Landfill proposes trash ordinance

MARENGO — The Regional Environmental Improvement Commission, which manages the Iowa County landfill, asked county supervisors last week to pass a flow control ordinance to force trash haulers to take Iowa County garbage to the Iowa County landfill.

Commission member Garret Dozark presented a 14-page ordinance to the Board of Supervisors Friday, explaining that the county needs an ordinance to promote cooperation and to eliminate friction between REIC and towns in the county.

The ordinance would give REIC means to ensure that waste generated in Iowa County is taken to the Iowa County landfill, Dozark said.

Iowa law requires that trash be taken to the landfill in the county in which it is generated, with exceptions. David Randall, director of the landfill, explained Friday that trash haulers can take Iowa County garbage only to the Iowa County landfill or out of state.

“Our cities are reporting to us that they really don’t have an enforcement mechanism to force a hauler to bring their trash to Iowa County, and this [ordinance] would allow us to do that,” said Dozark.

The ordinance is vital for the landfill, said Dozark. “We currently need to build a new cell for the landfill and do not have any money saved up for that. And so we need to be able to control the waste that is generated in Iowa County.”

The proposed County Flow Control Law would give REIC authority to issue permits to haulers, to require that they take garbage to the Iowa County landfill and to require written reports detailing the amount of waste collected and to which facility it was delivered.

Fines for violations would be between $500 to $10,000.

“This ordinance is not a witch hunt or meant to go after anyone,” said Dozark. REIC wants something in writing so that it can do something about persistent violators.

“Our intentions for any violators to begin with is simply education and warnings … Violation letters.” Fines would be reserved for the worst of offenders, Dozark said.

“There is currently an issue with ABC on one of their routes,” said Dozark. ABC Disposal Systems is picking up trash in Williamsburg and taking it to the Johnson County landfill, he said.

“They’re not taking the garbage from Williamsburg to Johnson County,” said Aaron Sandersfeld, city manager for Williamsburg. The trash goes to ABC’s transfer station in Cedar Rapids and to Illinois. That’s legal because of interstate commerce laws, he said.

“We did come to the landfill commission … and we tried to hash this out,” said Sandersfeld. The only trash generated in Williamsburg that is not going to Iowa County landfill, is trash collected from city dumpsters by ABC on Wednesday. To set up a designated route for Williamsburg only is financially prohibitive, ABC has said.

“We agreed to weigh that garbage, and we agreed to pay for that garbage even though it’s not going to the landfill,” Sandersfeld said.

“We’ve never even had more than 1,000 pounds,” said Sandersfeld. “We’re paying for garbage that’s not going there.”

REIC also has reports of Johnson Co. Refuse putting dumpsters in Iowa County for a housing development near the county line, Dozark said.

“Johnson County Refuse has a route right next to the landfill that runs on the county line heading south,” Randall said. “There’s over probably 25, 30 homes plus dumpsters in that area that aren’t even getting brought to the landfill.”

“And the last thing that we would want as a landfill commission is to have our citizens pay for trash twice, once to pick it up and then paying it again by not having it be brought to Iowa County,” Dozark said.

“The purpose of this is to make sure everyone plays fair,” said Dozark. It takes the burden of enforcement off the cities and puts it on REIC.

“It levels the playing field,” said REIC member Adam Rabe of the ordinance. The county needs to make sure local business are not getting undercut by haulers who take trash out of state.

Cities in Iowa County, including Williamsburg, have signed 28E agreements with the REIC. That agreement says that all members must require that all waste generated or collected in their jurisdictions will be delivered to the disposal facility designated by REIC.

Dozark said the 28E agreement allows REIC to fine cities, “and that’s the last thing as a landfill commission we would want to do.” REIC does, however, want control over all trash that is generated in Iowa County for financial reasons.

“Let’s say the Wasserbahn needs to be taken down and they privately contract to haul it out of Iowa County,” said Dozark. “That would be a lot of money that would be out of our hands.”

County Attorney Tim McMeen said the proposed ordinance includes language that needs corrected. As presented, it would allow REIC to fine people for putting recyclables in the trash. “I understand that’s not what you’re saying you’re here to do.”

McMeen told Supervisors that the ordinance does more than hold haulers accountable for using Iowa County landfill. “It’s applicable not only to haulers. Its applicable to every person in this county right now.” McMeen said.

“It talks about the Commission having the ability to issue warrants.” That’s not something McMeen believes the REIC can do.

“I would certainly encourage the board to make sure you’re reading through it and understanding it,” McMeen said.

“I have several concerns,” said Supervisor Abby Maas. “I understand the subdivision by the landfill. Are there more steps that we could take without passing an ordinance that has crazy ramifications?

“I think there’s other ways to mediate some of that,” Maas said.

Maas said the proposed ordinance seems to be arising from REIC’s issues with Williamsburg and ABC.

“I don’t see the need to pass a crazy ordinance just to try to solve that difference of opinion, especially when they’re paying for the garbage that they’re hauling out,” Maas said.

Only $30-$40 a month of garbage is going to Milan, said Maas. The rest of it is coming to Iowa County.

Iowa County has no zoning and very few enforcement ordinances, said Maas. “It just doesn’t seem to fit the culture that we currently has have,” she said.

“This, as it stands, is very aggressive. And I think there’s other ways to get these haulers to abide by the law,” said Maas.

“This is not meant to be an aggressive ordinance,” said Dozark. “It’s meant to give us an enforcement mechanism to apply it against haulers.” The county can easily remove certain provisions and make the ordinance specific to haulers, he said.

“It arose on issues that may be considered small now, but what is vital for the landfill is that we have control of the waste in Iowa County.…” if a large project doesn’t go to the landfill, that will affect the ability to build the next cell, said Dozark.

Supervisors asked McMeen to pare down the ordinance and present a new version to the board.

In a follow-up email to the REIC and county supervisors, Maas addressed a question brought up by Sandersfeld about the ordinance’s affect on rural residents who burn garbage.

“It appears it is not actually legal, as it was stated in the meeting,” Maas wrote. “I think this is a valuable point made by [Sandersfeld]. If the true intent of this ordinance is to save the landfill via revenue generation, by ensuring the collection of all Iowa County waste is sent to the landfill, this should be enforced.”

Iowa Administrative Code Chapter 23 says that open burning is not allowed except as provided in 23.2 (2) and 23.2 (3) which says a person wishing to burn materials not excepted may apply for a variance. Exceptions include trees and tree trimming, landscape waste, recreational fires, and residential waste.

A brochure from the Iowa Department of Natural Resources Air Quality Bureau says that residential waste can be burned in the backyard of dwellings of four-family units or less in cities without ordinances prohibiting the action, but the brochure says that garbage is not included in the definition of residential waste and therefore cannot be burned.

“I would wager more revenue would be streamed from the prevention of rural and city patrons burning garbage than collected from ABC or the rural haulers not bringing waste to the landfill. I would also anticipate this not being popular amongst the public nor board members,” Maas said.

“I still question the real intent of this ordinance and urge the REIC to develop other measures for communication with non-compliant haulers.”

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