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Chemical Waste Management, Inc. controversy
The Kettleman Hills Hazardous Waste Facility is a large (1,600 acre; 4,000 hectare) hazardous and municipal solid waste disposal facility operated by Waste Management, Inc.. It is located at 35.9624°N, -120.0102°W, 3.5 mi southwest of Kettleman City on State Route 41.

In 2007 and 2008, Greenaction believed that it had discovered a cluster of birth defects and infant deaths in Kettleman City, believing that several polluting facilities, including the Kettleman Hills Hazardous Waste Facility could be producing chemicals causing the maladies. When the facility requested its landfill expansion by 14 acres, the low-income, largely Latino community of 1,500 residents moved against the action, fearing that the introduction of more polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) waste could increase the percentage of maladies found in infants as a result.

Chemical Waste Inc., contends that it has passed its standards inspections, and the requirements for inspection. It also contends that there has been no established link between the facility and the defects, and that it is a large economic factor and employer in the community of Kettleman City as well as Kings County.

On July 2, 2013, the California Department of Toxic Substances Control released a draft decision on a permit modification that would allow Waste Management. Inc. to increase the capacity of the hazardous waste landfill. The draft decision is subject to a 60-day public comment period.

Relevant legislation
The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) was enacted in 1976 to govern the disposal of solid and hazardous waste. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, the goals of the RCRA are to focus on protecting human health and the environment from waste disposal as well as conserving natural resources and reducing waste generation. The “cradle to grave” provision of Subtitle C established a management program which required a strict permitting and control process for the creation and disposal of hazardous waste. Under this program, treatment, storage and disposal facilities (TSDFs) must meet specific criteria in order to be permitted or be allowed interim status to continue operating while unpermitted. The Kettleman Hills Hazardous Waste Facility is governed under the RCRA and thus is subject to these permitting requirements. As a result, the Kettleman Hills Facility has been required to request a modification of their current permit by the California Department of Toxic Substance Control in order to expand the facility by the requested 14 acres to make room for the disposal of more waste.

The Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), passed in 1976 worked to regulate the sale and use of chemicals in the U.S, but it’s primary focus was on polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). Its effects on the Kettleman Hills Hazardous Waste Facility is similar to the RCRA by requiring permitting by the EPA in order to make the requested 14 acre expansion into a site which allows for the dumping of PCBs. During this permitting process, the TSCA PCB permit application requires the EPA to issue a public notice once a decision has been reached, as well as hold a 60-day formal comment period for the public, as well as a formal public hearing.

In February of 1994, Executive Order 12898 was implemented which addressed issues of minority and low-income groups bearing the burden of disproportionate negative environmental and health effects. It states that “each Federal Agency shall make achieving environmental justice part of its mission by identifying and addressing as appropriate, disproportionately high and adverse human health or environmental effects of its programs, policies, and activities on minority populations and low income populations.” It also set forth a series of steps for assisting and aiding federal organizations in addressing environmental injustice. Requirements of the executive order, such as translating documents into the native language of a community have been key issues for groups such as Greenaction in the dispute with the Kettleman Hills Hazardous Waste Facility.

Financial implications
The issue in Kettleman City has resulted in much discussion over the financial implications for the county, city, and company. The Kettleman Hills Hazardous Waste Facility initially requested the expansion due to the near filling of their 10.7 million-cubic-yard site. Lily Quiroa, a spokeswoman for Waste Management, Inc. has stated that as a result of the denial of expansion, “we have laid off more than two-thirds of our employees. There has been a big impact on our business here, and it has had an impact in the economy in this county." In 2012, it was reported that the company paid approximately $312,000 in fines as a result of not reporting waste spills that had occurred.

Aside from the company, the county also stands to gain $1.5 million in fees from the truckloads of waste deposited annually, as well as $17.5 million to the economy of the county from the facility’s operation.

The residents of Kettleman City have been promised financial benefits as well if the expansion is passed. Chemical Waste Inc. has offered to provide numerous donations as well as payoff the remaining debt that the city owes on its water system, an estimated $552,000, which would allow for the city to receive grant money from the state. Other such examples of donations include $150,000 to create safe pedestrian crossing spaces for residents to use on Highway 41. Maricela Mares-Alatorre is in opposition to such funding however, stating that “I know Chem Waste likes to frame it as they’re being good neighbors, but the truth is that they’re buying good will. If you give me a choice between my good will and the health of the community, the health of my family, I’m going to choose the health of my family.”