------- The public has this unique op- portunity to participate in the decisionmaking process because of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). This Act, passed in 1976, con- tains special provisions for in- forming and training citizens to assist them in understanding the complex solid waste man- agement issues and thus be able to participate constructively. RCRA also provided that EPA set guidelines for public partic- ipation in RCRA-funded pro- grams. Those guidelines, which were published in the Code of Federal Regulations, Title 40, Part 25, require that State and local governments seek citizen involvement. Waste Alert! helps State and local agencies by serving as a forum to pro- vide information and to ex- change views with citizens on important solid waste issues. From the time the original national solid waste legislation was passed in 1965, EPA's solid waste office has devoted sub- ------- stantial effort and resources to information programs directed to technical audiences and the general public. Since 1972, these efforts have included grants to civic, scientific, environmental, and consumer groups and labor unions for educational activities suited to their own constituencies. As the nation's solid waste man- agement situation became more apparent, the need for even more intensive efforts to ena- ble citizens to participate in working toward solutions was recognized. Helping citizens to understand the issues involved in implementing solid waste legislation was especially im- portant in order for them to participate effectively in local, State, and Federal decision- making. This need led to opportunities under RCRA for greatly increased public partic- ipation. Today's heightened awareness of poor solid and hazardous waste management practices is a compelling reason for citizens to take advantage of these new opportunities. For example, citizens in rural areas who are increasingly being asked to pro- vide space for waste from in- dustrial areas can now become involved in their own State's decisionmaking. Citizens con- cerned with the effects on health and the environment from the improper disposal of toxic waste near their homes and communities can make their views known and become involved in the development of programs to regulate hazardous waste under RCRA. Other citi- zens can become involved with RCRA activities related to materials and energy conser- vation and the disposal of other-than-hazardous waste. Only when all sectors of the public participate in the impor- tant programs under RCRA will we begin to find satisfactory solutions to our many solid and hazardous waste problems. ------- What RCRA is All About RCRA is a complex law which reflects the complicated nature and scope of solid waste man- agement issues. Among the major issues are: (1) the con- tamination of water, land, and air and other public health and environmental risks frequently caused by improper disposal of solid waste, especially hazard- ous industrial wastes; (2) the increasing amounts of wastes generated and the lack of sites for their disposal; (3) the insti- tutional, economic, and tech- nical barriers blocking more "*"*TT V,>,' ** . :* Ai* .•flCv-r,^-: - ^^*5 >a rapid development of resource recovery and conservation measures; and (4) the need to strengthen State and local ca- pabilities to solve solid waste problems. In working toward solutions, RCRA set up three primary objectives: o to establish regulations covering management of hazardous wastes from the time they are generated to their disposal o to improve disposal prac- tices for all other wastes ------- o to promote resource recov- ery and conservation Under RCRA, EPA sets mini- mum standards for managing hazardous waste, although Con- gress intends that each State will eventually carry out its own hazardous waste manage- ment program. If a State can- not or chooses not to operate a program, then EPA is required to manage a hazardous waste program in that State. In addi- tion, EPA has set minimum standards for land disposal of nonhazardous wastes, although, again, Congress intends each State to manage its own pro- gram. RCRA authorizes EPA to provide financial and technical assistance for both hazardous and nonhazardous waste pro- grams. Every State agency applying for EPA financial assistance under the Act must submit, as part of its grant application, details on how the public will be allowed and, in- deed, encouraged to participate in its RCRA-funded programs. ------- Sponsoring Organizations While EPA is giving financial support to Waste Alert!, the program is fundamentally the responsibility of a number of national organizations. Current sponsors include: American Public Health Association— an organization consisting of over 30,000 members plus 50 State-affiliated organi- zations. APHA is recog- nized for its ability to bring