Oct 26, 2007 12:17 am US/Pacific
Letter From Assemblyman Huffman To Caltrans
(CBS 5)
Assemblyman Jared Huffman's (6th District) letter to Caltrans Director Will Kempton on illegal animal dumping by Caltrans employees.
October 24, 2007
Mr. Will Kempton
Director, California Department of Transportation
P.O. Box 948273
Sacramento, CA 94273-0001
Dear Director Kempton:
I am writing regarding the illegal dumping of road-kill and bets by employees of the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans.) In a series of investigative reports conducted by Channel 5 CBS (San Francisco, Oakland, San Jose) on September 27, October 1 and October 4, information was presented indicating that Caltrans employees had been disposing of dead animals near highways in Saratoga and San Mateo. Today, I was informed that new sites had been discovered in Monterey, Santa Rosa and Sausalito, which is the district I represent. According to newspaper reports, Caltrans acknowledges that road-kill dumping has occurred. This information is very disturbing and I would like to know what Caltrans is doing to remedy the situation. Specifically, I would like the following questions to be answered.
•Please identify the number and location of all sites that Caltrans employees use or have used to dump dead animals on California roads and highways.
•For each of the sites that you have identified, who authorized this improper dumping of dead animals.
•For each of the sites that you have identified, what is the current status of these sites and what is Caltrans doing to clean up these sites and prevent future animal dump sites from occurring?
•Why weren't dead animals found by Caltrans employees delivered to a rendering plant or in the case of pets, delivered to local animal shelters?
•Please identify all Caltrans regulations or policies pertaining to the disposal of dead animals found on California roads and highways. Do you believe that current regulations and policies are adequate? If not, what are you plans to update or supplement current regulations or guidelines to ensure that this practice stops and is never repeated again?
I have great respect for your leadership and the remarkable work that you have done to transform this agency and its culture in a positive way, however, these incidences clearly indicate that there is more work to be done. I am committed to working with you and Caltrans to identify and clean-up existing animal dump sites and prevent future sites from occurring.
Thank you for your consideration of my request.
Sincerely,
Jared Huffman
Assemblymember, 6th District
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