SCERP Project Number: H-1
Principal Investigator: K. David Pijawka
Arizona State University
INTRODUCTION
The siting of hazardous waste facilities is an important environmental issue in the Southwest and particularly critical in the U.S.-Mexico border region. In the Southwest existing treatment and disposal facilities are nearing capacity, are being phased out, or cannot be sited because of public opposition. What is particularly troubling is that the border region is projected as a high growth area for the major high technology and assembly industries which generate substantial hazardous waste. Hence, the existing capacity to manage and dispose of hazardous waste may already fall short of current needs; and the waste treatment problem will be further exacerbated in the future. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has estimated that approximately 40% of U.S. firms in Mexico have reported sending industrial hazardous wastes back to the U.S. from Mexico for treatment and storage. Currently, the State of Arizona has no capacity to dispose of hazardous waste and a proposed hazardous waste management facility for the state failed to be sited.
The expansion of new treatment and disposal facilities has not kept up with waste production despite the apparent availability of land. This apparent paradox (the growing need for such facilities, available land, but their lack of development) is the result of public risk perceptions of these types of facilities, public opposition to their siting, and lack of governmental mechanisms for resolving local disputes over siting. These factors-risk perceptions, public opposition, and the lack of effective governmental strategies to resolve conflicts over such facilities, are central to efforts designed to site these critical facilities.
The study examined the issues centered around the challenges confronting states in their attempts to site large hazardous waste treatment and disposal facilities. There were several phases to the research. The first was to examine the literature related to siting hazardous waste facilities in order to determine and explicate the critical factors that can explain success or failure in siting these facilities. In addition to such factors as risk perceptions, perceived impacts, and environmental politics, the study has introduced recent concepts into the siting issue such as environmental program implementation and public trust in government.
The next phase of the research focused on the governmental efforts to develop a major waste management facility in Arizona. The government effort was not successful; the research questions were directed at understanding the factors that contributed to the failure to implement the facility siting and the lessons learned from this experience. The case study examined public records, hearings, and surveys and interviews were held with key public and private sector individuals who were involved in the siting process.
The third and last phase of the research project entailed a survey of state environmental regulatory agencies regarding their experiences in siting hazardous waste treatment and disposal facilities and factors contributed to successful or failed state siting programs. The survey instrument is included in Appendix A. The response rate in this national survey was 36 states reporting.
Last updated 7/1/99