5336

VETOES

We have reviewed for constitutionality and legal
sufficiency House Bill 1277. The bill raises substantial
questions of interpretation and application that we wish to
call to your attention.

The present law governing the disposal of certain used
oil is found in § 8-1411.1 of the Natural Resources Article.
Present subsection (f)(1) of that section bans the disposal
of used oil by various means, including "incineration".
Present subsection (f)(2), in turn, exempts the use of used
oil "as a fuel" from the general ban in subsection (f)(1);
presumably, though, any such use of used oil as a fuel would
nevertheless be subject to the general air pollution
controls otherwise applicable under State and federal law.

House Bill 1277 enacts a new subsection (f)(2) to
provide:

"(i) A person may not dispose of or cause
to be disposed of any used oil by burning
unless the emissions from such burning meet
federal and State air quality standards.

(ii) The provisions of subparagraph (i) do
not apply to:

1.  Fire departments and fire companies
that burn used oil during training exercises;
and

2.  Owners of farmland who burn used
oil to clear fields for agriculture
purposes."

The bill also amends present subsection (f)(2), redesignated
as subsection (f)(3), so as to except the use of used oil as
a fuel only "if the used oil is generated by an electric
utility company's operations and burned in its steam
generating units."

Facially, the provisions of subsection (f)(1) and
subsection (f)(2)(i) are inconsistent. Subsection (f)(1),
broadly and without qualification, prohibits the disposal of
used oil "by incineration"; this ban is not amended by House
Bill 1277. New subsection (f)(2)(i) effectively repeats the
same ban, but with a qualification: "unless the emissions
from such burning meet federal and State air quality
standards"; literally, subsection (f)(2)(i) is worded as if
it were a new prohibition, not as an exception to the
already existing prohibition in subsection (f)(1).
Nevertheless, it seems apparent that, in enacting new
subsection (f)(2)(i), the General Assembly intended to
permit any disposal of used oil by incineration or burning