6.6. SR 12-15-1997 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Elk River o Otsego · Ramsey ° Rogers · Zimmerman Elk RiVer, 'MN .... '""'" ' '"" ' 55330 · Vol. 122, NO, 48- 75¢ · Newsline 504-1528 · Internet address: http://www, ecm-inc.com · Dec. 10, 1997 Sherburne COunty may take ownership of garbage, tell haulers to go to RDF Plant by Don Heinzman sidy has been in the form of United Power Association allowed to truck trash to out. Editor Depending on what happens, Sherburne County could take ownership of the garbage in the county. If the county owned the auarbage it could tell the lers to take it to the refuse- derived fuel CRDF) processing center in Elk River. Sherburne has guaranteed it will provide 50 tens to the RDF plant each day. If that minimum is not met, the coun- ty could pay contract penal- ties. The county has for the last several years been subsidizing the tipping fees so they are at $41 a ton, hoping to keep local haulers going to the RDF plant in Elk River. That sub- $20 a year assessed to the property taxpayer. The subsi- dies amounted to $600,000 and the hope was it would be used to lower the fees of resi- dential owners. That has not happened, said county officials. The. Sherburne COunty Board has made it clear it will cut out that $20 subsidy, because some haulers' rates never went down and because people inthe county oppose it. Commissioners have directed Solid Waste. Officer David Lucas to negotiate long-term non-subsidized contracts with the county's garbage haulers to continue trucking trash to the Elk River plant. The garbage-is burned at the plant in Elk River to generate electricity. Commissioners also have told Lucas to start a county takeover ordinance under cur- rent public health statutes. Under that ordinance, the county would take control of the garbage in the county and bid trash collection to haulers on a contract basis. They would contract to take the trash to the RDF plant in Elk River. The county board will recon- sider intra-state designation at its Dec. 16 meeting. Haulers seeking better deals had been taking some of the trash to land£dls in Iowa. Recent federal court action said garbage haulers are of-state landfills. While that can still be done, the county unanimously has voted to consider reimple- meriting intrastate hauling rights. Under intrastate law, the county can dictate where garbage is taken within the state. If it implements intrastate hauling rights, haulers in the county would have a choice to either contract with Sherburne County or to haul the garbage to another state. The option of hauling to a com- petitive site within the state is removed Under intrastate des- ignation, Lucas said.