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- 1 - <br /> <br />I. INTRODUCTION <br /> <br />PURPOSE <br /> <br />This document is a preliminary draft of a land disposal abatement <br />report that will serve, when adopted, as a guide to local governmental <br />units in developing alternatives to landfills for disposing of solid <br />waste. The Minnesota Waste Management Act, passed by the State <br />Legislature in April 1980, requires the Metropolitan Council to <br />prepare a report by January 1, 1981, that identifies ways of dealing <br />with solid waste other than by use of sanitary landfills. The basic <br />methods include waste reduction (at the source of generation), waste <br />separation (to recover recyclables), waste processing (to reduce the <br />amount of space wastes would occupy in landfills) and resource <br />recovery (to recover energy or useful organic material). <br /> <br />The land disposal abatement report, of which this is a preliminary <br />draft, will be a planning tool for counties, cities and townships in <br />the Metropolitan Area that are considering specific solid waste <br />abatement programs. Under the 1980 Waste Management Act, the report <br />is to be used by th.e seven metropolitan counties in developing land <br />disposal abatement plans. The Metropolitan Council, in turn, reviews <br />the proposals and amends its regional solid waste policy plan to <br />include specific and quantifiable objectives for land disposal <br />abatement. The counties must implement the Council's abatement plan, <br />in part, through amendment of their solid waste master plans. <br /> <br />Concurrent with this process of land disposal abatement is a process, <br />also required by the 1980 Waste Management Act, for the planning, <br />siting and operation of waste facilities to process and dispose of <br />mixed municipal waste (refuse), hazardous waste and sewage sludge <br />residuals. Such facilities include landfills. To accomplish these <br />tasks, the Legislature has assigned specific responsibilities to <br />various state, regional and county levels of government. In this <br />regard, the land disposal abatement report can serve as a basis for <br />discussing solid waste disposal alternatives during the county <br />landfill siting process--especially the relationship of future <br />landfill needs to solid waste abatement programs. <br /> <br />This preliminary draft of the land disposal abatement report contains <br />descriptions of alternative strategies and their potential for <br />reducing the need for new landfills. It also contains proposed <br />specific objectives and degrees of abatement that could possibly be <br />achieved in the Region through implementation of these alternative <br />strategies. This report also contains preliminary recommendations on <br />how the Region can best accomplish the specified abatement objectives. <br />This preliminary report will be used for discussion during the <br />meetings scheduled in each of the seven counties during early October <br />(see cover letter for specific dates and locations). <br /> <br />The strategy evaluations, regional objectives and preliminary <br />recommendations are not final at this time but, rather, will be <br />revised during the preparation of the final draft to reflect the <br />comments received at the county public meetings. The final draft will <br />be released in early November and a public hearing with members of the <br />Metropolitan Council is scheduled for November 20. Written comments <br /> <br /> <br />