[Pharmwaste] RE: Alameda County ordinance upheld by federal appeal court

[Heidi Sanborn]

I think its time for other local governments and states to start introducing similar legislation so Alameda is not carrying the fight for every local government in the country.  I would encourage everyone to let your local governments know that the more "fires" we start around the country on  possible local actions the faster we will get pharma to stop fighting and start working with us.  We drafted the fact sheet attached to provide support if local governments are considering adoption of a similar ordinance.

Heidi

From: pharmwaste-bounces at lists.dep.state.fl.us [mailto:pharmwaste-bounces at lists.dep.state.fl.us] On Behalf Of Jim Mullowney
Sent: Wednesday, October 01, 2014 12:39 PM
To: 'Seery, Scott, Env. Health'; 'Tenace, Laurie'; pharmwaste at lists.dep.state.fl.us
Subject: RE: [Pharmwaste] RE: Alameda County ordinance upheld by federal appeal court

I think it is time to add the collection of human waste containing Cytotoxic Chemotherapy drugs to the program..
Check out www.cytotoxicsafety.org<http://www.cytotoxicsafety.org> to set up a program.

Jim M.

From: pharmwaste-bounces at lists.dep.state.fl.us<mailto:pharmwaste-bounces at lists.dep.state.fl.us> [mailto:pharmwaste-bounces at lists.dep.state.fl.us] On Behalf Of Seery, Scott, Env. Health
Sent: Wednesday, October 01, 2014 3:25 PM
To: 'Tenace, Laurie'; 'pharmwaste at lists.dep.state.fl.us'
Subject: [Pharmwaste] RE: Alameda County ordinance upheld by federal appeal court

Yes, we think it's pretty awesome over here.  :)

From: pharmwaste-bounces at lists.dep.state.fl.us<mailto:pharmwaste-bounces at lists.dep.state.fl.us> [mailto:pharmwaste-bounces at lists.dep.state.fl.us] On Behalf Of Tenace, Laurie
Sent: Wednesday, October 01, 2014 12:05 PM
To: 'pharmwaste at lists.dep.state.fl.us'
Subject: [Pharmwaste] Alameda County ordinance upheld by federal appeal court
Importance: High

Please note that this email originated with Catherine Zimmer, not me. I am forwarding it for her. Always let me know if you have problems posting to the list serve.
Laurie


From: Catherine Zimmer [mailto:zenllc at usfamily.net]
Sent: Wednesday, October 01, 2014 8:53 AM
To: pharmwaste at lists.dep.state.fl.us<mailto:pharmwaste at lists.dep.state.fl.us>
Subject: FW: Alameda County Drug ordinance upheld by federal appeal court!!! WooHoo!!!
Importance: High

This opens the door for EPR in all the states.  Along with the new rules for CS management not only will the burden be shifted from the public-although management of the waste should have oversight, maybe we will also see some source reduction.

Very truly yours,

Catherine Zimmer, MS, BSMT
Zimmer Environmental Improvement, LLC
St. Paul, MN
Ph:  651.645.7509
zenllc at usfamily.net<mailto:zenllc at usfamily.net>

From: cpsc-pharmaceuticals-listserv at googlegroups.com<mailto:cpsc-pharmaceuticals-listserv at googlegroups.com> [mailto:cpsc-pharmaceuticals-listserv at googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Heidi Sanborn
Sent: Tuesday, September 30, 2014 4:41 PM
To: CPSC Pharmaceutical Listserv (cpsc-pharmaceuticals-listserv at googlegroups.com<mailto:cpsc-pharmaceuticals-listserv at googlegroups.com>)
Subject: FW: Alameda County Drug ordinance upheld by federal appeal court!!! WooHoo!!!
Importance: High


A federal appeals court rejected a challenge Tuesday by the pharmaceutical industry to an Alameda County ordinance, the first in the nation to require drug manufacturers to pay disposal costs for consumers' unused medications.



Drug companies, backed by trade associations and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, argued that the 2012 ordinance illegally shifts local costs to out-of-state producers and interferes with interstate commerce. But the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco said the county's measure treats all manufacturers equally and imposes no substantial burden on interstate businesses.



The ordinance "applies to all manufacturers that make their drugs available in Alameda County - without respect to the geographic location of the manufacturer," Judge N. Randy Smith said in the 3-0 ruling, which upheld a federal judge's decision in the county's favor. "Given that the ordinance applies across the board, it does not discriminate at all," nor does it regulate conduct outside the county, he said.



Smith also noted that pharmaceutical companies collect $950 million a year in sales revenue in Alameda County and could comply with the ordinance at an annual cost of $1.2 million, by the comnpanies' estimate, or $330,000 by the county's estimate. The companies could recoup their costs by raising prices in Alameda County by one cent for each $10 in sales, said Arthur Shartsis, a lawyer for the county.





The court's affirmance of local regulation was crucial, Shartsis said, because "the pharmaceutical industry has the lobbying power to stop these kinds of programs at the state level. It does not have the power to stop them at the county level."



Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, which sued to overturn the ordinance, was not immediately available for comment. The organization could ask the U.S. Supreme Court to review the ruling.



The ordinance was approved by county supervisors in July 2012 and is still in the process of being implemented. It requires makers of prescription drugs sold in the county to fund a program that picks up and disposes of leftover drugs.



Alameda County now operates and pays for about 30 drop-off sites where consumers can discard their pills. County officials who backed the ordinance said drug companies should bear the cost of cleaning up their products for the sake of the environment and their customers' health. The Natural Resources Defense Council, city and county governments and Attorney General Kamala Harris filed arguments asking the court to uphold the ordinance.



Bob Egelko is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail: begelko at sfchronicle.com<mailto:begelko at sfchronicle.com>. Twitter: @egelko



For the ruling:



UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT - PHARMACEUTICAL RESEARCH & MANU V. COUNTY OF ALAMEDA Opinion



http://cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2014/09/30/13-16833.pdf




Bill Pollock
Program Manager
Alameda County Household Hazardous Waste program
1131 Harbor Bay Parkway M/S51701  (mailing address only)
Alameda, CA 94502
510-670-6460  Fax 510-293-9374

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