In the wake of wildfires that left more than 9,000 properties in California contaminated with hazardous materials, state regulators are considering relaxing the state’s strict regulations on where that waste can be dumped.
"Want to get caught up on what's happening in SoCal every weekday afternoon? Click to follow The L.A. Local wherever you get podcasts."
Phil Matier, a political insider for Audacy’s KCBS Radio, discussed the potential changes this week. First, he answered the question of why California would want to soften its regulations.
“There’s a couple of reasons,” he said. “You know, first of all… California has some of the most stringent rules when it comes to dumping waste in the city and the state.”
Per the California Department of Toxic Substances Control, the 1970s ushered in a period of increased awareness about toxic waste following a massive oil spill off the Santa Barbara coast. The Hazardous Waste Control Act of 1972 defined “hazardous waste” under California laws.
In general, hazardous waste handled by the state consists of dirt, said Matier.
“You have construction, you have cleanup, and you have dirt that’s contaminated, it could be contaminated with chemicals, it could be contaminated with heavy metals, it depends on what’s been going on around that area before you started bringing out the bulldozers,” he explained.
Since California has such strict rules on where the waste could be dumped, Matier said that the waste is usually transported out of the state to places like Arizona and Nevada, where the restrictions about what can be put in landfills are less stringent. He said there is “big business” in trucking waste out of California.
“So now after the LA fires – when we’re faced with a whole lot of contaminated ground that’s gonna have to be cleaned up and debris – regulators now say ‘Well, maybe it’s time to ease up our rules and have it get dumped locally,’” said Matier.
There has been pushback to the idea of dumping the waste locally.
“There are the environmentalists and the water people who are concerned that what you put in the ground eventually gets into the water supply,” Matier noted. He said that: “The flip side is, on average right now there’s only about two or three sites in the state that you can take this dirt – and they’re in the Central Valley and the average trip is about 440 miles to get there.”
With long trips, trucks will be burning up gas and contributing to pollution in another way, Matier added.
Those opposed to the change also might not have much say in the matter, he said. Matier said not to expect any legislation, but quiet changes in the halls of government.
“That’s what makes regulation so fun,” said the political insider. “They’re done by people appointed by the government to do the government’s work that the government doesn’t necessarily want anybody paying attention to.”
Follow KNX News 97.1 FM
Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | TikTok