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Hazardous Waste Assessments and Fees

Two types of charges are levied by New York State on hazardous waste management - regulatory program fees and special assessment taxes.

Regulatory Program Fees

Regulatory program fees (base fees) were established in 1983 through Article 72, Environmental Conservation Law, which authorizes the Department of Environmental Conservation to collect regulatory fees and penalties from certain public and private facilities required to have air, water (SPDES), hazardous waste and waste transporter permits and hazardous waste generators. Hazardous waste generator surcharge regulatory fees were added in 2003 and amended in 2004. The following are charged annual regulatory program fees in New York State:

  • Hazardous waste generators (both base and surcharge fees)
  • Hazardous wastewater generators (both base and surcharge fees)
  • Treatment, storage and disposal facilities (TSDFs) (base fees)

TSDF fees are assessed according to facility type and the amount of hazardous waste generated.

Annual invoices are sent by the Department to all TSDF's and to all required generators. Payments are sent to DEC. For the base fees, 50 percent of the regulatory program fees collected is transferred into the Hazardous Waste Remedial Fund's Industry Fee Transfer Account and 50 percent of the revenue collected is used to fund other environmental quality program needs. For the surcharge fees, 100 percent is transferred into the Hazardous Waste Remedial Fund's Industry Fee Transfer Account. The Hazardous Waste Remedial Fund's Industry Fee Transfer Account is used to pay 50 percent of the debt service associated with the 1986 Environmental Quality Bond Act (EQBA) bonds used for the remedial program.

The regulatory fee form and instructions are available in an Adobe Reader file, linked to the right under Related Links.

Special Assessment Taxes

Established in 1982 and amended in 1985, special assessment taxes are levied on all facilities in New York State that generate hazardous waste. The amount of the assessment is based on the amount of waste generated or received and the method of waste disposal.

Assessments are levied on a scale ranging from $27.00 per ton for land filling down to $2.00 per ton for on-site incineration. The assessment is due on a quarterly basis and payable to the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance. One hundred percent of the revenue collected goes to the Hazardous Waste Remedial Fund's Industry Fee Transfer Account which is used to pay 50 percent of the debt service associated with the 1986 EQBA bonds used for the remedial program. Annual fluctuations occur in the revenues collected from the hazardous waste special assessment taxes because of the year-to-year changes in the source, amount and method of management of the hazardous wastes.

The TP-550-MN Special Assessment Form is available using the link to the right under Offsite Links. For questions completing it, please read the form instructions, using the link to the right under Offsite Links, or e-mail, or call (518) 402-8629.