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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-
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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.
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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
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^^*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.
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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
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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.
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'
-------
t
•
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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
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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
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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
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