A house committee gave unanimous approval to a resolution Wednesday that would allow Stericycle to move their medical waste incinerator to Tooele County.
House Joint Resolution 6 grants Stericycle the legislative approval required for them to build and operate a new medical waste incinerator in Tooele County. Their current facility is located in North Salt Lake and has recently come under fire from local residents concerned about the health risks involved with living close to the incinerator. Selin Hoboy is Stericycle’s VP of legislative affairs. She says the company is seeking the move because they recognize that the current situation isn’t ideal for anybody.
“We hope that the committee will consider and pass this bill so that we can resolve the community conflict that we are in with North Salt Lake today, continue to provide proper healthcare compliant waste services, and further improve the environment,” she says.
While the committee approved the resolution unanimously, it did receive some opposition from the public. North Salt Lake City resident Nicola Nelson says moving the incinerator from one county to another doesn’t really solve the problem.
“I hope the legislature will impose very strict standards on what pollutants actually enter the air of Tooele County," Nelson says. "I hope the legislature will not be burdened by EPA standards but will use whatever standards are good for Utah.”
The resolution is just the first of many steps Stericycle will have to go through in order to construct a new facility. They will also need to get approval from the Governor and from the state Department of Environmental Quality.
