HomeMy WebLinkAboutReso 1983-11311
RESOLUTION NO. 11311
RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
CHULA VISTA APPROVING THE HAZARDOUS WASTE ELEMENT
OF THE REVISED SAN DIEGO REGIONAL SOLID WASTE
MANAGEMENT PLAN (1982-2000)
The City Council of the City of Chula vista does hereby
resolve as follows:
WHEREAS, the County of San Diego has recently adopted
the Revised Regional Solid Waste Management plan (1982-2000), and
WHEREAS, a new element dealing with hazardous wastes has
now been prepared as a revision to the plan, and
WHEREAS, state law requires that any amendment to the
plan shall be approved by a majority of the cities within the
County which contain the majority of the population of the
incorporated area of the county, and
WHEREAS, staff has reviewed the proposed Hazardous Waste
Element and recommends its approval because it represents a
refinement of a process previously approved by the Council.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the City Council of
the City of Chula Vista does hereby approve the Hazardous Waste
Element of the Revised San Diego Regional Solid Waste Management
plan (1982-2000).
Presented by
Approved as to form by
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homas J. Har on, ActIng
Ci ty Attorney
ohn P. LIppitt,
vEngineer
ADOPTED AND APPROVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
CHUlA VISTA, CALIFORNIA, this 5th day of July
9 83 , by the following vote, to-wit:
AYES:
NAYES;
ABSTAI N:
ABSENT:
Councilmen
Cox, Moore, McCandliss, Scott, Malcolm
None
Councilmen
Cot.rIcilmen
None
Councilmen
None
m~~?e;<5 ~Bf;b~
City Clerk
(
R~
ity of Chula Vista
,TATE OF CALIFORNIA )
:OUNTY OF SAN DIEGO } S s.
;ITY OF CHULA VISTA )
I, JENNIE M. FUlASZ, CMC, CITY CLERK of the City of Chula Vista, California,
)0 HEREBY CERTIFY that the above and foregoing is a full, true and correct copy of
RESOLUTION NO. 11311
, and that the same has not been amended or repealed.
)ATED
(seal)
City Clerk
CC-660
HAZARDOUS WASTE ELEMENT
OF THE
SAN DIEGO REGIONAL
SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT PLAN
SAN DIEGO COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
PAUL FOROEt1, CHAI RMAN
TOM HAMILTON, VICE CHAIRMAN
ROGER HEDGECOCK
LEON WILLIAMS
PAUL ECKERT
SECOND DISTRICT
FIRST DISTRICT
THRID DISTRICT
FOURTH DISTRICT
FIFTH DISTRICT
PREP AREO BY
HAZARDOUS WASTE MANAGEMENT PROJECT STAFF
CLIFFORD W. GRAVES
CHIEF ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER
March 31,.1983
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CHAPTER I
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Hazardous wastes are the dangerous chemical remains of a technologically
advanced society dependent upon goods containing chemicals or using chemicals
in their manufacture. Sources of hazardous wastes include manufacturing and
service industries, hospitals, research facilities, agriculture, government
and households. The development of approximately 2,000 new chemicals each
year is beneficial to our economy and supports our high standard of living.
These same chemicals, however, pose significant potential problems to
our health and the environment.
The need for a comprehensive management program is documented amply by numer-
ous recorded instances of human injury, illness, and death, and cases of
severe environmental damage from improper and careless handling, transporta-
tion, and disposal of hazardous wastes. EPA has documented well over 400 such
cases. These cases reveal that many current problems have occurred because of
poor management practices of the past. Even though past activities may not
have been strictly illegal at the time, Americans are now "paying the price"
for many past mistakes. For example, EPA estimated in 1979 that the jOb of
cleaning up unsafe abandoned chemical dump sites and improving current sites
now operating under environmentally unsound conditions could cost as much as
$44 bill ion.
