After months of community discussion, study and planning, Sierra County Commissioners formally adopted a new Solid Waste Management Ordinance (11-012) at their regular meeting Tuesday morning, November 20. Commissioners noted that provisions in the ordinance would become effective in 30 days.
Prior to the morning’s regular session, commissioners convened for a workshop focusing on the proposed solid waste measure and then went into a public hearing to accept any further comments before formally addressing the ordinance.
A number of community members shared their support for the proposed ordinance, and had high praise for those citizens involved in the development process. A number of speakers also said the new measure should be viewed as an “interim plan,” which commissioners and community advisors would be looking to amend as future situations might warrant.
Community Task Force Chairman Don Edmund and several other speakers stressed that one of the primary difficulties in the development process was a lack of historical data regarding the amount of solid waste generated in Sierra County. It was noted that adoption of the proposed ordinance would provide county authorities with an opportunity to acquire firm details regarding all aspects of the solid waste management plan. As information begins to accumulate, citizens suggested that county officials and commissioners should be able to define…