Amends existing law to revise provisions regarding county solid waste disposal sites.

LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF IDAHO Sixty-eighth Legislature Second Regular Session - 2026 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES HOUSE BILL NO. 882 BY WAYS AND MEANS COMMITTEE AN ACT1 RELATING TO COUNTIES AND COUNTY LAW; AMENDING SECTION 31-4401A, IDAHO CODE,2 TO DEFINE A TERM AND TO MAKE TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS; AMENDING SECTION3 31-4402, IDAHO CODE, TO PROVIDE CERTAIN AUTHORITY TO BOARDS OF COUNTY4 COMMISSIONERS AND TO MAKE A TECHNICAL CORRECTION; AMENDING SECTION5 31-4407, IDAHO CODE, TO PROVIDE A CODE REFERENCE AND TO MAKE A TECH-6 NICAL CORRECTION; AMENDING SECTION 31-4407A, IDAHO CODE, TO REVISE A7 PROVISION REGARDING PROCEDURES FOR CHANGES IN STATUS OF MAJOR WASTE8 GENERATORS AND MUNICIPALITIES AND TO MAKE TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS; AND9 DECLARING AN EMERGENCY AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE.10

Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Idaho:11

SECTION 1. That Section 31-4401A, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby12 amended to read as follows:13 31-4401A. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:14 (1) "Flow control" means any method or system under which a governmen-15 tal entity, by ordinance, regulation, or other official directive, compels16 solid waste haulers to process or dispose of waste at a designated facility.17 (1) (2) "Major solid waste generator" means any person who generates18 two per cent percent (2%) or more of the total solid waste originating in any19 county.20 (2) (3) "Person" means any natural person, firm, corporation, or other21 entity, but does not include a municipality, a state agency or a state educa-22 tional institution.23 (3) (4) "Significant effect" means any change in the amount of solid24 waste to be sent to any waste disposal site which that exceeds either five per25 cent percent (5%) of the total monthly amount of waste disposal at any par-26 ticular solid waste disposal site during the most recent calendar year, or27 five per cent percent (5%) of the projected processing capacity of any new28 solid waste disposal site.29 (4) (5) "State agency" means each state board, commission, department30 or officer authorized by law to make rules or to determine contested cases.31 (5) (6) "State educational institution" means a public educational fa-32 cility or institution regulated by the state board of education or the board33 of regents of the university of Idaho.34 (6) (7) "System" means lands, sites, facilities, equipment and man-35 power necessary for collection, transportation, storage, treatment, pro-36 cessing, reuse, recycling or other means necessary for the disposal of solid37 waste.38 (7) (8) "Waste processing facility" means any waste disposal site or39 any public work at which solid waste is compacted, incinerated, or otherwise40 treated prior to disposal. It shall not include the placement of portable41

2 collection facilities or similar equipment used solely to facilitate col-1 lection of solid waste.2

