Local News in Brief : Countywide : Board Votes to Set Up Toxic Waste Task Force
The Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday to create a Hazardous Waste Strike Force that would combine the resources of several agencies for more efficient detection and prosecution of polluters in the county.
“Illegal dumping is a problem that is likely to grow after 1990, when new federal laws will make it 10 times more costly to properly dispose of these wastes,” said Supervisor Gaddi H. Vasquez, who proposed the team. “It is critical that we have our program up and implemented when the laws change in just two years.”
The strike force would include members from the district attorney’s office, Health Care Agency, Environmental Management Agency, California Highway Patrol and Sheriff’s Department.
The county already has personnel in those agencies who are assigned to investigate and evaluate hazardous waste problems in the area. But the strike force would better organize those functions in the different agencies.
Vasquez asked for a report within about four months outlining how the team would be put together.
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