DRAFT #2
6-29-81
THE ROLE
OF
LOCAL GOVERNMENTS
IN
TOXICS CONTROL
For: Task I Toxics Integration Strategy
by: John Thillmann
Office of Management
Systems and Evaluation,
Program Evaluation Division
-------
Page
i. Introduction i
I. Conclusion 1
Recommendations 5
II. Local Governments and Environmental Controls:
A Brief Review
What is a Local Government 6
Managing Toxics 10
(1) Toxics Problems 10
(2) Initial Problem Detection 13
(3) Ongoing Control and Problem Prevention 14
(4) Handling and Disposal 16
(5) Control 17
(6) Police Powers/Enforcement 19
III. Toxics Control: Local Government Profiles 22
(A) Some Basic Local Government Toxics Related
Control Activities 22
(B) Profiles of Selected Local Governments 26
(1) Pennsylvania: Alleghency County (Pittsburg) 29
Philadelphia
Bucks County
(2) Florida: Dade County (Miami) 32
(3) California: Los Angeles County 33
(4) Colorado: Denver 35
Aropaho County
Jefferson County
(5) New York: Monroe County (Rochester) 38
(6) Delaware: New Castle County (Wilmington) 40
(7) Oregon: Lane County 42
(8) Nevada: Washoe County (Reno) 43
IV. LOCAL GOVERNMENTS AUTHORITY - REQUIREMENTS -
COOPERATION AND NUMBERS
A. AUTHORITY DERIVED AND LIMITED BY STATES 44
B. REQUIRING LOCAL GOVERNMENTS TO ACT 46
C. INTER-LOCAL COOPERATION 51
D. STATISTICAL SUMMARY OF LOCAL GOVERNMENTS 61
-------
SECTION I
INTRODUCTION
There is only one place where a strategy to integrate
toxics control at a site or facility can take place and that
is where it already takes place - "The Local Government
level".
Local governments now regulate the generators, handlers
and disposers of toxics. They themselves remove toxics from
the waste stream. They control toxics in the food chain
through control of drinking water quality. They are: the first
responders in emergency situations; the unit of government
that makes siting decisions for the generators and disposal
of toxics; and they control the routes that transporters take.
Local governments are at the level of government where
"guaranteed action" exists. When a problem is discovered or
anticipated it is in the enlightened self-interest of local
governments to take remedial action and ask the State and
Federal government for assistance when necessary because
inattention to a problem will guarantee that the responsible
official (either elected or appointed) will experience only
a short tenure in office.
Control of the site or facility is and historically has
been the prime responsibility of local governments with some
backup from their states. The Federal role and responsibility
is basically control of the "product," (toxic chemical produced,
-------
-11-
pesticide registered) setting national standards and through
economics of scale providing technical backup to fill gaps in
state assistance to local governments. It also provides broad
national enforcement back-up to states and local governments.
In sum, this paper will explain the role that local
governments have played and are now playing in the area of
toxics control. It will show that local governments have the
legal power and technical expertise to continue to play a
predominant role and it is up to us to finally recognize it
and establish an official local government "role".
-------
CONCLUSIONS
I. The overwhelming number of sources of toxic pollutants
are located in major urban areas. The definition of major
urban areas could vary from less than 1% of the total number
of local governments in the U.S. to a maximum of 4% of the
local governments in the U.S.
o Less than 1% of the local governments contain more than
45% of the total U.S. population.
o 4% of the total number of counties, cities and towns
contain over 85% of the U.S. population.
o 73 of the 272 SMSAs contain more than 50% of the total
population of the U.S.
In addition many of these local governments are in interstate
metropolitan areas where effective regional toxics management
demands not only interlocal cooperation but close interstate
cooperation as well. In these areas there should be direct
communication among all parties Federal, State and local.
o 38 SMSA's are in multi-state areas.
II. Local governments play the predominant role in regulating
sources of toxic substances within their jurisdications as well
as most significant routes of exposure to such substances.
Local governments have:
o Control of air pollution - including permitting new
facilities.
-------
-2-
o Solid waste management - control over transport, disposal
facilities and location of new facilities. Licensing
private haulers and disposal operators. Control over
routes taken by haulers.
o Drinking water pollution control - most local govern-
ments and special districts or authorities own and
operate their own public water system. In privately
owned systems they oversee operation, in some cases
license and in all cases can conduct health and
sanitation inspections.
o Water pollution control - most local governments own
and operate their own sewage treatment plant. In many
communities the discharge of industrial effluent goes
into their system which puts the industry under local
jurisdiction for pretreating. Most local jurisdictions
have gone through a basin-wide planning .exercise as
part of the Clean Water Act requirements, which has
delineated use categories and standards for streams
and the treatment needs for the future.
III. Local governments are the "emergency responder" to toxics
problems, accidents and disasters. They are the point of
initial problem detection and have the first trained professionals
on the scene.
o Local government emergency response ability includes
their police force, fire department, rescue operations,
emergency medical units and the medical facilities to
treat victims.
-------
-3-
o Local governments play the key role in public information
about imminent danger or potential hazards.
o Most local governments carry out disaster planning which
coordinates all local and state responses to a variety of
toxics-related or other types of emergencies.
IV. Local governments have the authority to develop comprehensive
strategies to effectively prevent problems. They have broad
powers to make decisions on the use of land.
o Comprehensive land use plans can specify the kind and
amount of commercial, industrial, residential or public
use land to be allowed in a community and the location
of that land in the community. It can specify the
adequacy of public facilities to serve the uses and in
some instances the timing of the use of the land.
o Zoning ordinances are vehicles for implementing the
land use plans. They specify not only the location of
uses but the type (e.g., heavy industry vs. light
manufacturing); the size, the height, the location on
the property and any other special conditions which
can be specific to the hours of operation, type of
manufacturing, and time limit until the use must go
back to public hearing for permit renewal.
o Building codes are a local government regulatory tool
that exists in virtually every local government in the
U.S. They regulate not only construction but also the
manufacture, storage, and handling of toxics and hazar-
dous substances by commercial and industrial users.
-------
-4-
The N.F.P.C., National Fire Prevention-Code, is employed
by most local governments with building codes. It
covers toxics and hazardous substance storage and
handling.
V. Local governments have the legislative power and judicial
authority for establishing laws, ordinances and other requirements
to protect the "health, safety and welfare" of the community.
They also have the judicial and police power to enforce these
requirements.
VI. Mandating new requirements is not an optimal way to proceed.
There are already enough requirements that must be met by local
governments. They will experience increasing difficulty in
meeting any new requirements because of a lack of new financial
resources.
VII. Local governments are technically sophisticated; in many
cases have staff capability superior to that of their own
states; in many cases pay higher salaries than states and the
federal government; and administer complex regulations while
balancing many competing needs. They have sophisticated service
delivery systems and manage the day-to-day governmental needs
of a complex society.
-------
-5-
Recommendations
1. That the role of local governments is as the key implementor
of toxics source control and exposure mitigator.
2. That EPA directly communicate with local governments (at
least the top 1%) by setting up EPA Regional office contacts
with the locals. That special multi-local, multi-state
councils are established in the 38 interstate SMSAs to
provide forums for toxics control cooperation.
3. That EPA and States provide technical back-up and training
materials to the emergency responders so that they can more
effectively cope with the variety of toxics emergencies.
4. That EPA and other Federal agencies coordinate emergency/
disaster planning guidance.
5. That EPA meet with the N.F.P.C.-A., National Fire Prevention
Control Administration (N.F.P.C.A. part of Commerce) to
consider ways of proposing modifications to the National
Fire Prevention Code (N.F.P.C.) to better reflect toxics
control techniques.
6. That EPA develop legislation that would allow local govern-
ments to tax generators of hazardous or toxic waste in
their community. This would help mitigate the local
government expense of policing the facility, protecting
the public, and disposing of the waste products.
7. EPA should not develop a whole new set of "strategy"
requirements for local governments, rather we should lead
by example and offer to help meet local needs where there
are gaps in state assistance or where state limits to
delegated authority exist.
-------
-6-
8. We should facilitate creation of chemical exchanges at the
local government level. This would reduce the amount of
toxic and hazardous material requiring disposal in the
future.
-------
-7-
SECTION II
WHAT IS A LOCAL GOVERNMENT
. Local governments vary in physical size, number of employees,
size of budgets, and complexity.
d San Bernadino County is larger in area than 3 states.
o Large number of counties and cities have greater numbers
of employees than many states.
o Los Angeles County administers 233 cities and towns,
more than exist in some states.
o There were 5 counties in 1977 that contained 200 or
more local governments.
