Initiating Arbitration
The applicant or the local committee may petition the board jointly or separately to initiate arbitration. Arbitration may not be initiated until at least 120 days after the appointment of the local committee. A statement in response to a unilateral arbitration petition must be filed within 14 days.
Allowable Issues
Only eight issues can be arbitrated.
- Compensation to an person for substantial economic impacts which are a direct result of the facility including insurance and damages not covered by the waste management fund.
- Reimbursement of reasonable costs, but not to exceed $20,000, incurred by the local committee relating to negotiations, mediation and arbitration activities.
- Screening and fencing related to the appearance of the facility.
This item may not affect the design capacity of the facility. - Operational concerns
Operational concerns including, but no limited to, noise, dust, debris, odors and hours of operation but excluding design capacity. - Traffic flows and patterns resulting from the facility.
- Uses of the site where the facility is located after closing the facility.
- Economically feasible methods to recycle or reduce the quantities of waste to the facility.
At facilities for which the applicant will not provide or contract for collections and transportation services, this item is limited to methods provided at the facility. - The applicability or non-applicability of any pre-existing local approvals.
If requested by either party, the board will arbitrarily rule on a specific issue.
The Arbitration Process
Within 15 days of receipt of a petition to initiate arbitration, the board will issue a decision either to have the parties continue negotiation for a least 30 days, delay arbitration until a feasibility report is submitted, or order the parties to submit their final offers within 90 days. If, when order by the broad, the applicant fails to submit a final offer within 90 days, the applicant may not construct or operate the facility. If the local committee fails to submit a final offer in 90 days the local committee loses all rights to further negotiations and the facility is not subject to any local approval.
Within 30 days after the last day for submitting final offers, the board shall conduct a public meeting for the parties to explain their final offers.
Within 90 days after the last day for submitting final offers, the board will issue an arbitration award. If the board fails to issue an award because it lacks the necessary five votes, the governor will issue an arbitration award within 120 days after the last day for submitting final offers.
The board's arbitration award is binding on the applicant and the participating municipalities.