Landfill regulations under review due to unpaid fees

The city landfill has been working on making sure that they are in compliance with requirements from Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality. As a part of this venture, the city must be sure that those taking trash to the landfill are up to date paying landfill user fees.

As many are aware, the city recently increased the landfill rates. Upon the city's decision, the county also had to decide to increase their residents' landfill prices. However, to be sure that this was the best option for their residents the commissioners requested a meeting with Daniel Ortiz, Kimball City Administrator, back in March 2014 to discuss the reasons behind the increase.

"We met and gave them an overview of the operation and explained some of the requirements we have to follow and abide by that are dictated by the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality (NDEQ). We explained the expansions that were required for a new solid waste cell because our existing one was almost 90 percent full and we needed to build a new one in order to keep providing the landfill service," Ortiz said.

However, the landfill's improvements did not stop with a new solid waste cell. They also needed a construction and demolition cell. Along with the new cells, the landfill had to be prepared for the upkeep and eventual replacement of aged equipment. More manpower was also a necessity, given that the landfill needed to make sure they were in compliance with the regulations and practices provided by the NDEQ.

While the city met with the county, they realized that the agreement that they had was over 20 years old with the exception of the information concerning the landfill when it opened back in 2005. It was at that time that they noticed the need for an updated agreement.

"Some of the information dates back to 2005 when the landfill first opened and also some of the language being used is no longer relevant because of the age of the agreement. For example, there are changes with regulations and NDEQ that the agreement didn't cover and so we had to make the changes to it to include updated policies and current practices," Ortiz said.

During the review and revision of the contract the city found a part in which the city was to obtain an up-to-date list from the county of all who paid their landfill fee. However, this was a procedure that was never really enforced. Upon further review, the city began to see the benefit to obtaining a list from the county of paying county residents.

"As we looked at our operations, it became clear that we don't know who comes in. We don't know if they're a county resident, village resident, or city resident. For the most part, if they were dumping trash, they were able to dump trash and assume that they had already paid their monthly or quarterly fee. But there is no way for us to verify if that is the case," Ortiz said.

Not only have landfill employees been having trouble identifying the residents and whether or not they are up to date on their payments, they also have no way to verify what they are told by word of mouth. For example, in the past contractors have been doing work and people have gone to the dump and said they were dumping for that contractor, when, in fact, they were not. Ortiz has emphasized that the majority of the landfill users are honest, some are taking advantage of the current lack of implemented system.

"Unfortunately, it's a classic case of the few ruining it for the many," Ortiz said.

As a result, the city has reached out to the county in order to obtain a monthly list of residents that have paid their landfill fees.

At this time that seems to be the best option. Although, it is possible that the landfill go to a "show your bill" system. This involves residents bringing their bill to the landfill and presenting it when they take in a load of trash to dump. There has been some concern with the aforementioned system and how it would be a hassle for residents to remember to cart their bill with them to the landfill when they needed to dump garbage. The commissioners, especially Larry Engstrom,expressed concern at their meeting on June 15, about the residents that only make two or three trips to the dump a year.

"I'm concerned about those residents that make two or three trips a year. If they make their trip and they forget that bill, they have to pay or go back for their bill. That just seems like a hassle," Engstrom said.

The topic was also brought up at that board of public works meeting on Tuesday May 27. The board had several suggestions, although, it was decided that the perhaps more correspondence between city and county was needed before a decision was made.

"Several landfills use the 'show your bill' system, I believe both Sidney and Gering do. It will be like any new system. If we decide to go with this, there will be a period of time where people will have to adjust and some might be frustrated at first but it will become habit," Ortiz said.

With the landfill fee increase this year, Ortiz hopes to make sure that the people who are paying aren't doing so in vain. The increase was necessary for the landfill to remain open and operating.

"It's not just a big hole in the ground where we dump trash. There are regulations and rules we have to follow, or we get dinged. If we fail to comply with the rules put forth by the NDEQ, we could be shut down," Ortiz said.

Ortiz has roughly nine six-inch binders that tell him and the landfill employees how to make sure the landfill is safe and up to code.

These regulations put forth by the NDEQ are vital for the landfill to stay open for the use of local residents. The trash in the landfill must be separated into categories. If certain articles of trash were to mix with chemicals from other trash or from decomposing garbage, dangerous methane gases could be released into the air. Due to the possible dangerous nature of gases released by the garbage, the NDEQ makes sure that regulations are followed.

"This is something that has caused us to change our hours at the landfill. The landfill is supposed to secure all the garbage, making sure that it won't be blown around by the wind. This along with other procedures means that the landfill employees need an hour, hour and a half to make sure everything is done in compliance with NDEQ regulations," Ortiz said.

Ortiz hopes that the residents that pay for and use the landfill will be patient while a new system is selected and implemented.

"It might seem like a hassle at first, but it's our way to make sure that we follow rules and in turn make sure that the landfill is a service that residents have for a long time," Ortiz.