CC Minutes - 02/14/05 Mtg - Laserfiche WebLink

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perhaps expanding the scope so it was more available. He said if the increasing costs were passed on to small businesses, soon everyone would be working at Wal-Mart. Tim Higgins, 1796 Willamette Street, said his petroleum business was currently regulated by the EPA, DEQ, the State Fire Marshal, and the Department of Agriculture. He said operators had to be licensed and certified by the State prior to being able to operate underground storage tanks. He said the new regulations were redundant. He stated that the proposed ordinance would have no effect on reducing emissions in the petroleum industry, noting that implementing Stage 1 and Stage 2 recovery efforts were the only ways to reduce emissions. Mr. Higgins said he recently spent about $450,000 upgrading his company's facility, with no financial assistance from the oil companies, and said there was no money left. When he was growing up, there were over 200 gas stations in Eugene and Springfield, and today there were 28 to 30. Within five years, he said only 15 or 20 stations operated by the big conglomerates would remain, and petroleum distribution in Eugene would be controlled by four or five people. He asserted that there was nothing the City could do that would compare to what the DEQ would put his company through during an upcoming six-hour inspection. He said the council was in over its head, and did not have a clue about the environmental regulations and equipment at a simple site. His 86-year-old father had breathed gasoline fumes his entire life and had no side effects, and his children had spent considerable time at the gas station with no ill effects. He did not know of anyone personally who had a side effect from petroleum fumes. He acknowledged that some people had health problems, but a small, noisy minority supported the ordinance. He concluded that most people do not care about the Toxics Right-to-Know Program. Mark Robinowitz, 28549 Sutherlin Lane, said he knew many people who had cancer and other health problems from the sorts of substances covered by the Toxics Right to Know ordinance. He asserted that the real issue was prevention. He noted that the toxic plume under the railroad was caused by a chlorinated solvent when a non-toxic alternative could have been used. Mr. Robinowitz said an article about green building technologies and wafer board made without formaldehyde appeared in a recent edition of Home Power Magazine published in Ashland. He noted that formaldehyde was the number one toxin in the air in Lane County, and that there were nontoxic alternatives. He asserted that medical costs resulting to toxic exposures were shifted to the public. He expressed concern about toxic substances transported via rail. Councilor Poling, seconded by Councilor Bettman, moved that the meeting be extended to 10:20 p.m. Roll call vote; the motion passed unanimously, 8:0. Mara Wile, 3470 High Street, supported the Toxics Right-to-Know Program. She said that exposure to chemicals could lead to serious health issues. She stated that had that fact been known in the past, her River Road area home would not be sitting next to a toxic plume. She said if businesses were bringing toxic chemicals into the community, the community was entitled to the details. She did not see the much- publicized commotion that Eugene was not friendly to businesses. Her research for a new office location for her company in Santa Fe, Durango, Berkeley, and Boise demonstrated that those areas had more taxes, more forms, more licensing, and more requirements than did Eugene. She said chemicals had benefits but there should be correlating costs, asserting that the cost of the program was minimal, and the community deserved the right to know. She objected to The Register-Guard's contention that the website was used very little, when she found the website to be very helpful. MINUTES--Eugene City Council February 14, 2005 Page 18 Regular Session