HAZARDOUS WASTES AND HAZARDOUS MATERIALS
A Hazardous Material is "any substance or mixture of substances which is
toxic, corrosive, flammable, an irritant, a strong sensitizer which generates
pressure through decomposition, heat or other means, if such a substance or
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mixture of substances may cause substantial injury, serious illness or harm
to humans, domestic livestock or wildlife."
Accordi ng to Secti on 25117 of the Health and Safety Code, "Hazardous waste"
means a waste, or combination of wastes, which because of its quantity,
concentration, or physical, chemical, or infectious characteristics may
either:
(a) Cause, or significantly contribute to, an increase in mortality or an
increase in serious irreversible, or incapacitating reversible, illness.
(b) Pose a substantial present or potential hazard to human health or
environment when improperly treated, stored, transported, or disposed of, or
otherwise managed.
Unl ess expressly provi ded otherwi se, the term "hazardous waste" shall be
understood to also include extremely hazardous waste.
Extremely hazardous waste is "any hazardous waste or mixture of hazardous
wastes which, if human exposure should occur, may result in death, disabling,
personal injury or illness because of the quantity, concentration, or chemical
characteristics "Hazardous and extremely hazardous wastes are listed
by chemical component in sections 66680 and 66685 of California Administrative
Code.
LEGAL AUTHORITY
Although numerous federal and state statutes over the past decade and a half
have directed the attention of regulatory agencies to the problems associated
with the management of hazardous wastes, the law which established the frame-
work for the national solid and hazardous waste management program was the
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Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976 (RCRA). Another federal stat-
ute of great importance was the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compen-
saton and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA), which established authority for the
Federal Government to respond directly to releases or threatened releases of
hazardous substances which may endanger the public health and welfare. This
act also created a $1.6 billion "superfund" to initiate the cleanup of the
nation's most serious hazardous waste dumps.
The State of California preceded the Federal Government in enacting meaningful
legislation dealing with hazardous waste management. Early statutes of signi-
ficance were the Porter-Cologne Water Qual i ty Act of 1969 and the Ca1 i forni a
Hazardous Waste Control Act of 1972, which was the first comprehensive hazar-
dous waste control law in the United States. Many additional laws have since
been passed by the legislature which have refined and strengthened the origi-
nal act. Two important laws recently enacted were the Carpenter-Presley-
Tanner Hazardous Substance Account Act, which created a $10,000,000 state
"superfund" to meet the state IS responsibi 1 i ty to provi de matchi ng funds under
the federal "superfund" program mentioned above and to supplement that pro-
gram, and Assembly Bill 1543 (Chapter 89, Statutes of 1982), which established
the State Hazardous Waste Management Council and directed the preparation of a
State Hazardous Waste Management Plan.
GOALS AND POLICIES FOR HAZARDOUS WASTE MANAGEMENT
Goals and policies for the safe management of hazardous wastes were adopted
by the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) Board of Directors on
August 16, 1982 and by the San Diego County Board of Supervisors on January
11, 1983. While the goals statements are the same, there are minor differ-
ences in three of the 27 policy statements.
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The six goals statements are:
o To develop a comprehensive program for the safe management of hazardous
wastes in San Diego County.
o To promote the use of proven and safe hazardous waste management
technologies which reduce dependence on land disposal.
o To accelerate the siting and permitting of new hazardous waste
management facilities which help to protect air, water, and land
resources.
o
To ensure that the public has an opportunity to participate in
decisions on hazardous waste issues.
To encourage local agencies to assume greater responsibility for
ensuring the safe management of hazardous wastes generated within
their jurisdiction.
To encourage industry to assume greater responsibility for developing
a regional hazardous waste management system in cooperation with local
governments.
o
o
This plan describes those actions which have already been taken to achieve
these goals in San Diego County and recommends additional measures which are
considered essential to an effective hazardous waste management program.
HAZARDOUS WASTE GENERATION IN SAN DIEGO COUNTY
In considering the generation of hazardous waste, it is important to make the
distinction between those wastes which are managed at the place where they are
produced (onsite) and those which are turned over to a hazardous waste manage-
ment company to treat, recycle or dispose of at another location (offsite).