As can be seen, some of the mid-range local governments in
the U.S. far outstrip many states if like comparisons are made.
Local governments are sophisticated, with talented and capable
staffs that implement the many complex regulations, laws, and ordi-
nances that are required at the Federal, State, and local level.
They are also at the front lines dealing with actual needs and
problems of citizens, industry, and specific interest groups. They
are required to juggle and balance priorities against financial
and institutional capability in order to rectify problems.
Salaries for government officials at the local level have
been steadily increasing to the extent that the major cities and
urban counties pay their top professionals significantly more than
top federal or State professionals. There is a tremendous amount
-------
-8-
of job mobility among local governments. Many local government
professionals have experience in a variety of local governments
in different states. They bring this variety of experience
to bear on the problems facing their current place of employ-
.ment. Local governments are also discriminating employers
who demand good academic and previous employment credentials.
They also can discriminate in favor of proven performers
since they are at the implementation stage of policy.
Local Government Involvement; Review
Local governments occupy the key position for control of
pollution in the environment; they:
o Live with the problem
o Deliver the service
o Pay for mitigation
Environmental controls have always been implemented at the
local government level in the U.S. Some of the earliest true
environmental controls were the sanitary sewers of Boston in
1823 and smoke controls by Chicago and Cincinnati in 1881.
The reasons for implementing the controls were health related
and this remains the major reason today.
The scope of environmental controls at the local govern-
ment level has remained relatively the same in the 'last 50
years: water supply, sewage collection and treatment, solid
waste collection and disposal, and general water quality and
air quality controls. These problems, while never simple, have
been compounded in the urban and major metropolitan areas.
-------
The location of industry and large numbers of people in
major metropolitan areas has caused these areas to bear the
brunt of environmental problems (including toxics). Local
governments in urban areas have continued to play the primary
role in controlling the problems. The generation of toxics,
especially by industry (as opposed to commercial activity),
puts large numbers of people in contact with generators of
toxics and in close proximity to the various modes of disposal
for the pollutants. A recent NACO report on hazardous waste
management reports that a Congressional survey, "conducted by
the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations (Committee on
Interstate and Foreign Commerce) found that the largest 53
chemical companies (operating 1,605 plants) dumped 94 percent
of their waste on-site, so that only 6 percent was taken away
by private haulers." This is fairly conclusive evidence that
both generation and disposal of toxics are in close proximity
to the population at large.
State and Federal Involvement; A History
There has been a trend since early 1950 to involve states
and the Federal Government in local government environmental
matters. The Congress passed laws on air pollution in 1955
authorizing research and on water pollution in 1956 to clean
up rivers and build treatment facilities. In 1965 the Solid
Waste Disposal Act was passed. Almost annually more and more
Federal control was exercised, so that by 1970 we had the
National Environmental Policy Act, creation of CEQ, formation
-------
-10-
of EPA, and a new Clean Air Act. By 1972 we experienced major
new clean water legislation requiring permits for dischargers,
the Pesticides Control Act, and the Noise Control Act. The
states were also active in passing similar kinds of legislation
and adding regulations to protect the environment.
Local governments responded by continuing to provide the
basic services, refining their analytic capability and imple-
mentation techniques to respond to the additional Federal and
State mandates. A glance at some local government profiles
provides a firsthand account of their programmatic response
to the State and Federal mandates (see p. of this report).
Local Government and Toxics
In the area of toxics control, "local governments carry out
all of the functions relative to control of the source, control
of transport and handling, and control of disposal. However,
they do not have control over "the product", which has histori-
cally been a Federal responsibility. The product includes the
chemicals produced, the pesticides registered, and the standards
for emissions from automobiles. States have been typically
involved in the effluent generated by setting standards and in
regional control of pollution (to mitigate downstream effects).
The Federal role has tended to be media-oriented (air,
water, etc.) while the primary State role has been as a pass-
through of Federal regulations. For the most part it is locals
that implement the programs and "control the source" in the
areas of greatest concern. This is explained in the following
sections of this report.
-------
-11-
MANAGING TOXICS
Toxics Problems
Toxics problems faced by local communities are not the
same. They vary by originator, type, intensity, and location.
An example might be as follows: The originator could be the
municipality itself through land disposal of sludge while
the type of problem might be from organic chemicals or heavy
metals. The intensity of the problem could be termed acute
in this situation with perhaps significant amounts of
contaminants leaching into a drinking water supply. The
location might be the drinking water supply but the place of
origin of the contaminant may be as yet undetermined.
Examples of the typical variations of toxics problems faced
by local governments:
ORIGINATOR:
TYPE:
INTENSITY:
o Industry - chemical manufacturer
o Commercial - dry cleaner
o Transportation - common carrier (train, truck)
o Public - homeowner, farmer
o Organic or inorganic chemical - (pesticide-
245D, heavy metal - cadmium)
o Explosive
o Radioactive
o Chronic - chemical long-term exposure (PCBs)
food chain ingestion (drinking water-
TTM, fish mercury)
o Acute - accident, in-plant industry spill,
train wreck - chlorine gas leaks
- significant amount of leaching of
contaminants into ground water
-------
-12-
LOCATION: o Sewage treatment plant (industry or public)
o Industry toxic storage areas, processing areas
o Commercial disposal
o Land fills both public and private
o Transportation route - highway, rail (accessable
and inaccessable)
o Lake, river, stream
o Farmers field - pesticides, animal wastes into
sink holes
-------
-13-
KEY LOCAL GOVERNMENT
TOXICS MANAGEMENT ELEMENTS
Problem Detection
o Emergency Phone Number
o Emergency Response
- Police
- Fire/Rescue
- Emergency Medicine
- Disaster Planning
o Citizen Discovery
o Public Health
Investigation
o Police Discovery
o Consumer/Public
Information
Handling & Disposal
o Collection of Waste
- Private
- Public
o Transport of Toxics
o Landfilling
- Public
- Private
o Chemical Exchanges
- Public or Private
Problem Prevention
o Comprehensive Planning
o Zoning/Subdivision Ordinance
o Building Housing Codes -
N.F.P.C.
o Public Information/Consumer
Protection
o Emergency/Disaster Planning
Control - Regulating
o Licensing/Regulating
- Transporters
- Operators, Landfills
- Landfill Areas
- Storage Areas - N.F.P.C
o Water Pollution Control
o Air Pollution Control
-------
-14-
Elements of the local government response to toxics-
related problems can be divided into five major components:
o Initial Problem Detection
o Problem Prevention
o Handling and Disposal
o Control
o Police Powers
Initial Problem Detection
The point of first contact with a toxics-related problem
takes place when a local government's police, fire and rescue,
or emergency medical team arrives on the scene. They will
respond to the medical or rescue needs of persons directly
and indirectly involved in the problem and they will prevent
others from being affected by the problem. Examples can
include an industrial accident when workers might be overcome
by toxic gas, a fire with the threat of release of toxics;
or perhaps a train wreck when chlorine gas or other toxic
substances are released. Another form of first contact is
through police apprehension of illegal dumpers or by police
discovery of a spill or illegal dump site.
Local governments can have both emergency medical and
ongoing medical assistance capability. The emergency medical
capability would respond "first on the scene" as explained
above but the ongoing medical capability is also an initial
problem detection unit. Through services such as disease
-------
-15-
control and public hospitals, the medical function of local
government can detect unusual medical incidents such as toxic
exposure, which can be reported to the responsible agency for
investigation. They can also detect chronic toxic problems
and warn local officials and once again the proper local or
state department can investigate.
The use of central emergency telephone numbers that
industry and citizens at large can use to get emergency help
in an important element. One of the chief means of problem
detection is when citizens or industrial employees are at
the point of first contact and are directly affected by the
emergency.
Many local communities carry out disaster planning to
prepare for a variety of emergencies. Response by emergency
units such as fire and rescue and medical units are well
defined and planned to coordinate with police and other
governmental departments. Public information is important
and is carried out to provide disaster information but can
also be useful to disseminate information about general
toxics related problems the community may be experiencing.
Ongoing Control and Problem Prevention
Comprehensive planning at the local government level
typically includes delineation of industrial, commercial,
and residential land use and the location of public
facilities such as parks/open space, libraries, sanitary
landfills, and waste water treatment facilities. Population
-------
-16-
and industrial activity projections are made which are then
used"as a basis for determining the amount of land allocated
for the differing uses and the needed capacity of the public
facilities. Careful analysis of the physical (geomorphological)
and geological characteristics of the land area can identify
optimal "environmentally" safe areas for dangerous land uses
which are involved in production, handling, and disposal of
toxics.
