Milpitas and City of San Jose have agreed to a tolling agreement, which would extend the deadline for San Jose to file a lawsuit over Milpitas’ decision to award a solid waste collection contract to Garden City Sanitation Inc., and give the two cities time to reach a resolution.
San Jose officials say Milpitas did not do its due diligence in assessing how sending its garbage to the Guadalupe Recycling and Disposal Facility in South San Jose will impact the environment. The San Jose City Attorney’s Office issued three letters between September and November, asking that Milpitas delay awarding the collection contract until environmental impacts including noise and traffic were formally known.
City Attorney Chris Diaz has told Milpitas City Council at multiple council meetings that under the California Environmental Quality Act certain things are exempt from new environmental impact reports, this includes use of existing facilities that already have an approved CEQA report. “San Jose has authorized and permitted these facilities and allowed them to operate and run facilities,” Diaz told the Post.
Additionally, Diaz said the facility has more than enough capacity to accommodate waste coming from Milpitas, which would amount to 10 trucks a day. “What San Jose has alleged is basically truck traffic on the road causing traffic, noise and air quality impact. There is analysis in our record, which we worked on with our environmental consultant and that showed there would be no more than 10 trucks…We did an analysis with science and data and none of those three will cause any significant impact,” Diaz said. “They don’t hit any of the environmental thresholds to require an analysis of those impacts. So, as far as I understand their position, I respectfully disagree.”
Conversely, San Jose City Attorney Rick Doyle contends that “no environmental assessment is good twice.” He told this newspaper last week that the real issue is “the impacts on trucks moving through parts of San Jose.”
“Whether it’s an environmental impact report or a negative declaration, some analysis needs to be done and I don’t think the City of Milpitas did any of that,” Doyle said. “The larger concern is what is the best way to address where the garbage should be shipped.”
Additionally, Diaz said the facility has more than enough capacity to accommodate waste coming from Milpitas, which would amount to 10 trucks a day. “What San Jose has alleged is basically truck traffic on the road causing traffic, noise and air quality impact. There is analysis in our record, which we worked on with our environmental consultant and that showed there would be no more than 10 trucks…We did an analysis with science and data and none of those three will cause any significant impact,” Diaz said. “They don’t hit any of the environmental thresholds to require an analysis of those impacts. So, as far as I understand their position, I respectfully disagree.”
Conversely, San Jose City Attorney Rick Doyle contends that “no environmental assessment is good twice.” He told this newspaper last week that the real issue is “the impacts on trucks moving through parts of San Jose.”
“Whether it’s an environmental impact report or a negative declaration, some analysis needs to be done and I don’t think the City of Milpitas did any of that,” Doyle said. “The larger concern is what is the best way to address where the garbage should be shipped.”
To read the full story, visit http://www.mercurynews.com/2016/12/30/milpitas-city-san-jose-enter-into-tolling-agreement-over-garden-city-collection-contract/.