together groups with diver- gent interests to address and work toward a common goal. environmental action foundation Environmental Action Foundation— a nonprofit, tax-exempt cit- izens' organization devoted to research and education on environmental issues. EAF maintains a strong local orientation by provid- ing technical and organiza- tional expertise to commun- ity activists and groups through a citizens' network and a National Coalition on Solid Waste. THE IZAAK WALTON LEAGUE OF AMERICA INCORPORATED Izaak Walton League of America— a national conservation or- ganization, founded in 1922, ------- and committed to the pru- dent use and preservation of the nation's natural resour- ces. IWLA is composed of approximately 50,000 mem- bers representing a wide cross section of the grass- roots conservation commun- ity. The national office engages primarily in educa- tional, regulatory, and legis- lative programs related to the management of water resources, public lands, and, more recently, the manage- ment of solid and hazardous wastes. \lf/ tion, comprised of over 4.1 million members and sup- porters, with affiliates in every State. Waste man- agement is a priority item in the federation's program. The NWF's concerns are the degradation of the environ- ment due to the improper handling of waste and, par- ticularly, the threat to pub- lic health and safety posed by inadequate management of hazardous waste. League of Women Voters Education Fund— aresearch and education organization that offers cit- izens reliable, impartial information about national issues affecting their com- munities. Since 1971, LWVEF has educated citi- zens about local, State, and national solid waste issues. National Wildlife Federation— the nation's largest conser- vation education organiza- Technical Information Project— a national nonprofit, scien- tific citizen education orga- nization. TIP specializes in resource and environmental policy issues, with a strong concentration on hazardous and nonhazarodus waste. TIP'S citizen networks in- clude the "Citizens and Waste" and TOXNET con- stituencies. The "Citizens and Waste" network was de- veloped through a 3-year EPA-supported national workshop program bringing together citizens from 38 States, as well as Mexico and Canada. TOXNET is a scientifically oriented na- tional group concerned with toxic substances and haz- ardous waste problems. ------- Building; a Prog-rain EPA's Office of Solid Waste (OSW) has the lead responsibil- ity in presenting a nationwide information program to citizen leaders and decisionmakers in government, industry, business, and education. OSW carries out this function through a variety of media and through educa- tional grants to organizations— Waste Alert! is one such pro- gram. The organizations con- ducting Waste Alert! hold regional conferences on issues related to the problems of abandoned waste sites, siting of new facilities, implementation of RCRA regulations, and other aspects of waste management. Each Waste Alert! grantee or- ganization assumes responsibil- ity for specific areas, including researching and developing in- formation, planning logistics for each conference, and re- imbursing citizens who could not otherwise attend. At each conference, certain partici- pants volunteer to be the con- tacts between Waste Alert! grantees and conference at- tendees. The Waste Alert! grantees can then advise the contacts on how citizens can facilitate forming coalitions. The Waste Alert! conferees are expected to form coalitions in their States and to serve as a corps to help citizens at the local level understand solid waste projects, such as landfill COMMUNITIES STATES REGIONS GRANTEI siting, resource recovery, and separate collection systems. EPA regions advise the grant- ees and citizens in areas of need, for example, State plan- ning processes and resource contacts. A Long-Ter] Program Ten regional conferences were scheduled for the first phase of Waste Alert!. The main focus of the program is on: o identifying and training cit- izen leaders and reaching ------- appropriate communications media o developing proposals for im- plementing public participa- tion under RCRA at the State level o planning for State confer- ences o identifying State action groups and assisting them, if they wish, in working to- gether to hold State Waste Alert! programs Waste Alert! is an on-going public information participation program with long-term objec- tives. Those objectives will not be achieved, unless the program moves, as time goes on, from the Federal to the State level, and eventually to the local level. The hazardous waste problem that we confront today perhaps illustrates more clearly than any other environmental issue the importance of the public participation provisions that appear in several recent Fed- eral laws. The waste problem cannot be magically