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Although the reliability of the information available on wastes which are man-
aged onsite is doubtful ,figures indicate that this category accounts for 88
percent of all hazardous waste produced throughout the county. Approximately
85 percent of the total is managed onsite by five companies. The source of
this information is the RCRA Part A applications which were filed in 1980 by
firms which operate treatment, storage and disposal facilities. These appli-
cation forms were not well explained, and the regulations provided for heavy
penalties for under-reporting and no penalty for over-reporting. It is there-
fore believed that these quantities may be considerably overstated.
Information on the wastes managed offsite is based on manifests of shipments
of hazardous waste, by category, and was summarized and reported monthly from
January 1979 through June 1981. Since mid-1981 no information has been fur-
nished to local agencies regarding these shipments. The average monthly quan-
tity which was shipped from San Diego County locations during this period was
3,500 tons for an annual rate of 42,000 tons. Acid and alkaline wastes con-
stitute over 80 percent of all wastes generated in San Diego County which are
managed offsite. The primary sources of these wastes are the electrical and
electronic equipment industries and the metal plating and fabricating indus-
tries.
A small generator of hazardous waste is defined as one which produces less
than 1000 kg. (about 2,200 lbs.) per month. Under Federal law, small genera-
tors are exempt from regulation; however, under California law all generators,
however small, are regulated. A great deal of concern is expressed at nation-
al, state and local levels that small generators, while producing not more
than 5 percent of all hazardous wastes, may be responsible for a significant
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proportion of all illegal disposal. The reasons for this concern are that
small generators often do not have ready access to information on hazardous
wastes laws and regulations, and in some cases do not have a convenient and
affordable hazardous waste collection and disposal service available to them.
An important element of an effective hazardous waste managment system is the
development of a reasonably priced method of disposal of small quantities of
hazardous wastes being produced by small businesses and individual house-
holds.
EXISTING HAZARDOUS WASTE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM
The management of hazardous wastes includes the functions of storage, collec-
tion, transportation, treatment, recycling, and disposal. As a general rule,
temporary storage occurs wherever waste is generated and otherwise handled.
The major concern with storage practices is to ensure that containers fully
protect against any type of release of hazardous substances. Whenever storage
tanks deteriorate through age or because of some external factor, a major pol-
lution of the ground, air or water may result. Other areas of California are
discovering groundwater contamination resulting from the leakage of under-
ground storage tanks. In some localities it is feared that leakage may have
gone undetected for years. While the conditions that are most conducive to
groundwater contamination problems are not prevalent in San Diego, the Region-
al Water Quality Control Board is concerned and is considering the initiation
of a study of this problem.
Hazardous waste collection and transportation services are provided by a number
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of firms in the county, alt~ough the cost of service to the small generator is
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quite high. As a general rule, the cost of pickup of a single drum of hazar-
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dous waste (55 gallons) is approximately $100. As quantities increase, the
incremental cost decreases substanti ally. A need exi sts for a "mi 1 k run" type
of collection service, where a collector can make a number of pickups on a
pre-established route, which could result in a substantial reduction in the
cost of collection of a single drum of waste material. As a means of reducing
transportation costs for wastes generated by householders and businesses which
produce only minute quantities, the County of San Diego has sponsored AB 1015
(Killea), which would allow an individual to transport up to 5 gallons or 50
pounds of hazardous waste in a private vehicle to an authorized facility. The
charge for disposal of 5 gallons or less at the Appropriate Technologies II
facility is $5.00.
Prior to January 1983 all hazardous wastes produced in San Diego which were
managed offsite were either trucked directly to a land disposal site or were
delivered to the hazardous waste transfer station operated by the BKK
Corporation on Miramar Road in San Diego for consolidation and subsequent
rehaul to the BKK landfill in West Covina. Since November 1980, there has
been no land disposal of hazardous waste in San Diego, with over 90 percent
of the county's offsite wastes going to West Covina. Other Class I and 11-1
sites in Imperial, Los Angeles, Santa Barbara and Kings Counties received the
rema i nder.
