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ATTACHMENT 6 <br />ORANGE COUNTY <br />P.O. BOX 8181 <br />Office of the County 200 S. CAMERON STREET <br />Attorney HILLSBOROUGH, NC 27278 <br />To: Bernadette Pelissier, Chair <br />Steve Yuhasz, Vice Chair <br />Valerie Foushee <br />Alice M. Gordon <br />Pam Hemminger <br />Barry Jacobs <br />Earl McKee <br />CC: Frank Clifton, County Manager <br />From: John-Roberts <br />Date: September 20, 2011 <br />Re: Landfill Post-Closure Costs and Liability <br />Attached to this memorandum is a memo from me, Ralph Karpinos (Chapel Hill Attorney), and Mike <br />Brough (Carrboro Attorney). The memo is the product of a meeting we had to discuss post-closure <br />costs and liability for the Municipal Solid Waste ("MSW") landfill. The purpose of this cover <br />memorandum is to add information to assist in your decision-making going forward. <br />The Towns' attorneys are distributing the subject memo today. I believe they will include cover <br />memos which advise that the Towns' boards may want to take positions on 1) the- County's decision <br />not to construct atransfer -station, 2) the County's decision to contract with Durham to accept MSW <br />from Orange County and its municipalities, and 3) the issue of how long the landfill should remain <br />open. At this time I don't know whether they will include a recommendation for addressing closure <br />and post-closure costs and liability through an interlocal agreement. <br />My recommendation is that the Board of Commissioners begin pursuing with the Towns' governing <br />boards an interlocal agreement that addresses closure and post-closure costs and liability. Without <br />such an agreement Orange County will be solely responsible for both costs and liability. The Towns, <br />through tipping fees, will continue to contribute to the fund for closure .and post-closure costs and <br />liability. However, once the MSW landfill is closed that source of revenue will no longer be <br />available. For that reason, if no interlocal agreement can be reached, tipping fees will likely need to <br />be increased to the greatest extent possible for the remainder of the life of the MSW landfill. <br />There are other policy and political considerations related to this issue that I will leave to others to <br />discuss. Considering the uncertainty surrounding the date of closure of the MSW landfill and the <br />time involved in negotiating with the Towns, if the Board of Commissioners desires to have an <br />interlocal agreement that addresses closure and post-closure costs and liability the process should <br />begin immediately. <br />58 <br />