ORANGE COUNTY IN BANKRUPTCY : County Tests Interest in Importing Garbage for Extra Cash

Seeking new revenue to help dig itself out of bankruptcy, the county has contacted about 100 trash haulers in neighboring counties to gauge their interest in importing as much as 6,000 tons of garbage a day into Orange County’s three landfills.

County officials said Wednesday that accepting the trash could generate $55 million a year, providing needed cash to the county as it attempts to recover from the financial crisis.

“This is a fact-finding mission more than anything else,” said Cymantha Atkinson, a spokeswoman for the county’s Integrated Waste Management Department. “We’ve had calls from people asking us to accept their waste. We now want to see what the official reaction would be if the opportunity presented itself.”

But the proposal still faces several key obstacles, including a county ordinance that prohibits trash importation and state laws that require lengthy environmental reviews.

Some South County leaders oppose accepting outside trash, fearing it will cause environmental problems and clog the residential streets leading to the Prima Deshecha landfill in San Juan Capistrano.

“I feel sad that the county is in a bad situation. But I don’t think it’s responsible to take another county’s trash for dollars and ruin the lifestyles of many people,” said Collene Campbell, a San Juan Capistrano councilwoman. “I don’t think it’s fair to the people who live on the route.”

County officials insisted that trash importation is far from a done deal.

The Integrated Waste Management Department on Monday issued “requests for proposals” to private and municipal trash haulers in Los Angeles and San Diego counties. Atkinson said the move marked a preliminary step in what will likely be a lengthy process.

Haulers have until May 31 to file detailed proposals stating, among other things, the amount of trash they would like to import.

County officials said the idea makes sense because local landfills have excess capacity while those in neighboring counties are rapidly filling up.

The county’s landfills in San Juan Capistrano, Brea and Irvine are permitted under state law to take in a total of up to 16,658 tons of waste per day. But because of the recession and recycling programs, the landfills together currently take in an average of 10,000 tons a day.

Officials won’t make a final decision on importation until after haulers submit their proposals. Officials might scrap the idea if it proves too costly or environmentally detrimental, Atkinson said.

“If we don’t get many proposals, we might not move ahead,” she said. “It depends . . . on the results.”

Integrated Waste Management officials will evaluate the proposals and select the most feasible ones for further environmental analysis.

Atkinson said county landfills could begin accepting outside trash by November, if a bill by state Sen. William A. Craven (R-Oceanside), which would waive state environmental reviews of importation plans, is approved.

The Integrated Waste Management Department also announced that the Board of Supervisors will consider a proposed increase in landfill disposal fees May 24.

Under the department’s proposal, disposal fees would rise from $22.75 to $35 per ton of trash. The increase would add about $2 a month to a household’s trash bill and would take effect in July, according to county officials.

Atkinson said the fee hike is needed to prevent the landfills from operating at a deficit and would have been required even if the county did not file for bankruptcy. The landfills have seen revenue decline in recent years and regulatory costs increase, she added.

The disposal fees might be reduced if trash from other counties is imported, Atkinson said.

Still, some trash haulers expressed unhappiness at the proposed fee hike.

“We have to pass those costs along. We have no choice,” said Jim Koutroulis, general manager of Solag Disposal, which serves several South County cities. “We look like the bad guys because we send the bills.”