Supervisors Back County Waste Plan
The Ventura County Board of Supervisors Tuesday endorsed proposed state legislation that would allow the county to create a comprehensive waste management authority.
Sponsored by State Sen. Cathie Wright (R-Simi Valley), the new authority would replace the county’s Solid Waste Management Department and the Ventura Regional Sanitation District.
All trash-related policy decisions--including garbage rates, landfill proposals and recycling--would be decided by the new authority.
The county and its 10 cities have the opportunity to comment on the legislation, now in its sixth draft, until it goes before the state Assembly’s committee on natural resources for consideration.
The committee must vote on the legislation by July 16, said John Theiss, an aide to Wright. The legislation will then go to the full Assembly for a vote, and, if approved, to the state Senate for final consideration.
If the measure is enacted, the existing agencies would be disbanded and the county and cities will be allowed to decide if they want to participate in the authority or create their own individual waste management policies, Theiss said.
The Ventura City Council approved the legislation Monday night. The Oxnard City Council opposes the plan because it says it would diminish the city’s power in waste-management decisions.
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