Contact: State Rep. Rex Duncan
Capitol: (405) 557-7344

OKLAHOMA CITY (September 19, 2008) – State Rep. Rex Duncan, R-Sand Springs, said he will introduce legislation during the 2009 session to regulate large landfills and the contents they are permitted to bury.

Currently, Duncan said the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) cannot take adverse action against landfills in response to complaints regarding odor emitted by large "trash mountain" sites.

Duncan said landfills that are authorized to bury solid waste and other questionable materials can be just as objectionable as the Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) found in Western Oklahoma. The obvious difference, Duncan noted, is that the landfills haul the "smell" to the site.

Duncan is also concerned that the DEQ has allowed the height of some of these "trash mountains" to increase to the point some have become the key terrain feature on the horizon.

"At some point in time the DEQ should require the closing of these mountains and I intend to author restrictions on the size and content – apparently there are no meaningful limits in the statutes," said Duncan.