§141-16 Compost reimbursement program.

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(a)There is established within the department a compost reimbursement program to provide cost reimbursements to farming operations and landscaping operations in the State for the purchase of compost.

(b)The compost reimbursement program shall assist farming operations and landscaping operations in meeting the costs of purchasing compost from a certified processor, dealer, retailer, or wholesaler licensed to do business in the State.

(c)Applications for cost reimbursements shall be submitted on a form furnished by the department and shall be filed with accompanying documentation of the costs of purchasing compost pursuant to subsection (d); provided that:

(1)The applicant shall indemnify and hold harmless the State and its officers, agents, and employees from all claims arising out of or resulting from the compost purchased; and

(2)The department may request an applicant to provide necessary information for the purposes of verifying the size or sale weight, as applicable, and amount of compost purchased.

(d)Documentation of compost costs requested by the department shall be filed for compost purchased within the fiscal year immediately preceding the filing.

(e)Funds shall be disbursed upon approval on an annual basis by the department to the farming operation or landscaping operation for up to fifty per cent of the costs incurred for the purchase of the compost.

(f)The department shall aggregate the total reimbursement applications pursuant to this section and shall divide and distribute the available funds on a first-come, first-served basis; provided that no single farming operation or landscaping operation shall receive a reimbursement totaling more than $50,000 per year.

(g)The compost reimbursement program shall be overseen by a compost reimbursement program manager, which shall be a full-time, permanent position exempt from chapters 76 and 89. The compost reimbursement program manager shall possess a requisite level of knowledge and expertise in the area of program management necessary to carry out the duties of the position.

The compost reimbursement program manager shall:

(1)Facilitate the division and distribution of available funds for reimbursement; and

(2)Manage the day-to-day coordination of the compost reimbursement program.

(h)Any action taken by the department pursuant to this section shall be exempt from the rulemaking requirements of section 91-3.

(i)The department shall submit an annual progress report on the compost reimbursement program to the legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of each regular session.

(j)As used in this section:

"Compost" means the product of a composting process, including the receipt of materials, primary processing, decomposition activities, and final processing for sale and marketing, in which organic materials are biologically decomposed under controlled conditions to produce a stable, humus-like mulch or soil amendment.

"Department" means the department of agriculture and biosecurity.

"Farming operation" has the same meaning as in section 165-2.

"Landscaping operation" means a landscaping contractor licensed under chapter 444.

"Organic materials" includes pre- and post-consumer food waste, waste from animal food processing operations, green waste, crop residues, and waste from vegetable food processing operations and similar materials. [L 2022, c 302, §2 ; am L 2025, c 236, §17]