Terms Used In Rhode Island General Laws > Chapter 23-18.9 - Refuse Disposal

• Anaerobic digestion facility: means a facility employing a closed vessel to perform a closed process of accelerated biodegradation of organic materials and/or organic solid wastes into biogas and digestate, using microorganisms under controlled conditions in the absence of oxygen. See Rhode Island General Laws 23-18.9-7
• Appeal: A request made after a trial, asking another court (usually the court of appeals) to decide whether the trial was conducted properly. To make such a request is "to appeal" or "to take an appeal." One who appeals is called the appellant.
• Beneficial reuse material: means a processed, nonhazardous, solid waste not already defined as recyclable material by this chapter and by regulations of the Rhode Island department of environmental management that the director has determined can be reused in an environmentally beneficial manner without creating potential threats to public health, safety, welfare, or the environment or creating potential nuisance conditions. See Rhode Island General Laws 23-18.9-7
• Common law: The legal system that originated in England and is now in use in the United States. It is based on judicial decisions rather than legislative action.
• Composting facility: means land, appurtenances, structures, or equipment where organic materials originating from another process or location that have been separated at the point or source of generation from nonorganic material are recovered using a process of accelerated biological decomposition of organic material under controlled aerobic conditions. See Rhode Island General Laws 23-18.9-7
• Construction and demolition debris processing facility: means a solid waste management facility that receives and processes construction and demolition debris. See Rhode Island General Laws 23-18.9-7
• Continuance: Putting off of a hearing ot trial until a later time.
• Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
• Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
• Covered educational facility: means a building or group of two (2) or more interconnected buildings owned or used by a covered educational institution at which organic waste materials are generated. See Rhode Island General Laws 23-18.9-7
• Covered educational institution: means a higher educational or research institution. See Rhode Island General Laws 23-18.9-7
• Covered entity: means each commercial food wholesaler or distributor, industrial food manufacturer or processor, supermarket, resort or conference center, banquet hall, restaurant, religious institution, military installation, prison, corporation, hospital or other medical care institution, and casino. See Rhode Island General Laws 23-18.9-7
• Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
• Director: means the director of the department of environmental management or any subordinate or subordinates to whom the director has delegated the powers and duties vested in him or her by this chapter. See Rhode Island General Laws 23-18.9-7
• Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
• Expansion: means any increase in volume, size, or scope, either vertically, horizontally, or otherwise; provided, however, that this section does not apply to the vertical expansion of the Charlestown municipal landfill until the closure date of July 1, 2000. See Rhode Island General Laws 23-18.9-7
• in writing: include printing, engraving, lithographing, and photo-lithographing, and all other representations of words in letters of the usual form. See Rhode Island General Laws 43-3-16
• Indictment: The formal charge issued by a grand jury stating that there is enough evidence that the defendant committed the crime to justify having a trial; it is used primarily for felonies.
• Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
• Organic waste material: means the organic material portion of the solid waste stream, including, but not limited to, food scraps, food processing residue, and soiled or unrecyclable paper that has been separated from nonorganic material. See Rhode Island General Laws 23-18.9-7
• Oversight: Committee review of the activities of a Federal agency or program.
• Partnership: A voluntary contract between two or more persons to pool some or all of their assets into a business, with the agreement that there will be a proportional sharing of profits and losses.
• Person: includes an individual, firm, partnership, association, and private or municipal corporation. See Rhode Island General Laws 23-18.9-7
• Personal property: All property that is not real property.
• Real property: Land, and all immovable fixtures erected on, growing on, or affixed to the land.
• Recyclable materials: means those materials separated from solid waste for reuse. See Rhode Island General Laws 23-18.9-7
• Segregated solid waste: means material separated from other solid waste for reuse. See Rhode Island General Laws 23-18.9-7
• Solid waste: means garbage, refuse, tree waste as defined by subsection (14) of this section, and other discarded solid materials generated by residential, institutional, commercial, industrial, and agricultural sources, but does not include solids or dissolved material in domestic sewage or sewage sludge or dredge material as defined in Rhode Island General Laws 23-18.9-7
• Solid waste management facility: means any plant, structure, equipment, real and personal property, except mobile equipment or incinerators with a capacity of less than one thousand pounds (1,000 lbs. See Rhode Island General Laws 23-18.9-7
• Testify: Answer questions in court.
• town: may be construed to include city; the words "town council" include city council; the words "town clerk" include city clerk; the words "ward clerk" include clerk of election district; the words "town treasurer" include city treasurer; and the words "town sergeant" include city sergeant. See Rhode Island General Laws 43-3-9
• Tree waste: means all parts of a tree, including stumps, branches, and logs that shall be considered solid waste for purposes of this chapter unless the tree waste meets the following criteria:

  (A)  The tree waste remains on the property where it was generated; or

  (B)  The tree waste remains in the possession of the person who generated it and is stored above the ground surface, on property that the same person controls, for purposes of recycling and reuse; or

  (C)  The tree waste, whether generated on or off-site, is being actively managed as a usable wood product such as landscape mulch, wood chips, firewood, or mulch. See Rhode Island General Laws 23-18.9-7

• United States: include the several states and the territories of the United States. See Rhode Island General Laws 43-3-8
• Writ: A formal written command, issued from the court, requiring the performance of a specific act.