SD7 - Report of the Solid Waste Commission

  • Published: 1983
  • Author: Solid Waste Commission
  • Enabling Authority: Senate Joint Resolution 15 (Regular Session, 1982)

Executive Summary:
The Solid Waste Commission was created by the 1973 General Assembly to study the management of solid waste and advise the Governor and Legislature. The Commission is composed of six legislators and nine citizens with environmental or technical expertise.

The Commission has defined its objectives:

- to analyze the problems associated with the management of all types of solid wastes and report findings;

- to develop recommendations and implement programs designed to improve waste management; and

- to sponsor legislation to improve solid waste management.

The objectives are pursued through the activities of working committees formed to address specific issues. In 1982 three separate committees directed their activities to specific waste management topics, namely hazardous wastes, low level radioactive wastes, and resource recovery. In addition, the member legislators form the Legislative Committee, providing valuable support to the Commission in the Senate and House of Delegates. The Waste Exchange Committee is now inactive, having completed its task of establishing a network to announce availability or desirability of otherwise unwanted industrial waste. Active committees and membership are as follows:

Program Committee

Dr. Robert F. Testin, Chairman
Mr. Callis H. Atkins
Mr. Jonathan M. Murdoch-Kitt

Hazardous Wastes Committee

Mr. R. E. Dorer, Chairman
Sen. Joseph V. Gartlan, Jr.
Mr. William T. Reed
Del. John H. Rust, Jr.

Low Level Radioactive Wastes Committee

Del. George W. Grayson, Chairman
Dr. Robert F. Testin
Mr. Martin R. Adams
Dr. Colin S. Caldwell

Resource Recovery Committee

Mr. Callis H. Atkins, Chairman
Del. R. Beasley Jones
Mr. Frank H. Miller, Jr.
Mr. Jonathan M. Murdoch-Kitt
Mr. David M. Rothwell

Legislative Committee

Sen. Stanley C. Walker, Chairman
Sen. Joseph V. Gartlan, Jr.
Del. George W. Grayson
Del. William F. Green
Del. R. Beasley Jones
Del. John H. Rust, Jr.

The Solid Waste Commission is led by a chairman elected biannually among the members. The current chairman, Dr. Robert F. Testin, is one of seven citizen-technical representatives appointed by the Governor. In addition, the Governor appoints two citizens as environmental representatives to the Commission. Citizen appointments are normally made for four-year terms.

There are six State legislators assigned to the Commission by the Speaker of the House or the Senate Committee on Privileges and Elections.

The Commission office in the General Assembly Building houses the Commission's executive director and a secretary. This staff provides daily liaison with other State offices, such as the Health Department and the Governor's Office, and administration of the Commission's work program. Specific staff responsibilities during 1982 included the role as one of two State negotiators to the Southeast Compact, representative to the Toxics Roundtable, Commission representative speaking to state and national groups, in addition to report writing, design and execution of the resource recovery survey, making application for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) grant to support the low level radioactive waste public participation program, as well as the general administrative support duties for the Commission.

The body of this report is a summary of the Commission's efforts on each of the major waste management topics as briefly stated below.

1. Hazardous Waste. After a thorough examination of other states' legislative approaches to hazardous waste management and facility siting pursuant to S.J.R. No. 15, a discussion paper was drafted and distributed. A public hearing was held to receive comments on the paper, and other hearings may be held in the spring of 1983. The Commission requests that the General Assembly continue S.J.R. No. 15 until the 1984 Session, when the Commission will have completed its study and be prepared to make recommendations regarding hazardous waste management and facility siting legislation. This request also includes the continuation of the moratorium on issuance of permits for private treatment operations and on the use of eminent domain for a State-owned hazardous waste management facility.

2. Low Level Radioactive Waste. The Commission's activities focused primarily on its role in the interstate negotiations to have Virginia re-admitted to the Southeast Compact and the development of a public participation program to parallel the facility siting study being prepared by the State Department of Health.

3. Resource Recovery. A questionnaire was distributed to all local governments in Virginia, resulting in a report of the involvement of all jurisdictions and the status of their resource recovery activities. (See Appendix III.)

4. Waste Exchange. The Virginia Waste Exchange, conceived by the Solid Waste Commission and funded by a grant from the Virginia Environmental Endowment, has released its first catalog of waste products available or sought by industries in the region. The Waste Exchange continues to operate as a service of the Virginia State Chamber of Commerce.

Detailed reports of these four topics and a discussion of plans for the coming year follow.