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the City of Eugene had one of the twelve most polluted “airsheds” in the country. She said that a client of <br />hers had decided not to move here because of this. She listed some of her concerns regarding pollution, such <br />as Teflon in cooking ware and treated lumber. She asserted that the City should demand honesty from its <br />polluters. She further alleged that Hynix Semiconductor, Inc. had a permit to put 69 tons of pollutants into <br />the air. <br /> <br />Zachary Vishanoff <br />, Patterson Street, asked the council to consider expanding the program to include <br />nanotechnology. He was very concerned that there seemed to be a lack of regulation governing nanotech- <br />nology. He thought the University of Oregon was making “new designer materials” that could be used by <br />the military-industrial complex. He suggested the councilors conduct a Google search by typing in ‘ONAMI <br />and RFID commercializing Oregon’s future.’ He said ONAMI had hired a public relations firm. He felt <br />there was a lack of information on polluters and that the Toxics Right-to-Know law could be gutted. <br /> <br />David Monk <br />, 3720 Emerald Street, thanked the councilors for their service to the community. He thought it <br />was significant that the councilors understood and appreciated the democratic process and the importance of <br />having an informed public. He said the City’s Toxics Program was one of the finest in the country. He <br />acknowledged that it had been argued the program duplicated Federal and State programs. He disagreed <br />with this assessment. He said the Eugene program had a mass/balance accounting system whereby all of the <br />toxic substances coming into a facility have to be reported whether they go into the water, air, product, or <br />elsewhere. He averred that this prevented any discrepancies from occurring. He noted that a couple of <br />years earlier, the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) had been allowed to relax the reporting <br />requirements for its program. He related that the DEQ had done so because it asserted that the federal <br />government had adequate reporting programs. He pointed out that the federal government was now <br />proposing reductions in its program, which heightened the need for local vigilance. He noted that the Toxics <br />Right-to-Know program was now nine years old and it still cost the City of Eugene nothing. <br /> <br />Mayor Piercy closed the public hearing and asked for questions and comments from the City Council. <br /> <br />Councilor Ortiz commented that she would like to expand the number of businesses that were required to <br />report, but she felt it should be left to the discretion of the Toxics Board to let the council know when it was <br />time to do so. <br /> <br />Mayor Piercy ascertained that there were no objections to taking action at the present meeting. <br /> <br />Councilor Solomon, seconded by Councilor Ortiz, moved that the City Council adopt <br />Council Bill 4920, an ordinance adopting Hazardous Substance User Fees. Roll call vote; <br />the motion passed unanimously, 7:0. <br /> <br /> <br />MINUTES—Eugene City Council -- March 13, 2006 Page 9 <br /> City Council Meeting <br /> <br />