When the Orange County landfill closes in 2011 the 80000 tons of garbage produced locally each year will all roll through a building in the southwestern part of the county.
That building will sit on one of three sites Orange County commissioners named Tuesday in the latest development of an almost yearlong search for a new waste transfer station.
All three remaining sites lie on a mile-long stretch of N.C. 54 near Orange Grove Road.
The seven other potential sites from the commissioners' list of 10 have been removed from consideration including a location in the Rogers-Eubanks community — home to the landfill for the past 36 years.
A strong reaction from that neighborhood led commissioners to scrap plans last November to build the transfer station on Eubanks Road.
The board then hired a consulting group Olver Inc. to perform the reopened search for a suitable site.
The transfer station will serve as a collection point for trash before it is shipped out to an out-of-county landfill.
Commissioners informed their site choice with two rankings of the 10 potential sites.
One was based on the site's impact on surrounding communities" including criteria such as proximity to schools and environmental justice.
The other focused on criteria that include technical concerns such as access to major transportation routes.
Only the three selected sites ranked in the top six of both lists.
Chairman Barry Jacobs said the next step is to gather public input in the coming months.
""This is not the end of the public comment process"" he said. This is just the beginning.""
Commissioners said they plan on holding at least one public information session in November before a final decision" scheduled for Nov. 18.
Although Jacobs said the date for a final decision is tentative Commissioner Alice Gordon said she wanted to act soon" before the new board of commissioners takes over and the landfill reaches capacity.
""What will happen if the landfill fills up and we don't have a transfer station sited?"" she said.
""Then the trash will just pile up.""
Forty-five people signed up to address the board at Tuesday's meeting"" although time for public comment only allowed for six.
Tuesday's meeting was the seventh work session in a drawn-out siting process that has routinely attracted more people than the meeting room can legally hold.
Several residents and officials said they are glad the project has taken a substantial step forward.
Assistant County Manager Gwen Harvey found Olver President Bob Sallach after the meeting.
""Congratulations"" she said. You just had triplets.""
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Three waste sites remain
