05/11/1992 Meeting (2) - Laserfiche WebLink

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e e e tial costly expenditures. Mr. Boles asked for a legal opinion on State and Federal preemptions relative to the proposed ordinance and whether the ordi- nance would be a use of home rule. Mayor Miller opened the public hearing. Scott Forrest, 5220 West Amazon Drive, introduced himself as the President of Forrest Paint Company and noted that he has served on a citizen advisory committee to the DEQ for the past two years. He expressed concern about the proposed ordinance superseding regulations under the Federal Clean Air Act, the Federal Clean Water Act, the Circular Superfund Act, and the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. He expressed concern about the City being able to require businesses to have an environmental assessment conducted, noting the significant costs involved in such a study. Due to the length of Mr. Forrest's testimony, he was asked to document his testimony and submit it to staff for the council's consideration at its June 8 work session. Les Duman, 1400 South Bertelsen Road, testified in opposition to the proposed ordinance, saying that the DEQ and EPA already have sufficient regulations. He explained that an environmental consulting group reviewed the proposed ordinance and felt the language was vague. He described the costs involved in removing hazardous substances and said he felt the City may not be able to fully recover costs from responsible parties. He suggested that in light of Ballot Measure 5, the DEQ could decide not to respond if the City has a mech- anism in place to do so. Dick Briggs described the costs and time involved in one case involving a disagreement over the definition of one word. He suggested revisiting the approach to avoid such costs. There being no other requests to speak, the public hearing was closed. The public record was held open until 5 p.m. on May 15. Mr. Robinette asked for a legal opinion regarding the standards the City would refer to that the ordinance did not specify. He asked for an analysis on whether the City could enter into some type of agreement with the DEQ or EPA instead of adopting an ordinance. Referring to an earlier statement, Mr. Nicholson pointed out that the ordi- nance provid~s a mechanism for a person who receives an order by the City to have an environmental assessment conducted to be reimbursed for the costs of the assessment. Mr. Green asked for information on the cost of enforcing the ordinance. Mayor Miller asked for clarification on what portion of the ordinance would address life safety issues. There being no other questions from councilors, further discussion was post- poned until the June 8 work session. MINUTES--Eugene City Council 7:30 p.m. May 11, 1992 Page 5