Zoning and subdivision controls are implementation tools
for the plan. Zoning districts can be especially designed to
afford maximum protection to the community. For instance
special use, special exception, or hazardous use districts
could be incorporated into a zoning ordinace. The districts
could include provisions that require public review of proposed
operations by the applicant, "conditioning use" upon type of
control (hydrocarbon emissions form asphalt batching for
example) hours of operation, limiting the amount of traffic
keeping access roads damp to keep down dust - the list is
almost endless. If the district includes a use "by right",
then the municipality cannot impose individual conditional
use restrictions and can only impose conditions that all
uses must meet, such as setbacks from roads, height and bulk,
parking spaces, etc.
Ongoing control also includes building and housing codes.
These regulations can be very specific about the type of
building and construction materials to be used. They can
include fire and toxic manufacture and storage requirements.
-------
-17-
The building plans would be reviewed by local building officials
such as engineers and fire marshals.
The National Fire Prevention Code which provides explicit
requirements for storage and handling of toxic chemicals, is
typically incorporated by reference in local building/fire
codes. Withholding a permit would keep the facility from
being constructed. After construction an inspection is carried
out and the original specifications on the permit are checked.
If they are not met, occupancy or use of the structure can be
held up until corrections are made.
Handling and Disposal
Handling toxics at the local government level involves
collection and transport of solid waste and liquid wastes;
transporting chemicals such as pesticides or chlorine used in
a waste treatment plant; applying chemicals such as herbicides,
pesticides or chlorine; removing toxics from the waste stream -
sludge at wastewater treatment plants or drinking water plants;
using radioactive materials, drycleaning solvents, and other
powerful solvents and cleaners. Public works departments,
police departments, fire departments, schools and hospitals
all use, handle, transport, store, or apply toxics in the course
of normal daily routine.
Disposal of toxics by local governments is usually carried
out by: 1) burning, and 2) landfilling. Much of the municipal
sludge produced in the U.S. is incinerated. This requires
pollution abatement equipment such as an ESP (Electro Static
-------
-18-
Precipitator) and the ability to operate and maintain it.
Other than composting and land spreading, which are not common,
landfilling is the other preferred method. Municipal sludge
is either dewatered at the treatment plant through filter
presses or left in a semi liquid state and trucked to a
sanitary landfill. At the landfill it is used as a bulking
agent and mixed with garbage or it is merely dumped and
spread. The same is true for industrial sludge. Residue
and by-products of manufacturing processes are also typically
landfilled. The by-products are in either liquid or solid
state, loose or in drums.
Many of the urban jurisdictions use transfer stations
where domestic, commercial, and industrial wastes are brought,
then compressed (sometimes separated first by type, e.g.,
glass, metal, or liquid) and put on large transfer trucks or
train cars for delivery to a landfill.
Some local jurisdictions operate chemical exchanges
where one industry can give or sell its chemical byproducts
or wastes to another industry that can use the waste product
in its own operations. It has been reported that had there
been a chemical exchange in Louisville Kentucky a significant
amount of the waste in the valley of drums would not have
been discarded.
Control
Control of toxics takes many forms. It ranges from
issuing rules on the proper handling of toxics by county
-------
-19-
workers to issuing licenses and permits to operators and
transporters of toxics.
Landfill Regulations - Public and private landfills must
follow the requirements spelled out in RCRA regulations applied
by the States, but States and municipalities can also require
even tighter regulations. In the case of sanitary landfills
and inert material landfills (rubble, etc.) the local govern-
ments can also require many additional safety precautions
for material which can cause leachate to leave the landfill
site. Nonmunicipal landfills are required to operate with
local special use permits (explained above in the Section on
zoning) and the operators can be licensed and required to be
bonded.
Collection and Transport - Licensing regulations can be
applied to ensure that collectors and transporters of waste
material are complying with regulations regarding the collection
of hazardous material from business and industry versus non-
hazardous material from homeowners for example. If the
municipality collects waste, obviously it can also place
controls on the types of substances that are picked up.
Sewage Sludge - Sludge may or may not contain toxic
material. This depends primarily on the nature of the
business or industry that feeds into the treatment plant.
By local ordinance the community can require pretreatment of
industrial or commercial effluent before it goes into the
municipal system. Limited access and controlled influent
-------
-20-
will keep municipal sludge from being toxic and will allow
greater flexibility in disposal methods. The toxic sludge
from pretreatment will however have to be disposed of in a
controlled manner.
Water Systems - Water systems are regulated by the Federal
Government, States, and usually by local governments as well.
Controlling toxics in drinking water is primarily the control
of the source of the drinking water, i.e., is the stream,
lake or groundwater aquifer polluted? Thereafter the control
of the drinking water itself is a matter of removing impurities
and adding a disinfectant. Local water departments usually
perform this function. If the water facilities are privately
owned, then local health departments usually carry out the
oversight of drinking water quality.
Air Quality/Water Quality - Many counties and cities have
their own water quality and air quality agencies and the neces-
sary regulations and ordinances to police violations. Even
without the agencies, they have policies, laws, and ordinances
governing the quality of water. Watershed land use planning,
erosion and sedimentation control ordinances on development,
prohibitions on the pumping of septic waste into streams, and
requirements for safe septic systems all add up to water quality
control. The same is true of air quality.
Police Power
Local government police power is derived from the state
legislatures. The "Protection of Public Health, Safety and
-------
-21-
Welfare" are the predominant requirements of police powers.
If the various ordinances, laws, and other "code" requirements
are basically in furtherance of the protection of public health,
safety, and welfare, then there is little that can be done to
obstruct vigorous code enforcement.
Enforcement cannot be arbitrary, capricious, or unreasonable,
Similar provisions must pertain to similar situations. Both
criminal and civil prosecution are available to locals; indeed
the likelihood of local enforcement is much greater than
federal enforcement because of the typically long delay in
bringing a federal action to trial. Enforcement can also
take.the form of administratively (with due process) removing
a permit or liscense to operate which is also very effective.
Local ordinances in such areas as solid waste control,
zoning and subdivision control, building code requirements,
air pollution controls, water quality controls, etc. have
been successfully implemented and legally subtained. It is
the interpretation of the requirements that can be success-
fully litigated. However, with good administrative guidelines
that is not a problem.
-------
-22-
III. TOXICS CONTROL: LOCAL GOVERNMENT PROFILES
Local governments provide numerous services to their
residents. There are typical and traditional functions, such
as the keeping of land records; financial management including
tax collection, police and fire protection, local judicial
systems, and mass transportation. Urban local governments
also provide many additional services such as emergency
medical services, water supply, sewage treatment, water
pollution control, air pollution control, solid waste
collection and disposal, building codes, land use planning,
and zoning.
Some Basic Government Toxics-Related
Control Activities
In order to identify possible roles for local government
in a strategy to integrate toxics control, it will be useful to
consider local government functions that relate in some way to
toxics. Thereafter a quick survey of selected local governments,
identifying whether they carry out all or some of the functions,
will give us a picture of the degree and type of "capability"
that exists.
The categories of local government services and short
explanations for their inclusion as toxic-related are as
follows:
1. Police
a. patrol
b. centrol emergency number
-------
-23-
Reason: To react to emergencies and to detect unauthorized
spills; to keep unauthorized transport off of or
out of restricted areas.
2. Judicial/Legal
a. general judicial jurisdiction
b. criminal prosecution
c. civil prosecution, services
Reason: To establish laws, codes, ordinances and to
prosecute violators.
3. Public Safety
a. fire protection
b. emergency medical services
c. disaster preparedness programs
Reason: Trained first response capability, capability of
immediate medical help. Planning for emergencies
and capability for planning coordinated responses
for problems in different media (land, water, air).
4. Public Health
a. disease control
b. sanitation inspection
c. hospital care
Reason: Trained medical personnel available for emergencies
and diagnosing problems from exposure to toxics.
Trained inspectors that can spot a problem early
from residences, industries, or commercial establish-
ments.
-------
-24-
5. Utilities
a. water supply
b. sewage treatment
Reason: The community controls the treatment of publicly
consumed drinking water and would be concerned about
pollution of the source. When the community owns and
operates its POTW it could require pretreatment and
would also be responsible for sludge handling and
disposal.
6. Natural Resources
a. flood/drainage control
Reason: These services/programs all have relevance to land
use and water pollution from urban and rural
sources; safeguarding against dumping or filling
flood plains with unsanitary wastes which can
leach directly into streams; protecting toxics-
producing facilities such as industries and
treatment plants and sludge storage areas from
flood danger.
