H157 - Amend Environmental Laws (SL 2015-1)

Overview: S.L. 2015-1 amends various environmental laws, including provisions that:

• Authorize the Governor to send an official from the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) (formerly the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR)) to act on the Governor's behalf at meetings of the Interstate Mining Commission.
• Make changes to the statues governing recycled and recovered materials
• Make several technical corrections and clarifications to the Coal Ash Management Act of 2014
• Change the name of the Ecosystem Enhancement Program within DEQ to the Division of Mitigation Services.
• Make various changes that pertain to the membership of the Energy Policy Council.
• Effective retroactively to July 2, 2012, clarify that the Environmental Management Commission is only required to adopt a rule on air toxics from drilling operations associated with oil and gas activities if it determines that the State's current air toxics program, and any applicable federal regulations adopted by the State by reference, are inadequate.

Except as otherwise provided, this act became effective March 16, 2015.