It is a good thing that the state of Oregon regulates and inspects restaurants. I think that the public is entitled to know about all inspection results.

Today I wrote testimony to present at the April 10 City Council meeting in support of the West Eugene Public Health Overlay Zone, proposed by Beyond Toxics. To buttress my arguments, I decided to Google “Toxic waste statistics for Eugene, OR.” There were no statistics. I Googled “Toxic waste statistics for Lane County, OR.” No statistics.

Eventually I visited the DEQ site, which, to say the least, is user-unfriendly. I am still left wondering: Does nobody track the amounts of toxic materials used in Eugene? Where used? Where disposed of and how? Are violations reported in a timely manner and available to the public? 

This lack of transparency is just one of the reasons that the Overlay Zone is needed, not just in West Eugene but for the whole city.

Jere C. Rosemeyer

Eugene