In January 1983, the BKK Corporation opened the first offsite hazardous waste
treatment center in southern California at the site of the County's Otay land-
fill. This facility, called Appropriate Technologies II, neutralizes acidic
and caustic wastes, and separates oily wastes for recycling. The facility
also functions as a transfer station for small loads or other types of waste
material.
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SURVEILLANCE AND ENFORCEMENT
Liquid hazardous wastes are fairly easy to hide, and are therefore often dis-
posed of illegally. The relatively high cost of legitimate disposal also pro-
vides an inducement to illicit disposal activities. Because of the great
potential for injury to human health and the environment due to improper dis-
posal, a vigorous surveillance and enforcement program is essential. Such a
program was authorized by the County Board of Supervisors in June, 1982 to be
carried out in the unincorporated area of the county. The board also directed
staff to seek authorization from all city councils to conduct the program
within the cities. However, to date only five cities have joined in the pro-
gram. The program, conducted by the County Department of Health Services, is
financed by a permit fee assessed against each hazardous waste generator.
Another function of the program is to investigate and initiate enforcement
action against any party who has been disposing of waste at an unauthorized
site or in an unauthorized manner. Although only a few such sites have been
found in San Diego County, there may be many more which have yet to be report-
ed. The key to elimination of these dumps lies in the effectiveness of local
authorities in discovering the responsible party (or parties) and in success-
fully prosecuting them, if necessary, for these violations. Financial support
is available for the elimination of major hazardous waste dumps through state
and federal superfunds.
HAZARDOUS WASTE FACILITY NEEDS
In order to determine the county.s need for new hazardous waste treatment
or disposal facilities, it is necessary to estimate future hazardous waste
production. In performing this analysis, seven factors were considered which
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could potentially have a significant effect on our capability to manage the
future waste stream. These are:
o
What effect will the new, more stringent state and federal regulations
have on those facilities which are presently managing their hazardous
wastes onsite?
o
Will major hazardous waste generators now disposing of their wastes
offsite construct new onsite treatment facilities?
o
What effect will the County's new enforcement program have on the
amount of wastes being sent to offsite facilities?
o
What effect will an economic recovery have on the amount of hazardous
wastes being produced?
o
What effect will industrial growth in the region have on the amount of
hazardous waste produced in the next 10-20 years?
What would be the effect on local hazardous waste management if the
BKK landfill in West Covina should be suddenly closed?
o
o
What effect will the new state regulations restricting land disposal
of high priority wastes have on the need for additional treatment
facil ities?
Analysis of these factors shows that only two - industrial growth and the
County's Enforcement and Surveillance Program - are expected to affect the
amount of waste generated. In addition, the possibility of the premature
closure of the BKK landfill would present a serious hazardous waste management
problem.
The Enforcement and Surveillance Program, which will involve actual onsite
inspection of all hazardous waste generators, may have a substantial impact
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on the amount of hazardous waste being managed offsite. It is believed that
possibly as much as 10,000 tons per year are presently being disposed of by
unauthorized means. If all cities in the county approve this program, the
amount of hazardous wastes being disposed offsite may increase by 20-25
percent.
It is difficult to predict what effect industrial growth will have on hazar-
dous waste production. In the absence of specific information on the types of
new industrial facilities, the size and location of such facilities, and
whether or not they will install onsite treatment equipment, an assumption was
made that future facilities would follow the existing pattern and that the
amount of hazardous waste being managed offsite per civilian industrial em-
ployee in the county would remain constant. Therefore, hazardous waste pro-
duction is estimated to increase at the same rate as civilian industrial
employment. Based on this factor, and estimating that the Enforcement and
Surveillance Program will capture 10,000 tons per year, it is estimated that
84,000 tons per year of hazardous waste will require offsite management by the
year 2000.
