A bad boy law is any ordinance that says companies or individuals
convicted of certain crimes cannot get public contracts or
licenses to do business in your town
Bad boy laws are being used successfully at the local level to
keep convicted criminals from getting contracts to haul garbage.
Sometimes this can cut the heart out of a landfill or incinerator
proposal. Palmer, Massachusetts
passed a law saying
no person or business entity could be awarded a contract or
subcontract by the Town of Palmer if that person or business
entity:
(a) had been convicted of bribing a public official of Palmer or
"any other public entity" in the U.S.
(b) had been convicted of agreement or collusion in restraint of
freedom of competition, or of agreement to fix prices; or
(c) had pleaded guilty to these crimes or had pleaded NOLO
CONTENDERE [meaning a plea of "no contest," in which a person
says, in effect, "I am not admitting guilt but I do not dispute
the charges against me."]
The Palmer story reveals the many benefits of a campaign to pass
a local bad boy law. Waste Management, Inc., wanted to build a
regional landfill in Palmer. A local citizen's group, the Ware
River Preservation Society (WRPS) proposed the bad boy law. WRPS
leader Elizabeth Hancock says proposing the law generated good
publicity for her group, and brought new members, donations, and
better attendance at meetings
Three local decision-makers opposed the law but that put them in
the position of having to explain why they favored doing business
with convicted criminals.
NOW THAT'S A GOOD QUESTION ISN'T IT
WHY ARE YOU DOING BUSINESS WITH A CRIMINAL MEL?
http://www.city.toronto.on.ca/legdocs/1999/agendas/committees/wks/wks991201/it010.htm
November 15, 1999
To: Works Committee
From: Barry H. Gutteridge, Commissioner, Works and Emergency Services
Subject: Contract Extensions - Collection of Waste and Recyclable Materials in the Former City of Etobicoke
(1) Council authority be granted to extend Contract No. P-87-94 between the
City of Toronto and Canadian Waste Services (formerly Waste Management
Incorporated) for curbside and containerized front-end waste collection,
apartment recycling cart collection, curbside recyclable materials collection,
yard waste collection and bulky items collection from residential, and some
commercial and institutional buildings for a period of two years commencing
July 10, 2000 and terminating July 9, 2002;
(2) Council authority be granted to extend Contract No. P-45-96
(Items 1 and 2) between the City of Toronto and Browning Ferris Industries
for the curbside collection of waste and bulky items from residential,
and some commercial and institutional buildings for a period of two years
commencing July 10, 2000 and terminating July 9, 2002; and
(3) Council authority be granted to extend Contract No. P-45-96 (Item 3)
between the City of Toronto and Canadian Waste Services
(formerly Waste Management Incorporated) for the front-end containerized
collection of waste from residential, and some commercial and institutional
buildings for a period of two years commencing July 10, 2000 and terminating
July 9, 2002.
Discussions surrounding the proposal
brought out the dark side of Waste Management's history--a
corporate record so outstanding that Greenpeace in late 1991
published the 285-page third edition of WASTE MANAGEMENT, INC.:
AN ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ENVIRONMENTAL CRIMES & OTHER MISDEEDS.
After the Palmer bad boy law was proposed, newspapers felt more
secure discussing the seamier side of Waste Management's history.
Waste Management mounted a campaign attacking the proposed law.
They hired a prominent local attorney and took out full-page
newspaper ads denouncing the proposal. They extolled the virtues
of their recycling programs, even though they were aiming to
establish a large dump. But in the end, the ordinance passed. If
Waste Management and its hundreds of subsidiaries can keep their
noses clean for three years something they have never done
before, then they will become eligible to do business with the
Town of Palmer.
http://www.monitor.net/rachel/r288.html
Fort Wayne Indiana
On June 13, 1997 the Indiana Commissioner of the Department of Environment Management (IDEM)
Michael O'Connor denied the request of Waste Management to expand its Fort
Wayne Adams Center Hazardous Waste Treatment and Disposal Facility.
"Indiana's Good Character law allows IDEM to effectively deny a permit
application if the applicant has not demonstrated good environmental
stewardship," O'Connor said.
"With ChemWaste's poor environmental track record, I could not approve their
expansion request." ChemWaste (Chemical Waste Management -CWM) is a wholly
owned subsidiary of Waste Management Inc." This landmark citizen victory
culminates a long fought citizen fight to stop and close this neighborhood
landfill.
O'Connor listed violations during the last five years as
1) CWM guilty pleas to six criminal felony violations and $3 million
penalties (Cause No. e - CR-22-253. 7/9/92);
2) $25,000 penalty in Alabama hazardous waste case (Cause No. 92-156-HW - 7/4/92)
3) $25,000 penalty for California hazardous waste tank spill
(Cause No. 723347 - 7/29/92)
4) Various operational violations in California $65,000 penalty
(Cause No. HWCA 92/93-022 - 11-13-92)
5) $15,000 penalty regarding analysis methods for incinerator ash at
Port Arthur, Texas (Cause No. RCRA VI-204-H - 4/8/94)
6) $17,400 Penalty for violations of Toxic Substances Control Act in USEPA
Region V (Cause No. TSCA-V-C-30-93 - 8/1/94) plus eight more cases.
The IDEM Commissioner also found that CWM apparently lied in its application
by claiming they no longer were associated with Chem Waste. O'Connor found
through some attempted dummy corporation slight of hand that Waste Management
attempted to hide their very direct affiliation. Waste Management was caught
lieing again. Indiana enacted "Good Character" law in 1990. Waste Management
and CWM challenged the law but lost before the Indiana Supreme Court in
1994.
http://www.stopwmx.org/ndian.html