7. Environmental
a. solid waste collection
b. solid waste disposal
c. water pollution control
d. air pollution control
Reason: Self evident - if the community collects and/or
disposes of solid waste, it can effect a safe and
-------
-25-
sanitary means of disposal. Water and air pollution
control programs are important means of identifying
problem areas and solving pollution problems. This
is perhaps one of the most important categories of
activity for a community to have.
8. Land Use
a. comprehensive land use planning
b. zoning control
c. subdivision control
Reason: Comprehensive planning and implementation authority
give the community the power to locate or isolate
toxics production (manufacturing), handling, and
disposal facilities at optimal sites, incorporating.
environmental safeguards as necessary.
9. Community Development
a. building code enforcement/inspection
b. housing code enforcement/inspection
Reason: New building permits for industries and commer-
cial establishments can be thoroughly examined
by professionals such as fire marshals and
engineers for location of toxic storage areas,
toxic handling systems, etc.
10. Public/Consumer
a. consumer protection
b. public information services
-------
-26-
Reason: These services can be useful for product safety
investigation such as pesticides, flammables,
poisons etc. and the public information
service can be the vehicle for notification
of toxics-related problems in the community
at large, can serve to provide instructions
on safe handling methods, and can also be
the focus for consumer complaints that are
registered.
These twenty-five services when taken together represent
just about all of the exposure, handling, control, and disposal
functions necessary for a successful toxics integration
program at the local level. Most of these functions probably
work independently of one another; they may work well in
this manner or may not. It is incumbent upon the Federal
government and the States to not complicate local government
implementation through requiring unnecessary coordination
and duplication; rather, we should develop a national strategy
that can be implemented as necessary under differing local
conditions and toxics-related needs.
PROFILES OF SELECTED LOCAL GOVERNMENTS
The next paragraphs will assess several local governments
in ten states to identify which of the twenty-five toxics-related
services they provide. The local governments were chosen for
reasons of 1) geographic differentiation, 2) differing apparent
-------
-27-
environmental problems, 3) type of industry and local economy,
and 4) size differentiation. Each will be profiled by location,
predominant industry, and services supplied by the county or
city.
Eight states are also profiled with respect to the number
of governmental units and the nature and type of special
purpose districts in each. A special note is provided in
five of the eight states. It provides additional information
on the nature of toxics disposal via hazardous waste sites
and local services needs. This information was developed
by the State and Local Government Commission of Ohio on June
5, 1981, titled "State-Local Impacts, of Hazardous Waste
Facilities."
The map of the following page locates the "profiled"
local governments by EPA Region and State.
-------
-28-
local Government Profiles
Region II
New York: Monroe Co. (Rochester)
Region III
Pennsylvania: Allegheny Co. (Pittsburg)
Philadelphia Ct./Co.
Bucks Co. (Philadelphia)
Delaware: Mew Castle Co. (Wilmington)
Region IV
Florida: Bade Co. (Miami)
Region VIII
Colorado: Denver Ct./Co.
Jefferson Co. (Denver)
Araphoe Co. (Denver)
Region IX
Nevada: Washoe Co. (Reno)
California: Los Angeles Co.
Region X
Oregon: Lane Co. (Eugene)
-------
-29-
PENNSYLVANIA
Allegheny Co., Pittsburgh (over million population)
City and County of Philadelphia (over million population)
Bucks Co., Philadelphia (population )
State Summary: Pennsylvania has 66 counties, 1,015 munici-
palities, 1,549 townships, and 2,035 special
districts. It gives significant latitude to
local governments to provide services and enact
laws on special districts. Special districts
include water supply which are created by the
courts, refuse disposal, flood control, water
supply by municipal district, sewerage, indus-
trial development, and others. Sewer districts
can be created by counties, first-class cities,
or townships only.
Allegheny County (Pittsburgh);
1. Police - patrol and central emergency number
2. ,Judicial - has general jurisdiction and criminal and civil
prosecution.
3. Public Safety - fire protection, emergency medical services,
and disaster preparedness program.
4. Public Health - disease control, sanitation inspection
no county hospital.
5. Utilities - water supply and sewage treatment responsibility
6. Natural
Resources - no county programs
7. Environmental - no solid waste collection, but has solid waste
. disposal, water pollution control, air pollution
control functions
8. Land Use - only subdivision control, no zoning or
comprehensive planning
9. Community
Development - no building code enforcement, but there is
housing code enforcement and industrial
development services
10. Public/
Consumer - consumer protection and public information
functions are provided
-------
-30-
The principal economic activity in Allegheny/Pittsburgh
is in the fabricated metal and primary metal industries.
Special Note; Allegheny County contains 325 local governments.
Philadelphia
Philadelphia warrants special notice because of a toxics
control ordinance that the city has adopted. It includes
amendments to the city air control ordinance and also provides
for licensing of petrochemical industries, licensing for trans-
port of toxics and hazardous materials, and for withdrawing
license in the event of the creation of imminent.hazard, etc.
It was adopted on February 1, 1981.
1. Police - patrol, central emergency number
2. Judicial - general jurisdiction, criminal and civil
prosecution
3. Public Safety - fire protection, emergency medical services,
disaster preparedness
4. Public Health - disease control, sanitation inspections,
hospital care
5. Utilities - water supply and sewage treatment
6. Natural
Resources - no flood/drainage program
7. Environmental - solid waste collection and disposal, water
pollution control and air pollution control
programs
8. Land Use - comprehensive planning, zoning and subdivision
control
9. Community
Development - building code enforcement, housing code
enforcement and industrial development
program
10. Public/
Consumer - public information and consumer protection
-------
-31-
The major activity in the Philadelphia/Bucks County area
is diversified manufacturing except there is major petroleum-
related activity. The primary toxics problems would be related
to the manufacturing process and disposal by industry and the
municipality.
Also in the immediate Philadelphia area is Bucks County.
Philadelphia is a city while Bucks County is a traditional
county and performs typical county functions.
Bucks County (Philadelphia);
1. Police - patrol and central emergency number
2. Judicial - general jurisdiction, criminal civil
prosecution
3. Public Safety - fire protection and disaster preparedness,
but no emergency medical services
4. Public Health - disease control, sanitation inspection,
no county hospital
5. Utilities - water supply and sewage treatment
6. Natural
Resources - flood/drainage control
7. Environmental - solid waste disposal no collection, water
pollution program, no air program
8. Land Use - comprehensive planning program, no zoning
or subdivision control
9. Community
Development - only industrial development, no building
code or housing code enforcement
10. Public/
Consumer - public information and consumer protection
Note; Pennsylvania administers 175 permits for industrial
waste facilities, 12 are commercial operations. Most are on-
site facilities where a firm disposes, treats, and stores its
own wastes. Pennsylvania has proposed regulations that will
require cooperative agreements between the operator of a hazardous
waste landfill and a local government for necessary services.
-------
-32-
FLORIDA
Dade. County, Miami (population over 1.5 million)
State Summary; Florida has 66 counties, 389 municipalities,
and 361 special districts. Special districts
relevant to this assessment include conservation,
irrigation, reclamation, erosion control, fire
control, regional water management, water supply,
and water conservation. Florida has home rule
for counties and Dade County has home rule.
Dade County (Miami);
Police - patrol, central emergency number
Judicial - general jurisdiction, criminal and civil prosecution
Public Safety - fire protection, emergency medical services, disaster
preparedness
Public Health - disease control, sanitation inspection, hospital care
Utilities - water supply and sewage treatment
Natural
Resources - flood/drainage
Environmental - solid waste collection, disposal, water pollution,
air pollution
Land Use - comprehensive planning, zoning control, subdivision
control
Community
Development - building code enforcement, housing code enforcement,
industrial development
Public/
Consumer - public information services and consumer protection
services.
The primary industrial activity is light manufacturing and
food processing. Toxics would most likely come from farming-related
and domestic homeowner-related activity.
-------
-33-
CALIFORNIA
Los Angeles County, Los Angeles (population over 7 million)
State Summary; California has 57 counties, 413 municipalities
and 2,227 special districts. The special
districts include air and water pollution
control districts and community service
districts that provide fire, police, solid
waste, water, and sewer services. Munici-
palities in California function as cities;
there are no towns in California.
Los Angeles County;
Police - patrol and central emergency number
Judicial - general jurisdiction, criminal and civil prosecution
Public Safety - fire protection, emergency medical services, disaster
preparedness program
Public Health - disease control, sanitation inspection, hospital care
Utilities - water supply and sewage treatment
Natural
Resources - flood/drainage control
Environmental - solid waste collection and disposal, air pollution
control but no county/city water pollution control
(State)
Land Use - comprehensive land use planning, zoning control,
subdivision control
Community
Development - building code enforcement, housing code enforcement
and industrial development program
Public/
Consumer - public information services but no consumer
protection program.
