The legislature finds that hazardous waste must be managed in a manner that protects the health, safety, and welfare of the citizens of the state and protects and conserves the state's natural resources and environment; that reduction of the amount of waste generated and processing, treatment, separation, and resource recovery are the preferred methods to manage hazardous waste; and that disposal of hazardous waste should be used only as a last resort when all other management methods are ineffective, and then only if an environmentally suitable site can be identified in the state.
The agency, in its planning, facility approval, and other activities related to hazardous waste shall give first priority to eliminating the generation of hazardous waste and eliminating or reducing the hazardous character of the waste generated in the state through processing, treatment, separation, and resource recovery.
History: 1984 c 644 s 4; 1989 c 335 art 1 s 269; 1Sp2005 c 1 art 2 s 161