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EXHIBIT 7 <br />TECHNICAL. SITING CRITERIA <br />The second category of criteria to develop includes technical parameters that help define the best potential <br />facility sites. These criteria provide guidance on specific engineering, operation, and transportation <br />conditions that should be considered to ensure that potential sites are feasible from technical, <br />environmental, and economic perspectives. These criteria address the following issues: <br />^ Central location to collection routes - To maximize waste collection efficiency, transfer <br />stations should be located centrally to waste collection routes. As a rule of thumb in urban and <br />suburban areas, transfer stations should be no more than 10 miles away from the end of all <br />collection routes. Beyond that distance, collection routes might need to be altered to enable <br />refuse to be collected and deposited at the transfer station within one operating shift. <br />^ Access to major transportation routes -The transfer station should have direct and <br />convenient access to truck routes, major arterials, and highways (or rail or barge access, if <br />appropriate). For large metropolitan areas, direct access to rail lines or barges will significantly <br />reduce the number of large transfer trailers leaving the station and traveling area roads. It is <br />preferable to avoid routing traffic through residential areas because traffic generated by transfer <br />stations contributes to congestion; increased risk to pedestrians; increased air emissions, noise, <br />and wear on roads; and might contribute to litter problems. <br />^ Site size requirements -The area required for specific transfer stations varies significantly, <br />depending on the volume of waste to be transferred, rates at which waste will be delivered, the <br />functions to be carried out at the site, and the types of customers the facility is intended to serve. <br />Locating a site of sufficient size is critical to operating efficiencies and minimizing impacts on <br />the surrounding community. Engineering input can establish preliminary size criteria based on a <br />conceptual design. <br />^ Sufficient space for on-site roadways, queuing, and parking -Transfer stations typically have <br />on-site roadways to move vehicles around various parts of the transfer site. Waste collection trucks <br />can be up to 40 feet long. Transfer trailers that move waste to a disposal facility are typically 50 to <br />70 feet long. These vehicles need wide roadways with gradual slopes and curves to maneuver <br />efficiently and safely. Also, the site will need space for parking transfer vehicles and to allow <br />incoming and outgoing traffic to form Lines without backing up onto public roads. <br />^ Truck and traffic compatibility -Transfer stations often receive surges of traffic when <br />collection vehicles have finished their routes. Transfer station traffic varies locally but tends to <br />peak twice a day. The first peak is often near the middle of the day or shift, and the second at the <br />end of the day or shift. Therefore, the best sites for transfer stations are located away from areas <br />that have midday traffic peaks and/or school bus and pedestrian traffic. <br />~ Waste Transfer Station: A Manual for Decision-Making, EPA. <br />•~~ <br />~~~ <br />OLVER <br />1 <br />