Orange County NC Website
4 <br />Attachment 2-a -Memo to BOCC from SWAB dated November 11, 2010 <br />b) Extended Landfill Life Cycle (Community Improvements Fund -Surcharge <br />Option) <br />Beginning in 1972 with the initial opening of the County landfill to the present, the expected life <br />of the landfill has evolved. There are numerous variables involved with these continually <br />changing capacity expectations and projections. Disposal volumes have varied over the past <br />40 years. Changes in regulations, changes in operational best management practices, <br />equipment and techniques, effectiveness of recycling and waste reduction programs, public <br />environmental knowledge and awareness, state and local bans, increasing tipping fees, <br />evolving regional disposal options, etc. have all contributed to extending the life of the facility. <br />There is also the difficulty with predicting the landfill biodegradation process at work that varies <br />due to the types of waste, moisture content, age of waste, compaction, etc. However, moving <br />forward, there are fewer opportunities to significantly extend the life of the facility as the above <br />variables will have a diminishing impact. <br />Upon hiring a new engineering consultant (HDR Engineering, Inc.) last summer, County staff <br />asked that the facility be given one last thorough evaluation to prepare for facility closure and to <br />determine if any final possibilities for obtaining further capacity might be identified, without <br />expansion of the facility footprint. HDR's evaluation is summarized in the attached <br />memorandum to the County Manager. This memorandum proposed three potential courses of <br />action with regard to landfill capacity and remaining life. In a March 2 memorandum County <br />Solid Waste staff recommended option two, which would extend landfill life to about January <br />2017. <br />In discussing the landfill closure options issue, the concept of instituting a tipping fee surcharge <br />with the intent of generating, over the remaining life of the facility, funds for landfill <br />neighborhood improvements may also be considered. Currently the FY 2011/12 projection of <br />municipal solid waste tonnage is 48,000 tons. This means that each dollar on the tipping fee <br />would generate about $48,000 annually. Staff advised during this discussion that the provision <br />of neighborhood benefits may be subject to legal constraints regarding the use of enterprise <br />fund monies. <br />Staff will provide any other information at the meeting, and the governing boards can discuss <br />issues related to this item as necessary. <br />Attachment 2-b -March 2, 2011 Memorandum to County Manager with: <br />• Advantages/Disadvantages Table <br />• 2/3/11 HDR Engineering Memorandum <br />c) Opportunities to Pursue along-Term Solution for Solid Waste <br />The Solid Waste Advisory Board included in its November 11, 2010 recommendation to the <br />Board of Commissioners an assertion that the organizational issues relating to the <br />reconsideration of the existing Interlocal Agreement and the notion of long term waste disposal <br />solutions were inextricably linked and should be considered and discussed together. The issue <br />