Approval of Trash Fee Hike Expected Today : Bankruptcy: The 54% increase for haulers at county landfills, together with a garbage-importing plan, is part of recovery efforts.

A 54% hike in trash dumping fees at local landfills, which will cost residents more but raise cash for the county, is expected to be approved today by the Orange County Board of Supervisors.

The controversial proposal, which is part of the county’s sweeping bankruptcy recovery plan, recommends hiking the dumping fees at the three landfills from $22.75 per ton to $35 per ton. That means an increase of $24 per year per household, county officials said.

“Raising the fee is the first step in maximizing the value of the facilities,” said Paul Nussbaum, a top adviser to County Chief Executive Officer William J. Popejoy.

Over the past several years, the county has been operating the landfills at a loss, which it “just can’t continue to do,” Nussbaum said. The fee increase is intended to help the county recover the cost of operation; the landfills aren’t expected to generate revenue until the county implements a plan to import as much as 6,000 tons of trash a day from neighboring counties. County officials estimate that they can then raise enough cash to back about $500 million in new borrowing.

Supervisors have supported the proposal and are expected to approve the fee increase. It would become effective July 1.

Trash haulers who use the three county landfills have expressed concerns about the increase.

“This is an increase of more than 50% on landfill charges. Unfortunately, if this is approved by the supervisors, the increase will have to be passed along to our valued customers,” said Stan Tkaczyk, vice president of Rainbow Disposal in Huntington Beach. “As haulers, we may be looked at like we are part of the problem.”

But Tkaczyk said he could support the new fees if all the proceeds are used to maintain the safety and integrity of the county landfills.

Other haulers are more critical of the proposal and are expected to argue against it at today’s meeting.

Bruce Whitaker, spokesman for a citizens watchdog group called the Committees of Correspondence, compared it to a tax hike.

“There’s no doubt about it. This is a tax. . . . And we are opposed to that,” Whitaker said.

The plan also has drawn opposition from city officials in San Juan Capistrano who fear that importing trash will create too much traffic on residential streets.

But Whitaker said a disposal fee increase would present some benefits.

“This would dilute the need for a new tax,” Whitaker said. “It also sets up the landfills to be sold to a private operator. That would be the best long-term cost control for county residents.”

County officials, however, say the dumping fee increase will not reduce the need for Measure R, the proposed half-cent sales tax increase. And selling the landfills to private operators may not be feasible because of liability issues, county officials have said.

Earlier this month, state legislators gave the county’s bankruptcy recovery plans a boost by passing legislation that allows the county to import trash without undergoing time-consuming environmental reviews.

Under the trash plan, the county’s three landfills would boost their total volume from 10,000 tons per day to as much as 16,000 tons. Importing trash would trim the life of the landfills from 55 years to about 47, officials said.

Currently, the county is seeking proposals from scores of haulers throughout the Southland to gauge their interest in dumping trash in Orange County. Those proposals are due back May 31.

Some haulers have said that the county’s proposed fee of $35 per ton is not competitive when compared to Los Angeles County, which charges $16 to $30 a ton. County officials, however, counter that the rate is very competitive compared to Riverside, San Bernardino and San Diego counties, which charge $34 to $43 a ton.

Furthermore, county officials say the fee could be reduced to $30 a ton if the importation plan is successful and haulers are eager to dump in Orange County.