DRAFT

The DeKalb County Ad Hoc Solid Waste Committee met on Monday, September 17, 2008, @ 9:00a.m. in the Administration Building’s Conference Room East.  Chairman Ruth Anne Tobias called the meeting to order.  Members present were Mr. Andersen, Vince Faivre, Pat Vary and Roger Steimel.  Others present were Ray Bockman, Paul Miller, Greg Millburg, Mayor Bob Seyller of Cortland, Mr. Lee Adlemann, Mr. Bill Plunkett and Mr. Dale Hoekstra of Waste Management, and Mr. Ron Swager and Mr. Chris Burger of Patrick Engineering.

APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES

            Moved by Mr. Faivre, seconded by Ms. Vary, and it was carried unanimously to approve the minutes of August 2007. 

PRESENTATION BY WASTE MANAGEMENT

            Mr. Lee Adleman explained that they would be speaking today on the history of the landfill site, what has been accomplished since the May 2007 meeting, and the proposed conceptual end-use plan.

History of the Landfill

            Mr. Hoekstra of Waste Management explained the history and location of the present landfill site.   He stated that there are a total of 245 acres at the site and that some of the property is unlined where the compost is located.  The actual footprint where waste is buried is approximately 88 acres.  There is quite a bit of buffer area and the elevation is at 945 feet.  They receive about 105,000 tons of waste annually.  Of that waste most of it is from DeKalb County and then the border areas around DeKalb.  He believes that there is about 7 years of life left in the landfill regarding the air space beginning in January of 2009.

            Mr. Andersen asked Mr. Hoekstra what the permitted height is?

            Mr. Hoekstra said 945 feet.

            Chairman Tobias asked where do most of the trucks come from?

            Mr. Hoekstra said that most of the trucks come from the north now. 

            Mr. Steimel said that some come from the east with compost and demolition material. 

            Chairman Tobias asked how many trucks a day come to the landfill?

            Mr. Adlemann said about 300 tons to 350 tons a day or about 45 trucks a day.

            Mr. Hoekstra said that he would get the total number of trucks a day to Ms. Tobias including the deliveries.

Next Phase of the Project – Accomplishment since May 2007

            Mr. Lee Adelman explained the next phase of the project.  He explained that they have already spent $7 million to get to this point and bring this issue back to the County for discussion.  He said that 16 months ago they were looking at one piece of property.  Mr. Hoekstra has put together a chunk of the property that is lying in a easterly direction from the current site and may have less impact than some of the plans that they had initially brought forth. 

Mr. Hoekstra has negotiated with about six landowners so far.  They have pickup up 345 acres for the County to consider.  Mr. Adlemann explained that they will use about half of the site for a buffer zone (about 175 acres), and Waste Management will use the other half of the property.  They are looking at this as an expansion of the current site because of the roads that will service the site.  The site could be used as a recreational area.  They will move the entrance further south.  To make this plan work they will vacate Chase Road and will have to visit with the Township Road Commissioner on this issue.  Sixteen million dollars will be expended to make the property full, Mr. Adelman further stated, that will be our commitment to make this project full.  They feel that this will be a good investment for their company.  Five hundred and ninety-acres (590) is the total acreage across the grid.  The border will not extend to Hinckley Road. 

Mr. Adelman informed the committee about the road situation too.  He said that Hinckley Road will not be affected by the traffic from the site and that Somonauk Road will be used.  The necessity for a bridge will be at their cost and will be a complete span. It will not interfere with the flow of Union Creek.  They will maintain some of the site as farmland or prairie restoration.  They feel that the minimum life of the landfill will be 25 years, which is something that the County would want, he feels.

They will work with the County on the elevation of the site during the process of the Host Fee Agreement. 

Something else that the County has mentioned to them that they are prepared to do is the consideration of the remediation of the area that is currently unlined that Mr. Hoekstra mentioned. Some of the ground water is contaminated and IEPA is going through remediation currently with Waste Management.  They want to excavate this area, relocate it, and then reline it.  This could cost Waste Management, at a rough estimate, around $8 to $10 million dollars if they do all of the 26 acres.

Mr. Andersen asked Mr. Adelman, when you go in and create a new cell, how far do you excavate?  

