Garbage bill to overturn Solano’s Measure E delayed
FAIRFIELD — A state legislator has put the brakes on a bill that would overturn a local measure that limits the shipping of out-of-county garbage into Solano County.
Assemblywoman Fiona Ma, D-San Francisco, on Wednesday requested that the bill be reintroduced next year, buying more time for revisions and obtaining enough votes to pass it.
Meanwhile, a major supporter of the bill, Waste Connections Inc., is considering a plan to move its headquarters out of California in part because of the delay.
Assembly Bill 1178 would stop counties from putting a limit on the amount of garbage coming to privately owned landfills based on areas of origin. If enacted, it would overturn Measure E, an initiative Solano County voters passed in 1984 that has become a source of controversy.
Measure E limits garbage importation from other counties to 95,000 tons annually but the county quit enforcing the measure in the 1990s after county counsel said it was likely unconstitutional.
Measure E resurfaced in 2005 when the Board of Supervisors voted to expand the Potrero Hills Landfill, located south of Suisun City.
That led to a series of lawsuits filed separately by the Sierra Club, the Sustainability, Park, Recycling and Wildlife Defense Fund and the Northern California Recycling Association. One of the lawsuits on appeal is expected to go to a hearing this fall. David Tam, of SPRAWLDEF, said he is confident in their case.
“It basically gives us a stronger position if the Legislature takes this up next year,” Tam said Thursday.
The Board of Supervisors voted 3-2, with Linda Seifert and Barbara Kondylis dissenting, to support AB 1178. The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors opposes the bill.
Seifert on Thursday said the expansion of Potrero Hills will lead to road and air quality problems.
“I’ve always believed that the initiative process is one of those things that should be sacred whether or not I agree with the decision,” Seifert said.
Supervisor Mike Reagan, who supports AB 1178, said the state has set up an environment in which regional landfills are necessary.
“It’s almost impossible to develop a new facility in the state,” Reagan said.
Assemblywoman Ma’s office did not return a call for comment.
Former Supervisor Duane Kromm, who voted against the Potrero expansion as a supervisor, attended the hearing Wednesday and said he has spoken to staff members for nearly every state senator.
“Not a one said my boss likes this bill,” said Kromm, who has been active in the lawsuits.
Ron Mittelstaedt, CEO of Waste Connections Inc., told KFBK radio his company is taking a hard look at moving out of California. The company, the largest publicly traded one in the Sacramento area, owns the Potrero Hills Landfill.
Mittelstaedt cited the overall business climate in the state but said the death of AB 1178 would be “the straw that broke the camel’s back.”
“The reality is it’s extremely difficult to do business here,” Mittelstaedt told KFBK. “There is no certainty. The legislative process is completely dysfunctional.”
Reach David DeBolt at 427-6935 or ddebolt@dailyrepublic.net.
Short URL: http://www.dailyrepublic.com/?p=82811
Posted by David DeBolt
on Sep 1 2011.
Last Login: Wed 22 Feb 2012 08:50:12 PM UTC
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