Countywide
Proposed regulations that would govern the export of hazardous wastes should be debated at public hearings before they are enacted, the county Board of Supervisors agreed Tuesday.
The board voted to ask the federal Environmental Protection Agency to hold hearings here before the new rules are implemented. The rules would prohibit the export of hazardous wastes without notification of the EPA and would require companies exporting waste to obtain written approval from the receiving country.
Voting 3-0, with Supervisors Paul Eckert and Susan Golding absent, the board told Chief Administrative Officer Norman Hickey to ask the EPA to accept public comments until June 9--six weeks beyond the scheduled end of the agency’s public review period.
Hickey will also ask the EPA to hold an informal public meeting here if a formal hearing cannot be arranged.
The county board became involved in the issue after reports earlier this year that hazardous wastes were being transported through the county and exported to Mexico with little or no regulation on either side of the border.
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