The major economic activity in the Los Angeles area is related
to the manufacturing of instruments, electrical equipment, and
transportation equipment. Toxics-related problems would stem from
by-products of the manufacturing industries, retail activities
-------
-34-
from cleaning, and domestic use. Municipal sludge and airborne
pollution are also problems because of the large population.
Note; Under Home Rule in California local governments tax
hazardous waste facilities. Some derive more than 10% of their
annual renevue from such sources. The state works closely with
local governments in location and siting of new facilities as
old ones begin to fill up.
-------
-35-
COLORADO
Denver
Arapahoe County
Jefferson County
Denver Metro Area (population exceeds 1 million)
State Summary; Colorado as of 1977, has 62 counties, 262 muni-
cipalities (cities and towns), and 950 special
districts. There are no townships in Colorado.
The special districts range from drainage dis-
tricts created by counties, groundwater management
districts established by a state commission to
metropolitan districts created by the district
court. Metropolitan districts include sewerage
disposal and water supply. Other districts created
by the district court include mine drainage, soil
conservation, ^water supply and sanitation-sewer.
Denver City: (500,000+ population)
Police - patrol and central emergency number
Judicial - general jurisdiction, criminal and civil prosecution
Public Safety - fire protection, emergency medical, disaster
preparedness program
Public Health - disease control, sanitation control, hospital care
Utilities - water supply and sewage treatment
Natural
Resources - flood/drainage
Environmental - solid waste collection and disposal, water pollution
control, air pollution control
Land Use - comprehensive planning, zoning control, subdivision
control
Community
Development - building code enforcement, housing code enforcement,
industrial development
Public/
Consumer - public information services and consumer protection
services
Arapahoe County and Jefferson County, which adjoin Denver
County, will also be profiled to develop a better picture of the
local government services and programs in the metropolitan Denver
area.
-------
-36-
Aropahoe County (Littleton); (population 220,000+)
Police - patrol, central emergency number
Judicial - general jurisdiction, criminal and civil
prosecution
Public Safety - no fire, no emergency medical, disaster pre-
paredness program
Public Health - disease control, sanitation inspection, no
hospital
Utilities - none
Natural
Resources - flood/drainage control
Environmental - solid waste disposal, but no collection, no water
or air pollution control
Land Use - comprehensive planning, zoning and subdivision
control
Community
Development - building code enforcement, housing code enforce-
ment and industrial development
Public/
Consumer - no public information, home consumer protection
services
Jefferson County (Golden); (population 320,000+)
Police - patrol, central emergency number
Judicial - general jurisdiction, criminal and civil prosecution
Public Safety - fire protection, emergency medical, disaster
preparedness planning
Public Health - disease control, sanitation inspection. No
county hospital
Utilities - none
Natural
Resources - flood/drainage program
-------
-37-
Environmental - solid waste disposal, but no collection, water
pollution and air pollution services
Land Use - comprehensive planning, zoning, subdivision
control
Community
Development - building code enforcement, housing code enforce-
ment, industrial development activities
Public/
Consumer - public information and consumer protection
functions
Toxics-related problems that can be reasonably expected
from this area would come from petroleum refining and petroleum-
related products manufacturing, from food processing activities,
paper processing, and fabricated metals. Domestically and
commercially there would also be the problem of waste stream
entry and disposal of metals, cleaning fluids, and solvents.
Air pollution problems also exist. There could be toxics
problems from military activities because of munitions
waste storage that could leak into groundwater aquifers or
from accidental spills related to ordinance storage.
Note; The Colorado Senate has passed and sent to the House a
bill (SB 12) that allows a county or municipal corporation to
recover added local government expenses resulting from a
hazardous waste facility. The bill specifies that the costs
can include "improvement and maintenance of roads and bridges,
fire protection, law enforcement, monitoring and emergency
preparation and response."
-------
ior.s. concdiris, as or ±31 1 i , o / counties, bj.8
municipalities, 930 townships and 964 special
districts. Townships may adopt home rule charters
Towns provide many urban types of services.
Special districts are subordinate to counties,
municipalities ,or towns. They include water
supply, sewage treatment, garbage removal, and
refuse disposal, etc.
Monroe County (Rochester):
Police - patrol, central emergency number
Judicial
- no general jurisdiction (jurisdiction lies
within the towns and City of Rochester), county
has criminal prosecution
Public Safety - no county fire or emergency services (provided
by city and townships but does have disaster
preparedness planning
Public Health - disease control, sanitation inspection and county
hospitals
Utilities
Natural
Resources
- water supply from towns and city city, county
has sewage treatment
no flood/drainage control or soil conservation
(townships)
Environmental - solid waste disposal, water pollution control,
air pollution control
Land Use
Community
Development
Public/
Consumer
comprehensive planning county-wide, zoning and
subdivision control by cities and towns
no building code or industrial development.
Towns and cities do building code enforcement
and state does industrial development at the
regional level.
public information but no consumer protection
(provided by city and towns)
-------
-39-
Economic activities in Monroe County are primarily machine
tool and light manufacturing of instruments andtransportation
and electrical equipment. Chemicals used in this activity
are land filled. Domestic and commercial activities produce
toxics disposal problems as well. Water comes from surface
supplies outside of the county and from groundwater wells.
Note; There are no State or local taxes in N.Y. to support
the public expense of locating a hazardous waste facility.
In one local area the City of Niagra Falls estimates that it
costs between $200-250,000 annually just to carry out emergency
plans, ordinance preparation and review and fire protection
for hazardous waste sites. This does-not include the cost
of roads and bridge maintenance or any other public expenses.
-------
-40-
DELAWARE
New Castle County, Wilmington (population exceeds 400,0000
State Summary; There are 3 counties and 55 municipalities as
well as 127 special districts in Delaware as of
1977. The state ranks 46th in the number of
local governmental units. Cities and towns
are created by special acts of the state
legislature. Delaware has no organized
townships. The state authorizes the creation
of a variety of special districts such as
soil and water conservation districts, and
sewage districts.
New Castle County (Wilmington);
Police - police patrol, central emergency number
Judicial - state and municipal general jurisdiction, no
criminal legal services
Public Safety - fire protection, emergency medical services,
disaster preparedness programs
Public Health - state and municipal only
Utilities - water supply and sewage treatment
Natural
Resources - flood/drainage control
Environmental - solid waste disposal, but no collection. Water
pollution control, but no air pollution control
program.
Land Use - comprehensive planning, zoning control, and
subdivision control
Community
Development - building code enforcement, housing code enforce-
ment. Industrial development activities.
Public/
Consumer - consumer information services and consumer
protection activities
Toxics-related problems in the New Castle/Wilmington area
include industrial activities associated with the processing
of chemicals.
-------
-41-
Note; No new hazardous waste disposal facilities are planned
for location in Delaware. There is a plaan in the proposal
stage which would set up collection facilities in each of
Delaware's three counties from small generators for disposal
by a permitted hazardous waste disposer.
-------
-42-
OREGON
Lane County, Eugene (population exceeds 240,000)
State Summary; In 1977 Oregon had 36 counties, 239 municipa-
lities, and 791 special districts. As few as
150 people can petition for municipal status.
There are no townships. . The special districts
include: chemicals control districts established
by the Department of Agriculture; domestic water
supply districts in one or multiple counties;
drainage, sanitary and irrigation districts.
Metropolitan service districts can provide
solid waste disposal services, surface water
control, sewage treatment, and other services.
Lane County (Eugene);
Police - patrol but no central emergency number
Judicial - general jurisdiction, criminal and civil prosecution
Public Safety - only emergency-disaster preparedness planning, no
fire emergency or medical
Public Health - disease control, sanitation inspection, no county
hosiptal
Utilities - no water or sewer (special districts)
Natural
Resources - flood/drainage control services
Environmental - solid waste disposal - no collection, no water
pollution or air pollution control
Land Use - comprehensive planning, zoning and subdivision
control
Community
Development - building code enforcement, no housing code enforce-
ment or industrial development
Public/
Consumer - public information services and consumer protection
services
The chief economic activity of Lane County and Eugene is
lumber and wood processing. Food processing is also a significant
economic activity.
-------
-43-
NEVADA
Washoe County, Reno (population exceeds 150,000)
State Summary; Nevada in 1977 had 16 counties, 17 municipa-
lities of 3 classes and 132 special districts.
There are no townships but counties are divided
by townships for local court and police power.
