By Sara Price
Emery County Landfill Manager Wade Nelson stood before Emery County Commissioners during their meeting on Nov. 12 and said he would like to simplify and clarify the existing Fee Tippage Ordinance currently in place at the landfill. There has been some confusion as to who pays, and how much is to be paid. Nelson wants to solve the confusion by changing the tippage fee to a weight-based fee only, rather than paying according to the type of load.
Changing to a weight-based fee would make paying much simpler for everyone who uses the dump as well as the employees running the dump. A public hearing on this matter will take place Dec 17.
The proposed change would apply to cities, contractors and loads over a certain weight. This would increase revenue to the landfill, making it a sustainable and viable entity of the county. Nelson stressed that normal citizen dumping would still be free for small loads.
In addition to the fee change, the landfill is looking to acquire a new compactor. Nelson felt the landfill is on a tight deadline because of a requirement for equipment to use urea, also known as Diesel Exhaust Fluid (DEF). According to Nelson, the fluid is added to the fuel in all new heavy equipment to meet EPA standards. Urea is an organic compound used to reduce oxides of nitrogen in diesel exhaust.
The new engines that use urea have required extensive maintenance, which makes the equipment much more expensive to run and less reliable than machines running without the fluid, Nelson said.
If they don’t order the new machine in time, commissioners will only be able to purchase equipment with the urea requirement. Nelson and the commissioners have little faith in the new technology.
Funds have been put in place to order the compactor, which won’t be completed until April or May. By ordering now they can ensure they have a reliable and low maintenance vehicle, which is why commissioners approved the expensive purchase.
Commissioner Ethan Migliori stressed that the fee schedule and equipment purchase are not related and the new fees will not be used to purchase the new piece of equipment but rather to keep the landfill operating.