California IN BRIEF : SAN FRANCISCO : Ruling Allows Local Toxic Waste Control

Local governments in California can regulate toxic waste dumps whose pollution violates local land-use laws or permits, the state Supreme Court ruled. The unanimous decision allowed Solano County to require IT Corp. to propose methods of cleaning up a buffer zone around a dump near Benicia. The court rejected arguments that only the state could regulate the subject. Eighteen counties, some with similar problems, backed Solano’s appeal of the case. “There’s a lot of concern by smaller counties that waste will be shuffled from big to smaller areas, and locals will have no control or say at all, yet the effect is a local effect,” said Vicki Sieber-Benson, an assistant Solano county counsel. “This gives some control to counties over what starts out as a problem for everyone but ends up being a bigger problem to people who have to live in areas where dump sites are.”