Stanislaus County could reduce landfill fees for cities
Stanislaus County and its smaller cities will remain partners in garbage disposal and recycling programs for 10 more years if county leaders sign a new agreement Tuesday.
Supervisors could approve a regional pact that lowers the fees charged to cities for sending their garbage to Fink Road Landfill and the waste burner near Interstate 5 in the western part of the county.
The cheaper cost for cities to send their trash to out-of-county landfills had threatened to unravel the partnership established in 1994. The new deal reduces the Fink landfill fee from $33 to $26 per ton and lowers the costs for cities to send trash to the waste-to-energy plant.
The waste-burner tipping fee of close to $40 a ton was a big reason cities had looked for cheaper alternatives. Turlock decided in July 2013 to send its waste to a Merced County dump, and other cities have considered whether they could meet the state’s waste-diversion mandates without the county’s help.
The county will spread $2.3 million in reserves over 10 years to discount the waste-burner rates for the cities including Turlock, Ceres, Hughson, Oakdale, Riverbank, Patterson, Newman and Waterford.
In exchange, the cities will send a guaranteed amount of garbage to the landfill and waste burner. The cities are free to use out-of-county landfills for waste above the guaranteed amount, said Jami Aggers, environmental resources director for the county.
Modesto, which has its own agreement with the county, can receive the same landfill fee reduction if it negotiates a deal with the county.
A report for Tuesday’s Board of Supervisors meeting says the increased flow of garbage will allow the county to discount the landfill fee and be competitive with facilities in other counties.
The city councils have approved the 10-year agreement.
By directing garbage to the waste burner, the cities receive a 10 percent credit toward a state mandate to cut their landfill wastes in half. They also receive county assistance for household hazardous wastes and recycling programs.
The tipping fees fund the solid waste facilities and programs in Stanislaus County and also pay for environmental cleanup of the former Geer Road Landfill.
Turlock’s decision to send its trash to Merced County soon led to negotiations with Stanislaus officials, and when those talks reached a stalemate, the county served notice it would cancel an agreement with Turlock for Assembly Bill 939 waste reduction and recycling services.
Turlock and the county continued to negotiate. The county also needed to include the seven other cities in a new agreement.
The new deal with the county could push garbage rates slightly higher for Turlock customers. The monthly cost could gradually increase from $25.10 to $28.21 by 2019.
Ken Carlson: (209) 578-2321
IF YOU GO
The Board of Supervisors will meet at 9 a.m. Tuesday in the basement chamber of Tenth Street Place, 1010 Tenth St., Modesto. The following items are on the agenda:
▪ Approve distribution of $627,500 in excess proceeds from Feb. 26, 2014, sale of tax-defaulted properties.
▪ Set public hearing for 9 a.m. June 2 to consider adjustment of medical indigent health program income limits.
▪ Approve commendations for outstanding senior citizens.
This story was originally published May 11, 2015 at 11:52 AM with the headline "Stanislaus County could reduce landfill fees for cities."