The Appropriate Technologies II facility, in its present configuration, has a
treatment capacity of approximately 60,000 tons per year. Since about 60
percent of the total waste stream is considered treatable by these processes,
this facility will be adequate to treat the major waste streams through the
remainder of the century.
By the same token, existing hazardous waste land disposal facilities, all
located outside San Diego County, are calculated to have sufficient capacity
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to meet all of Southern California's needs for another 25 years or more.
However, any of these sites could conceivably be closed on very short notice.
If this should happen to the BKK site in West Covina, which receives over 90
percent of the wastes from San Diego County which go to landfill, the cost
of shipment to an alternate facility would increase by about $28 per ton, or
$560 per load.
HAZARDOUS WASTE FACILITY PERMITTING PROCESS
There are essentially two parts to the hazardous waste facility permitting
process. The first involves a discretionary action on the part of a city or
county as to whether or not a land use permit should be issued. The other
part involves the issuance of permits by state or regional agencies which
generally prescribe the conditions under which the facility may be allowed to
operate. A facility must have a permit to operate issued by the State DOHS
and will normally require a permit from the Regional Water Control Board and
the Air Pollution Control District.
The entire siting and permitting process is presently being studied by the
State Hazardous Waste Management Council under a mandate from the state
1 egi sl ature.
ORGANIZATION AND FINANCING
The role of local government agencies in hazardous waste management is lim-
ited, on one hand, by state and federal preemption of certain management and
regulatory functions. On the operational side, private industry is presently
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managing the collection, transportation, treatment, recycling and disposal
functions with a degree of financial strength and technical and managerial
competence that is not likely to be matched by a public agency.
The remaining functions are mostly assigned to County departments - primarily
the Department of Health Services and Department of Public Works. Supporting
roles with specifically defined limits are held by the Office of Disaster
Preparedness, Department of Planning and Land Use, and the Air Pollution
Control District.
While the Department of Health Services alone is responsible for conducting
the Enforcement and Surveillance Program, the management, planning and infor-
mation efforts are shared with Public Works. Close coordination between these
departments and a formalized recognition of each department's responsibilities
is considered essential to the effective management of this program.
EMERGENCY RESPONSE
Hazardous material incidents, although usually minor, may on occasion require
the involvement of numerous federal, state, and local agencies, and the cir-
cumstances may require emergency actions to protect lives and property. While
most agencies responding to such incidents have received some training in
carrying out their specific responsibilities, it is apparent that certain de-
ficiencies exist. There is clearly a need for interagency planning and coor-
dination, emergency equipment, and training exercises.
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SIGNIFICANT FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
FINDING #1
The processing and dissemenation of essential information regarding the quan-
tity and types of hazardous waste being manifested for offsite disposal was
suspended nearly two years ago, although the hazardous waste manifest system
continues to provide the basic data from which waste stream information is
drawn. The lack of this information severely hinders our ability to manage
hazardous wastes.
Recommendation
Ensuring that the necessary informtion gets into the hands of state and local
regulatory agencies requires a two-step aproach.
1. All generators of hazardous waste must be identified and the types and
quantities of hazardous waste must be documented, regardless of the
manner in which the wastes are presently being managed. The County
DOHS Enforcement and Surveillance Program should be implemented on a
countywide basis to insure that the sources of hazardous wastes
throughout the county are known.
2. The County of San Diego and all cities should encourage the State
DOHS to resume the production of regular reports of wastes being
managed offsite and distribute these reports on a regular basis to
local agencies responsible for hazardous waste management.
FINDING #2
There is ample evidence that illegal disposal of hazardous waste on the ground
and into the sewerage system continues to occur. Although the extent of
illegal dumping is not known, it is believed to be substantial. This report
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concludes it could be as much as 10,000 tons per year from small generators
alone.
