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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda - 01-26-2012 - 1ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT Meeting Date: January 26, 2012 1 Action Agenda Item No. _~_ SUBJECT: Municipal Solid Waste Closure Decision and Update DEPARTMENT: Solid Waste Management PUBLIC HEARING: (Y/N) No ATTACHMENT(S): INFORMATION CONTACT: Frank Clifton, County Manager, 245- 2306 Michael Talbert, Asst. County Manager, 245-2308 Gayle Wilson, Director, Solid Waste Management, 968-2885 PURPOSE: To provide an update on the closure and post-closure of the Orange County Municipal Solid Waste Landfill, landfill utilization by local governments, and updates on transition to single stream recycling and solid waste convenience center improvements/modernization. BACKGROUND: The Board of Commissioners (BOCC) has previously stated, subsequent to the unsuccessful search for a Transfer Station site, that following the closure of the MSW landfill Orange County would deliver its waste to the City of Durham Transfer Station for an interim period until a more permanent waste management solution is established. Discussions with the City of Durham have indicated a willingness of Durham to receive wastes delivered from Orange County, although no written agreement is currently in place. Landfill Closure Staff has presented the BOCC with options for the timing of the closure of the landfill that ranged from closure according to its current permit capacity that would indicate a closure sometime in late 2013. With a minor permit amendment disposal capacity could be extended to mid- 2017 and to mid- 2018 with a major permit amendment (based on recent incoming tonnages). These types of landfill permit amendments are generally considered routine from a regulatory perspective. On October 4, 2011 the Board instructed the staff not to seek an extension past the projected useful life of the landfill, which is anticipated in the spring of 2013, and inform the municipalities that the County intends to close the landfill no later than June 30, 2013. The suggested timetable for closure: • Final BOCC Closure Decision • Development of construction documents, contractor bidding and award process and execution of closure construction contract/notice to proceed - 245 days • Mobilization - 84 days 2 • Landfill Closes (June 30, 2013?) • Construction - 182 days (regulations require closure construction to be completed within 6 months from last day of receiving waste) Engineering estimates indicate a Municipal Solid Waste Landfill closure cost of about $3,116,720. A minimum 30-year post-closure period would result in post-closure monitoring, maintenance and reporting cost of about $4,824,555. Additional closure and post-closure cost for the Construction & Demolition (C&D) Landfill is estimated at about $4,025,326, for a total closure and post-closure estimate of $11,966,601. As of June 30, 2011 the total liabilities of solid waste fund was $16,999,996, including capital lease and debt obligations, post- employment health care obligations, and compensated absences. As of June 30, 2011 total Solid Waste Fund cash reserves are $12,941,892. The Solid Waste enterprise fund, without considering the sale of any assets, is about $4,058,104 short of meeting all long-term liabilities. Landfill Utilization by Towns & County - FY 2010/11 The proportional use of the landfill (tons of municipal solid waste) by the Towns and County are as follows: Carrboro - 6,650 19 Chapel Hill - 15,008 42 Hillsborough - 3,185 9 County - 10,497 30 Total 35,340 Single Stream Rec~/clina County and Town elected officials have for several years expressed interest in moving to single stream recycling collection. The Solid Waste Planning Work Group, the Solid Waste Advisory Board and various individual county residents have also advocated this change. Consistent with the adopted Fiscal 2011/12 Solid Waste Budget, Orange County recycling programs are now planned to transition to single stream recycling by July 2012. This change will be implemented for all county recycling programs -Rural Curbside, Urban Curbside, Solid Waste Convenience Centers, Multi-family, Commercial, Schools, etc. Single stream recycling is the practice of comingling all recyclable materials (paper and containers) together for collection rather than separating containers from paper (normally referred to as dual stream). There may be some slight variations among programs as discussed in the attached memorandum to the County Manager. An example of the efficiencies gained by the switch to single stream is best illustrated by the expected reduction in contract cost in the Urban Curbside program. The current cost to the County for this collection is $4.17 per household per month resulting in a Fiscal Year 2011-12 budget of $931,395 for this service. Once the landfill switches to single stream collection, the costs is expected to be between $3.00 and $3.75 per household per month. Using the current population, if the cost is as high as $3.75 per household per month, the contract cost could be as low as $823,500 per year. Roll carts may be incorporated into the collection cost or bid separately, depending on which is most economical. It is anticipated that roll-carts will be utilized for the Urban Curbside Program (contracted service) and that the Rural Curbside Program (county staff provided service) will continue to utilize 18-gallon bins, at least for the near term. It is currently understood from resident comments that portions of the Rural Program may not be suitable for roll-carts and staff will, over the next year or two, assess areas where roll-carts can be reasonably used with the expectation that eventually roll-carts can be provided for certain select rural areas. The Town of Chapel Hill is currently evaluating solid waste alternatives for all facets of solid waste management within the Town. Therefore, it is questionable as to whether Orange County should commit to acquisition for recycling roll carts for distribution within the Town at this time. Orange County will need a formal commitment from all of the Towns prior to making the investment in roll-carts and executing an agreement with a contract service .provider that includes the Town. The existing urban curbside collection agreement expires June 30, 2012. Solid Waste Convenience Centers (SWCC) Based on recommendations from the Solid Waste Planning Work Group, consisting of representatives from the Towns and County and the Solid Waste Advisory Board, the BOCC has decided to begin implementation of the first convenience center in a longer term objective for upgrading and modernizing all five county convenience centers. The Walnut Grove Road Solid Waste Convenience Center site design and construction bidding is currently underway. Staff expects to return for a construction bid award in March, 2012 with completion of construction in July, 2012. Other sites will be considered for upgrades through the annual budget process, with the potential for one center to be modernized each year. The Work Group recommended aDistrict/Neighborhood Center approach with District Centers more centrally located having expanded hours of operation and more services. Neighborhood Centers would have somewhat reduced hours of operation and reduced services available. Walnut Grove Church Road and Eubanks Road were recommended as District Centers. Convenience centers received 457,632 total visits in 2010/11 and are considered a core county service. Improvements include: • increasing hauling and waste handling efficiencies by using compaction and larger containers preparing for landfill closure as SWCC's will be the primary waste infrastructure in the County • facilitating enhanced services such as adding new materials for recycling and expanding salvage opportunities • addressing current site issues such as improving traffic flow, reducing container loading height, paving to enable better cleanup of spills/reducing dust reducing maintenance, reducing noise and odor, etc. • reducing labor and collection costs • improving safety FINANCIAL IMPACT: Decisions with regard to the landfill closure will have considerable financial impacts which include funding of closure and post-closure, the additional costs related to the delivery of local waste to the Durham Transfer Station (or other disposal destination) and for significantly reduced future enterprise fund tipping fee revenue. There is an unknown financial impact if the Towns choose to contract separately for their own recycling services. 4 RECOMMENDATION(S): The Manager recommends that the Board, along with the elected Boards of the Towns of Carrboro, Chapel Hill and Hillsborough, discuss the various issues related to local solid waste management, including landfill closure in 2013, decisions regarding utilization of alternative disposal facilities and the transition to single stream recycling.