solved by science and technology. Nor can government and industry alone work out appropriate so- lutions. This has been under- scored as we have recognized that we are dealing with two discrete issues: the manage- ment of wastes that are being generated today or will be gen- erated in the future and the management of wastes that have been improperly handled in the past. It is not clear which is the greater problem. What is clear is that the waste problem is too difficult to be solved by experts alone. It will not yield to shortsighted or lop- sided approaches. The waste problem involves public health, conservation, waste reduction, economics, science and tech- nology, social values, and polit- ical realities. The problem will be solved only if we remember that solid waste management is all of these things and more- end that only an alert and in- formed public can properly cope with such complexities. ------- i&Si k- %*% %#!' ' ------- t • ------- For information about State solid and hazardous waste programs, contact the appropriate State agency. Alabama Division of Solid Waste and Vector Control Department of Public Health State Office Building Montgomery, AL 36130 205-832-6728 Alaska Air & Solid Waste Mgmt. Program Department of Environmental Conservation, Pouch 0 Juneau, AK 99811 907-465-2635 American Samoa Environmental Quality Commission American Somoa Government Pago Pago, American Samoa 96799 (overseas oper.) 633-4116 Arizona Bureau of Sanitation Department of Health Services 411 North 24th Street Phoenix, AZ 85008 602-255-1156 Arkansas Solid Waste Management Div. Department of Pollution Control and Ecology, Box 9583 Little Rock, AR 72219 501-371-1701 Solid Waste Program Department of Energy 3000 Kavanaugh Little Rock, AR 72205 501-371-2234 California State Solid Waste Management Board, Box 1743, 1020 Ninth Street Sacramento, CA 95814 916-322-3330 Hazardous Material Mgmt. Section Department of Health Services 744 P Street Sacramento, CA 95814 916-322-2337 Colorado Department of Public Health 4210 East Eleventh Avenue Denver, CO 80220 303-320-8333 Commonwealth of North Mariana Islands Environmental Protection Board Dept. of Health Services Saipan, Mariana Islands 96950 (overseas oper.) 9370 Div. of Environmental Quality Department of Public Health and Environmental Services Saipan, Mariana Islands 96950 Connecticut Solid Waste Management Unit Dept. of Environmental Protection 165 Capital Avenue Hartford, CT 06115 203-566-3672 Industrial & Hazardous Materials Management Unit Dept. of Environmental Protection (same address as above) 203-566-5148 Connecticut Resource Recovery Authority, Suite 603 179 Allyn Street Hartford, CT 06103 203-549-6390 Delaware Solid Waste Management Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control Edward Tatnall Building Dover, DE 19901 302-678-4764 District of Columbia Dept. of Environmental Services 415 Twelfth Street, NW. Washington, DC 20004 202-727-5701 Florida Solid Waste Management Program Dept. of Environmental Regulation 2600 Blair Stone Road Tallahassee, FL 32301 904-488-0300 Georgia Environmental Protection Div. Dept. of Natural Resources Rm. 822 270 Washington Street, SW. Atlanta, GA 30334 404-656-2833 gency Guam Environmental Protection A Government of Guam P.O. Box 2999 Agana, GU 96910 (overseas oper-) 646-8863 Hawaii Environmental Health Division Department of Health P.O. Box 3378 Honolulu, HI 96801 808-548-6410 Idaho Solid Waste Management Section Department of Health & Welfare Statehouse Boise, ID 83720 208-334-4108 Illinois Division of Land & Noise Pollution Control Environmental Protection Agency 2200 Churchill Road Springfield, IL 62706 217-782-9800 Indiana Solid Waste Management Section Division of Sanitary Engineering State Board of Health 1330 West Michigan Street Indianapolis, IN 46202 317-633-0176 Iowa Air and Land Quality Division Dept. of Environmental Quality Henry A. Wallace Building 900 East Grand Des Moines, IA 50319 515-281-8853 ------- Kansas Solid Waste Management Section Dept. of Health & Environment Topeka, KS 66620 913-862-9360, Ext. 297 Kentucky Division of Hazardous Materials and Waste Management Department for Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Capital Plaza Tower Frankfort, KY 40601 502-564-6716 Louisiana Department of Natural Resources P.O. Box 44396 Baton Rouge, LA 70804 504-342-4506 Maine Div. of Solid Waste Mgmt. Control Bureau of Land Quality Dept. of Environmental Protection State House, Station 17 Augusta, ME 04333 207-289-2111 Maryland Water and Waste Mgmt. Program Water Resources Administration Department of Natural Resources Tawes State Office Building Annapolis, MD 21401 301-269-3875 Community Health Program Dept. of Health & Mental Hygiene 201 West Preston Street Baltimore, MD 21201 301-383-3123 Massachusetts Bureau of Solid Waste Disposal Department of Environmental Management, Rm. 1905 