A local government unit responsible for conducting a remedial action or removal or related activities under ORS § 465.260 at a solid waste disposal site, or a local government unit that contributed solid waste to a solid waste disposal site for which the local government is liable under ORS § 465.255 or other applicable law, shall impose a charge to be added to all billings for collection services rendered within the boundaries of that local government unit unless the local government unit provides an equivalent amount of funding through another source. A charge imposed under this section shall be subject to the following requirements:

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(1) The charge shall be:

(a) An amount equal to a maximum amount of $12 per capita per year and $60 per capita per local government unit;

(b) Collected for each volumetric or weight unit of solid waste collected;

(c) Imposed equitably on all persons who dispose of solid waste; and

(d) For a local government unit imposing and collecting a charge on behalf of another local government unit responsible for remedial action or related activities at a disposal site, an amount that, as a proportion of the total cost, equals the proportion of solid waste the local government unit contributed to such disposal site.

(2) The charge shall be collected on behalf of the local government unit by solid waste collectors who are subject to franchising, licensing or permitting requirements adopted by the local government unit. Notwithstanding any restriction on rates contained in a franchise or other local regulations, a solid waste collector may add the charge to bills for solid waste collection. The local government unit may enter into an intergovernmental agreement with any other local government unit to provide for imposition and collection of the charge on behalf of the local government unit.

(3) The solid waste collector shall remit the proceeds of the charge to the local government unit according to procedures adopted by the local government unit by ordinance. However, solid waste collectors shall not be responsible for covering any shortage caused by failure of a customer to pay charges for solid waste collection.

(4) A local government unit imposing a charge under this subsection may require solid waste collectors to submit reports or other documentation necessary to establish compliance with the requirements of this section or the ordinance adopted by the local government unit. All information contained in such reports relating to the number of accounts served by the solid waste collector or the revenue produced from such accounts shall be exempt from public disclosure.

(5) A solid waste collector required to collect charges under this section may retain five percent of the charge in order to defray the costs of collecting and accounting for the proceeds of the charge.

(6) If a person disposes of solid waste at a disposal site within the boundaries of a local government unit imposing a charge under this section without using the services of a solid waste collector, the person shall pay the charge established by this section at the time the person disposes of solid waste at the disposal site. That portion of the charge attributable to administrative costs as provided in subsection (5) of this section shall be retained by the operator of the solid waste disposal site. The operator of the solid waste disposal site shall remit the balance of the charge according to procedures established by ordinance by the local government unit imposing the charge.

(7) Except for the amount allocated to defray the administrative expenses of a solid waste collector or disposal site operator under subsections (5) and (6) of this section, proceeds of the charge shall be placed into a dedicated local government remedial action fund established by the local government unit and may be used only to pay for remedial action costs. As used in this subsection, ‘remedial action costs’ also includes the cost of retiring debt incurred in connection with a remedial action.

(8) The amount collected by imposing a charge under this section shall be the amount necessary to fund the local government unit’s remedial action costs at one or more solid waste disposal sites for which the local government unit is responsible for conducting a remedial action or removal or related activities under ORS § 465.260, or is liable under ORS § 465.255 or other applicable law and necessary administrative expenses incurred under this section, and may include an increment to cover any delinquencies in collections. The amount of the charge may be adjusted from time to time as necessary to maintain the remedial action fund at the level necessary to accommodate the local government unit’s remedial action responsibilities, but may not exceed the maximum amounts provided in subsection (1)(a) of this section.

(9) Any local government unit located within the boundaries of a metropolitan service district may enter into an intergovernmental agreement with the district to transfer to the district the funding authority granted under this section and the responsibility for performing all remedial action obligations for which the local government unit may be responsible.

(10) As used in this section, ‘remedial action,’ ‘remedial action costs’ and ‘removal’ have the meaning given those terms in ORS § 465.200. [1989 c.833 § 137; 1993 c.560 § 40; 2007 c.71 § 142]