SOLID WASTE UPDATE



Solid Waste Section July 1999

Division of Waste Management

N. C. Dept. of Environment and Natural Resources
 
 

The Solid Waste Section encourages regular and open communication with all citizens interested in waste management. This update is part of the Section’s effort to implement that policy. Your comments and suggestions are welcome. Subsequent updates will be published on a quarterly basis. All Solid Waste Section contacts noted below may be reached by telephone at 919/733-0692. The Section "Homepage" Internet address is:

Division of Waste Management Solid Web Page

SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT ANNUAL REPORTS

This year’s annual reporting process is well underway. Reporting forms were mailed to county managers in early July. By state statutes, each unit of local government shall report to the Department on the solid waste programs and waste reduction activities within the unit of local government. The forms are to be completed and returned to the regional Solid Waste Management Specialists by mid-August.

SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT PLANNING

The Division of Waste Management is surveying all interested parties on issues concerning solid waste management. Surveys were sent to all local governments, permit holders and individuals on the Solid Waste Section's mailing list. In addition, Solid Waste Association of North America (SWANA) and Carolina Recycling Association (CRA) sent a mailing to their membership in North Carolina. Other organizations are also invited and encouraged to distribute the survey to their membership. A planning page is under construction on the Web page referenced above and a copy of the survey will be available soon for downloading.

The survey will gauge both accomplishments and shortcomings in the management of North Carolina’s solid waste since 1989. Respondents are also asked to give opinions on the most significant solid waste issues they expect to face over the next ten years. As the surveys are received and compiled they will be used to update the state’s comprehensive solid waste management plan and studied for avenues in which the Section can better serve local governments and solid waste professionals across the state.

Plans are also being made to hold forums across the state to solicit local input on the state plan. Forums have been held in Mecklenburg and Wake Counties and at the Triangle J Council of Governments in Research Triangle Park. If you are interested in either holding a forum or attending one in your area please contact Paul Crissman at (919) 733-0692 x 254 crissman@www.wastenotnc.org or Cheryl Hannah at (919) 733-0692 x 271 channah@www.wastenotnc.org.

NEW LEGISLATION  During the 1999 session of the General Assembly a bill to revise the Recycling and Resource Recovery Tax Certification program (HB 1290) passed the House on July 2 and was referred to the Senate on July 6. This bill requires applicants to the program to apply within two years of acquisition for recycling, reduction, or resource recovery facilities and equipment for it to qualify. The bill also limits the certification for special tax treatment for certain real property used for recycling, waste reduction, or resource recovery to three years. The General Assembly has completed this session so additional actions will not take place until next session. For more information contact Philip Prete at (919) 733-0692 x 252 or pretepj@www.wastenotnc.org

DISASTER RESPONSE

In March 1999, the Division of Emergency Management called together various state agencies, local government representatives, and private groups interested in disaster storm debris management. This group became the North Carolina Disaster Debris Steering Committee. The committee was then divided into four subcommittees: Contracting, Mitigation, Recycling, and Debris Sites. The charge of the committee was to develop one comprehensive standard operating procedures manual in each of the four topics covered by the subcommittees, which will give specific guidance to local governments during times of natural disasters. The goal is that state and local governments take steps in advance that would minimize conflicts and pull together as a team to recover from disasters.

Once the manual has been developed, it will be presented to local governments for their fine-tuning and use. Workshops will be presented all across the state with participation by many of those represented on the committee. The target date for completion of the manual is August 1, 1999. If you are interested in more information on this topic, please call Terry Dover in the Fayetteville Regional Office at (910) 486-1191 x 229.

LOCAL GOVERNMENT WEB PAGES

North Carolina counties and municipalities have WEB pages that provide an excellent reference for solid waste programs and ideas. Take a look at some of these WEB pages to see what other local governments are doing to address solid waste in their community and help reach their solid waste reduction goals. The WEB addresses and local governments are:

City Of Burlington Public Works

Alamance County

City of Washington (Beaufort County) Solid Waste Services

Buncombe County

City of Morganton (Burke County)

City of Valdese (Burke County)

This will become a regular section of Update. If you have a solid waste WEB page you’d like others to know about tell us so it can be included in Update! We will also link it to our WEB site.

For further information or for technical assistance with the solid waste regulatory program, contact the Section at 919/733/0692, or write us at 401 Oberlin Rd., Suite 150, Raleigh, NC 27605
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