The Mendocino County Board of Supervisors signaled unanimous support Tuesday for an ordinance that would ban one-use plastic bags from area stores.
"It appears we have a consensus," said Supervisor John McCowen.
The board is scheduled to vote on the ordinance April 24 following certification of a final environmental impact report on the plan. The cities of Ukiah and Fort Bragg also will be voting next month on similar ordinances to ban plastic bags.
The supervisors made their intentions known during a public hearing on a draft environmental impact report, which found there are no drawbacks to banning the ubiquitous plastic bags. The report noted the bags are littering the world and its waterways and creating hazards for wildlife.
The impact report was drafted to avoid a lawsuit by the plastic bag industry. An industry group is suing San Francisco, in part for its failure to conduct an environmental impact report. Among other things, the industry claims it takes more energy to produce paper bags than plastic bags. Mendocino County's proposed ordinance seeks to overcome that argument by requiring stores to charge 10 cents per paper bag, a move expected to nudge consumers to opt for reusable bags.
If the county and cities adopt the ordinances, as expected, they could go into effect as early as November.
In Sonoma County, officials are scheduling public meetings to get input for a possible countywide ban on plastic bags.
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