Mr. Hoekstra said that is an excellent question and this facility has about 90’ of clay below the landfill and there is good geology on this site.  The current excavation is

around 30 feet, he said.

Mr. Bob Seyller, President of the Town of Cortland, said that the initial timeframe was 7 years from January, given this proposal of just phase 1, how long does it extend the 7 years to?

Mr. Hoekstra said the proposal would be for the entire site.  If the total tonnage is 105,000 a year extends for quite a few years, the life extension would be to year 2015.

He further stated that he feels there is enough time here to do this work and accomplish the Host Fee Agreement.  He believes that the finalized document would be after the Election – possibly February 2009.

The committee then discussed the potential uses of the site.  It was discussed that after moving the entrance further south, Waste Management would use screening berms, conifers; have a LEEDS Certified Scale house; move the public drop off sites; bio swale will be installed along new road and creek.  Waste Management wants the site to be sustainable.  To the north end of the site there could be a gas recovery center for electricity, possibly, more landscaping along I-88, too.  They will design the safest access points for in/out curb cuts so that cars can see them and visa versa.  They also discussed that Waste Management could build an observation point at the highest point so people could look around, as they close the old site.

Mr. Adelman said that the County could use old site as a revenue site, like a golf course with the Forest Preserves, wetlands, nesting, nature center, with a fishing pier, sledding hill, recreational area, basketball, baseball, tennis areas, maybe even add paddleboats, etc.  He also mentioned that one day the County could use the site for Wind farm consideration or a corn dryer, a lot of different technologies.

Mr. Adelman then discussed the application for the Host Fee Agreement.  He said that the detention is seen as part of the application, as well as, the left/right access road, the perimeters, some of the berms, bio swale/filtration areas/ and the bridge. 

Mr. Paul Miller asked Mr. Adelman, how do you separate the traffic?

Mr. Hoekstra said that we could look at doing separate entrances.  He further explained to look at Settler’s in Batavia and what they did there.   He also said that Waste Management has post closure responsibility and that one option that they could offer the County as they have done in the past with other counties, Waste Management could offer the County to lease the site for 99 years at $1 a year and then they maintain it. 

Mr. Adelman said that the County needs to regulate the elevation to see how many years it would last. You need to decide if you will provide for your constituents for 25 years or 40 years.  What elevation are you going to allow, what volume are you going to allow in county and out-of-county?  He will be able to easily make the 25 years. The difference between 940 feet to 950 feet is a lot of tonnage and then between 950 feet and 980 feet is a much more.  The timeframe is really in your hands.  It’s prudent to consider when you are the only game in town. 

Mr. Hoekstra said that they have to look at the economic viability of the project too.  By the time that they are done with this project they will have invested $16 million in land.  This is a very expensive project for them.  Let’s make it very clear that the incoming volume and air space elevations impacts our ability to reach your goal, he continued.

Mr. Hoekstra then said that the last time that the committee met with them he was asked to look at a project that is about 400,000 to 500,000 tons. We said that we really need to be at 500,000 tons a year.  If 500,000 tons is what we are looking at then you are looking at 40 years of life for the landfill.  They would be looking at a height of  940’, he further continued.

Mr. Miller said that we would need to look at the truck traffic with that kind of impact on the community as a whole.  

Mr. Adelman suggested that to retain your landfill life, as the county grows you would reduce the volume that you would receive from out-of-county.

Mr. Hoekstra stated that Waste Management is the leader in the industry for a sustainability program.  Your county does a lot of recycling and Waste Management is the largest recycling company in their industry, and in the country. They recycle more than 8 million tons a year.  They would like to increase that number to 20 million tons a year. They are trying to reduce the waste in their landfills. 

The committee thanked Mr. Adelman and Mr. Hoekstra for their very informative presentation.

The committee then discussed when the next meeting date would be. 

Mr. Bockman said that it depends on negotiations.  Mr. Bockman said that he would invite one committee member at the negotiation meetings so one member is at the negotiation table. 

Mr. Andersen said that he would like to sit in on the negotiations.

ADJOURNMENT

Moved by Ms. Vary, seconded by Mr. Andersen, and it was carried unanimously to adjourn the meeting.

                                                            Respectfully submitted.

                                                            _______________________________  

                                                            Chairman Ruth Anne Tobias

RAT:mcs

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