Utah Gov. Norm Bangerter has failed to gain National Governors Association backing for his proposal to give states more leeway in rejecting out-of-state hazardous wastes.
"We're after a little leverage," Bangerter said, noting that Utah imports more hazardous wastes from other states than it exports.The Republican governor tried Sunday to add wording to an NGA policy statement on interstate shipping of hazardous wastes that would have implied gubernatorial authority to reject such materials under certain conditions.
Bangerter needed nine other governors to back his recommendation. He fell one short.
His proposal foundered on the argument that no one state has exactly the kind of disposal facilities it needs to handle all kinds of waste produced within its borders.
For example, Utah imports 63,567 million tons more hazardous waste than it exports out of state. But, while it disposes waste from 22 states, it sends waste to a dozen others.
"None of us wants to take anyone else's waste," said Oregon Gov. Barbara Roberts, whose state is also a net importer.
But she said it would be impractical to think every state would be able to meet all of its own waste disposal needs under federal law.
Bangerter's proposal also drew fire from industry officials.
"The result would be a waste gridlock in America," said Pat Payne, president and chief operating officer of Chemical Waste Management, Inc. "It's an incredibly complex problem that sounds simple when you write it on paper but complex when you try to implement it."
Bangerter countered that his proposal was not meant to slam the door on hazardous wastes.
"I don't think there's an attempt to ward off rational, reasonable shipments," he said.