Bill > H2004

This bill aims to enhance public health protections related to biomass facilities, which are plants that generate electricity from burning organic materials. Specifically, it mandates that the state's health department prohibit the transport and burning of construction debris or other combustible materials treated with harmful substances like arsenic, lead, cadmium, asbestos, or any carcinogen identified by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in biomass facilities that sell electricity to the regional power grid. Furthermore, the bill requires the Department of Public Health to conduct a public health impact analysis for any proposed biomass facility designed to burn over one ton of material per hour, assessing its potential effects on cancer and asthma rates within a twenty-mile radius, and this analysis must be completed and submitted to legislative clerks 120 days before the final decision on the facility's Environmental Impact Report (EIR) by the MEPA unit of the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs. The MEPA unit itself will also be required to ensure that proponents of such facilities complete a full EIR and meet all necessary conditions before any operating permits are granted.