4395 Gold Trail Way , Loomis , CA 95650-8929
916-652-7850; Fax: 916-652-0485
gary@garyliss.com ; www.garyliss.com
January 25, 2005
Little Hoover Commission
925 L Street, Suite 805
Sacramento, CA 95814
RE: Oppose Elimination of the CIWMB
Dear Commissioners:
The California Resource Recovery Association (CRRA) is the state's largest non-profit organization dedicated to conserving resources through reuse, recycling and composting. With a membership representing all aspects of the wastestream, CRRA works to expand markets for recycled materials, promotes sustainable materials policies and is a clearinghouse for information, innovation, and industry and governmental initiatives.
CRRA has convened a Task Force of representatives from local government, recycling industries, consultants and the academic community to review and comment on the Governor’s Government Reorganization Plan #1 which was submitted to you on January 6, 2005.
The CRRA CIWMB Reorganization Task Force would like to express our concerns with the Governor’s proposal to eliminate the California Integrated Waste Management Board (CIWMB) and transfer its authority to the Secretary of the California Environmental Protection Agency.
We believe that the proposal fails to account for the loss of public input, comment, and transparency and to justify how this proposal would increase or improve conservation of resources through reuse, recycling and composting.
As an institution, CIWMB serves a critical role in convening regular public meetings for input from all facets of the bourgeoning recycling industry in California. Nationally, the recycling industry was documented recently to be larger than the auto and truck manufacturing industry and significantly larger than mining and waste management and disposal industries. The recycling industry has $236 billion in gross, annual sales and employs over 1.1 million people. In California, recycling has grown dramatically since 1989, from diverting only 11% of the waste stream to now diverting 46% of the waste stream from landfilling.
An industry that is so dynamic encounters many policy issues along the way which require intense deliberation and sorting out of many competing factions in the industry, including many different business interests (e.g., waste haulers, landfill operators, recyclers, reuse businesses, composting businesses, manufacturers, retailers), all local governments in the state, and academic and environmental groups. The CIWMB has played a vital role in providing all these different interests a seat at the table, by engaging them individually, in group discussions, in public workshops, and in regular monthly Board meetings. By actively involving all these interests, the CIWMB has adopted many important policies and programs that have led to the dramatic success of recycling in California over the last decade.
The CIWMB also receives no General Fund monies, so any costs saved would not contribute to resolving the overall state budget deficit.
The CRRA CIWMB Reorganization Task Force urges the Little Hoover Commission to recommend that the CIWMB NOT be eliminated unless there is a plan developed to provide equal or greater access to all the different sectors of this industry in a transparent process. With that said, the CRRA CIWMB Reorganization Task Force is willing to explore other alternatives for re-structuring the CIWMB to streamline and improve it with the Little Hoover Commission and the Legislature.
Thank you for your consideration. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me at 916-652-7850 or gary@garyliss.com.
Sincerely,
|
|
| Judi Gregory |
Gary Liss |
| President |
Chair |
| CA Resource Recovery Association |
CRRA CIWMB Reorganization Task Force |
GBL: rl
Cc: Members of the CRRA CIWMB Reorganization Task Force
Please note that the opinions and activities of the CRRA CIWMB Reorganization Task Force do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the CRRA Board of Directors or its Members.
