Text of Statute

(A) No person shall transport infectious wastes that have not been treated to render them noninfectious, other than those disposed of with residential solid waste from a single-family residential premises or single-family dwelling unit and those subject to division (A)(1)(c) of section 3734.021 [3734.02.1] of the Revised Code, unless the business entity that employs the person first registers with and obtains a registration certificate from the director of environmental protection or, in the instance of infectious wastes consisting of dead animals or parts thereof subject to Chapter 953 . of the Revised Code, unless the business entity that employs the person holds a valid license issued under that chapter. No more than one registration certificate shall be required of any single business entity. An applicant shall file an application with the director containing such information in such form as the director prescribes. Each application for a registration certificate shall be accompanied by a registration fee equal to the product of three hundred dollars times the number of motor vehicles the transporter uses to transport untreated infectious wastes in shipments that originate or terminate in the state. However, a generator of infectious wastes holding a valid registration certificate as a generator of those wastes issued under rules adopted under division (A)(2)(a) of section 3734.021 [3734.02.1] of the Revised Code who transports only infectious wastes generated at premises owned or operated by the generator is exempt from payment of the fee for registration as a transporter.

Except as otherwise provided in rules adopted under this division, a registered transporter shall obtain an amended registration certificate from the director whenever the composition of the fleet of motor vehicles used by the transporter to transport infectious wastes changes. If the number of motor vehicles in the fleet decreases, the director shall not refund to the transporter any portion of a registration or renewal fee applicable to a motor vehicle transferred or otherwise removed from use for transporting such wastes. If the number of motor vehicles in the transporter's fleet increases, the application for the amended registration certificate shall be accompanied by a fee of three hundred dollars for each motor vehicle that is in excess of the number of motor vehicles set forth in the existing certificate. If the director has established a system of staggered renewal dates for the registration certificates, the fee applicable to each additional motor vehicle under an amended certificate shall be prorated according to the time remaining in the registration cycle, to the nearest year.

A registration certificate issued under this section is valid for three years from the date of issuance and may be renewed for a term of three years by submission of a renewal application on a form prescribed by the director and payment of a renewal fee calculated in the same manner as the fee for a registration certificate. The registration and renewal fees shall be credited to the infectious wastes management fund created in section 3734.021 [3734.02.1] of the Revised Code.

The director, by rules adopted in accordance with Chapter 119 . of the Revised Code, may establish a system of staggered renewal dates with approximately one-third of the certificates subject to renewal each year. The applicable renewal date shall be prescribed on each registration certificate. Registration fees shall be prorated according to the time remaining in the registration cycle to the nearest year.

The director, by rules adopted in accordance with Chapter 119 . of the Revised Code, shall establish a system of emergency registration of temporary vehicles for use by a business entity holding a valid registration certificate issued under this section, in order to prevent the creation of a nuisance or hazard to the public health or safety or the environment.

(B) A registered transporter is liable for the safe delivery of any infectious wastes from the time he obtains the wastes until he delivers them to an infectious waste treatment facility holding a license issued under division (B) of section 3734.05 of the Revised Code, to an infectious waste treatment facility that is located in another state and is in compliance with applicable state and federal laws, to a treatment facility authorized by rules adopted under division (C)(6) of section 3734.021 [3734.02.1] of the Revised Code, to an infectious waste treatment facility owned or operated by the generator of the waste, or, in the instance of wastes that have been treated to render them noninfectious, to a solid waste disposal facility holding a license issued under division (A) of section 3734.05 of the Revised Code or to a disposal facility that is located in another state and is in compliance with applicable state and federal laws. If the generator of the wastes has designated in the shipping paper accompanying the wastes required by rules adopted under division (D)(1) of section 3734.021 [3734.02.1] of the Revised Code a particular treatment facility, the registered transporter is liable for the safe delivery of the wastes to the facility so designated.

If the director has reason to believe that a person who is registered under this section or is employed by a business entity registered under this section has violated this chapter or any rule adopted under it while transporting infectious wastes, the director may issue an order in accordance with Chapter 119 . of the Revised Code suspending, revoking, or denying the transporter's registration certificate or the registration certificate of the business entity employing him as a transporter. A transporter whose registration certificate has been suspended, revoked, or denied shall immediately notify each of his customers by certified mail of that fact.

(C)(1) No person who generates infectious wastes that have not been treated to render them noninfectious shall cause any such wastes, other than those subject to division (A)(1)(c) of section 3734.021 [3734.02.1] or Chapter 953 . of the Revised Code, to be transported by any person who is not registered as a transporter under this section.

(2) No person who generates infectious wastes subject to Chapter 953 . of the Revised Code shall cause those wastes to be transported by any person who is neither licensed under that chapter nor registered as a transporter under this section.

(D) A generator of infectious wastes who has complied with this section and section 3734.021 [3734.02.1] of the Revised Code and with rules adopted under those sections is not liable under statute or common law for the actions or inactions of any transporter or treatment facility with respect to those wastes and is not liable for violations of any provision of this chapter or rules adopted under it governing the transportation, treatment, or disposal of infectious wastes.

(E) As used in this section, "motor vehicle" means any automobile, automobile truck, tractor, or self-propelled vehicle not operated or driven on fixed rails or track.

HISTORY: 142 v S 243 (Eff 8-10-88); 142 v H 592 (Eff 6-24-88); 143 v H 656. Eff 4-18-90.