Firm Withdraws Its Plan for Toxic Waste Incinerator
In a surprise move, Chemical Waste Management of California on Tuesday withdrew its plan to locate a controversial toxic waste incinerator in the Kettleman Hills of Kings County.
The incinerator application was withdrawn because recycling efforts and new state and federal laws have reduced the amount of hazardous wastes that need to be burned in California, said Richard D. Zweig, general manager.
The request had been approved in 1990 by county officials. But the proposal has been tied up in legal action filed by minority activists who charged environmental racism because most of the residents of nearby Kettleman City are Latinos.
In announcing the end of the incinerator project, Zweig said the company wants to “create a better sense of community with Kettleman residents.”
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