George J. Smith may be one of the few corporate environmental managers in Orange County who can look ahead to next year with equanimity. His company, an Anaheim-based computer circuit board manufacturer called Aeroscientific, has a state-of-the-art waste treatment system, and top management made a strong commitment to environmental protection several years ago.
The wave of new rules on air and water pollution, hazardous waste disposal, garbage recycling and other environmental issues that will be implemented during the year ahead therefore shouldn't cause any severe disruptions for Smith and his firm. But the same cannot be said for many other Orange County businesses.
1990, in fact, could go down as the year that Southland companies really changed the way they think about environmental protection. The regulations that come into effect in 1990, combined with the establishment of specific targets for even more stringent pollution-reduction measures that will kick in later in the decade, will make it painfully clear that Band-Aid solutions are no longer a practical option.
"Band-Aids have heavy operations and maintenance costs," noted Douglas K. Garfield, an associate in the Orange County office of Dames & Moore, a large construction and engineering company that is experiencing huge growth in its environmental consulting business. "You can say, 'What do I need to do to respond to these specific requirements?' Or you can step back and start to look at everything, all your processes, in light of what is likely to occur."
Regulatory Vise
Clearly, what is likely to occur over the course of the next decade is a steady tightening of the regulatory vise which will severely limit the use of many common industrial chemicals and require substantial new capital investments in pollution control for companies ranging from large aerospace concerns to the neighborhood auto body shop.
And what is a certain to occur in 1990 is a series of local, state, and federal regulations which will:
* Bar the disposal of untreated hazardous wastes on land.
* Require companies to catalogue emissions into the air of even small amounts of toxic chemicals, and then, in conjunction with regulatory agencies, assess the risk they pose.
* Limit the ability of companies to install facilities which contribute to air pollution without first reducing pollution at existing facilities.
