PROGRESS ON WASTE MANAGEMENT DISTRICT PLEASES COMMISSIONER

PERRYVILLE - Cape Girardeau County Presiding Commissioner Gene Huckstep says he is pleased with the progress made at a meeting Tuesday to get a Solid Waste Management District organized for cities and counties in this area.

The districts are required under a state law passed two years ago that is designed to reduce the amount of refuse being sent to landfills. By 1998, cities and counties in Missouri must reduce solid waste by 40 percent.

The districts must be organized by a county, and last month Cape Girardeau County agreed to take the lead in setting up a district for the seven counties and all cities located in this region.

By forming a district, cities and counties can adopt a plan to show how they will reach the reduction goal.

Huckstep said a big reason to organize the district now is because it will enable the group to qualify for Department Natural Resources funding assistance for developing a plan.

The district would be eligible for $45,000 in the current state fiscal year and another $45,000 in the next fiscal year that begins July 1.

Huckstep said having a district will enable the entities to work together to increase effectiveness of the management plan and the viability of alternatives to landfills.

He noted that by not taking prompt action on forming a district, the cities and counties will still be responsible for complying with the law but would not be able to receive the state funding for developing a plan.

"Cape County is taking the lead because somebody has to get it started," said Huckstep. "We got the blessing from other county commissioners to take the lead and are doing it."

At Tuesday's meeting, the city and county officials met with representatives of the Southeast Missouri Regional Planning and Economic Development Commission, and for now, will use that agency to assist in preparing a plan.

Huckstep said it is not certain that the regional planning commission will be involved throughout the entire process.

The counties who are involved in the district are Cape Girardeau, Bollinger, Perry, Madison, Ste. Genevieve, St. Francois, and Iron. Huckstep said most of the cities in those counties were represented as well as all the counties except Bollinger.

However, the Bollinger County Commission has already passed a resolution agreeing to join with Cape County in a district.

One problem in developing the plan is that there is a lot of confusion over what the law requires and some court decisions that could alter the impact of the law.

"It is kind of a state of mass confusion," said Huckstep. "There is some confusion because there is a court decision throwing some of this out as illegal and there is a lot of confusion all over the state.

"All we are trying to do is abide by the rules and regulations that would qualify our district for the state funding from DNR," added Huckstep. "We want to get moving on this and work together to get it done."

Huckstep said he is hoping that all details of the law will be cleared up soon.

He noted that Tuesday's meeting was just an initial organization meeting and that a firm structure for the district will be set up later.