The special districts include sewage treatment,
waste disposal, water supply, storm drainage,
and pest abatement districts. In counties of
200,000 or more sanitary sewage districts are
administered by the county.
Washoe County (Reno);
Police - patrol no central emergency number
Judicial - general jurisdiction, criminal and civil prosecution
Public Safety - fire emergency medical and disaster preparedness
programs
Public Health - disease control, sanitation inspection, hospital
care
Utilities - none (by special district)
Natural
Resources - flood/drainage
Environmental - solid waste is by special district, county does
have water pollution control and air pollution
control
Land Use - no planning or zoning. Has subdivision control.
Community
Development - building code enforcement and housing code
enforcement, no industrial development
Public/
Consumer - public information and consumer protection
activities
Economic activity which could generate toxics-related
problems include paper manufacturing, stone and clay activities,
and petroleum.
-------
-44-
SECTION IV LOCAL GOVERNMENTS AUTHORITY - REQUIREMENTS -
COOPERATION AND NUMBERS
A. Authority Derived and Limited by States
Despite the fact that this century has seen a large rise
in the importance of local governmental units, states continue
to exert limitations on the manner in which local and regional
affairs are conducted. Effective implementation of any
additional responsibilities envisioned for local governments
as part of a toxics strategy will require that we give exten-
sive prior consideration to these restrictions, and if
necessary, make provisions in the legislation or regulations
so that potential problems will be avoided. This should also
take place if we propose additional state activities as part
of a toxics strategy.
State limitation on local governmental authority has its
origins in the English political system and was reinforced in
the 19th century by an influential Iowa Supreme Court justice,
John F. Dillon. The "Dillon Rule", in brief, held that local
governments had only the following powers: 1) those expressly
granted by state law, 2) those directly implied by the
expressed powers, and 3) those that are essential to the
declared purposes of the local government.
The important contrasting view was provided by another
late 19th century judge, Thomas M. Cooley of Michigan, who
believed that local governments had inherent rights that
could not be abridged by the state and that state laws should
-------
-45-
not preclude differing approaches to the governing of local
jurisdictions. Although Dillon's Rule was much more widely
accepted by state legislators and the courts, the "Cooley
Doctrine" was influential enough to start a trend, beginning
in the early parts of this century and gathering momentum
today, toward the granting of greater flexibility to local
governments. This can be effected in a myriad of ways, but
movements toward local self-determination are generally
referred to as "home rule."
Home Rule
At present, the movement toward home rule is important
more because of its radical departure from traditional form
than because of a widespread significant change in the balance
of power between state and local governments. Its major
benefit is a gradual increase in the flexibility of local
jurisdictions to deal with local needs.
Even in states that have enabling legislation for home
rule, there may be existing legislation that will affect the
implementation of a pollution control program, especially
where area-wide jurisdictions may be the most efficient
method of organization. Following are local powers that are
restricted by various states:
1) The flexibility to raise money through taxation and
borrowing.
2) The power to create special districts. For example,
in Colorado, drainage districts are created by
-------
-46-
counties, groundwater management districts are
established by a state commission, and metropolitan
districts such as those for sewage disposal and
water supply must be created by district courts.
3) the power to effect inter-governmental cooperation.
In inter-state metropolitan difficulties may arise
when a county in a state with few restrictions on
area-wide jurisdictions wishes to form a cooperative
planning or administrative district with a county
in a state where such consolidations are severely
limited.
B. Requiring Local Goverments to Act
Mandates can be defined as responsibilities, procedures,
and activities that are imposed by one sphere of government
on another by constitutional, legislative, administrative,
executive, or judicial action. The last two decades have
seen a rapid rise in the extent to which States and federal
agencies have imposed these mandates on local governments
and the expansion has been not only in quantity, but in range
and scope as well. A June 1979 count showed over 1200 federal
legislative, administrative, and executive mandates that
affect cities and counties. Because of this trend, State and
federal requirements now account for a large portion of the
costs and activities of local governments.
This increased mandating has raised several issues:
-------
-47-
1) local autonomy - Despite the recent emergence of
"home rule" initiatives (which may have come about largely as
a reaction to increased federal and State control over
localities) local governments are enjoying less and less
real autonomy and have greatly reduced abilities to apply
local solutions to local problems. Because a growing number
of mandates are imposed directly from the federal to the
local level, there are fewer opportunities for negotiation
between the levels of government and fewer ways for citizens
to exert influence over the decisionmakers who affect their
lives.
2) Fiscal responsibility - Cost-generating mandates are
passed down to cities and towns whose abilities to tax are
often limited by state constitution or laws. This necessitates
the reallocation of funds from local priorities to the mandated
activities. Another by-product is the increasing dependence of
local governments on grants and other forms of aid from state
and local governments.
3) National values versus local values - A significant
finding in a study of federal and state mandates as they affect
five states was that nearly half of the mandates were not
complied with at all. This illustrates the apparent inability
of state and federal governments to impose mandates that reflect
local priorities.
-------
-48-
Related to this is the finding that local governments
studied would spend less on federally mandated activities if
the mandates were withdrawn than they would on state mandated
activities if the state mandates were withdrawn. It appears
that mandates reflect local values most fully when they are
imposed by the source closest to the local level.
Reducing Adverse Effects
On the following pages is a chart outlining five methods
of inter-governmental cooperation that can help reduce the
adverse effects of mandating on local governments.
-------
-49-
Examples
Suggested inter-governmental
ter-gcy
lonshi]
relationships
I. Legal
Sets boundaries between
levels of government;
sets rules for legis-
lative process
Expansion of home rule
Very large majorities for
state legislatures to
impose mandates
Constitutional restrictions
on a state's ability to
mandate
States should work with local
government to establish policy
in matters of statewide interes
and encourage home rule where-
ever possible.
Requirements for very large
majorities to enact mandates
have been shown to cause
legislatures to give greater
consideration to what is being
mandated.
II. Fiscal
Allow for an expansion of
local government resources
Reimbursement of costs by
the mandating government
Authorization of new revenue
sources
Relaxation of the constraints
on existing revenue sources
Local governments should consider
a "quid pro quo" with the state
involving reimbursement for a
local revenue limit.
Increased funding from the federal
government to absorb some of the
costs of horizontal mandates.
III. Reevaluation
IV. Information
Provide for reconsideration
or possible deletion of
previously enacted mandates
Involve developing or sharing
of information
Periodic review
Sunsetting
Fiscal notes (impact analysis)
Technical assistance and
information exchange
Comment procedures such as
Federal A-85 and A-95
process
Cost benefit analysis
All legislative requirements of
local government should be
systematically reviewed by the
state legislature. This is
also true for all federal
regulations. Who conducts the
review is an important issue.
Inexpensive way to handle some of
the confusion arising out of
delegating mandates to other
levels of government. Fiscal
notes should be required for
both new statutes and
regulations.
-------
-50-
Examples
Suggested inter-governmental
relationships
V. Reorganization
Concentrates on admini-
strative and resource
transfer systems
Grant simplification
Program consolidation to
reduce the number of
mandates
Program transfer - funding
by higher level of govern-
ment; administration
remains at the local level
Program standardization,
e.g., standard auditing
procedures
The state should limit its control
over local program administration
to basically an oversight role.
The authorization to consolidate
grants at the local level should
be supported as should the drive
to standardize mandates.
-------
-51-
C. Interlocal Cooperation
Interlocal cooperation can take a number of forms. It
can occur informally through trading information on a variety
of subjects such as criminal activity, land use planning at
the fringes of a community, or maintenance of a commonly shared
street. Formal cooperation can be by mutual interest such as
in common disaster emergency planning or it may be required by
the federal government as in Section 208 water quality planning,
States may require it by establishing substate regional
commissions dealings with crime, environmental issues, and
the provision of public services. Local officials may decide
that interlocal cooperation on the delivery of a service will
achieve an.ecomony of scale and save tax dollars. However,
in this last category many states require that there must be
"mutuality of authority" as a basis for formal cooperation
of service delivery functions. The following discussion
deals with formal cooperation among local governments.
Special Districts
Every state in the union contains special districts.
They are authorized by state law and have fiscal autonomy and
some administrative autonomy. They can qualify as independent
governmental units and typically perform only one or a limited
number of functions. Depending on the state, special districts
can be created by the state legislature, by state courts, or by
-------
county or municipal boards. The scope of services provided by
special districts covers almost every conceivable governmental
service. The provision of service is specifically created to
fill a specific need. Interlocal cooperation in the case
of a special district is assured because the special district
has its own fiscal and administrative autonomy. These districts
are briefly discussed in each of the state sections in the
local government profiles presented earlier in this paper.