Recommendation
The County DOHS Enforcement and Surveillance Program, assisted by regular
reports from the State DOHS of wastes being properly manifested for offsite
disposal, will be able to identify these illegal disposers in the course of
its inspection of hazardous waste generators. The inspection effort, however,
will only be effective if the personnel involved are trained in their duties
and have the necessary backup support from the State DOHS. It is recommended
that the County of San Diego sponsor state legislation to mandate that the
State DOHS provide state financed training for local field investigators and
prosecutors in the preparation of cases against violators; state testing
facilities which can provide quantitative and qualitative analyses of samples
within a reasonable time period and at a reasonable cost; and systematic and
consistent interpretations of laws and regulations pertaining to the enforce-
ment program.
FINDING #3
Most larger businesses have staff personnel who are well informed on federal
and state laws relating to hazardous waste management. A large number of
small businesses, however, do not have the means of keeping abreast of changes
in the law or of the myriad of regulations which affect their business opera-
tions. Another problem of the small generator of hazardous waste is that the
cost of any legitimate hazardous waste service is very high and may even
exceed the original price of the material when purchased.
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Recommendation
The County DOHS Enforcement and Surveillance Program, if implemented on a
countywide basis, will be able to provide all small generators with the infor-
mation they need to comply with all applicable hazardous waste laws and regu-
lations. In addition, it is recommended that the County sponsor an informa-
tion program for householders and other targeted groups on the dangers of
hazardous chemicals in the home, utilizing the resources of private business
firms and associations, community groups and other governmental organizations.
It is further recommended that the County actively seek the support of other
public agencies and private associations for Assembly Bill 1015 (Killea),
which will provide a safe, economical means of disposal of small quantities of
hazardous waste.
FINDING #4
It is expected that the quantity of hazardous waste available for offsite
treatment, recycling or disposal will increase from 48,000 tons in 1981 to
approximately 84,000 tons per year by the year 2000. This increase will occur
as a resul t of the "capture" of wastes now being improperly di sposed of and as
a result of industrial growth in the county. This report concludes that the
treatment capacity pesently available at the Appropriate Technologies II
facility is adequate to serve the projected quantities of waste types which
can be treated at that facility.
Recommendation
Although the land disposal facilities now serving San Diego County have suffi-
cient capacity to meet our needs for the foreseeable future, we could be in
serious difficulty if the BKK disposal site in West Cov.ina should be prema-
turely closed. It is recommended that the County of San Diego continue to
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work cooperatively with other counties in Southern California to locate
another Class I disposal site somewhere in the seven county area. It is also
recommended that the County continue to cooperate with the other counties to
site additional treatment facilities on a regional basis for those waste
streams not treatable at Appropriate Technologies II. Of greatest need is an
incinerator for hazardous organic wastes.
FINDING # 5
Although no hazardous material disasters have been recorded in San Diego
County, incidents of a minor to moderate scale are occurring at the rate of
several each week. These incidents are occasionally serious and require the
participation of numerous federal, state and local agencies. Experience with
these incidents has shown that while most individual agencies are capable of
carrying out their own responsibilities, there is clearly a need for areawide
planning, acquisition of response equipment and training of emergency response
personnel.
Recommendation
As directed by the San Diego Unified Disaster Council on March 10, 1983, a
Hazardous Material Incident planning committee should be established to pre-
pare a countywide Hazardous Materials Incident Response Plan. In addition, a
program should be immediately developed for the countywide utilization of
emergency response equipment which may be made available through the state
"superfund" program.
FINDING #6
Existing agencies within the county are capable of carrying out the local
government responsibilities in an efficient manner. These responsibilities
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have primarily been assigned to various departments and offices of the County
of San Diego, although some responsibilities, especially land use decisions,
are retained by the city governments. A Memorandum of Agreement between the
County Departments of Health Services and Public Works was executed in
August, 1981.
Reconunendation
Because of changes which have occurred in the County's hazardous waste manage-
ment activities since the current Memorandum of Agreement was signed, this
agreement should be revised to reflect current program management needs. The
recommended assignment of departmental responsibilities are set forth in
Chapter XI.
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