Agenda - 01-20-1998 - 10a - Laserfiche WebLink

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z Orange County Board of Commissioners Page 2 October 16, 199"t I think the easiest way to understand the 1ega1 issues surrounding the recommended benefits is to "follow the money." What I mean by that is that the landfill enterprise can spend landfill enterprise money on those benefits which are related to and incident to the landfill operation. 'Dose that are not must be legally justified using some other public purpose. For that reason, it is immaterial whether implementation of the recommendations affects people who have lived with the Iartdfill for some period of time or have just become landfill neighbors oc will do so in the futrme. The extension of public water anti sewer w the community identified in the Report is the first recommendation that has significant legal implications. Using the "follow the money" approach, my thoughts on the wader and sewer recommendations follow. Extending a sever line oo the landfill for landfill operations, including kachate collection, is a legitimate expense of the landfill enmrprise and presents no legal problem. The same is lure, I think, of a water line extension to serve the landfill itself. Extending wader lines to those is the community who now receive their water Iron wells may be justified and as a landfill expense on the theory that the watac from the wells is contaminated or could become so. It seems to me that the community of homeowners or lot owners who could ttceive public water at the landfill enterprise expense world have to be determined based oa a reasonable set of criteria. This sec of criteria should, of necxssity, include some factaal basis, including inferences from fits known,. that the risk of well contarainaoion is more than imagined. In my opinion no other extension of public water or sewer can be done or paid for by the laadfiIl enterprise. This is so for more than one reason. However, it is enough to say that North Carolina General Stadrte ~ 153A-292, which provides for the imposition of fees for the use of a County collection and disposal facility, in subsection (b) limits the use of the fee imposed for the use of a disposal facility. 'The fee for use may not exceed the cost of operating the facr~ity».." Sincx the landfiIl enterpase cannot pay for the extension of public water and sewer beyond what is discussed above, public water and sewer extdrsions serving other pnrpoges must be justified undrr some other public purpose theory and paid for using some other source of funds. There are planning issues a:tsocias~ with the extension of public water and sewer recommended i>z the Report of the Landfill Owners GroupJLaadfill Neighbors Wodong Group. Gene Bell's WATER AND SEWER EXZENtSION INTO THE RURAL BUFFER memorandum addresses. most if not alI of those planning issues. I brow that those planning issues have not been resolved However, for purposes of discussing the legality of extending public water and sewer to the- Orange Regional Landfill communiry identified in the Report, I will assume that there will be an acceptable resolution of the planning issues. ' . Orange County, Chapel Ii'ti l and Carrboro all have the power to spend general fund revenue to provide public water and sewer w the citizens in their jurisdictions (municipal boundaries for the towns; outside of municipal boundaries for the Connry). Further, it is