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Commissioners discuss landfill options By Philip Jankowski In light of Friday’s ruling against the county’s argument that Waste Management’s operation contract for the Williamson County Regional Landfill in Hutto is invalid, commissioners discussed Tuesday the possibility of either breaching or yanking permits on the expansion. The court voted to wait on taking any action on the contract while they weigh their options by delaying Texas Commission on Environmental Quality proceedings on the expansion of the landfill. The 2003 landfill contract gives Waste Management free reign to import trash from other counties. Waste Management is currently negotiating with Killeen to have the city’s 100,000 tons of annual garbage production sent to the landfill. The contract between the county and Waste Management has no expiration date. Commissioners and County Judge Dan Gattis voiced disappointment with Waste Management for not informing the county promptly of the negotiations. “I have to tell you I’m very upset that you (Waste Management) did not convey to us that you were working on this agreement,” Gattis said to Waste Management’s Vice President Don Smith during the court’s weekly meeting Tuesday. Gattis said he was unaware of any talks about the county receiving Killeen’s waste until Friday. Smith said Waste Management had been talking with Killeen for quite some time, anticipating the expiration of the Killeen’s current landfill contract in August, however discussions turned into negotiations last week at a quicker pace than the company had expected. He said a deal would be finalized next month. “It’s a good problem to have,” he said about the rapid speed of negotiations with Killeen. Commissioners may consider altering the contract — something that Waste Management’s Vice President Don Smith said his company would be receptive to, given the terms. Pct 1 Commissioner Lisa Birkman offered up the strictest terms for her to be satisfied, which included disallowing the landfill to receive any waste from outside the county and greatly increasing recycling capabilities. Waste Management would not accept a contract under those conditions, Smith said. Limiting the landfill’s intake to only waste from inside the county would “greatly compromise Waste Management’s financial model,” Smith said, because the county currently sends most of its trash to Travis County. Even with the addition of Killeen, waste taken in would not reach the landfill’s capacity of 250,000 tons of waste a year, Gattis said. “We’ve got a double standard,” Smith said. “(The county) doesn’t have a problem sending trash outside the county, but they won’t take any in.” Breaching the contract with Waste Management or pulling expansion permits would likely lead to lawsuits. County Attorney Jana Duty said the county might be able to get around litigation, should commissioners decide to take that route, citing government immunity laws. Those laws currently only apply to the federal and states’ governments. In 2005 all counties were made susceptible to litigation, but since the contract was signed in 2003, the county could avoid lawsuits, Duty said. “That’s what the law says on paper, but that’s not always how the courts will rule. It’s a risk,” Duty said. Duty said the Hutto Citizens Group, an anti-landfill advocacy group, and Texas Disposal Systems, a competitor of Waste Management, had been pushing for the county to pursue immunity arguments since District Judge Burt Carnes ruled that Waste Management’s contract is valid. Duty said that Texas Disposal Systems should “put their money where their mouth is” by bidding a contract which would require the winner to pay all possible monetary penalties resulting from breach of contract law suits by Waste Management. She said it is the county’s desire to make sure no litigation would result in penalties to tax payers. Texas Disposal Systems Consultant Kurt Johnson, Sr., said that his company would be willing to take on that stipulation should the contract meet their specifications. Despite the court’s belief that the contract is one-sided, Smith said Waste Management did not “snooker” the county in that deal, and the 2003 contract had support of the commissioners and the county attorney at the time of its passing. He gave no comment on the court’s decision to slow down the negotiation process. “We have no control,” Birkman said. “It all goes back to the previous court (who approved the contract).” Waste Management is the largest waste disposal company in North America, operating about 290 landfills across the country.
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