Opponents of waste transfer stations along rail lines appear to be making headway in their quest to tighten government oversight of those facilities, according to a couple recent stories in Newsday and the Asbury Park [N.J.] Press.

 

The federal agency that oversees railroads, the Surface Transportation Board, says it is considering keeping closer tabs on companies that file for class exemptions. Critics charge that these exemptions enable companies to operate transfer stations without having to comply with the regulatory constraints that normally apply to such facilities.

 

Also, the U.S. House of Representatives last week unanimously approved an amendment to the Federal Railroad Safety Improvement Act of 2007 that would give states the authority to regulate solid waste facilities. That measure heads to the Senate next.

 

Garbage hauling is a seller´s market these days in northern Virginia, so much so that haulers there evidently aren´t losing much sleep fretting about workaday hassles like safety, environmental and licensing regulations.

 

The Washington Post reports that private waste haulers in northern Virginia frequently bend and break the rules and usually get off with warnings.

 

Explains one county enforcement chief: "It´s a very fine tightrope that we´re walking because ... this is a critical public service that´s being provided by the public sector. ... We try to get the companies to do the right thing. ... But if I put three or four companies out of business, I would create more problems than I would solve. What would you rather have? Your trash picked up too early, or no trash pickup at all?"

 

It sounds like a major market correction may be needed here. I hope this story and others like it help set that process in motion.

 

Let´s drop the lid on Ye Olde Inbox today with two items from our always-fertile Wastewater Department.

 

First, from Reuters´ wacky-news page, Oddly Enough, we have this video report about a house in South Korea shaped like a toilet. The mind swirls vortex-like at the one-liners that could be dropped in at this juncture.

 

Bringing up the rear, our office "Curb Your Enthusiasm" enthusiast informs me that a recent episode of the edgy HBO sitcom featured an amusing bit on environmentally-friendly-but-tactilely-rude toilet paper.

 

There´s little I can think of to add, other than I wish Dr. Freud were still around to assess this latest stage in Larry David´s psychological development.

 

Pete Fehrenbach is managing editor of Waste News. Past installments of this column are collected in the Inbox archive.

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