Two meetings have been scheduled in mid-October to discuss solid waste issues in Nebraska and seek public input as the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality (NDEQ) develops a report to present to the Nebraska Legislature. Meetings will be held Oct. 17 in Bridgeport and Oct. 19 in Lincoln.

LB1101, passed in the 2016 legislative session, directs NDEQ to prepare a study to examine the solid waste management programs implemented by the Department.

“We want to make sure our solid waste management programs are designed and operated in a way that best meets Nebraskans’ needs,” said NDEQ Director Jim Macy. “Seeking public input is an important component of this review process.”

At the meetings, an overview of work completed to date on the study will be presented by Engineering Solutions and Design, Inc., which is the consultant NDEQ has contracted with to assist the agency in development of the study. This will be followed by an open discussion session where the consultant will seek comments from the public and respond to questions.

The specific times and locations of the meetings are:

Oct. 17 – 6:00 p.m. at the Prairie Winds Community Center, 428 Main Street, Bridgeport
Oct. 19 – 6:00 p.m. at the Lancaster Event Center, 4100 N. 84th St., Lincoln.

The purpose of the study is to examine the need to modernize and potentially revise the state’s solid waste management programs. For more information about the study, the advisory committee, and documents that have been developed related to this study, visit the LB1101 Solid Waste Management Study web page at /forms/publications-grants-forms/was072. NDEQ has also created a site where comments can be submitted electronically, at https://ecmp.nebraska.gov/DEQ-SWMS/.