In the statistical summary section of this paper on Special
Districts there are presented a number of examples.
Interlocal Service Delivery
Another form of formal interlocal cooperation is through
interlocal service delivery agreements. The National Asso-
ciation of Counties Research Foundation (NACO) has investigated
these agreements in detail and in 1977 published a book titled
"A Practical Guide to Interlocal Agreements/Contracts for Local
Officals". They have found that interlocal service delivery
agreements cutting across jurisdictional lines can be more
efficient, inexpensive, and practical for maintenance and
delivery of many public services demanded by citizens. By
cooperating through interlocal delivery agreements, govern-
ments can buy materials in volume, share the cost of expensive
equipment, and share the services of experts. NACO states
that waste disposal, public safety, health care, and trans-
portation services have been economically and efficiently
delivered among neighboring jurisdictions. These service
delivery agreements can include toxics control activities.
-------
-53-
They list a number of advantages and examples of inter
local agreements on pages 13-15 of their book. Briefly they
are as follows:
1. Services which are uniformly needed in several adjacent
jurisdictions can be coordinated and uniformly administered.
Solutions can be worked out for problems throughout the area
which might otherwise require another level of government (a
special district created by the state or court with independent
management and fiscal control).
2. Increased efficiency can be attained by establishing
optimum-size operating units on a function-by-function basis.
3. Underutilized and expensive equipment and facilities,
and specialized personnel can be shared and therefore better
utilized.
4. A local government can. obtain a service or a product
which it cannot produce itself or can produce only at a
prohibitively high cost. An example follows:
Ford County, Illinois entered into a formal contract
with five of its municipalities to provide certain
professional engineering services from the county,
such as surveys, detailed plans and specifications,
contruction guidance, cost estimates, and other
services.
-------
-54-
5. Coordinated land use may be encouraged. An example
follows:
In 1974, seven jurisdiction formed the Southeastern
McHenry Inter-Community Planning Council (Illinois) for
the purposes of collecting and updating planning data
and joint land use planning. It offered a means of
dealing with increased development and other planning
problems. It also provided planning information to
member governments.
6. Duplication of activities may be eliminated and overall
service efficiency increased. An example follows:
Five municipalities in Texas.(Port Naches, Groves,
Nederland, Pear Ridge, and Griffin Park) have employed
a joint police dispatch system. Calls for assistance
in any of the five cities are routed from a central
communications center to the police vehicle nearest
the incident.
7. The classic example is the Contract Services Program of
Los Angeles County. In what is commonly referred to as the
Lakewook Plan, Los Angeles County has over 1,500 contract
operations in effect with its cities. Twenty-nine cities were
"package" contract cities where the county supplies most, if
not all, municipal services.
-------
-55-
Other-advantages of intergovernmental arrangements are:
8. A problem affecting several local governments can be
solved without changing the basic structure of the local govern-
ment system.
9. Agreements do not significantly restrict the freedom of
action or the autonomy of the recipient governments and do not
require voter approval in most cases. They usually can be
terminated on relatively short notice.
-------
-56-
OTHER TYPES OF INTERLOCAL COOPERATION
The following list and description are taken from the
NACO, "A Practical Guide to Intergovernmental Agreements/
Contracts for Local Officials" (1977).
SERVICE EXCHANGE - This is a type of an informal agreement
that commonly exists in rural communities. The service
exchange allows one unit to assume responsibility for providing
a particular function to another local unit in return for a
needed service.
The service exchange differs from a service transfer due
to two factors: (1) the agreement is informal and has no state
constitutional or statutory basis, and (2) the agreement for a
service is contingent on the fact that another service will be
returned. No money passes between the two interacting govern-
ments, even though the incurred expenses may vary.
An example might be when a town or village cannot afford
a full-time police force and lets the county sheriff patrol its
streets either full time or during the off hours of the local
police force.
FUNCTIONAL CONSOLIDATION - This is a formal agreement by which
two or more governments merge their resources to provide a
particular service function permanently under a single agency.
Both organizational and jurisdictional changes may be required
to achieve the merger of two previously autonomous agencies.
Each jurisdiction retains policy-making responsibility.
-------
-57-
The distinctions between functional consolidation, joint
service agreements, and service transfers are blurred at
best. Functional consolidations differ from service transfers
in that transfers imply a legal permanence that cannot be
rescinded by the local jurisdictions involved. Once a function
has been legally transferred from one jurisdiction to another,
the jurisdiction former responsible for providing the function
relinguishes all responsibility for that function. By contrast,
functional consolidation connotes a voluntary merger of a
function(s) by two or more jurisdictions with one jurisdiction
(or a newly created body) providing the service to all. Each
jurisdiction retains the option of withdrawing from the merger
and assuming responsibility for providing that function.
Interlocal contracting differs from functional consolidation
in that it requires a yearly renegotiation and approval of the
contract. In addition, agreements entail a sharing of financing,
servicing, and planning of the function(s) by all participants.
Functional consolidations often take place in the area of
planning, incarceration of prisoners, library resources, or
recreation facilities. Usually both units have the capacity to
provide the service, yet a consolidated effort provides a more
comprehensive and expanded program.
SERVICE TRANSFER - Involves the total transfer of responsibility
for a service from one local unit to another local unit. For a
service transfer to exist, policy authority and financial
-------
-58-
obligations for providing a particular function must be assumed
by the new provider unit.
Services transfers, often referred to as functional
transfers, usually occur when a governmental unit limited in
geographic scope, powers, or resources, seeks to deal with
expanding needs or with demands for more services. Though
state laws provide for retraction of a transfer, this seldom
occurs and service transfers are usually regarded as permanent.
Often "partial service transfers" occur when a governmental
unit wishes to
PUBLIC AUTHORITY - Often confused with special districts, the
primary difference between the public authority and special
districts is the method of financing. The public authority
survives principally by revenue bond issues and liquidation of
these bonds by user charges.
Like the special districts, the public authority may
transcend jurisdictipnal boundaries and is empowered with
certain governmental authority. Examples of the public authority
concept are the New Jersey Turnpike Authority and the Port
Authority of New York and New Jersey. The Ocean County (N.J.)
Sewage Authority represents an example of a single-county
authority. The Ocean County Sewage Authority was established
by the Ocean County Board of Chosen Freeholders, which serves
as the Authority's board of directors. In a nutshell, most
public authorities are created primarily to circumvent local
debt ceilings imposed by states. They do not provide a simple
-------
-59-
method for so doing. They are usually organized by a resolution
of the county governing body or an ordinance by the municipal
council under a general enabling act or special legislation
of the state legislature. They may then issue revenue bonds
in their own name for the function for which they have been
created. The indebtedness does not become an obligation against
the parent government or any other. However, it can and usually
does reflect on the credit rating of the local government if
there is a default. It is paid for by user Charges for services
rendered in connection with the function. This is a simple and
direct way for a county or municipality to provide a necessary
function.
REGIONAL COUNCILS AND COUNCILS OF GOVERNMENT - Defined as an
"alternative involving the creation of a voluntary, advisory,
cooperative council which is responsible to existing local
governments (comprising) the region... They are advisory in
nature and lack the normal governmental process of taxation,
regulation, and direct operation of public facilities... Councils
receive their funds from three basic sources: Federal, State
and Local government.
COUNCILS OF GOVERNMENT - Defined as a device for voluntarily
bringing together, at regular intervals, representatives of the
local governments within a given metropolitan area for the
discussion of common problems, the exchange of information and
the development of agreements on policy questions of mutual interest,
-------
-60-
Subcommittees of the Council of Governments may in some
cases have actual authority to develop policy for the region.
An example could be the Metropolitan Washington Council of
Governments Water Resources Planning Board and the Trans-
portation Planning Board. They were both authorized by the
governors of Virginia and Maryland and by the City Council
of the District of Columbia to plan and develop implementation
techniques pertaining to Federal programs.
-------
-61-
D. Statistical Summary of Local Governments
Conclusions
At first glance the sheer number of local governments in
the U.S. appears to be overwhelming. The obvious question
posed by both the Federal and State goverments would be,
"how can we manage 80,000 local governments?" However, if
special districts, school districts, and townships are deleted
from the list of 80,000 the number shrinks by 75% to 22,000.
In addition, if an 80-20 rule split is used on the remaining
22,000 we find that very few counties and municipalities
contain the majority of the population.
o 20% of the counties contain 90% of total county
population
o 11% of the municipalities contain 80% of the total
municipality population.
