Landfill district idea back under discussion

The idea of bringing the whole county together in a single solution for solid waste disposal has been raised several times since the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) began its push to close unlined landfills, but has always failed to gain traction.

With enough time under people’s belts to have seen the repercussions of no longer having a landfill in the county, several elected officials around the county are hoping that, this time, it might be possible to get the question in front of voters.

The question was first raised at Sundance’s regular monthly council meeting, when Mayor Paul Brooks spoke with Commissioner Fred Devish about the increasing impact on Sundance.

Firstly, Brooks said, the construction and debris pit has finite space, so the council may need to consider whether it should be reserved for the residents whose tax money goes towards funding the city.

Secondly, he said, the city runs a “shoestring operation” to keep costs as low as possible, which means the transfer station is not set up to haul refuse from an ever-increasing number of people.

Brooks spoke to the issue of residents across the county no longer having an easily reached destination for larger items, such as furniture. This kind of debris inevitably ends up being dumped in culverts and alongside roads, he said.

As the population of Crook County continues to rise, Brooks stated that he anticipates the number of people from outside town who want to make use of the city’s facility will do the same.

“The problem is not getting better, it’s getting worse – and it’s going to continue to get worse,” he said.

Devish responded that his position on the matter has not changed: he was and still is supportive of getting the question on the ballot so that Crook County’s citizens can decide for themselves.

The last time a solid waste district was discussed, a poll taken by the county commissioners asking if citizens would want to see the question on the ballot returned a result of approximately 60% in favor.

Throughout the negotiations that have taken place over the years, most recently at the end of 2020, supporters have said they would like to see all four towns and the county come together to create a district that would take on solid waste collection, using Moorcroft’s landfill as a dumping site.

The district would raise a mill levy to construct the facility, but this would sunset out once those costs had been paid, said Council Member Joe Wilson. At that time, the intent would be for the service to pay for itself.

The idea has been bandied around since the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) began to mandate the closure of unlined landfills across the state, forcing towns to transfer their refuse to regional landfills instead.

It was first discussed in detail in 2015, but placed on the backburner when it proved difficult to reach a consensus that each of the county’s entities felt they would benefit from equally.

Moorcroft and Sundance have consistently supported the idea of a district; Sundance as one of the earliest municipalities to close its landfill and could already see the impacts, and Moorcroft because the town would have liked its landfill to remain open and become the focal point for the proposed district.

Devish agreed with Brooks that partnership and cooperation are likely the best route forward on the issue and noted that Moorcroft continued to try hard to keep its landfill open even after the county commission shot down a potential vote for a district.

He also pointed out that there will likely still be opposition. Pine Haven and Hulett are happy with their garbage contracts, he said, and see no reason to worry about where their refuse goes once it is loaded into a truck and taken outside town limits.

Devish suggested the council get in touch with Moorcroft. Wilson and Council Member Randy Stevenson did exactly that, joined at the council’s next by Commissioners Devish, Bob Latham and Kelly Dennis.

“I wonder if we should take one last stab at looking at this and see if what the best thing is for Crook County,” he said.

He reiterated many of the reasons Moorcroft had fought for the possibility, saying, “We will never see another landfill anywhere on the I-90 corridor. The way the regulations are and everything, where your [landfill] is is the last spot that I can see within the populated area of Crook County.”

Wilson was candid that he does not know yet whether a garbage district would be feasible. His hope, he said, is to find that out.

“I want to look at this and see if keeping the control of what we have as far as waste disposal for our municipalities and our county would be better in our county versus hoping that Gillette, Newcastle, Belle Fourche, whoever it is – if that’s the best way to go,” he said.

“I want to know what the numbers are to make the thing self-sustainable.”

After a moment of contemplation, Mayor Ben Glenn said, “It was always our goal, because it does create jobs, it creates a lot of things we need in our county. Honestly, we’ve beat this drum for five years trying to move forward.”

He went on, “It is a struggle, it’s close to our hearts too. I agree, once you lose control, you’ve lost control.”

Speaking to the property that Wilson was suggesting could be used, Glenn said Moorcroft will likely continue with its current plans but, “That’s not to say that if the solid waste district is formed, that land wouldn’t be sold or given to that district or something to reopen that landfill.”

Devish and Latham expressed willingness to perhaps move forward with a new study regarding needed tonnage and population for self-sufficiency. However, Dennis was adamantly against the idea.

“It’s not even feasible…I have no problem myself to take it to South Dakota, I’m sure that’s where mine goes, I don’t know, I don’t care,” he said.

He continued, “Looking at history, once we get a mill levy started and they get that into operation, it will never come off…I can be proud of the fact that we’re one of the lower mills in Wyoming. I will not, absolutely, tolerate anything that raises any mill levy at all for any reason in this county because with our raising values, we’ve almost got elderly people in this county pushed out of their homes by mill levy…If you haven’t got much property, it’s not a big item, but if you have quite a little property with very nice house, that adds up to a lot of money.”

Dennis also said, “I don’t see any reason the county needs to get into the garbage business. There is no reason for that.”

Glenn asked him if he would rather be at the mercy of the garbage trucks and tipping fees of whatever outside landfill to which those trucks must travel. Dennis simply said, “Yes”.

Wilson stressed that he would want input from all types of county resident, including those outside of municipalities, stating, “I would like to see a board put together to study this; I absolutely want the ranchers’ perspective on this. I don’t want to create a hole in the ground that I’m associated with that turned out to be the worst thing the county taxpayers ever voted on.”

HDR Engineering’s Heath Turbiville told the group what he felt was realistic for the landfill: “It needs to have something to subsidize it to get constructed and that’s what the mill levy would allow. After it’s constructed, it’s largely dependent on if you can get everybody in Crook County or part of Crook and some of Weston County in haulers to get enough tonnage.”

Dennis stated again: “Let me go on the record, I don’t care where they go with it, I produce a lot of garbage and I hire [private haulers], even though I’m in a rural community.”

Wilson closed his request, “I would like to ask the county commissioners and you, because it is your property, to maybe take one last look at this before it’s gone. Because when it’s gone, it’s gone.”

Glenn replied, “If it would keep a landfill in Crook County, in my opinion, you’d have the spot. If we can control our own destinies, I hate giving up control of that…To sum it up, we’re 100% onboard and you’d have our support.”

Wilson is scheduled to speak with the county commission at its regular meeting next week, at 10 a.m. on October 4.