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House of Representatives
sHB5154 / File No. 408 1
General Assembly File No. 408
February Session, 2026 Substitute House Bill No. 5154
House of Representatives, April 7, 2026
The Committee on Environment reported through REP.
PARKER of the 101st Dist., Chairperson of the Committee on
the part of the House, that the substitute bill ought to pass.
AN ACT CONCERNING CERTAIN REVISIONS TO THE DEPARTMENT
OF ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION'S PERMITTING
AUTHORITY.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. (NEW) ( Effective July 1, 2026 ) Except as prohibited in 1
subdivision (1) of subsection (i) of section 22a -208a of the general 2
statutes, the Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection 3
may, notwithstanding any provision of title 22a of the general statutes, 4
issue a general permit for any activity that the commissioner may 5
authorize by issuance of an individual permit provided the 6
commissioner determines that such activity both separately and 7
cumulatively causes minimal environmental effects. Such 8
determination shall be specified in the public notice for any such general 9
permit noticed pursuant to this section. 10
Sec. 2. Subsection (j) of section 22a -208a of the general statutes is 11
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 12
2026): 13
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(j) When a permittee makes a sufficient application for the renewal of 14
an individual permit to operate a solid waste facility, in accordance with 15
the provisions of subsection (b) of this section, the permit shall be 16
deemed renewed if, not less than ninety days after conducting a 17
technical review and determining the application is sufficient, the 18
commissioner does not sign a notice of tentative determination to 19
approve or deny the application. The application to renew a solid waste 20
facility individual permit to operate shall be made on a form prescribed 21
by the commissioner and accompanied by the applicable fee. Nothing 22
in this subsection shall be construed to limit the commissioner's 23
authority to review all aspects of the permittee's existing operations and 24
the application to renew, including, but not limited to, exercising any 25
authority described in section 22a-6m. 26
[(j)] (k) The Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection 27
may issue an approval for a demonstration project for any activity 28
regulated by the commissioner under this chapter provided the 29
commissioner determines that such demonstration project (1) is 30
necessary to research, develop or promote methods and technologies of 31
solid waste management which are consistent with the goals of the state-32
wide solid waste management plan; (2) does not pose a significant risk 33
to human health or the environment; and (3) is not inconsistent with the 34
federal Water Pollution Control Act, the federal Rivers and Harbors Act, 35
the federal Clean Air Act or the federal Resource Conservation and 36
Recovery Act. An application for such approval shall be on a form 37
prescribed by the commissioner, be accompanied by a fee of one 38
thousand dollars and shall provide such information as the 39
commissioner deems necessary. Any person applying for such approval 40
shall not commence the project prior to the commissioner's written 41
approval. The commissioner may impose conditions upon such 42
approval as deemed necessary to adequately protect human health and 43
the environment or to ensure project success and such approval shall be 44
valid for a period of not more than two years. The commissioner may 45
renew such approval provided the total period of approval does not 46
exceed five years. The commissioner may order summary suspension of 47
any such approval in accordance with subsection (c) of section 4 -182. 48
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Notwithstanding the renewal process, any person may seek, or the 49
commissioner may require, that the project obtain a general or 50
individual permit pursuant to this chapter. 51
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 July 1, 2026 New section
Sec. 2 July 1, 2026 22a-208a(j)
ENV Joint Favorable Subst.
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The following Fiscal Impact Statement and Bill Analysis are prepared for the benefit of the members of
the General Assembly, solely for purposes of information, summarization and explanation and do not
represent the intent of the General Assembly or either chamber thereof for any purpose. In general,
fiscal impacts are based upon a variety of informational sources, including the analyst’s professional
knowledge. Whenever applicable, agency data is consulted as part of the analysis, however final
products do not necessarily reflect an assessment from any specific department.
OFA Fiscal Note
State Impact: None
Municipal Impact: None
Explanation
The bill authorizes the Department of Energy and Environmental
Protection (DEEP) to 1) issue a general permit for any activity which
may receive a general permit and 2) provide automatic renewal of an
individual permit to operate a solid waste facility und er certain
circumstances, these changes are procedural in nature and do not result
in a fiscal impact to DEEP.
The Out Years
State Impact: None
Municipal Impact: None
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OLR Bill Analysis
sHB 5154
AN ACT CONCERNING CERTAIN REVISIONS TO THE
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL
PROTECTION'S PERMITTING AUTHORITY.
SUMMARY
This bill expands the Department of Energy and Environmental
Protection’s (DEEP) authority to issue general permits . To issue a
general permit instead of an individual permit under the bill, DEEP
must (1) determine that the activity both separately and cumulatively
causes minimal environmental effects, and (2) specify the determination
in the general permit’s public notice. The general permitting does not
apply to (1) solid waste activity already covered by an individual
permit, (2) resources recovery facilities, (3) biomedical waste facilities,
(4) solid waste disposal areas, or (5) municipal solid waste composting
facilities. By law, these permits issued for solid waste activities must be
consistent with the requirements of the federal Resource Conservation
and Recovery Act (RCRA).
The bill also automatically renews sufficient applications for
individual permits to operate solid waste facilities if, after conducting a
technical review and determining that the application is sufficient, the
commissioner does not sign a notice of tentative determina tion to
approve or deny the application within 90 days. Applications to renew
an individual solid waste permit must be on a form set by the
commissioner and include the applicable fee. The fees for renewing a
permit to operate a solid waste facility are (1) $750 for resource recovery
facilities, (2) $350 for transfer stations, (3) $175 for source -separated
organic material composting facilities, (4) $350 for any other volume
reduction plant, and (5) $350 for biomedical waste treatment facilities
(Conn. Agencies Regs. § 22a-208a-1).
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The bill specifies that it does not limit the commissioner’s authority
to review (1) all aspects of the permittee’s existing operations and (2) the
renewal application (for example, requiring certain applicants to submit
to certain background checks). By law, a permit is generally required for
a person or municipality to establish, build, or operate a solid waste
facility.
EFFECTIVE DATE: July 1, 2026.
BACKGROUND
General and Individual Permits
Existing law authorizes DEEP to issue individual and general permits
for certain activities. Individual permits are issued directly to the
applicant, while general permits are generally issued to authorize
similar minor activities by one or more applicants.
RCRA
The RCRA authorizes the federal Environmental Protection Agency
to control hazardous waste, including the generation, transportation,
treatment, storage, and disposal of hazardous waste. The RCRA also
sets a framework for managing non-hazardous waste.
COMMITTEE ACTION
Environment Committee
Joint Favorable Substitute
Yea 28 Nay 6 (03/18/2026)