Summary of

The Siting of a Hazardous Waste Landfill

By Barbara Gray

This Article Summary written by: Tanya Glaser, Conflict Research Consortium

Citation: "The Siting of a Hazardous Waste Landfill," Selection from: Barbara Gray, Collaborating: Finding Common Ground for Multiparty Problems, (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1989), pp. 208-9.

Generally, any proposal to create a hazardous waste facility will be greeted with intense community opposition. While the Hawkins Point landfill in Maryland only operated for a year, it is considered a success in that it was built at all.

In the Hawkins Point case, the target site was already in use as a hazardous landfill. The surrounding area was largely industrial, and was slated for further industrial development. The nearest community consisted of twenty-two homes and a church. After two years of community negotiations over construction clean-up, assessment of existing hazards, royalty payments to the community and employment opportunities, the state eventually decided to "buy out" and relocate the community. Relocation would cost roughly $3 million. Environmental groups agreed to the development in exchange for agreements to clean up the previously existing sites.