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HB0217 • 2020
Wind turbine blades.
AN ACT relating to public health and safety; prohibiting disposal of wind turbine blades in landfills; requiring repurposing of wind turbine blades; and providing for an effective date.
Crime
Energy
Did Not Pass
The latest official action shows that this bill did not move forward in that session.
- Sponsor
- Representative Loucks
- Last action
- 2020-03-09
- Official status
- inactive
- Effective date
- 3/1/2020
Plain English Breakdown
The candidate explanation included claims about penalties and enforcement that are not detailed in the official source material.
Wind Turbine Blade Disposal Ban
The bill prohibits the disposal of wind turbine blades in landfills and requires them to be repurposed instead.
What This Bill Does
- Prohibits placing wind turbine blades, either whole or in parts, into mixed municipal solid waste or any type of landfill facility in Wyoming.
- Requires that wind energy developers and permitted facilities deliver wind turbine blades only to places that reuse, recycle, break down, or repurpose the blades.
- Makes it a misdemeanor offense to improperly dispose of wind turbine blades with fines up to $1,000 per blade.
- Specifies that each improperly disposed blade is considered a separate violation.
Who It Names or Affects
- Wind energy developers and facilities permitted under Wyoming law
- Facilities responsible for waste management in Wyoming
Terms To Know
- Misdemeanor
- A criminal offense that is less serious than a felony but more serious than an infraction.
- Repurpose
- To use something in a new way or for a different purpose.
Limits and Unknowns
- The bill did not pass and was not enacted into law.
- It is unclear how the ban will be enforced if it were to become law.
- The effective date of July 1, 2024, would only apply if the bill had passed.
Amendments
These notes stay tied to the official amendment files and metadata from the legislature.
Plain English: The amendment changes the effective date of a bill that deals with wind turbine blades from July 1, 2020 to July 1, 2024.
- Changes the effective date of the bill's provisions from July 1, 2020 to July 1, 2024.
HB0217HS001
Standing Committee • House Minerals, Business and Economic Development
Adopted
Plain English: The amendment adds a reference to a specific definition related to wind turbine blades in the bill text.
- Inserts 'defined in W.S.' after '18-5-502 or' on page 2, line 4 of the bill.
- The amendment does not provide details about what 'W.S.' refers to or how it relates to wind turbine blades.
- It is unclear from this text alone what specific changes this insertion will make in the context of the overall bill.
Plain English: The amendment changes the language in HB0217 to specify where wind turbine blades can be disposed of, making it more specific about the type of facility they cannot go into.
- Removes the general term 'disposal facility' and replaces it with a description of facilities that use composite liners and leachate collection systems.
- Adds the word 'disposes,' after 'facility that' to clarify the action being restricted.
- The amendment does not provide details on what happens if wind turbine blades cannot be repurposed or disposed of as specified.
Bill History
-
2020-03-09
Senate
S COW:S Did not consider for COW
-
2020-03-05
Senate
S Placed on General File
-
2020-03-05
Senate
S09 - Minerals:Recommend Do Pass 4-1-0-0-0
-
2020-02-28
Senate
S Introduced and Referred to S09 - Minerals
-
2020-02-27
Senate
S Received for Introduction
-
2020-02-26
House
H 3rd Reading:Passed 38-21-1-0-0
-
2020-02-25
House
H 2nd Reading:Passed
-
2020-02-24
House
H COW:Passed
-
2020-02-24
House
H Placed on General File
-
2020-02-24
House
H09 - Minerals:Recommend Amend and Do Pass 8-1-0-0-0
-
2020-02-13
House
H Introduced and Referred to H09 - Minerals 50-9-1-0-0
-
2020-02-12
House
H Received for Introduction
-
2020-02-11
LSO
Bill Number Assigned
Current Bill Text
Read the full stored bill text
20LSO-0197
2020
STATE OF WYOMING
20LSO-0197
ENGROSSED
3.0
HOUSE BILL NO. HB0217
Wind turbine blades.
Sponsored by: Representative(s) Loucks and Senator(s) Anderson
A BILL
for
AN ACT relating to public health and safety; prohibiting disposal of wind turbine blades in landfills; requiring repurposing of wind turbine blades; and providing for an effective date.
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Wyoming:
Section 1.
W.S. 35
‑
11
‑
538 is created to read:
35
‑
11
‑
538.
Wind turbine blades; land disposal prohibited; penalty.
(a)
No person shall place a wind turbine blade, in whole or in part, in mixed municipal solid waste, a solid waste management facility, commercial solid waste
management facility or a commercial waste incineration or disposal facility in Wyoming. No wind energy developer as defined in W.S. 34
‑
27
‑
102(a)(ii) and no facility permitted under W.S. 18
‑
5
‑
502 or defined in W.S. 35
‑
12
‑
102(a)(vii)(E) or (F) shall discard or otherwise dispose of a wind turbine blade, in whole or in part, except by delivery to a facility that reuses, recycles, breaks down or repurposes the blades.
(b)
Each violation of this section is a misdemeanor subject to a fine not to exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000.00).
(c)
Each wind turbine blade improperly disposed of shall constitute a separate violation.
Section 2
.
This act is effective July 1, 2024
.
(END)
1
HB0217