Therefore, instead of a number as high as 22,000 units of local
government the actual number shrinks to 1,700 counties, cities,
and townships that contain over 85% of the local government
population of the U.S.
o 4% of local governments contain 85% of all local
government population.
A different way to analyze units of government vs. population
is to consider SMSAs. 72% of the total population of the U.S. is
in SMSAs. They contain 34% of the nation's local government and
80% of the nation's local government population. In addition, only
73 SMSA's contain 72% of the total SMSA population.
-------
-62-
o 73 of the 272 SMSA's contain 50% of the total
population of the U.S.
o 38 SMSA's are interstate SMSAs (sharing one or more
State among the local governments in the SMSA).
In summary, there are very few local governments that in
fact contain the major part of the population of the United
States. Also, there are a significant number of SMSAs that
are interstate in nature where differing enabling legislation
and resulting conflicts can cause problems when regional
solutions are attempted, if EPA communicates only with the
States. For these areas at least, we must communicate directly
to"the affected local governments.
Number and Type of Local Governments
In the last census of Governments (1977) there were 79,913
governmental units in the United States. The average number
of governmental units per State is 1,598 with approximately
onehalf (46 percent) of all governmental units located in
only nine states. The numbers and types of local governments
are as follows:
1977
Counties 3,042
Municipalities 18,862
Townships 16,822 ,
Special Districts 25,963
Shool Districts 15,174
TOTALS: 79,262
NOTE: o All charts and figures are derived from the Bureau of
Census 1977 Census of Governments.
o Because of rounding, percents may not add up to 100.
-------
-63-
The following discussion summarizes statistical infor-
mation on. the different types of local governments that may
be of importance in toxics control — counties, municipalities,
townships, and special districts (school districts are
excluded). Also discussed is information on metropolitan
areas, where many local governments, much of the population,
and most special districts exist.
Counties
County governments exist in 48 states. Only Connecticut
and Rhode Island do not have county governments. In many
places there are consolidated city-county governments and
this consolidation is what accounts for the reduction in the
overall number of counties from 1967 through 1977. In Lousiana,
county-like divisions are called "parishes" and in Alaska
"boroughs", but they will be referred to as counties for the
purposes of this paper.
As shown in the following table there are 3,042 county
governments in the nation. Only 137 of these counties (4.5
percent) contain 49 percent of the total population served
by county .governments. The great majority of all county
governments (78 percent) serve fewer than 50 thousand people
each while 787 serve populations of only 10,000 or less.
-------
-64-
POPULATION DISTRIBUTION OF COUNTY GOVERNMENTS
County
governments
United States
100,000 to 249,999
50,000 to 99,999
25,000 to 49,999
10,000 to 24,999
5,000 to 9,999
Less than 5,000...
Number
3,042
137
206
336
596
980
496
291
Percent
100.0
4. 5
6.8
11.1
19.6
32.2
16.3
9.6
Number
189,691
92,292
32,085
23,503
-, 20,976
16,079
3,758
897
Percent
100.0
48.7
16.9
12.4
11.1
8. 5
2. 0
0.5
Population served
by county
governments 1975
(estimated)
Comparison of these figures with earlier statistics
indicates a general increase in urban county populations
with population loss experienced by many rural counties.
Municipalities
The census classification of a municipality is "a poli-
tical subdivision within which a municipal corporation has
been established to provide general local government for a
specific population concentration in a defined area."
Municipalities can be cities, villages, or boroughs (except
in Alaska) or towns (except in New England states, Minnesota,
New York, and Wisconsin).
A total of 18,862 municipalities were reported to the
Census Bureau in 1977. This represents an increase of 345
municipalities in 5 years from the 1972 census to the 1977
census. These 18,862 municipalities serve 136,701 people.
-------
-65-
As can be seen from the following chart, 163 municipalities
or 0.9 percent of the total, serve 56,534,000 people, which
represent 41.3 percent of the total.
POPULATION DISTRIBUTION OF MUNICIPALITIES
Municipalities
100,000 or more
50,000 to 99,999
25,000 to 49,999
10,000 to 24,999
5,000 to 9,999
2,500 to 4,999
1,000 to 2,4999
Less than 1,000
Number
18,862
163
230
514
1,212
1,461
2,004
3,664
9,614
Percent
100.0
0.9
1. 2
2.7
6.4
7.8
10.6
19.4
51.0
Number
136,761
56,534
16,091
17,939
19,002
10, 299
7,040
5,872
3,985
Percent
100.0
41.3
11.8
13.1
13.9
7.5
5. 2
4.3
2.9
Population served
by municipalities
1975 (estimated)
Townships
Twenty states contain township governments within their
borders. These include the six New England states that do not
contain counties, along with some "plantations" in Maine and
"locations" in New Hampshire. The 1977 Census of Governments
by the Bureau of Census reports that, "As distinguished from
municipalities, which are created to serve specific population
concentrations, townships exist to serve inhabitants of
areas defined without regard to population concentrations."
Annually most townships perform only a very limited range
of services except in the New England states and a few others
-------
-66-
where they have broad powers. Of the 17,000 township govern-
ments in the U.S. only 953 had as many as 10,000 people in
1975. About three-fifths had 1,000 or less.
GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION OF TOWNSHIPS .
AREA
No. Of
township
governments
Total
3 Middle Atlantic States (New Jersey, New York,
11 Other States
16,822
1,425
2,711
12,686
48,344
6,700
16,044
25,600
Est. 1975
population
(1,000)
TOWNSHIP POPULATION DISTRIBUTION CHART
Population-size group
Township
governments
United States
50,000 or more
25,000 to 49,999
10,000 to 24,999
5,000 to 9,999
2,500 to 4,999
1,000 to 2,4999
Less than 1,000
Number
18,822
103
190
660
870
1,595
3,657
9,747
Percent
100.0
0. 6
1.1
3.9
5. 2
9.5
21.7
57.9
Number
48,344
10,539
6,479
10,185
6,081
5,505
5,808
3,747
Percent
100.0
21.8
13.4
21.1
12.6
11.4
12.0
7.8
Population served
by townships,
1975 (estimated)
-------
-67-
Special Districts
Special Districts are formed to carry out specific service
functions or multi-service functions. They may be contained
wholly within one jurisdiction or may overlay a number of juris-
dictions, such as one or more combinations of counties, towns, or
cities. Examples can include:
Natural Resources (6,595 Total Nationwide)
Soil conservation areas
Forest areas/districts
Natural drainage protection areas (Flood control)
- Groundwater control districts
Others (19,367 Total Nationwide)
Fire protection
Sewerage
Water supply
- Parks and recreation
Transportation
There were 25,962 special districts in the United States
in 1977.
Metropolitan Areas
There was an increase in the number of local governments
active in metropolitan areas during the 1972 to 1977 time
period, in which slightly more than 3,200 new local governments
were added to SMSAs. Special districts accounted for the
largest number at 1,526, but counties grew the largest by
33.8%.
80 percent of all municipal residents were located in
SMSA's as were 77% of county residents. Only 24% of all township
-------
-68-
governments are located within SMSAs but they equalled 33.2
million of the 48 million persons residing in all township-
governed areas in 1977.
LOCAL GOVERNMENT DISTRIBUTION IN SMASs
SMSA size group
(1975 population)
All SMSA's
1,000,000 or more
500,000 to 999,999
300,000 to 499,999
200,000 to 299,999
100,000 to 199,999
50,000 to 99,999
No. of
SMASs
272
35
37
43
48
84
25
Population,
1975 (1,000)
154,655
85,991
25,764
16,049
11,997
12,648
2,206
Local Govern-
ments, 1977
*25,869
10,266
4,349
3,805
2,924
3,826
699
*includes school
districts
LOCAL GOVERNMENTS IN SMSAS
Type
Percent of all
1977 local governments
Counties
Municipalities
Townships
Special Districts
594
6444
4031
9580
19.5%
34.2%
24.%
36.9%
-------
-28-
U,S. Environmental P-ot°otion Aeencv
Horary, Room 240i PM. — , Agency
401 M Street, S.W. ' "
Wash!—ton, DC 204PO
Local Government Profiles
Region II
New York: Monroe Co. (Rochester)
Region III
Pennsylvania: Allegheny Co. (Pittsburg)
Philadelphia Ct./Co.
Bucks Co. (Philadelphia)
Delaware: New Castle Co. (Wilmington)
Region IV
Florida: Bade Co. (Miami)
Region VIII
Colorado: Denver Ct./Co.
Jefferson Co. (Denver)
Araphoe Co. (Denver)
Region IX
Nevada: Washoe Co. (Reno)
California: Los Angeles Co.
Region X
Oregon: Lane Co. (Eugene)
------- |