20080410 CCDPW Statement for the Record at Public Hearing

Carroll County department of public works “Statement for the Record at Public Hearing, April 10, 2008”

The following is the statement read into the record by the Carroll County department of public works at the public hearing held by the Carroll Count board of commissioners, 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. in Room 003 of the County Office Building. At that time Carroll County residents were invited to attend and offer their views as they relate to Frederick County’s invitation for Carroll to become a partner in a waste to energy facility.

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Commissioners; on February 26, 2008 the Frederick County Board of Commissioners voted 4-1 to invite you to join them in a joint ownership project to construct a waste-To-energy (WTE) facility in Frederick County.

In 2006, the Carroll County Commissioners passed Resolution 658-06. That resolution gave direction to the Department of Public Works to explore many areas in search of a solid waste management strategy. One of the elements of the resolution was direction to work with the Northeast Maryland Waste Disposal Authority to gather information about WTE and examine all aspects of WTE including cost, benefits and risks. The resolution also required us to explore partnership options with nearby jurisdictions.

There has been a robust dialogue about reuse and recycling as much of our waste as possible. We are redoubling our efforts in the area of recycling and are happy to report that single stream recycling is having some measurable impact. In FY 2006, before single-stream went into effect, the residential rate was 22.7%. Today, the rate is 25.4% per household. This is an increase of 12%. At the same time the great public discussion that has happened over the past year between the Environmental Advisory Council, Department of Public Works, and the press has helped make people more aware of the importance of recycling.

You have indicated a willingness to expand our staff so that we can focus one person exclusively on the reuse/recycling issue. I hope the person we select will be a pleasant blend between a persuasive and passionate speaker, and a skilled technician with detailed knowledge of the dynamic markets that exist in the recycling world.

Recycling and reuse takes care of part of the problem, but there is still garbage. By accepting the Frederick County offer we will be able to ensure a safe and reliable method of disposing of garbage for generations, while using it as fuel to generate much needed electricity. Both the Times and the Eagle did polls, asking their readers if you should accept the Frederick offer. The Times had over 500 responses, with over 70% saying yes. The results in the Eagle were similar.

Commissioners; you have a statutory responsibility to provide a safe and sanitary means of disposal for all of the county’s waste. I feel that building more landfills or transferring our waste out of State is both economically unsustainable and a moral affront to the environment. Much of the European Union is moving toward banning all organic material from landfills. That is not a bad policy.

This is a legacy decision on your part. If you choose not to join Frederick, I think Carroll County will be quickly replaced by another county. We all have the same problem. In every case we studied, communities with WTE facilities have robust recycling programs. Why should we pay to destroy material that someone else will buy from us for recycling? There is a rational nexus.

If you approve the joint venture concept, we will go about the process of soliciting Best and Final Offers from the two firms who are the finalists in the procurement process. Simultaneously, we will work out the details of a draft Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for the approval of both Boards of Commissioners and the Authority. Each of our roles will be defined and procedures will be established to ensure an amicable working relationship over a long period of time. This process will take about 4 months. At the end, you will be asked to sign the contract and MOU. If you sign at that time, we are committed for the whole project baring failure of some sort on the part of the contractor or failure of the Authority to secure satisfactory financing. That point should occur about July, 2009, with construction starting about May, 2010, and operation commencing about July, 2013.