Next time you see John Skinner, the
Executive Director of SWANA, give him a pat on the back for this one. One
major issue that Zero Wasters are finding coast to coast is the difficulty of
obtaining land “close in” to the communities where the discarded
resources are. This issue is tied to the larger sustainability issues
of “going local” and the “proximity principle”.
With that in mind, you can see how the “garbage trains” issue is
yet another hidden advantage (subsidy?) that the wasters get when they cram 50
tons of mixed trash onto a railcar and ship it hundreds of miles away to some
remote old open-pit mine, or some “superfill” build far out of
sight.
Eric
“The
Solid Waste Association of North America (SWANA), Silver Spring, Md.,
has issued a statement supporting federal legislation to prohibit the exemption
of rail-based solid waste transfer stations from local and state regulation.
The exemption is the result of a ruling by the federal Surface Transportation
Board (STB).
According
to the statement, “While SWANA favors smooth operation of this
country’s rail system – indeed, a considerable volume of municipal
solid waste is safely and efficiently carried to disposal sites by rail –
SWANA supports the traditional state and local responsibilities for solid waste
management facilities can and should be carried out, and SWANA opposes any
exception based on the proximity of the waste handling site to railroad
lines.”
“The
STB preemption as applied to trackside solid waste facilities removes critical
controls that are essential to mitigating environmental degradation and public
health and safety hazards. State and local regulations are not designed to
impede the transportation of waste, but rather ensure that these operations are
conducted in a manner that will protect the environment and public health and
safety in all communities where they are located. For these reasons, SWANA
supports measures to end the STB’s authority to exempt railroad-related
solid waste facilities.”