Reopening of Trash-to-Energy Plant Talks OKd

Three members of the county Board of Supervisors voted Wednesday to re-enter contract negotiations with the developer of the proposed San Marcos trash-to-energy plant.

The decision is expected to spark yet another lawsuit against the beleaguered project, this one arguing that approval from four, not three, of the supervisors is needed to move forward with the plant.

Board Chairman George Bailey ruled that Wednesday’s split decision was sufficient to give the county staff the go-ahead to meet with executives of Thermo Electron Corp. of Waltham, Mass., and negotiate financial and operational terms for the power plant, which would be built at a county landfill on the southern fringe of San Marcos.

Thermo Electron has agreed to pay the county $400,000 to cover the cost of negotiating a contract, including the hiring of specialized consultants familiar with the trash-incineration industry.

Michael Hogan, an attorney representing opponents of the trash plant, said he will recommend to his clients that they sue the county on the basis that three votes were not sufficient to authorize contract negotiations.

Even County Counsel Lloyd Harmon, at Wednesday’s board meeting, said the expenditure of unanticipated revenue--the $400,000--may have required four votes.

But he added: “Frankly, after reviewing the law, I have to conclude it is ambiguous and there is no clear-cut answer” to the question of whether three votes are sufficient.

A county staff report says four votes are needed to proceed with contract talks.

If subsequent litigation shows that to be true, the controversial, 6-year-old project might be dead for want of sufficient support on the board.

Supervisor Susan Golding has steadfastly opposed the project, while Supervisor John MacDonald, whose district includes San Marcos, said he does not want to negotiate with Thermo Electron until the county studies its financial ability to proceed with the project, the cost of which is estimated at more than $220 million.

MacDonald said he is particularly concerned about the company’s financial strength given new language in the county staff report that refers to the county as “a partner” with Thermo Electron. He said such references suggest that the county might become financially liable if the project were to fail.

“Before I vote to accept the full $400,000 to go all the way, I want to make sure that our partner is a partner I want to get married to,” MacDonald said.

Last June, the project’s primary financial backer, Combustion Engineering of Windsor, Conn., backed out of the project--the third partner to join and then abandon Thermo Electron.

On Tuesday, when the issue was also debated, MacDonald asked his colleagues to authorize a financial analysis of Thermo Electron before contract negotiations resume, but he was unable to win even a second vote of support. Debate on the issue was then postponed until Wednesday because of Supervisor Leon Williams’ absence.

On Wednesday, Williams sided with Brian Bilbray and Bailey to accept the $400,000 and open contract talks, even though he said he was concerned that acceptance of the three-vote decision might “look like the board is trying to skirt around the edge of legality.”

Bilbray argued that acceptance of the $400,000 does not bind the county to the project.

“I’d rather have the money in our hot little hands than (in) their hot little hands,” he said.

After an hour’s debate, the board voted 3 to 2 to authorize the staff to meet with Thermo Electron. Bailey then declared the votes sufficient.

A previous county contract with Thermo Electron was ruled null and void in San Diego Superior Court for various reasons, and the company itself had said it wanted to renegotiate terms.

Times staff writer Barry M. Horstman contributed to this story.