ST. ANTHONY - Fremont County is working in two directions to fulfill its obligation to dispose of solid waste within the county.
On one front, Commissioner Lee Miller is serving on the multicounty Eastern Idaho Regional Solid Waste District that's working to get a garbage-incinerator energy plant built in Clark County.
On the other, County Public Works Director Marla Vik is starting the lengthy process to get the St. Anthony Landfill closed.
Miller said Monday the Solid Waste Board signed an agreement last week that will give Dynamis Technology the contract to build and own the $56 million plant, with the board retaining jurisdiction over operations.
Bonneville, Madison, Clark and Fremont comprise the district, with Bonneville contributing the largest waste stream to the plant.
The board had debated whether to own the plant or have Dynamis own it.
Earlier this summer the district won judicial confirmation to sell bonds to pay for it.
Dynamis will charge a $28 per ton tipping fee to process the garbage, with the county's estimated net cost at $18 per ton. The company also has agreed to build a transfer station in St. Anthony, where garbage will be processed for hauling to the Dubois plant. The county would pay the company back through revenue received through the sale of power to Rocky Mountain Power.
Miller said some permits still must be secured, and a delegation plans to meet soon with the governor's office to try to speed up the process. According to Miller, Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter has been a strong supporter for the project, which will bring an estimated 35 jobs to the tiny county, as well as companies that are looking to use byproducts of the process, such as ash for concrete.
Fremont County estimates it will send about 6,000 tons of trash a year to the plant, where two sets of four burners that will incinerate about 330 tons of household garbage, tires and other inflammables a day to produce steam that will generate up to 15 megawatts of power, enough electricity to power about 650 average homes and light 10,000 100-watt light bulbs.
Closing the St. Anthony Landfill
The construction of the plant comes at a particularly opportune time for Fremont County, where leachate problems have led to a decision to close the landfill rather than try to open another very expensive cell while continuing to deal with the potentially contaminated leachate.
County Public Works Supervisor Marla Vik says the water from a heavy snowfall and spring rains were "a horrible thing for the landfill" in St. Anthony. (The county also operates a landfill in Island Park).
Four small ponds and a trench are being used to collect the leachate, a liquid solution that has leached from the solid waste and may contain contaminants harmful to the groundwater.
"We will start the process to close the landfill," she says. "Initially we will transfer trash to Madison County until Dubois is ready."
"The landfill in St. Anthony is going out of business," Commission Chairman Skip Hurt says.
As it does, it's likely garbage fees will be going up in the county, at least initially.
Miller says the county already generates between $80,000 to $100,000 annually in recycling revenue. As the methods of disposing of trash change, he sees an opportunity for educating the public on the need to recycle more. "The more we recycle, the less we will pay in the future."
© 2011 Rexburg Standard Journal. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
No comments:
Post a Comment