TABLE OF CONTENTS James E. Kundell
Deanna L. Ruffer
Planning for the management of municipal solid waste becomes increasingly important as the complexity of management needs expands, the tools and procedures for addressing these needs require greater sophistication, and competition increases. In addition, as the roles and responsibilities of states and their subdivisions in the management of solid waste have evolved, both state and local or regional solid waste planning is required.
Some states may have planned for solid waste management needs in the past, but there is little evidence that such planning occurred prior to the passage of the federal Solid Waste Disposal Act of 1965. The federal focus for solid waste management planning has been at the state level, and the form and substance of state solid waste planning has been responsive to federal directives. Although some local governments were provided planning grants for demonstration projects, the plans called for under federal legislation were designed to show the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that states had the authority and capability to oversee the management of solid waste within their borders. In recent years, however, states and local governments have found solid waste management planning necessary without any federal directives or incentives to carry out such planning.
Historic Perspective: State Planning
The federal Solid Waste Disposal Act of 1965, like other environmental laws passed in the 1960s, did not establish a federal permit requirement for solid waste management facilities, but focused initially on the provision...
