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Modesto Bee January 23, 2001  See Also For more information, contact:
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Do we want to be the state's dump? Written by JOHN MICHAEL FLINT "There's something happening here. What it is ain't exactly clear" Stephen Still's cautionary lyrics might well serve as a motto for Stanislaus County's West side. Residents there are getting a "ground zero" feeling, even though they're not sure what's about to fall on them. They have reason for that feeling, and for the uncertainty. Discussions have been going on regarding radical changes at the waste-to energy incinerator and the adjacent county landfill. These involve the county, Modesto, Norcal Waste Management, a Norcal subsidiary called Integrated Environmental Systems, Ogden-Martin(which owns and operates the West Side incinerator), and a middleman named Lee Torrens. IES operates a medical waste incinerator in Oakland, but is in danger of losing its permit to operate that facility because of serious concerns regarding reliability and emissions. Although IES claims that everything's kosher, the firm is looking for someplace else to dump the stuff. It's looking at Stanislaus County. This isn't speculation. Engineering drawings already exist for a facility to be built next to the incinerator. Nasty stuff, tons of it, will get processed: infectious waste, body parts, syringes and other biohazards. If built, it will be paid for by local taxpayers, but nobody seems able to say how much it will cost. Part of medical waste will be burned and the ash dumped into the landfill. Part will be merely sterilized and tossed into the landfill "as is." The recently expanded landfill is another story. Allegedly enlarged to accommodate our local disposal needs far into the future, there are reportedly plans to market the landfill to other areas. Cathy slogans leap to mind: "Got Waste? Think Stanislaus!" "Stanislaus County: Dumping Ground for the New Millennium!" There are wheels-within-wheels here. Ogden-Martin owns the West Side incinerator. Reagan Wilson, the county's chief executive, used to work for Ogden-Martin. Lee Torrens, who's brokering the whole deal, is a former business associate of Wilson's. Very cozy, no tedious introductions needed. There is also-surprise!- a whole lot of money involved. Although this project has progressed nicely without a great deal of public awareness, this relative invisibility will come to an end for one simple reason: The medical waste scheme will require approval by both the City Council and the Board of Supervisors. Public comment will be invited and will surely be received. Actually, it wouldn't hurt things if your favorite supervisor and-or council member heard from you about this ahead of schedule. On the other hand, we could always change the motto on the Modesto Arch ("Body Parts R Us" sounds catchy, don't you think?). As for the beleaguered West Siders, what's one more environmental outrage? At least this time they're sure that light at the end of the tunnel is indeed an oncoming train. And this time, too, they know exactly what it's carrying. |