Inside Iowa State: Iowa State University

March 10, 2004

Materials surcharge would be temporary

by Linda Charles
Iowa State needs a new facility to dispose of its regulated materials or it could face huge fines, Warren Madden told the Faculty Senate March 9.

Madden, vice president for business and finance, said a proposed 3 percent surcharge on regulated materials would help build a new campus waste handling facility. The current facility was built prior to several changes in environmental standards and no longer can handle the amount of regulated materials used in research and non-research activities on campus.

Fines up to $1 million
Fines of up to $1 million have been imposed on institutions that have failed to meet disposal regulations, Madden noted.

A proposal unveiled at the first of the year would add a 3 percent surcharge to the purchase of regulated materials such as chemicals, radioactive materials, biohazardous agents and toxins used in research. The surcharge also would be added to such things as art supplies, batteries, electronic equipment, computer hardware, laboratory equipment and supplies, medical supplies and petroleum products.

The Board of Regents, State of Iowa, has approved the new waste disposal facility, which will be built near the Administrative Services Building on the north side of campus. Madden said the location was chosen it's accessible to trucks, and is part of the "core" campus. Were the facility to be located off campus, additional regulations would apply to the university.

The projected cost of the new facility is $10 million. Central funding would provide $4 million, with the remaining $6 million financed with a bond issue. The surcharge would be used to pay off the bond. Madden predicted that would take 10 to 15 years.

No surcharge after building funded
"Once the building is paid for, the surcharge will be eliminated," Madden said.

The list of regulated materials affected by the surcharge could change, Madden said, based on the input his office has gathered since the proposal was released. He said it might be possible to work out a way to help areas that are extremely hard hit by the surcharge.

Madden agreed some of the funds (about $80,000) to pay off the bond could come from indirect costs covered by research grants. But he noted that most of the regulated materials used on campus are not covered by the grants. "Only about 10 percent of the materials are charged to research grants," he said.

Madden will make recommendations on the surcharge to President Gregory Geoffroy in early April. If Geoffroy accepts the recommendations, a surcharge could go into effect on July 1, Madden said.

The next senate meeting will begin at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 30, at the Hotel at Gateway Center.