"Regulations formulated in California have a way of spreading to other states, which is about the last thing our industry needs," says Tire Retread Information Bureau (TRIB) Managing Director Harvey Brodsky in reference to the state's controversial waste tire manifest rule that TRIB has been battling to no avail, up until recently.
The rule subjects California retreaders to fines of up to $25,000 a day per violation for "offenses" as minor as failing to fill out manifest forms properly or even carrying manifest forms that another party has filled out improperly.
After more than two months of reaching out to an unresponsive California Integrated Waste Management Board (CIWMB), Brodsky believes he may have made a "breakthrough" last week when he met with CIWMB officials at the Waste Tire Management Conference in Sacramento, Calif.
Brodsky says he received a "warm welcome" from top board members, which he credits to a TRIB memo to the organization last week in which he told them he would be turning TRIB's files on the rule over to local and national media.
"Steve Jones, who is a key board member, asked me to contact his office to arrange an informal meeting to 'try to solve this mess.' I told his staff I wanted to bring along one of our retreader members who is being adversely affected by the new manifest regulations and they agreed."
A meeting at CIWMB offices has been set up for Monday, Sept. 15.
"Although I am guardedly optimistic, as you know, anything is possible when dealing with bureaucrats," says Brodksy.
"If we are successful in California, all retreaders in other parts of the country will be better off for it."
The waste manifest rule went into effect on July 1.