SECTION 2. That Section 31-4402, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby3 amended to read as follows:4 31-4402. AUTHORITY OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS. (1) The board of county5 commissioners in each of the several counties is hereby authorized to ac-6 quire, establish, maintain and operate such solid waste disposal systems7 as are necessary and to provide reasonable and convenient access to such8 disposal systems by all the citizens of the county. For the purpose of estab-9 lishing systems for solid waste disposal, the board of county commissioners10 may purchase, lease, condemn or receive as gifts such areas as are suitable,11 or the board may exchange land with any other unit or units of government12 under such terms as are mutually advantageous. In order that a county may13 acquire sites or systems as expeditiously and advantageously as possible,14 a county may use funds from current revenues, may use funds made available15 through the issuance of bonds, or may use funds made available from county16 building construction funds, and the provisions of chapter 10, title 31,17 Idaho Code, are hereby made applicable for the acquisition of solid waste18 disposal systems and a. A solid waste disposal system is declared to be a19 public building within the definition of chapter 10, title 31, Idaho Code,20 except that notwithstanding any other provisions of law, no board of county21 commissioners or other public authority shall be required to contract out22 the establishment, acquisition, operation or maintenance of a solid waste23 disposal system, but if it should elect to do so, it may waive the giving of24 a bond or other security in connection with such contract upon such terms25 and conditions as it deems appropriate, and provided further that any county26 may itself, without contracting out to any other party, establish, acquire,27 operate and maintain a solid waste disposal system.28 (2) The board of county commissioners may enact flow control measures29 to protect public investment in solid waste facilities and systems, to re-30 duce county liabilities, to avoid the creation of publicly funded assets31 that cannot be fully utilized, to ensure waste management is facilitated in32 an environmentally compliant manner, and to promote public health.33 (3) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, flow34 control measures pursuant to this section shall only be enacted after the35 county completes an independent study by a qualified professional demon-36 strating that flow control is necessary to achieve the goals provided for37 in subsection (2) of this section. Counties that are members of a regional38 solid waste or domestic septage disposal district pursuant to chapter 49,39 title 31, Idaho Code, are exempt from the provisions of this subsection. The40 study shall include:41 (a) A comprehensive financial impact analysis of potential economic42 impacts on county-funded solid waste facilities if flow control is43 not enacted. Such analysis shall include revenue projections for the44 facility under various scenarios, including with and without flow con-45 trol, demonstrating the anticipated return on public investment;46 (b) A comparative cost-benefit analysis illustrating the costs and47 benefits of implementing flow control versus allowing unrestricted48 disposal options. Such comparative analysis shall evaluate the facil-49

3 ity's long-term sustainability and predict maintenance and operational1 costs relative to expected revenues under flow control. Special empha-2 sis shall be put on identifying how flow control can help prevent the3 creation of stranded assets such as facilities or infrastructure that4 are underutilized or abandoned that will result in sunk costs or unre-5 coverable investments funded by public moneys;6 (c) A liability and risk mitigation evaluation of potential liabili-7 ties associated with the solid waste system under scenarios where flow8 control is enacted and is not enacted. Such evaluation shall assess9 risks related to underutilized capacity, unrecouped capital invest-10 ments, and the financial burden of maintaining idle facilities if waste11 is diverted to other disposal locations, including facilities outside12 of the county;13 (d) A compliance verification assessment verifying that waste gener-14 ated within the county is not sent to facilities that are noncompliant15 with federal, state, or local regulations. Such assessment shall in-16 clude an analysis of the regulatory compliance of any facilities out-17 side of the county that might otherwise receive waste from the county,18 ensuring that flow control is implemented only to prevent waste from be-19 ing diverted to noncompliant facilities, which could pose risks to pub-20 lic health and the environment;21 (e) A regulatory and environmental impact assessment, including doc-22 umentation on how flow control supports the county's commitment to23 responsible waste management practices that meet or exceed regulatory24 standards for public health and environmental protection, including25 air, soil, and water quality; and26 (f) A comprehensive alternative analysis review of other potential27 measures that may be used to achieve the same goals as provided for28 in subsection (2) of this section, including any available compliant29 facilities outside the county. The analysis shall provide a detailed30 explanation for why the alternatives may be more or less effective or31 feasible than flow control in protecting public investment in solid32 waste facilities and systems, reducing county liabilities, avoiding33 the creation of publicly funded assets that cannot be fully utilized,34 ensuring waste management is facilitated in an environmentally compli-35 ant manner, and promoting public health.36 (4) Upon completion of the study provided for in subsection (3) of this37 section, the study shall be presented in a public forum before any final de-38 cision is made on flow control measures to ensure transparency and to provide39 opportunities for public comment. The board of county commissioners shall40 provide adequate notice of such public process, including public access to41 the study's findings, to allow citizens to participate and offer input.42

