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County considers buying Death Valley area dumps |
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Tuesday, 08 December 2009 |
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By Mike Gervais
Register Staff
12-8-2009 Inyo County is faced with the difficult decision of either shutting down or purchasing the almost unused Tecopa and Shoshone landfills.
The problem the county is facing is the price tag that is included on both options, and, believe it or not, closing the landfills would be much more pricey than purchasing the property from the Bureau of Land Management.
According to Scott Eckman, P.E., director of Vector Engineering, a contractor hired by the county to assess the landfill issue, it would cost the county approximately $1 million to close the landfills, but only about $200,000 to purchase the properties and continue using them on a limited basis.
The county is being forced into this decision by the BLM, which is “trying to get out of the landfill business” by refusing to renew leases on property used as a landfill.
According to Eckman, the price to close the landfill is so staggering because the county will be required to construct a cover system to prevent debris at the landfill from blowing beyond the boundaries of the property. To build the cover system, the county would have to pay Vector or another engineering company for the designs.
The county would also be required to do erosion control in case of heavy rains, and would be required to build security fencing around the properties.
There are also ongoing environmental assessments the county would be responsible for for several years.
The process of closing the landfills would take about two years.
Whatever the county decides, it is required to notify the BLM by the end of the year, giving the Board of Supervisors three meetings to make its decision.
The BLM has promised to sell the landfill properties at $15 an acre. Eckman said the actual purchase of the land would cost about $1,000, but a five-year permit review process, patent (purchase) application, environmental site assessments and monitoring costs would bring the total up to about $2,000.
“Patenting the landfill sites will result in county ownership, which will allow the county flexibility to consider other uses,” Eckman said. “And when you patent these sites, you take on all liability.”
“These have been closed to the public for several years, and they’re just used by the road department, and they don’t use them very often,” Deputy County Administrator Chuck Hamilton said. “But some day we may want to open them again.”
Fourth District Supervisor Marty Fortney said he was in favor of keeping the landfills in county control, and added that, as long as the BLM is selling property at such a low cost, the county should consider purchasing a little additional land.
Second District Supervisor Susan Cash said that the county can reduce liability costs by purchasing additional land as a “buffer zone” around the landfills.
That idea was widely accepted.
The board agreed to postpone voting on the landfill issue for now. The board wanted to know if the BLM would share liability on the sites if the county decides to close them. The board also wanted to see pictures of the sites before moving forward.
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Last Updated ( Thursday, 07 January 2010 )
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