100 Cambridge Street Boston, MA 02202 617-727-4293 Div. of Air & Hazardous Materials Department of Environmental Quality Engineering 600 Washington Street, Rm. 320 Boston, MA 02111 617-727-2658 Hazardous Waste Section Div. of Water Pollution Control Department of Environmental Quality Engineering 110 Tremont Street Boston, MA 02108 617-727-3855 Michigan Environmental Protection Bureau Department of Natural Resources P.O. Box 30028 Lansing, MI 48909 517-373-2682 Resource Recovery Division Department of Natural Resources (same address as above) 517-322-1315 Hazardous Waste Environmental Services Division Department of Natural Resources (same address as above) 517-373-3560 Minnesota Division of Solid Waste Pollution Control Agency 1935 West County Road, B-2 Roseville, MN 55113 612-296-7315 Mississippi Div. of Solid Waste Management and Vector Control State Board of Health P.O. Box 1700 Jackson, MS 39205 601-982-6317 Missouri Solid Waste Management Program Department of Natural Resources P.O. Box 1368 Jefferson City, MO 65102 314-751-3241 Montana Solid Waste Management Bureau Department of Health and Environmental Sciences 1400 Eleventh Ave., Suite A Helena, MT 59601 406-449-2821 Nebraska Solid Waste Division Dept. of Environmental Control State House Station P.O. Box 94877 Lincoln, NE 68509 402-471-2186 Nevada Solid Waste Management Div. of Environmental Protection Department of Conservation and Natural Resources Capital Complex Capitol City, NV 89710 702-885-4670 New Hampshire Bureau of Solid Waste Dept. of Health and Welfare State Laboratory Building Hazen Drive Concord, NH 03301 603-271-4610 New Jersey Solid Waste Administration Div. of Environmental Quality P.O. Box CNO27 Trenton, NJ 08625 609-292-9120 New Mexico Solid and Hazardous Waste Management Programs Health and Environment Dept. P.O. Box 968 Crown Building Santa Fe, NM 87503 505-827-5271 Ext. 282 New York Division of Solid Waste Mgmt. Department of Environmental Conservation 50 Wolf Road Albany, NY 12233 518-457-6603 North Carolina Solid and Hazardous Waste Management Branch Division of Health Services Department of Human Resources P.O. Box 2091 Raleigh, NC 27602 919-733-2178 ------- 12 North Dakota Division of Environmental Waste Management and Research Department of Health 1200 Missouri Avenue Bismarck, ND 58505 701-224-2382 Ohio 6ffice of Land Pollution Control Environmental Protection Agency P.O. Box 1049 Columbus, OH 43216 614-466-8934 Oklahoma industrial & Solid Waste Service Department of Health P.O. Box 53551 Oklahoma City, OK 73152 405-271-5338 Oregon Solid Waste Management Division Dept. of Environmental Quality P.O. Box 1760 Portland, OR 97207 503-299-5913 Pennsylvania Bureau of Solid Waste Management Dept. of Environmental Resources P.O. Box 2063 Harrisburg, PA 17120 717-787-9870 Puerto Rico Environmental Quality Board Office of the Governor P.O. Box 11488 Santurce, PR 00910 809-725-2062, Ext. 229 Rhode Island Solid Waste Management Program Dept. of Environmental Mgmt. 204 Health Building Davis Street Providence, RI 02908 401-277-2808 Rhode Island Solid Waste Corp. 39 Pike Street Providence, RI 02903 401-831-4440 South Carolina Solid Waste Management Division Department of Health and Environmental Control 2600 Bull Street Columbia, SC 29201 803-758-5681 South Dakota Air Quality and Solid Waste Programs Department of Health Carnegie Library Building Pierre, SD 57501 605-773-3329 Tennessee Division of Solid Waste Mgmt. Bureau of Environmental Services Department of Public Health Capitol Hill Bldg., Suite 326 Nashville, TN 37219 615-741-3424 Texas Division of Solid Waste Mgmt. Texas Department of Health 1100 West 49th Street Austin, TX 78756 512-458-7271 Industrial Solid Waste Unit Department of Water Resources P.O. Box 13087 Capital Station Austin, TX 78711 512-475-2041 Utah Bureau of Solid Waste Mgmt. State Division of Health P.O. Box 2500 Salt Lake City, UT 84110 801-533-4145 Vermont Air and Solid Waste Programs Agency of Environmental Conservation State Office Building Montpelier, VT 05602 802-828-3395 Virgin Islands Solid Waste Planning Office Department of Public Works Government of the Virgin Islands Charolotte Amalie St. Thomas, VI 00801 809-774-7880 Virginia Bureau of Solid and Hazardous Waste Management Department of Health 109 Governor Street Richmond, VA 23219 804-786-5271 Washington ingt Was Solid Waste Management Div. Department of Ecology Olympia, WA 98504 206-753-6883 West Virginia Solid Waste Division Department of Health 1800 Washington Street, E Charleston, WV 25305.. 304-348-2987 Wisconsin Bureau of Solid Waste Management Department of Natural Resources Box 7921 Madison, WI 53707 608-266-1327 Wyoming Solid Waste Management Program Dept. of Environmental Quality Hathaway Building Cheyenne, WY 82002 307-777-7752 AU.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE: 1980 O— 621-164/873 REGION 3-1 ------- |