing lands as working lands.

Senators questioned why the language of the bill was not more specific to easements, whether it duplicated work being done by existing agencies and programs, and if establishing a mechanism but no money for such a fund would serve as an invitation later to return to the state for money.

“Are we going to hear from you in a couple years asking for money with this empty bucket of conscience sitting in front of us?” Senator Pearce asked.

Chairman Schroeder did not agree that the committee was setting itself up for a future funding request.

“The question comes down to should we keep the group together and the structure to put together a mechanism of funding working lands projects. This doesn’t tie the state into funding at all,” he said.

Ultimately, the committee voted send the bill on to the Senate with a do pass recommendation.

Timber scaling assessments to be split between buyer and seller

On Wednesday, the Senate Resources and Environment Committee approved a bill to provide a funding source for a tiny state agency responsible for making qualified assessments of timber volume. The bill would divide the cost of such assessments between timber owners and timber purchasers. Currently, only the purchaser pays the fee. The bill is supported by a number of timber industry organizations, with supportive testimony offered by the Intermountain Forestry Association and the Idaho Farm Bureau Federation.

Hunters speak out against motorized vehicle rule

The Senate Resources and Environment committee this week heard testimony regarding off-road motorized vehicle use by hunters. Except for disabled hunters with the appropriate vehicle tags, it is illegal to hunt from a motorized vehicle, including ATVs.* Idaho Departments of Fish and Game, Parks and Recreation and Transportation testified to specific points of the IDFG rule, and the US Forest Service and the BLM presented as well (* unfortunately, sometimes in our hurry to get information published, we make misstatements like this one, please see comments below).

Hunters says that IDFG should not be able to apply this rule where the Land management agency or owner say otherwise. They questions whether hunting from a vehicle had any appreciable difference in game populations, and how there is any difference between hunting from and ATV or horseback.

“It’s time to stop restricting people from using their public lands in a reasonable manner,” said one Soda Springs resident offered his testimony in opposition to the rule.

Others testifying against the rule noted that senior citizens needed the additional access to hunting areas provided by ATVs, and remarked on the disparity between registration fees paid by ATV users versus hikers and those traveling on horseback.

“We are paying fees and taxes for these motorized vehicles, the horsemen and the hikers pay nothing. I don’t think that’s fair at all.”