JACKSON CONSIDERS PRIVATE TRASH HAULING, LANDFILL SALE

JACKSON -- The chairman of the Region 8 Solid Waste Management District Committee says the potential sale or lease of the Jackson landfill to a private contractor before April 9 may be discussed at the committee's next meeting. But the chairman, Gene Huckstep, said it's too early to say if the district might be interested in discussing the purchase or lease of the landfill for operation as a publicly-owned landfill.

The city of Jackson is already talking with two solid-waste collection contractors about the possibility of them providing solid-waste pickup for the city and taking over operation and upkeep of the city's 100-acre landfill off Highway 34 west of Jackson.

Both contractors, BFI Waste Systems of Marion, Ill., and Continental Waste Industries Inc. of Cape Girardeau, met with the Jackson Board of Aldermen Jan. 10. The met at the board's request and were invited to submit proposals.

Mayor Paul Sander said both contractors were supposed to submit formal proposals to the city on Friday so the board could discuss them with the contractors at its study session tonight.

Huckstep said he wasn't aware of the possible sale or lease of the landfill until a reporter informed him of it Friday.

The Region 8 Solid Waste Management District was created in early 1993 as part of the Missouri Omnibus Solid Waste Management Bill. The bill requires the committee and other regional solid-waste committees around the state to come up with a plan for district solid-waste management.

The Region 8 plan was adopted in December by the seven counties in the district: Bollinger, Cape Girardeau, Iron, Madison, Perry, St. Francois and Ste. Genevieve; plus the cities of Cape Girardeau, Jackson, Marble Hill, Arcadia, Ironton, Pilot Knob, Viburnum, Fredericktown, Perryville, Iron Mountain Lake, Bismark, Bonne Terre, Desloge, Farmington, Leadwood, the newly consolidated town of Park Hills in the Lead Belt, and Ste. Genevieve.

The plan was submitted to the DNR in December, and is now undergoing a 120-day review by that agency.

When the plan was developed, 82 percent of the membership voted to pursue construction of a publicly-owned and operated landfill with recycling recovery.

The city of Jackson faces an April 9 deadline to decide what it wants to do with its landfill. Sander said the options are:

-- Close it now, at a projected cost of $500,000.

-- Continue to operate it by making costly improvements to meet strict federal and state requirements.

-- Sell it to a private contractor or enter into a cooperative agreement for a private contractor to operate and maintain the landfill.

But what if the Region 8 District was interested in purchasing or leasing a landfill that's already in operation with all the necessary permits?

"I just can't say at this time," said Huckstep. "I'm planning to bring this (landfill) up at our meeting. Maybe after that we may have some answers. Of course, there is also the question of how would all of this fit in with Cape Girardeau's solid-waste management plans?"

Huckstep said the Region 8 members discussed having a publicly-owned landfill centrally located in the district, possibly in northeast Madison County, so it would be accessible to all of the member counties and municipalities.

"But this idea has never been set in stone, so that doesn't mean the Jackson landfill would not be suitable for us," Huckstep said. "Maybe after the committee meets, I'll be in a better position to answer these questions."

Sander said his major concern in resolving the landfill issue is to protect the citizens of Jackson from the high cost associated with closing it and trying to get the best deal possible for trash pickup service.

He said the city's priorities are to keep the cost of solid-waste collection as low as possible for the residents of Jackson, to obtain a commitment that the landfill will be operated for a long-term period, and that the city not be held responsible for the estimated $500,000 needed to close the landfill when it has reached its capacity.

Sander said: "The bottom line is we have a fully-permitted, 100-acre landfill, and have only used 15 acres so far. There are about 85 acres remaining for landfill use, with an option to purchase additional land to expand the landfill.

"It is a hot commodity to have that much permitted land available. It now takes months, sometimes years, to get a landfill permit. Now we find that we have a marketable commodity out there that we were not aware of."