SECTION 3. That Section 31-4407, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby43 amended to read as follows:44 31-4407. EXISTING AND FUTURE MUNICIPAL FACILITIES TO CONFORM TO45 CHAPTER. Solid waste disposal facilities now in existence or hereafter es-46 tablished and maintained and/or operated by any city shall conform in the47 same manner as county solid waste disposal facilities as provided in section48 sections 34-4402 and 31-4405, Idaho Code.49

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SECTION 4. That Section 31-4407A, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby1 amended to read as follows:2 31-4407A. CHANGES IN STATUS OF MAJOR WASTE GENERATORS AND MUNICIPALI-3 TIES -- PROCEDURES. (1) Major solid waste generators and municipalities op-4 erating solid waste collection or disposal systems pursuant to the authority5 conferred by law or desiring to initiate or abandon such systems shall con-6 form to the procedures and standards set forth in this section before tak-7 ing any action which that would significantly affect the amount or distribu-8 tion of solid waste within any county. The board of county commissioners of9 any county may waive operation of the procedure called for in this section by10 passage of a resolution indicating their its intent to do so.11 (2) Whenever a county shall propose proposes the establishment of a new12 solid waste processing facility within the boundaries of the county or in13 conjunction with adjoining counties, it shall give notice to the public and14 all municipalities within its boundaries that it intends to establish a pro-15 cessing facility. In conjunction with the notice, the county shall provide16 a copy of a feasibility study prepared by a licensed professional engineer17 concerning the proposed processing facility which that shall address the es-18 timated capital cost of the facility, the estimated costs of operation of the19 facility, and the estimated life span of the facility. The notice shall be20 provided to potentially affected municipalities at least one hundred eighty21 (180) days prior to the scheduled initiation of construction of any solid22 waste processing facility.23 (3) Within ninety (90) days of receipt of the notice, each affected mu-24 nicipality shall respond to the notice provided by the county, indicating in25 its response the intention of the municipality to participate in the use of26 the proposed facility or to develop or continue operation of an independent27 solid waste processing facility of its own for the projected duration of the28 proposed county project.29 (4) Pursuant to the responses received from affected municipalities,30 the county proposing development of the solid waste processing facility may31 tender contracts to participating municipalities assuring the availabil-32 ity of waste disposal capacity at the proposed facility for any duration33 promised by contract and securing commitments from the municipalities to34 participate in use of the facility for the duration of its projected life.35 The contracts shall not constitute guarantees of costs or duration of ser-36 viceability of the proposed facility. The contracts may provide for annual37 adjustments to reflect changes in the relative contribution rates of mu-38 nicipalities to the waste stream feeding the disposal facility. No capital39 contribution obligation shall extend beyond fifteen (15) years. Additional40 contracts for capital participation may be proposed and entered into after41 the expiration of the initial agreement.42 (5) Any municipality which that indicates its intent not to participate43 in a proposed facility shall be barred from later participation without the44 consent of the board of county commissioners and without payment of a capital45 contribution adequate to finance the cost of additional capacity adequate to46 accommodate the waste stream generated within the municipality. The amount47 and method of payment of the capital contribution shall be established by the48 board of county commissioners.49

5 (6) Any municipality which that elects to participate in a given solid1 waste processing facility, but later elects to withdraw from said project,2 may do so, but shall remain obligated for any capital costs incurred in on its3 behalf, but may receive partial credit for operational economies created by4 its withdrawal. The burden of proof of the extent of operational economies5 shall rest upon on the withdrawing municipality.6 (7) Major solid waste generators located outside participating munic-7 ipalities shall be treated in the same manner as municipalities concerning8 commitments to waste facility capacity. Boards of county commissioners are9 authorized to enter into contracts with major solid waste generators for the10 expected duration of operation of any solid waste processing facility.11

SECTION 5. An emergency existing therefor, which emergency is hereby12 declared to exist, this act shall be in full force and effect on and after13 July 1, 2026.14