Industry Urges Delay in New California Landfill Fees

Date: October 15, 2010

Source: News Room

Waste industry groups continue to urge the California waste department to at least delay a proposed fee on hundreds of landfills, arguing that it is particularly burdensome in the current economic environment and il-timed with upcoming political elections. In an Oct. 8 letter to the department, a coalition of a dozen entities, including the California State Association of Counties, Sanitation Districts of Los Angeles County, and Waste Management, Inc., urges the department to delay further consideration of the fee. California's Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle) says the new fee is comparable to regulatory fees already in place for state water board and toxics department programs and necessary to finance recently adopted "financial assurance" rules that are aimed at protecting the state from paying for landfill cleanups where operators default or go bankrupt. In addition, the department says it is earning less revenue as a result of lower landfill volumes in the economic downturn and has become a victim of its own success in encouraging more diversion from landfills. Collectively, the members of the coalition considered a position of strong opposition to the proposed fee regulations, but the group "ultimately resolved that a request for delay of action is more appropriate until the many complex issues discussed are more fully addressed," the letter states.

See also: "Industry Opposes California Plan to Raise Landfill Fees," (www.wasteinfo.com/news/wbj20100921I.htm).

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