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Ms. Taylor agreed with Mr. Kelly and Mr. Meisner. She believed the council was morally obligated <br />to amend the list of chemicals, and agreed with Mr. Kelly that it was a housekeeping issue. She <br />called for a public hearing on the topic. <br /> <br />Mr. Rayor supported the ordinance. He questioned the thresholds. Mr. Potter clarified that for <br />the sake of simplicity, the board was using the thresholds in the existing local regulations, and <br />they were lower than the federal thresholds. <br /> <br />Mr. Kelly agreed with Mr. Meisner about the issue of voter intent. He said that the charter <br />amendment did not call for a study of the toxicity of the chemicals; the City delegated that <br />scientific authority to the federal government. He suggested it would be cost-prohibitive to do <br />such research locally. Given that the chemicals were federally listed, he suspected that local <br />companies were familiar with them, even if they had not had to report them to the City before. <br /> <br />Mr. Farr did not think that the fact the EPA listed a chemical meant that Eugene had to do the <br />same. Not looking at numbers significant to local communities suggested to him that the <br />agency's research was not prudent. <br /> <br />Mr. Lee asked how often the EPA updated its list. Mr. Potter did not know. <br /> <br />Mr. Johnson noted that the council could delegate the listing of chemicals to him. Mr. Lee <br />endorsed that approach. He believed it was consistent with the public's intent. Responding to a <br />question from Mayor Torrey, Mr. Klein said that staff could draft such an ordinance for the council <br />to consider. <br /> <br />Mr. Rayor supported Mr. Johnson's suggestion. <br /> <br />Mr. Pap8 also supported Mr. Johnson's suggestion. He asked how the process would work. Mr. <br />Klein said that it would work like the current administrative rule setting process, which included a <br />comment period. <br /> <br />Ms. Taylor said that if it was a matter of the manager picking and choosing chemicals, she would <br />oppose Mr. Johnson's suggestion. <br /> <br />Mr. Kelly said that as long as the program existed, he hoped the process could be done <br />administratively. He noted the small number of chemicals involved and said that it would be <br />time-consuming for the council. He suggested there be a role for the Toxics Board in the process <br />of adding chemicals. <br /> <br />Mr. Potter noted the presence of Toxics Board President Steve Johnson. Mr. Johnson said that <br />such changes happened rarely, and they were generally minute and could probably be handled <br />administratively. <br /> <br />Mr. Farr said the approach made a great deal of sense. <br /> <br />Responding to a question from Ms. Taylor, Mr. Klein said that if the manager refused to add a <br />chemical to the list, the council could add it. <br /> <br />The council agreed to hold a hearing on an ordinance to implement Mr. Johnson's suggestion. <br /> <br />MINUTES--Eugene City Council June 26, 2000 Page 7 <br /> Work Session <br /> <br /> <br />