After losing the first and second rounds in the fight against the crematory, Snellville City Council member Kelly Kautz has introduced a proposed ordinance to prevent businesses such as hospitals and crematories —- one crematory in particular —- from polluting the air. The ordinance would place specific limits on mercury and dioxin/furan emissions for any incinerator of bodies, body parts or infectious wastes.
The proposed ordinance was modeled after a Pennsylvania ordinance, which was modeled after the Clean Air Act.
While the proposed ordinance excludes pre-existing facilities, but would prevent any air-polluting facilities within 300 yards of residential properties in Snellville and require businesses to self-monitor their emissions and report them to the city.
The proposal already faces opposition from within the City Council with Mayor Jerry Oberholtzer objecting to its introduction and first reading:
“The basis of the whole ordinance scares me because the person who wrote it has no experience in environmental law. She’s a trial lawyer,” Oberholtzer said. “What I understand is that she cut and pasted different ordinances together,” he added.
The proposal will be voted on at the October 13 meeting of the City Council at 7:30 p.m. in the City Council Room of Snellville City Hall.
