County board debates waste

The Orange County landfill is projected to reach capacity in June 2012" a year later than originally expected.

The extension will provide commissioners with more time to decide on the future of a proposed waste-transfer station — time many believe can only help the process.

""If we're actually going to be able to site and build the transfer station" we need all the time we can get" solid waste planner Blair Pollock said.

The county has been searching for a transfer station site for more than a year. The station will store trash before it's shipped out of the county.

A site in Bingham Township off N.C. 54 has emerged as the county's top choice from hundreds of possibilities.

Commissioners will receive follow-up information on the site search at their meeting tonight.

The board will also discuss possible contingency plans in case the county landfill is full, but a transfer station is not yet built.

Those options include reducing the quantity of incoming waste into the landfill and diverting all government and private garbage.

If the landfill gets full but the station isn't yet built, options include developing a temporary transfer operation in the Rogers-Eubanks community, home to the Orange County landfill for decades.

At this point, these are simply options commissioners will consider.

And the new deadline gives the county another option — finishing the transfer station before the landfill is full.

The most important issue regarding a contingency plan is not needing one"" Orange County solid waste management director Gayle Wilson said. Just the nature of it implies that it is a last resort or that it portends the avoidance of a crisis.""

Wilson said that while the transfer station still might not be built in time" the county will keep trying to use its space efficiently.

But with the new projections" it's more likely that the station could be built before the landfill fills.

The new deadline also gives community activists more time to make their case.

""We definitely need more time to make the right decision"" said Bonnie Hauser, member of activist group Orange County Voice.

Community groups are lobbying commissioners to re-examine the transfer station search process and look into alternative solutions, like using waste for energy.

Some feel rural Orange County should not have to handle trash generated mostly in the three main towns.

Orange County Voice says the county could save money by not building a station and letting contractors haul garbage.

The projected cost for building and operating the station is more than $54 million during 20 years.

County staff are still in conversations with Dennis Howell, the owner of the N.C. 54 site.

Howell is asking for $3 million though the 142.7-acre property has a market value of $820,000.

It is unknown at this time whether Howell will sell his property. Assistant County Manager Gwen Harvey said it is impossible to forecast what will happen.

It's one step at a time as it relates to this delicate negotiation.""

 

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